valenti basses.....question!

[ebenezer]

Just wondering, does Nino(Anthony Valenti) make his own necks and bodies
for his wonderful basses?....or does he use outside suppliers as per early
sadowsky basses...warmoth I think, and build them kit form.

[NJE]

The last I remember reading on Talkbass, Nino was using subcontractors to CNC his bodies and necks. This is not rare, Sadowsky use contractors to CNC necks and bodies, and as far as I know so do Lakland, and Mike Lull. I have read in the past that USA Custom Guitars make parts for a lot of people [url="http://www.usacustomguitars.com/"]http://www.usacustomguitars.com/[/url]

There is a statement from Roger Sadowsky about the subcontractor 'issue' some people have. He chose not to invest in hand making bodies and a CNC machine was a big outlay, so he and I guess builders like Mike Lull concentrate on the high quality hand finishing, set-up and quality control.

No bad thing in my opinion, as long as the woods are good who cares what monkey pushes the 'go' button on the CNC machine when you have someone like Valenti, Sadowsky or Lull doing the final detailing.

[chris_b]

+1

There's a thread on Talkbass about this at the moment.

Some people seem to think that outsourcing various manufacturing processes makes for a "poorer" quality product and that the only good way is to make everything yourself. That view shows a lack of knowledge of the process. Outsourcing components to skilled manufacturers is a tried and trusted method employed by most manufacturers from cars to computers and, if done properly, can guarantee better quality. The components we are talking about here are of a much higher quality than Warmoth parts

Most companies make "parts" basses to one degree or another. How many make their own bridges and tuners for a start? GUS is the only one I know of. A large company might get their components from the same factory but there is more pressure on outside companies to provide a better quality service because they know you can go somewhere else. There isn't the same edge when supplying internally. If your guys made a poor body the pressure is on for you to use it because to throw it away is your business expense. If this process is outsourced then the rejected part is only a cost to the supplier.

I've seen this in action, having worked in several big IT companies.

It's the same with made in the USA, which Americans get very exercised about versus Far East production. The Chinese can make anything. How much the West wants to pay them to do it is the main problem regarding variable quality.

[ebenezer]

Thanks for the information, assuming, as you say, the wood and build is excellent,
it is no bad thing.