Main Area and Open Discussion > Living Room
Do we have any musical people on DC?
40hz:
Apparently Fender requires licensees to make them thicker than the Fender originals, presumably to give themselves a perceived quality advantage.
-Vurbal (December 01, 2014, 03:51 PM)
--- End quote ---
Hadn't heard that one before.
Hmm... Considering you can specify the wood, fingerboard, neck shape, neck contour, binding, fret type,# frets, nut type, etc. on a Warmouth bass neck - and about two or three times many options on a guitar neck - I don't really see that allegation holding up very well. But I could be wrong.
Fender also isn't too gung-ho about selling replacement wood parts, although they do a pretty brisk trade in replacement pickups these days. Fender is first and foremost an instrument company. Not a parts supplier. So I don't see where the replacement neck businesses would be seen as a threat by them. Especially now that their Squire line has mostly removed the price justification for Partscasters and Frankenstrats. You can get a very nice finished instrument (with warranty) from Squire for far less than you would pay to build something as good or better. Squires have become good enough that many pros are now using them as their main instrument. I'd certainty strongly consider buying a Squire before I built something these days. Especially if I just wanted a mainstream type of guitar like a Strat, Tele, or P/J-Bass with standard specs.
When you consider 90% of the sound of an electric is directly provided by the pickups and tone stack, unless you have something extremely specific in mind sound-wise, any customization beyond the electronic components is a fairly good illustration of the law of diminishing returns. And outside of the recording studio, it's doubtful how much of that last 10% will even be audible to the average listener. In a 'live sound' venue I'd wager none of it would be. Even to most musicians.
Just my :two: anyway. ;) ;D
Vurbal:
I don't know that it's the replacement parts business so much as concern about parts builds competing with their stupidly overpriced high end models. Let's face it,the reason people like us don't buy those high margin basses is exactly what you mentioned about the diminishing returns of non-electronics upgrades. The guy who buys a $2000 - $3000 Fender or Gibson isn't considering a DIY Build. Unless it gets cheap enough for small luthier shops to compete on finished instrument prices - and it isn't close - those parts aren't their competition.
I saw some specific numbers for Warmoth's P-Bass body vs USACG's Pea Bass discussed on the TalkBass forum. A guitarist friend of mine we who has bought Strat parts from both said it was the same for guitars. Of course both could be full of it and I wouldn't know better without more research than I've ever bothered to do.
40hz:
I wouldn't know better without more research than I've ever bothered to do.
-Vurbal (December 01, 2014, 05:19 PM)
--- End quote ---
Hardly worth it IMHO. I doubt either of us really care one way or the other. ;D
The guy who buys a $2000 - $3000 Fender or Gibson isn't considering a DIY Build.
-Vurbal (December 01, 2014, 05:19 PM)
--- End quote ---
Good point. I always found it interesting that the semi-serious and amateurs always owned those high-end Gibsons or the more exotic 'new' brands with all the fancy inlays, etc. whereas the pros all seem to use stock Fenders or Gibson studio models. Same with amps. The pros use old-school Fender Twin/Reverb/Vibrolux/Princetons or Vox AC-30s or Marshalls or the less expensive Orange amps. The semi/amis all get into the Mesa Boogies or those other $2K+ boutique amps.
The high-end market is definitely the preserve of the Saturday "go to the local jam night" crowd. Whereas most of the pros (who know they can get their sound out of whatever they're playing) try to spend as little as possible and try not to take anything out that they'll be too upset about having stolen. Because sooner or later it will. The only time they seem to show up with something really expensive is when they have an endorsement deal with some manufacturer. And half the time that endorsement guitar or amp sits on the stage like some débutante, prominently displayed, but completely untouched all night long. Because it's only there (at most) as a spare. ;D ;D ;D
Ah me...the things we do for love! 8)
Edvard:
The semi/amis all get into the Mesa Boogies or those other $2K+ boutique amps.
--- End quote ---
HEY, hey, there now!! I have quite a soft spot for those old Mesas (right around the Mark IIc era) and if I owned one (I was 23 and had to choose between THAT AMP or eating for a week... I was hungry... sue me.) it would get the hell played out of it, and I'd probably just clone the thing so I could keep beating it up.
One thing that has confused me for years: The last time I went to a music festival, the Metal stage had 3 amps on it: an Ampeg SVT for the bass players, a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier and a Marshall JCM 900 for the guitarists. The Dual Recto was the amp of choice for many of the guitarists, but the last time I gave one a go in the music store, it sounded like farting through mud. What I did wrong I'll never know, but that red stripe Mark III at Al's Guitarville treated me like the guitar hero I always wished I were.
*sniff*
I knew I should've starved, I just knew it... :wallbash:
Vurbal:
Ah me...the things we do for love!-40hz (December 01, 2014, 08:43 PM)
--- End quote ---
Ain't that the truth! Actually, a friend of mine, who also gave up playing bass professionally (long before we met) pointed out something when he found out I decided to start playing again. He said even though he occasionally thinks about playing again just for kicks, he has no regrets about quitting because he doesn't need to play. But I do, and he knew that long before I decided to pick it up again.
And now it looks like I have a teacher to take lessons a couple times a month. That should help greatly with my technique - especially since I'm not using a pick like I did the first time around. Even better, I just found out tonight that I'll have a regular Wednesday night jam session to sit in on with some friends of a friend. They came over and played with me a couple weeks back and were so happy to find a real bassist they invited me to sit in.
The best part is, the drummer, who hosts it, is a bachelor whose house is basically set up to play music and games. He even has a decent little bass amp so I won't have to haul mine with me. Good thing too since I just blew the mains fuse and won't have the replacement until Friday. My cab just doesn't sound the same powered by my ancient POS 20 Watt Crate practice amp.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version