alittlebitrobot Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 (edited) I've recently posted a thread in the 'wanted' section (this is the last time I'll mention it) [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/215574-ibanez-sr506-w-maple-fretboard/"]http://basschat.co.u...aple-fretboard/[/url] If you want to skip the link, the gist of it is I'm looking for an sr506 with the maple fretboard but I can't find one in Europe.This is apparently a deliberate choice by Ibanez. Now, at this point, I think I'm just going to give up and buy the much more readily available rosewood fb version. I know I've only been looking for a couple of weeks but there is a notable lack of this version even in expired second-hand eBay auctions and old 'buy and sell' sections of European websites (such as this one). Also, just to check, I've looked at eBays around the world and America is the only place that the maple fb model seems to occur. I emailed Thomann about it and they said that version was never sold in Europe. The thing is, even if I can't get one, I'm still curious about this. Why is it that certain models (not specifically the sr506 or even Ibanez) have these geographic limitations? Does anybody know or, if not, does anybody feel like having a bit of a reckon? [sup](edit: slightly concerned about my own marketing strategy now. This thread title may not be the most enticing one this forum has ever seen.)[/sup] Edited August 28, 2013 by alittlebitrobot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbird88 Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 (edited) I've experienced this with Ibanez myself (I'm certain they aren't the only ones however), at one time I was looking for an Ibanez SRA555 which was never marketed over here, could only find them in American shops or eBay from America, and I think there was also an SRZ model in addition to the SRs and SRXs which was also US only. The SRA had the higher output of the SRX, a slightly slimmer neck much like the normal SRs and an arched top to the body, real meaty looking beast. Not sure why the marketing strategy is the way it is, only that it's extremely annoying when it happens. I'd suggest it's to do with potential loss of profits. It's much less impactive to ship say 5 in 100 to the US, when the sheer size of the country means they shift a hell of a lot more models. Or maybe it's used as a trial period for something they aren't sure of, but they find it not profitable enough to ship it here. Not sure I explained myself very well there, but at least I tried, haha. Edited August 30, 2013 by Blackbird88 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 IME in the days of international shopping via the internet it's not that much of a problem anymore. And TBH before the internet showed us some instruments were only available in some countries we were mostly blissful in our ignorance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbird88 Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 It's not a problem if there's a variant in the UK you can test drive, but when there are almost none of an entire model in the UK shops it becomes a real pain in the ass. Which is less common but still happens. For example, I believe there's no Warwick dealer left in the UK as it stands, only the rockbass instruments are available new I believe. Fortunately in that case there's a plethora of s/h instruments available for trying and buying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 A few years ago I went on a tour of the Becks factory in Bremen. In Germany, Becks make quite a few different variants of Lager, and one in particular, Becks Gold, was most delicious. I asked them if they had any plans to sell it in the UK and the response I got was "no, the only people who would buy it drink Becks anyway, so there's no point...". Perhaps there's something similar with these brands/basses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/d-c-fix%C2%AE-Plastic-adhesive-Woodgrain-346-8219/dp/B005ELO650"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/d-c-fix%C2%AE-Plastic-adhesive-Woodgrain-346-8219/dp/B005ELO650[/url] - sorted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alittlebitrobot Posted August 31, 2013 Author Share Posted August 31, 2013 [quote name='Norris' timestamp='1377865937' post='2192958'] [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/d-c-fix%C2%AE-Plastic-adhesive-Woodgrain-346-8219/dp/B005ELO650"]http://www.amazon.co...9/dp/B005ELO650[/url] - sorted [/quote] Well now I feel like an idiot for not thinking of that. That's all my problems solved for 9.49 +p&p Thanks for your replies, everyone. The general idea seems to be that's just willful scarcity. ...Strange. They must think there's something inherently anti-maple about Europeans. @BigRedX: I know it's easy enough to get the thing shipped but my problem is that trans-Atlantic shipping plus import charges will bring the cost of a 700 dollar bass up to about 1000 dollars. That's about 700GBP/800Euro and, if I'm going to spend that much on a bass, I'd want something more than an sr506. It's just a (admittedly mild) frustration at the fact that there are sr506s around here, and lots of them, but Ibanez couldn't see the point in throwing a few of the maple fb versions into the crates bound for Europe. The other thing is, I just [i]know [/i]the day I give up and buy a rosewood 506 I'll get an email alert from eBay with somebody nearby selling their maple one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellyfish Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 I have one to add to the pile as well. Following a catastrophe with an Ibanez BTB 475, I was adamant that I wanted the Ibanez 575. It had appeared on their website and was due for release within a decent time frame. It turns out that it was only available in America and it was one of the loveliest BTB's they make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 Ibanez has been doing this a lot, annoyingly. Many ATK-versions have been sold exclusively in the US (there even was a USA-made ATK with a tension-free neck made by Dave Bunker - and an RG too), but there have also been models strictly for Europe. To stay with the ATK: they never sold Japanese-made ATK's in the USA, only Korean and Indonesian models, whereas here in Europe we had Japanese ATK300's and 305's. In a trans black finish, that wasn't available in the US where they primarily sold them in Amber - which wasn't available here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alittlebitrobot Posted August 31, 2013 Author Share Posted August 31, 2013 Aha, I didn't realise Ibanez had such a history of this. My fingerboard concern seems so trivial compared to differences in quality of construction. Very odd. Thanks for the info, LeftyJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybertect Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 Probably a fairly decent explanation here http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/3552246-post4.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alittlebitrobot Posted August 31, 2013 Author Share Posted August 31, 2013 Thanks, Cybertect! That's really helpful, but disappointing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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