Feasibility of setting up a custom build business. Interest?

[Bassybert]

To add to the other comments here, you’ll also need your product details/photography on point to give you the best possible chance of getting a sale. 
 

I know from personal experience when looking at bitsa builds, if someone’s got crappy photos I’m out as I don’t have anything else to go on, no historic reputation etc to know I’m getting value for my money

 

Just my 2 pence worth.

[basexperience]

On 01/09/2025 at 10:54, NancyJohnson said:

Over the last year or so, I've built/customised a handful of parts basses for both myself and a couple of other people; as I've kind of fallen into an early retirement situation, I'm wondering whether it's feasible to actually set up/invest in a business of sorts creating basses. 

 

These would largely be Fender-esque, I can source parts easily enough; I have a local paint shop that have said they can pretty much do any type of finished paint job (clear/matte/gloss/metal fake etc.).

 

I'd not be looking to make huge £££ - obviously there'd be a build/labour fee, but it's more just to keep my idle hands busy.  I know I'm good at this and it's just a waste of my time doing nothing.  

 

Would anyone be interested?

Interesting idea! I've built a bits jazz myself, from a rescued eBay AllParts body (a beautiful sunburst some guy had tried to mount everything on 3 times, including the bridge - took some fixing, but it's a gorgeous body) and a Warmoth ebony fretless neck I bought nearly 30 years ago, which had been languishing on a terrible Hohner body for years. Slapped in a pair of Squier jazz pickups I found and it sounds lovely, so I know where you're coming from - I actually repainted the Hohner body when I fitted the neck to it, just rattle can but it was a nice shade of midnight metallic blue.

 

I've read some of the responses here and one of the ones which struck me as a good point was the sheer number of fender type basses out there you can get - and Squiers, too. I wondered if there might be any challenge / fun in finding a "good" chickenbacker from e.g. AliExpress, then upgrading it with better parts (making sure the basses were through necks, or whatever) - using the bass as a starting point. I understand some vendors do sell kits, as well, unpainted.

 

You'd have to sell in places like Fakenbackers on Facebook, and you wouldn't be able to list here, unfortunately (IIRC)... they have other fake basses too though, there could be a USP in taking e.g. fake Dingwalls and making them far better basses. Could be fun finding out how to do things like round out sharp fret ends, improve neck condition, even finishing the kits, I guess.

 

It is fun putting bits together and getting something playable out, no doubt. I'll probably do the same when I retire (when I'm not gigging)! 

[uk_lefty]

On 01/09/2025 at 15:45, Dad3353 said:

As to a 'speciality' : may I suggest that we see a lot of folk disappointed that 'such and such' a model is not available in 'lefty' format. Maybe it could be an option to 'clone' a 'righty' bass into a lefty version, if a lefty player said what he/she would be interested in..? Just an idea.

It's a good idea but in the last fifteen to twenty years we have been better looked after, with Fender doing a Mexican P bass and Sire doing everything! 

 

There have been a few sellers I've noticed that do this kind of thing. There was one on eBay doing nice Fender shaped stuff but they were having around a long time before selling, there's also someone in Japan who bolts together unique basses made from the usable bits of old knackered ones. Thing is it's a gamble buying one of these. So I guess if you're looking for the USP in selling bitsas for me it would be the personal touch in design consultation and instrument handover that would make the sale, rather than seeing a nice picture online. I built a fantastic looking PJ bass bitsa myself with good quality bits but it just didn't ever feel right to me, so you're playing it down by saying it's just screwing some bits together, that all important finishing and set up is the real value! 

[Kiwi]

11 hours ago, itu said:

No worries, Sir. I would love to see your necks available in bigger amounts. Status no longer exists, but @Kiwi does! 

Well, baby steps for now.  We are still establishing but none of it would be possible without the trust of those who put deposits down for the first batch of necks.  So Im incredibly grateful for their support.  I'll find a way of better recognising them at some point.

[Wolverinebass]

I'll happily test something out and I'm always honest with reviews. 

 

I guess the question is, how custom is custom? Are we just doing some minor tweaks to say a Fender or suchlike, or is it, literally anything goes in terms of mods? Pickup routing, circuit replacement? Or is it, a small choice of of body shapes, mods, woods and parts?

 

Any of those things are fine, it's just good to know where it's all going to land and I appreciate that it's all speculation at the moment.

[fretmeister]

A sensible approach might be to make one or two along the lines of what you might offer for sale and then relay it round your favourite BC people to get their thoughts before they are returned to you to consider any improvements suggested.

 

That approach worked for Paul Reed Smith - he drove round to shops and gigs with a pair of his first guitars to drum up interest, but I bet he had several versions before being happy enough to sneak into a Santana show to get him to see one.

 

So - a couple of examples for trusted people to try, then if all is well see if the UK youtubers would be interested in doing a quick video. That's probably the modern equivalent of PRS' approach.

[NancyJohnson]

Reading all the comments here, I figure it's probably simpler to just do the odd build as and when I'm called upon.  

 

By and large anything that I'd have been doing would primarily be Fender-based, as the parts are fairly plentiful and I could easily buy in the stuff I'd need.  I would have been able to offer custom routing/electronics along with a custom paint options, although these would have been solid/flake as opposed to sunbursts.  

 

A few years back I had a short conversation with a guy that was close to Mike Lull; he mentioned that a lot of the work behind creating their basses was outsourced to external businesses and the magic only happened when the parts went back to Lull for assembly/set up.  I'll admit (despite owning a pair of Lull basses) this didn't sit so well with me, but hey-ho, they're great instruments and needs must, I suppose.

[Chiliwailer]

28 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

 

A few years back I had a short conversation with a guy that was close to Mike Lull; he mentioned that a lot of the work behind creating their basses was outsourced to external businesses and the magic only happened when the parts went back to Lull for assembly/set up.  I'll admit (despite owning a pair of Lull basses) this didn't sit so well with me, but hey-ho, they're great instruments and needs must, I suppose.

Funny you say that; when I was looking at Warmoth I noticed their P Bass easy access neck heals looked liked a Lull, plus the 21 fret ramp is the same, and they are pretty close geographically, so wondered if they did parts for him… 🤔

 

I’ve had 4 Lull basses, 1 was exceptional but the other 3 just very good, which is a concern now they are £3-4K

Edited 5 hours ago by Chiliwailer

[Chiliwailer]

And I did wonder if the Lull M4V is the Warmoth smaller Jazz body, but couldn’t be arsed to look and compare. 
 

Anyways, we met Mike and he was cool, and his basses feel amazing, so just saying. 

[itu]

If you have two bodies, few @Kiwi necks, few pickups, and two electronics, there are already LOTS of choices. Add a painting and hardware scheme, and we can talk about a custom. 

 

A SHELL yellow P body (chambered or light swamp ash), an unlined MM neck, a J bridge and a humbucker neck with coil-tap, black hardware, V/B/T/B. Where to find one? Available in 3 months? I could seriously consider one. If @NancyJohnson sources pickup routings, I could source electronics and pickups myself. 

[NancyJohnson]

2 hours ago, Chiliwailer said:

Funny you say that; when I was looking at Warmoth I noticed their P Bass easy access neck heals looked liked a Lull, plus the 21 fret ramp is the same, and they are pretty close geographically, so wondered if they did parts for him… 🤔

 

I’ve had 4 Lull basses, 1 was exceptional but the other 3 just very good, which is a concern now they are £3-4K

 

I've got two - a JAXT4 - which I've seen similar on Reverb for £10K+ and an NRT5 (a Thunderbird NR) with an oversized body.  God knows how much this would sell for.  He only made two.

 

 

[Beedster]

2 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

Reading all the comments here, I figure it's probably simpler to just do the odd build as and when I'm called upon.  

 

By and large anything that I'd have been doing would primarily be Fender-based, as the parts are fairly plentiful and I could easily buy in the stuff I'd need.  I would have been able to offer custom routing/electronics along with a custom paint options, although these would have been solid/flake as opposed to sunbursts.  

 

A few years back I had a short conversation with a guy that was close to Mike Lull; he mentioned that a lot of the work behind creating their basses was outsourced to external businesses and the magic only happened when the parts went back to Lull for assembly/set up.  I'll admit (despite owning a pair of Lull basses) this didn't sit so well with me, but hey-ho, they're great instruments and needs must, I suppose.

 

2 hours ago, Chiliwailer said:

Funny you say that; when I was looking at Warmoth I noticed their P Bass easy access neck heals looked liked a Lull, plus the 21 fret ramp is the same, and they are pretty close geographically, so wondered if they did parts for him… 🤔

 

I’ve had 4 Lull basses, 1 was exceptional but the other 3 just very good, which is a concern now they are £3-4K

 

2 hours ago, Chiliwailer said:

And I did wonder if the Lull M4V is the Warmoth smaller Jazz body, but couldn’t be arsed to look and compare. 
 

Anyways, we met Mike and he was cool, and his basses feel amazing, so just saying. 

 

Vintage Fenders that fetch massive cash are no more than bolted together 50-year old and off-the-shelf/run-off-the-mill components, and therein lies the opportunity and the challenge in this thread.

 

I've 'built' (in reality sourced, drilled, screwed together, soldered, and set-up) a lot of Fender-alike bits, at last count around 35 basses, most of which I've sold here. Some combinations were outstanding, they're the ones I sold (I've kept two but I'll sell them one day too), others were average, and some were dire. In most of the latter cases I deconstructed them and held on to the parts until I found combinations that worked (and I still have some bits that never worked.....). I love the process, so none of this was a problem for me. But unless you have a lot of parts - especially the wooden bits - when you take an order you won't know whether a combination works or doesn't ahead of time (which is why some Fender basses are magical and some are very much not). If Lull are using aftermarket parts, but through trial and error finding those that work together to produce outstanding instruments, then good on them it's a good business model because I rarely hear a bad word about them (and let's face it, Warmoth quality is significantly above Fender et al so the start point is solid). I have however had the misfortune of buying a lot of basses including eBay bitsas that despite being promising on paper were dire because people do not always go to that trouble (one particular seller who has a lot of bitsas for sale springs to mind). 

 

But to reiterate my earlier point, I've ALWAYS made a loss cobbling together and selling bitsas, I enjoy doing it, so it's a loss I'll take, and that there are over 30 basses out there in BC-land that I cobbled together makes me smile (I think I'm going to go back through my photos and put all of them in a single composite photo when I can find the time). But it takes a clever and very dedicated person to turn that model into a business. Easier to think of it as a form of bass altruism that costs relatively little in real terms. Less rewarding in cash terms but hugely rewarding in other ways 

[Beedster]

2 hours ago, Chiliwailer said:

I’ve had 4 Lull basses, 1 was exceptional but the other 3 just very good, which is a concern now they are £3-4K

 

I've owned several Fender Custom Shop basses that weren't very good but were in the same price range Dan. They looked great for sure, but they just didn't have that combination of playability, responsiveness, and core tone that says 'great bass' 

[Chiliwailer]

2 minutes ago, Beedster said:

 

I've owned several Fender Custom Shop basses that weren't very good but were in the same price range Dan. They looked great for sure, but they just didn't have that combination of playability, responsiveness, and core tone that says 'great bass' 

Yeah, I’ve had many a CS, but can hand in heart say that the CS basses were more consistently better in tone. I went to Bass Direct for an M4V and came home empty handed. Honestly, only one was a stunner tonally, but Lull’s do feel great and have a cool neck profile. I put the ‘good but not outstanding’ tone down to the chambered bodies, just as a best guess. 

[Chiliwailer]

7 minutes ago, Beedster said:

 

I've owned several Fender Custom Shop basses that weren't very good but were in the same price range Dan. They looked great for sure, but they just didn't have that combination of playability, responsiveness, and core tone that says 'great bass' 

Again, hand on heart, my Fender Std Jazz from 2015 sounded fuller than my M4V I had for all of about a week. Didn’t feel anywhere near as nice tough! 

[Beedster]

8 minutes ago, Chiliwailer said:

Yeah, I’ve had many a CS, but can hand in heart say that the CS basses were more consistently better in tone. I went to Bass Direct for an M4V and came home empty handed. Honestly, only one was a stunner tonally, but Lull’s do feel great and have a cool neck profile. I put the ‘good but not outstanding’ tone down to the chambered bodies, just as a best guess. 

 

I've never played a Lull so can't comment, but point taken Dan 👍

[Chiliwailer]

16 minutes ago, Beedster said:

 

I've owned several Fender Custom Shop basses that weren't very good but were in the same price range Dan. They looked great for sure, but they just didn't have that combination of playability, responsiveness, and core tone that says 'great bass' 

But yeah, totally agree how some CS disappoint as an overall package. Some feel spot on and like a vintage bass and sound great, others just feel so odd to me and come across quite soulless. I got lucky with my CS Jazz, genuinely reminds me of my old original. 

Edited 2 hours ago by Chiliwailer

[Chiliwailer]

1 minute ago, Beedster said:

 

I've never played a Lull so can't comment, but point taken Dan 👍

Man, they feel so comfy 👌

[Beedster]

Just now, Chiliwailer said:

But yeah, totally agree how some CS disappoint as an overall package. Some feel spot on and like a vintage bass and sound great, others just feel so odd to me and come across quite soulless. I got lucky with my Jazz, genuinely reminds me of my old original. 

 

At 3-4k luck should not come into it though. I know that if I buy a mid-top range Warmoth neck and body, a Lindy Fralin PUP, a @KiOgon circuit, Gotoh hardware and spend some time on setup - £1000 in total including import duty - I'll get a great Precision bass 95% of the time. Frankly I find it f***ing amazing that with Fender costing 3-4x more it's still a 50% chance at best.... 

[Chiliwailer]

Just now, Beedster said:

 

At 3-4k luck should not come into it though. I know that if I buy a mid-top range Warmoth neck and body, a Lindy Fralin PUP, a @KiOgon circuit, Gotoh hardware and spend some time on setup - £1000 in total including import duty - I'll get a great Precision bass 95% of the time. Frankly I find it f***ing amazing that with Fender costing 3-4x more it's still a 50% chance at best.... 

Spot on bro. I can live with a ‘very good’ Warmoth for that money, but I want ‘outstanding’ for Lull & CS money. My mate has a CS that’s a belter, mine is very sweet too, but it does feel like a lottery… Glad I’m sorted!