Bouquet gear cash extraction.

[Roger2611]

She's almost as cute as Jessica Rabbit

[yorks5stringer]

"suited to a birds designer Italian Leather handbag"

How do they fly then....? I thought it was 2014(even in Leeds) but maybe I'm mistaken?

[discreet]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1417870071' post='2624703']
...if you have nothing nice to say then say nothing at all, of course I took no notice and that's why I am disliked by everyone on here.
[/quote]

Fixed it for you.

[discreet]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1417868750' post='2624681']
and you mean boutique rather than bouquet but never mind!
[/quote]

I prefer bouquet equipment myself. It smells nicer.

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1417979219' post='2625713']


Fixed it for you.
[/quote]
Thats unfair, I think there is maybe two or three people out of all the thousands that likes me, lol

[mcnach]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1417979495' post='2625717']
Thats unfair, I think there is maybe two or three people out of all the thousands that likes me, lol
[/quote]

Nah, that was before you ditched the Stingray for a Fender

[Billy Apple]

There might be a lot of high priced gear out there, but there are also companies like Greenboy/fEarful who will give you all the plans and instructions for free and all you have to do is buy the bits.

Talkbass members seem to rate this stuff and it seems akin to Barefaced, so there are alternatives out there.

http://greenboy.us/fEARful/#earfuls

Edited December 7, 2014 by Billy Apple

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1417979760' post='2625721']


Nah, that was before you ditched the Stingray for a Fender
[/quote]
says precision boy....lol

[discreet]

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1417979941' post='2625723']
Talkbass members seem to rate this stuff and it seems akin to Barefaced, so there are alternatives out there.
[/quote]

There certainly are. Don't forget Bill Fitzmaurice. I still have my BFM J12 cabs and they're great...
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/105476-first-build-bfm-j12-check-it-out/page__hl__bfm%20jack%2012"]http://basschat.co.u...bfm%20jack%2012[/url]

Edited December 7, 2014 by discreet

[dave_bass5]

I do agree with the topic of this thread, but I really don't care if someone does spend over the odds, and think they are getting value for money by doing it. It's thier money and if it makes them happy good for them.
If I had loads of spare cash I'd buy expensive basses, but be under no illusion why I'm doing it. Its a want, pure and simple.

The Emperor didn't just have new clothes, he also got a new rig and some basses as well :-).

[discreet]

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1417990063' post='2625855']
The Emperor didn't just have new clothes, he also got a new rig and some basses as well :-).
[/quote]

The Fodera Emperor, presumably. Arf, arf.

[mcnach]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1417981148' post='2625728']
says precision boy....lol
[/quote]

snitch!

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1418005478' post='2625960']


snitch!
[/quote]
Ha what should we do with all our money we have saved on batteries?

[gelfin]

[quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1417958689' post='2625409']
She's almost as cute as Jessica Rabbit
[/quote]

We'll have to differ on that one.

[JTUK]

A £3k bass direct from the luthier should be one hell of a bass, as you aren't having to pay retail costs...
The luthier should make a profit but he doesn't have to factor in 30% or so to a shop/distributor.
If that bass isn't waaaay better than some production bass you've brought for the same ballpark money,
you have really gone to the wrong guy...and badly, IMO.

When I had my first bass made, I told the luthier what I had looked at, and he said there was no doubt
he would make me a better bass..and he was 110% right. Now, these could only just be words from
some makers and that is where your homework comes in.

[mcnach]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1418044555' post='2626211']
Ha what should we do with all our money we have saved on batteries?
[/quote]

Keep it, for when we put a preamp on the Fenders

[CamdenRob]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1418204064' post='2627848']
A £3k bass direct from the luthier should be one hell of a bass, as you aren't having to pay retail costs...
The luthier should make a profit but he doesn't have to factor in 30% or so to a shop/distributor.
[/quote]

Similarly though a small luthier making a limited number of instruments a year would not have the buying power or the means to mass produce parts in cost effictive way like the large maunfacturers... If everything is being made by hand the whole process is more labour intensive and therefore more expensive.... Of course whether you think the end product is worth that additional cost is subjective.

Edited December 10, 2014 by CamdenRob

[skej21]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1418206431' post='2627879']


Similarly though a small luthier making a limited number of instruments a year would not have the buying power or the means to mass produce parts in cost effictive way like the large maunfacturers... If everything is being made by hand the whole process is more labour intensive and therefore more expensive.... Of course whether you think the end product is worth that additional cost is subjective.
[/quote]

Yup. And much bigger companies don't have to worry about import charges. The majority of popular exotic woods would need to be imported into the UK or the US and bigger companies can produce more instruments and soak up the costs involved with importing woods than an independant luthier. Its not as clear cut as 'luthier is better'... theres only one person who can tell you which route is better for you!

[CamdenRob]

[quote name='skej21' timestamp='1418207046' post='2627888']
Yup. And much bigger companies don't have to worry about import charges. The majority of popular exotic woods would need to be imported into the UK or the US and bigger companies can produce more instruments and soak up the costs involved with importing woods than an independant luthier. Its not as clear cut as 'luthier is better'... theres only one person who can tell you which route is better for you!
[/quote]

Yes that too... I'm sure there are a host of additional costs a small producer would incur compared to a massive multinational instrument manufacturer.

[JTUK]

Luthiers wont import the woods..they will go to a company who specialise in that.
They may also ( hopefully ) subscribe to an ethical policy... and that may even be law, but mostly you are paying
for a one-off customised hand crafted instrument.
I've had 3 and they've always delighted me in a way other production basses just can't..

[skej21]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1418207589' post='2627895']
Luthiers wont import the woods..they will go to a company who specialise in that.
They may also ( hopefully ) subscribe to an ethical policy... and that may even be law, but mostly you are paying
for a one-off customised hand crafted instrument.
I've had 3 and they've always delighted me in a way other production basses just can't..
[/quote]

Yes but the company the luthier will go to for the wood will add the importing costs of the woods into their prices. That's the point. Someone, somewhere along the line will pay that cost and a big corporation like Yamaha or Fender or Gibson can absorb it a lot easier than an independent wood specialist selling to a handful of luthiers, producing small numbers of basses.

That why a lot of 'cheap' manufacturing is done in Indonesia, as there are a lot of exotic woods that are indigenous to Indonesia and the guitar can be produced with woods without importing the wood at a cost before exporting it and it incurring import charges upon arrival in the next country.

Luthiers MAY be able to produce a nicer quality bass but you'll pay a premium for it. Some people don't like that. Also, that's not always true. I have seen, first hand, a lot of basses from UK luthiers that mostly go for £2k + and I can honestly say that I've only ever found that one of those custom builder's products to be consistantly worth the money.

I don't want to get into who as most of them are active on here and I don't want to offend or affect anyone as a result of my opinion but I've played production line Ibanez basses for £800-1000 that have been better quality than some of the custom build £2k+ UK builds.

It's about what YOU want to spend your money on and what you judge as good quality. There isn't a sweepin generalisation that is the 'right' answer for everyone. It might have been total luck that the Ibanez I played was loads better than the X custom built UK bass I played. You might have a totally opposing experience and spend your money on something else instead. That's fair enough. But there isn't a blanket answer that 'luthier is best'... It's not science. It's subjective opinion.

Edited December 10, 2014 by skej21

[CamdenRob]

[quote name='skej21' timestamp='1418212070' post='2627958']
I've played production line Ibanez basses for £800-1000 that have been better quality than some of the custom build £2k+ UK builds.
[/quote]

It's a funny thing with Ibanez isn't it... Some of their higher end stuff is magnificent and would go head to head with basses four times the price and I have no idea how they produce the lower end stuff to such a high quality for the price point... guess they are just unfashionable or maybe seen as metal basses... no problem there though, bargains to be had! especially secondhand.

[JTUK]

Of course you'll pay a premium for it..... and you wont get those finishes on a production bass
as the whole point of those process is that that element of expense is stripped out.

[Kiwi]

The price of exotic and decorative wood has shot up since 2009. Jon Shuker told me that the slab of flame maple I was using on the BACK of the bass I was building cost £400. I remember bagging a piece of even nicer quilted maple back in 2003 for less than £100. Jon sources most of his wood through an importer though, I got mine straight from the bloke that chopped the tree down.

[Conan]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1417979282' post='2625715']
I prefer bouquet equipment myself.
[/quote]

Like this top keyboard?





It's a higher synth.....