stewblack Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 Well done, good luck and thank you. Hope to see you at the SW Bass bash this year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyb625 Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 In my opinion, £850 for a British made bass (or guitar) is good value. Good luck with it, I hope it works out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 2 hours ago, Chownybass said: Ok. It's time to talk about what things cost. We've put our prices up to reflect the new UK manufacturing and have already had several angry emails from potential customers. So I want to address a few things. The cost of manufacturing in the East Even if we'd kept our manufacturing in India, our prices would probably have gone up 30%. This is due to the cost of wood going up. Shipping prices skyrocketing. Import Duties (we used to get our instruments tariff free on an EU trade deal. That's now gone). And just simply the factory in India raising their price. So although our new 60% price increase seems a massive jump. It's two jumps in one. One of which we were already absorbing. The sustainability of manufacturing in the East First - it's a bit wanky - but it's not too environmentally friendly shipping guitars all over the world by ship. Ships are massive polluters. It's not a great idea. But even that aside - all the manufacturing capacity at the Indian / Indonesian / Korean manufacturers is being bought up by the big boys. Smaller manufacturers like us were being pushed to the back of the queue ALL the time. They're just not interested in manufacturing for us. A move to the UK We know that if the ONLY thing we're offering for the increased price is that it's made here - then people are going to see that for what it is. So we are taking advantage of the fact that we can now work more closely and flexibly with a UK factory to squeeze in some improvements. Chambering / Weight Relief, Boutique Woods, Better Finish, Carbon reinforcement in all necks, Blind Fretting, Rolled Edges on Fretboards, Better parts. ALL of these are included in our price increases. So you're getting a lot for our money. Come along on the journey with us. We KNOW we are going to lose sales. Spending £850 on a bass is a lot more than £530 on a bass. We are not worried however about where we sit in the market. It's a totally fair price for what you're getting. Our confidence in the market on the whole is a bigger concern. Higher bills, national insurance and inflation makes us worry that people might not have the money to buy a bass. But it is what it is. Come on a journey with us while we build a proper UK build bass brand. It's going to be fun! Thanks for letting me ramble. Just to say, you absolutely do NOT need to defend selling a UK built bass for £850, at all. And I would market the hell out of the fact that its built here and supporting our economy. You're levelling up, no not everyone can level up with you, but if you can't afford over £500 for a bass, you can't really afford a UK built bass. Simple as that really. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 Oh and, be it a poor reflection on me and any snobbiness contained within or otherwise, the fact they're built in the UK has put them on my radar, when perhaps they weren't before. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyb625 Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 1 minute ago, Kev said: Oh and, be it a poor reflection on me and any snobbiness contained within or otherwise, the fact they're built in the UK has put them on my radar, when perhaps they weren't before. I'm exactly the same. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 Given the price of the Maruszczyk line, by way of a First World production comparison, I think you're doing fine, by quite some margin. Do I wish the Chowny range was cheaper, but still retaining the quality? Of course, but one has to be realistic about these things. I see from an earlier picture you had a '51 style P bass at the Liverpool show, if you see the way forward to including more cloned/inspired by basses, can I put in a shout for a 32", modern P or P/J type? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 I doubt whether there are any other UK-made basses under £1k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FDC484950 Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 1 hour ago, Kev said: Oh and, be it a poor reflection on me and any snobbiness contained within or otherwise, the fact they're built in the UK has put them on my radar, when perhaps they weren't before. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being proud that something is manufactured in the UK. Given the way things are going it looks like we will need to rely a lot more on UK made stuff. And we used to have (and still have) many fine bass guitar builders here 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FDC484950 Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 4 hours ago, Chownybass said: The sustainability of manufacturing in the East First - it's a bit wanky - but it's not too environmentally friendly shipping guitars all over the world by ship. Ships are massive polluters. It's not a great idea. But even that aside - all the manufacturing capacity at the Indian / Indonesian / Korean manufacturers is being bought up by the big boys. Smaller manufacturers like us were being pushed to the back of the queue ALL the time. They're just not interested in manufacturing for us. This is a very good point. Shipping anything halfway across the world by sea is bad news. Container ships are the biggest transport polluter in the world. They run largely unregulated enormous, archaic engines on cheaper bunker fuel (basically the crap left over when producing oil and it’s derivatives) and a single large container ship going back and forth between the Far East and UK for a year generates the same amount of pollution as 50 million cars! Anything we can do to reduce goods being shipped long distance will really help. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 2 hours ago, Matt P said: all i need to do know is start saving my pennies and decide which one i want! Oh that's easy.... a CHB-2 in sapphire burst. I have more difficulty deciding what I want for dinner. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, Rich said: Oh that's easy.... a CHB-2 in sapphire burst. I have more difficulty deciding what I want for dinner. the sapphire burst is a top choice, i think i'd go for the CHB-1 as I generally prefer short scale basses. there was a photo earlier of one of the tops without any finish and it looked ace, so if there was a natural option that might swing it! Matt Edited April 7, 2022 by Matt P spelling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 1 hour ago, Rich said: Oh that's easy.... a CHB-2 in sapphire burst. I have more difficulty deciding what I want for dinner. Stop showing me photos of those! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raymondo Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 1 hour ago, Rich said: Oh that's easy.... a CHB-2 in sapphire burst. I have more difficulty deciding what I want for dinner. OMG.... I didn't think I did GAS! * Thinks * Which kidney can I spare? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 (edited) This topic has come at an unfortunate time, for me, as my finances are basically committed for the short/medium future. Despite this (and typically, concerning me..!), I'm seeing in these semi-acoustic basses the style I most affection, taking as a reference point my 'go-to' Hofner Verithin bass (and guitars...). It will take me a few months, maybe a little more, but a carefully-chosen tint of a Chowny bass will surely be coming to France to join my 'stable'. OK, I'm a drummer; so..? I can appreciate a fine instrument, too..! I've a couple of current affairs to settle, and will then embark on a 'piggy-bank' exercise. We'll see which exact colour closer to the time, but it's looking like a choice between Natural, 3-tone Sunburst or (tradition oblige...) Cherry. I've even a model... Edited April 7, 2022 by Dad3353 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 1 hour ago, Raymondo said: OMG.... I didn't think I did GAS! * Thinks * Which kidney can I spare? Given his, ahem, generous collection, I'm sure the Doctor could spare one for you? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 Maybe a green one? Anyway it's mostly, so I can fit a scratchplate to it and prove my point 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted April 8, 2022 Share Posted April 8, 2022 The new basses (and especially the new finishes!) look impressive. I've been intrigued by the SWB basses ever since first seeing one. Congrats on the big step up, and all the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinball Posted April 8, 2022 Share Posted April 8, 2022 Great to hear the updates on Chowny, I was very impressed with the NT bass when it came out a few years back. The CHB-2 looks a killer too. Good luck to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted April 8, 2022 Share Posted April 8, 2022 Is it just the CHB and SWB basses that are going to be made in the UK from now on? Is the Retrovibe range going to continue? Kinda had my eye on a Tony Butler Retrovibe as a nice modding platform - thinking of modding it into a Rick/Jazz/Wal hybrid by adding Herrick or Rautia multicoil pickups and a Lusithand filter preamp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shwnmdn Posted June 26, 2022 Share Posted June 26, 2022 I was wondering why the price hike when looking at the Chowny website, but this explains it and sounds very exciting. Congrats on the move! Given the features mentioned in this thread, the price sounds well worth it. Are there any plans to update the website with the new features of the standard model as well as details about the deluxe model? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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