Expensive Bass .. Cheap Packaging

[mart]

Bagsieblue and I have both recently bought a Warwick Starbass and we've been discussing the packaging that they come in - namely a plastic bag inside a cardboard box. I don't mind that sort of packaging for a bass that's £2/300 new, but it seems a bit crazy at this price bracket - the RRP is something like £1500 I believe.

Given that, I wondered if anybody had any more extreme examples of a (relatively) expensive bass sold in (relatively) cheap packaging. And, to make it less negative, let's hear of good examples - y'know, the cheapy bass that comes in a flight case!

Who knows, perhaps we can even shame some manufacturers into upping their game.

[yorks5stringer]

Could well be minimal packaging due to their Green Policy, they are the greenest manufacturer out there I believe...

[Maude]

It's not very green to have to send a van to pick it up and then send out another one if the first is damaged due to lack of protection ...... but I see what you're saying.
It's six of one, half a dozen of the other.

[Maude]

Just to add my Harley Benton EUB, at the cheapest of the cheap end of the scale, was sent in a huge box sandwiched between two moulded polystyrene slabs, that sucker wasn't going anywhere.

[apa]

Theres plenty of starch based degradable packaging around. Poor excuse if you ask me.

A

[Graham]

similarly, I can't help but think it mental a couple of grands worth of Dingwal only comes with a gigbag, for that money surley they could throw in a hardcase?

Edited August 4, 2013 by Graham

[bagsieblue]

yep - as Mart said, very surprised on the packaging front.
I also believe Euro Spectors come in just a cardboard box.

[tappel]

[size=4][font=Arial]Earlier this year, I bought a Lakland Skyline 44-64 Custom (Duck Dunn model). While I love the bass, it was fairly expensive for an Indonesian made instrument (1200 USD) and it was shipped without much else but the bass. No tools or case of any kind. It was packaged in a plastic bag inside of a cardboard case.[/font]

[font=Arial]For perspective, a US Fender P costs slightly less and ships with a molded hard case, truss rod and bridge adjustment tools, as well as a fairly comprehensive owners manual.[/font]

[font=Arial]Tom[/font][/size]

Edited August 4, 2013 by tappel

[Silvia Bluejay]

Hm, all the Warwick Rockbasses I've bought - all from Thomann - came inside a plastic bag with foam reinforcements on the vulnerable parts of the bass, placed inside a trapeze-shaped cardboard box containing additional cardboard blocks that prevented the bass shifting inside it, all inside a big rectangular Thomann box filled with reams of air-filled plastic bubbles. Isn't that enough?

As Maude says, the super-cheapo Harley Benton EUB came in a cardboard box with moulded polystyrene innards. Dunno about him, but I had huge problems trying to recycle the damn thing (I failed - in the end I had to call the council to collect it).

[Telebass]

My Warwick Alien came in a very nice gig bag and the standard triangular box, direct from Markneukirken. While it is a very good gig bag, and it arrived safe and sound, I also expected a hardcase for the top-of-the-line instrument. It did come with plenty of tools and documentation.
Although a more difficult prospect for an acoustic instrument, at £1500 a hard case should surely be the norm.

[mart]

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1375635249' post='2163705']
Could well be minimal packaging due to their Green Policy, they are the greenest manufacturer out there I believe...
[/quote]
I can't help thinking a greener option would be to ship it in some sort of recyclable packaging, you know, some sort of packaging you could re-use. Like a padded gig bag, or hard case.

tappel mentioned that US Fenders come in a moulded hard case, and their RRP is much less than £1500.

There is an argument that says there's no point giving away a case or bag because many/most customers will want a different sort of case or bag. For example, if you buy a top of the range Warwick, you get a flight case that probably affords a lot of protection. But also weighs about the same as my car, and so is completely unusable for me. I'd have preferred a gigbag, but I'm sure others would object to a gigbag, and would want the flight case.

Edited August 5, 2013 by mart

[BigRedX]

I should point out that the bass in question in the OP is on special offer at roughly 1/3 it's original list price, so it's hardly surprising (to me) that it doesn't come with a case. Besides both the appropriate gig bag and flight case options are listed with item codes on the product page for the bass.

I think that mart is right in his last post that customers will all have different case requirements. Some will be happy with a gig bag while others will want a hard case and a few will require a proper full flight case. Some might require more than one case option depending on how they are going to be transporting the instrument.

You could argue that a gig bag should come as standard and then the customer can upgrade to something more heavy duty should they require it. However IME the vast majority of instrument manufacturer branded gig bags are largely unfit for doing more than protecting the bass from drizzle as you transport it the short distance from the back seat of your car into the venue. They don't have any real padding and are uncomfortable to wear on your back for more than a minute or two. They don't even meet the standards for protection and carrying comfort that the average Ritter gig bag provides let alone something decent like a Mono case.

If it's your only bass then buying a suitable case for your needs is probably a good idea. However many of us here only several basses and several cases to go with them. I have a vast stack of cases of various sizes and levels of protection from gig bags that are little better than a canvas sack with straps to fully armoured and padded flight cases, and I never need to use more than three at any one time. I'll only look for another case if a new bass comes without one and doesn't fit any of my existing cases.

[mart]

BRX is right about the bass being on special offer, so in a sense it feels churlish to complain. But it still cost more than the last new Fender I bought, which came with a hardcase, and more than the last new Gibson I bought, which came with a gigbag. Besides, it's not as if the Starbass used to come with a gigbag or case and this was taken out when Thomann knocked the price down. So I think the sale price is actually a bit of a red herring here.

Just out of interest, BRX, how do you store your basses? Are they on stands? Cos I keep most of my instruments in a case, so I actually find I need (or at least want) a case for every single instrument I own.

Edited August 5, 2013 by mart

[BigRedX]

The basses and guitars that get used regularly are out on stands so when feel like it I can pick them up and play them, the rest are in cases. I have enough spare cases to allow me to transport all the basses that I use at gigs either in good quality gig bags or proper hard cases depending on what transport I'm using.

TBH out of the very many instrument manufacturer branded gig bags I've owned only two have been of a good enough quality to consider actually using to transport the instrument to a gig or rehearsal, and they were both for basses with a retail price of over £1000. In fact the only guitar or bass that I've ever bought that had a list price of under £1000 and came with what I consider to be a usable case is the Hallmark Wing-Bat guitar and that's a weird shape so it wouldn't fit securely in any non-cutom case that I am aware of.

[bagsieblue]

Mart and I have exchanged some PM's on this as we both took the plunge on the beautiful Warwick Star Bass. I swore I would never buy a new bass again but at the price they were at it was too good to refuse for a Warwick lover like me.

Although I love the bass I was disappointed with the packaging and the extra's / 'candy' supplied with the bass.
Bear in mind that this was being knocked out at a normal street price of c£1500.

The bass comes in a triangular cardboard box, a small amount of polystryrene and then in a plastic bag type thing.
I think it is nice for a prodcut to be 'presented' in its packing on unboxing.
Also, the bass also comes with a cut down version of the Warwick User Pack, a little pouch rather than the A4 wallet type thing - although I assume this is standard on the MIK Pro Series.

Put it this way, I also recently picked up one of the £47.00 Westfield Pink P Basses to have as my back up when gigging.
This was packed / presented better than the Warwick!

There are two areas we are talking about here.

1 - Should a bass costing xxxx pound also come with a gig bag or hard case?
2- Is the packaging sufficent - although my Star Bass came with no issues from inadequate packaging I would be amazed that others have not been easily damaged - especially for a hollow body guitar.

Oh, did I say it's a fantastic bass?? - I've been looking for a Warwick with more thump - looks like I've found it.

[BigRedX]

I've ordered one too - the 5-string version. I'll reserve comments on the packaging for transport until I've seen how mine arrives (BTW how long did it take from order to receipt?). As for the case, I always assume that unless it says that an instrument comes with a case in the description, that all I'll be getting is the instrument itself.

Regarding the "user pack" what do you get against what you should get with a MiG Warwick? I can't seen what else I would need other than the instrument itself. It's not like it's a synth that's going to be unusable without a full owners manual (and no high-tech gear I've ever bought has come with any kind of case whatever the price). In the past when I've received freebies such as leads, straps, picks and gig bags only a very few have IMO been of sufficient quality to actually use in a serious gigging situation.

I've never bought a Warwick bass before. The Star Bass is the only one that I actually like the design of - although I may have to get a luthier to do something about the seriously fugly headstock design, if it turns out to be a bass I'm going to use a lot and in public.

[mart]

I ordered mine on a Tuesday (or perhaps Monday night) and it arrived Friday morning of the same week.

Yes, I wasn't assuming there'd be a case. Like you, I assume there won't be one unless they explicitly say there will. So no surprise there, just a bit of disappointment.

The MiG Warwicks come with a folder containing a manual with details on what the electrics do, and how to adjust truss-rod and bridge, a cleaning cloth, a tin of wax, a truss-rod adjuster, Allen keys for adjusting the bridge/saddle, strap locks and, for the neck-through models only I think, a spare set of strings. Oh and you get a leaflet about the Warwick/Framus museum, but I guess you can also get those in the local tourist office.

Oh, and a cuddly toy. *

I was wondering if you were going to recarve the headstock, as I know your opinion of the big W paddle. I would love to see what shape you go for!

* no, not really, I was just channelling Bruce Forsyth on the Generation Game.

[tauzero]

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1375635892' post='2163718']
Just to add my Harley Benton EUB, at the cheapest of the cheap end of the scale, was sent in a huge box sandwiched between two moulded polystyrene slabs, that sucker wasn't going anywhere.
[/quote]

I bought a new Palatino EUB (the Harley Benton is a rebadged Palatino) which was sent in a huge box sandwiched between two moulded polystyrene slabs. The neck was broken off. So it's not perfect protection...

[Musicman20]

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1375635249' post='2163705']
Could well be minimal packaging due to their Green Policy, they are the greenest manufacturer out there I believe...
[/quote]

I call it tight....I also dislike high end maunfacturers giving you a cheap gig bag with a £3000 bass. Ridiculous.

[Maude]

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1375707078' post='2164495']
I bought a new Palatino EUB (the Harley Benton is a rebadged Palatino) which was sent in a huge box sandwiched between two moulded polystyrene slabs. The neck was broken off. So it's not perfect protection...
[/quote]

But the polystyrene slabs were better protection than the polythene bag the OPs Warwick came in, which was my point.
You can package something all you want but you can't counteract the actions of an idiot courier.
Telebass' new Bareface cab turned up with a hole right through the side of it from a forklift fork I seem to remember.
Sometimes a reinforced steel case won't be enough.

Edited August 5, 2013 by Maude

[Musicman20]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1375692578' post='2164224']
I should point out that the bass in question in the OP is on special offer at roughly 1/3 it's original list price, so it's hardly surprising (to me) that it doesn't come with a case. Besides both the appropriate gig bag and flight case options are listed with item codes on the product page for the bass.

[/quote]

I love those Star basses...where are the deals?

Cheers

[BigRedX]

At Thomann:

[url=http://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_ps_star_bass_5_gold_metallic.htm]Here for the 5-string[/url], [url=http://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_ps_star_bass_4_gold_fretless.htm]here for the 4-string fretless[/url] and [url=http://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_ps_star_bass_5_daphneb_stock.htm]here for an even cheaper B-stock 5-string[/url].

[mart]

Or, if you want a black one and I don't mind paying a little extra, and ignoring any ethical concerns at this business's recent history, try DV247: http://www.dv247.com/guitars/warwick-pro-series-starbass-4-bass-guitar-black--107314

[Musicman20]

Thanks. I'd love that gold 5er!

How much are they normally? Any comments on how good they are yet?

[4 Strings]

Manufacturers won't want basses being damaged in transit and so if more packaging was required, they'd do it. If it's not needed, packaging is a waste of resources. Just because something is expensive doesn't mean resources should be wasted on it.

If the bass was safe, I can't see what the issue is, even if the packaging was surprisingly simple.

If you're saying a bass of that price should come with a decent case, that's different.