Custom bass price?

[Stanleyism]

I dont have any money rifgt now, but I wanted to know how much a custom bass would cost. I don't know what exactly I would want, but here is what I know I would want:
ash body
jazz body shape
2 soapbar humbuckers like the ones on a De Armond Pilot(or like basses)
rosewood fretboard
22 frets
4 strings
thin neck with block inlays
paint:i want to see the wood grain but I dont want it to be straight grained

thats' about all the specifics I can think of right now

[cricketfever32]

depends on who you want to build it, but i'd say for a completely built to fit bass, i'd say around 2000, or if you want to make a parts bass since you want a jazz bass then around half of that

[Stanleyism]

I figured it would be more but I'm ok with 2000

[capnsandwich]

Talk to Nino Valenti. He's building me one right now for just a little over $2000.

-Transparent blue finish
-Ash Body
-Birdseye maple neck and fretboard
-Small jazz bass body
-EMG 40J's pickups
-Aguilar 18v obp3 preamp
-Hipshot Bridge
-etc. etc. etc.

You could probably knock off some options and get one for less. I've got a few extras that took the price over $2000.

[Ace Of Bass]

Originally Posted by capnsandwich

Talk to Nino Valenti. He's building me one right now for just a little over $2000.

-Transparent blue finish
-Ash Body
-Birdseye maple neck and fretboard
-Small jazz bass body
-EMG 40J's pickups
-Aguilar 18v obp3 preamp
-Hipshot Bridge
-etc. etc. etc.

You could probably knock off some options and get one for less. I've got a few extras that took the price over $2000.

I would also suggest Nino.....he's right up that alley......

[Kennethfaria]

or you could try it yourself. If you have decent power tools, and wood working skills, and time, and patience, you could have THE bass build for a grand.
For what you want, probably less than that. The hardest part is making the neck.
But thats not what you asked for so...

give a search, theres a thread with all the TB builders here. They most likely have sites so you could see their work, if you like the way they do things, send em an email, im sure theyd be happy to give you an APPROXimate quote, but remember, its a quote, not the final price.

[LowBSix]

PM sent...

[Triad]

I'd get the parts from Warmoth and have them put together by a good luthier.

[oldnoob]

I am currently having a custom assembled from parts I bought and have less than $600 invested thus far. But it still needs to be painted and assembled so add about another $500 to that.

[joeyl]

I got the body and neck from Warmoth, here is how it breaks down so far

ash body (spalted and quilt ash!!!): 200
neck maple with nut installed: 180
bridge Hipshot vintage: 45
tuners Hipshot ultralites: 70
Aero J pickup set used: 140
Audere Classic 4 band preamp: 130
Dunlop straploks: 15

Finishing supplies: 4 cans of Deft Nitro clear: 20
2 packs of devcon clear epoxy for grain filling: 10
sandpaper, screws, wiring and shielding supplies: 50
NIOSH approved respirator for spraying lacquer: 40

assembling: easy and free
Finishing: elbow grease, sweat and tears: free


total: 900 dollars.

[Mr. Majestic]

ash body (spalted and quilt ash!!!): 200

I would like to see a pic of this.

[joeyl]

will do once I get home.

[Nelson Guitars]

The last custom I did cost me $1,400 in materials alone. An assemble yourself project is not what the OP's question was. While this is all good information I think it misses the point. Quoting the parts cost for a tune up on your car gets no where near what the cost of the tune up will be.

I dont have any money rifgt now, but I wanted to know how much a custom bass would cost.

A custom bass from a reputable builder who will stand behind his product will easily be upwards of $4K. Look at the web sites and you will find entry level cost for custom builder's "stock" shapes starting at $1,500 or so. Add just a few of the custom options and you quickly get up in the stratosphere.

I think the point here is that money is a factor. If you have $800, $1000, $1,500 to spend you will get the most value from a manufacturer who has volume behind him to allow him to cut costs. If you want a truly unique, one of a kind (custom) instrument get ready to open your wallet and support the artisan capable of delivering it.

Greg N

[capnsandwich]

Originally Posted by Nelson Guitars

The last custom I did cost me $1,400 in materials alone. An assemble yourself project is not what the OP's question was. While this is all good information I think it misses the point. Quoting the parts cost for a tune up on your car gets no where near what the cost of the tune up will be.



A custom bass from a reputable builder who will stand behind his product will easily be upwards of $4K. Look at the web sites and you will find entry level cost for custom builder's "stock" shapes starting at $1,500 or so. Add just a few of the custom options and you quickly get up in the stratosphere.

I think the point here is that money is a factor. If you have $800, $1000, $1,500 to spend you will get the most value from a manufacturer who has volume behind him to allow him to cut costs. If you want a truly unique, one of a kind (custom) instrument get ready to open your wallet and support the artisan capable of delivering it.

Greg N

While your post is pretty accurate, there are some exceptions to the rule. I know that Nino Valenti stands behind his product based on what I've read about his previous customers and their experiences and to this day I don't recall any of his basses ever being more than $2500. If I thought it would be risky buying from him I would've gone somewhere else to order my custom.

Another exception is Wilser, builder of Ramirez basses. Although I haven't played his basses, I have seen several pictures of them and heard sound clips and from wha I've seen and heard they seem to be very high quality basses. His prices, IIRC, are very reasonable and in the same ballpark as Nino's prices.

There are several up and coming luthiers that are building good stuff with very reasonable prices, since their names aren't out there like the big guys. I do agree that the well known luthiers' basses will cost you a good portion of your soul.

[joeyl]

I believe you could call this spalted:

[IMG][/IMG]





very slight quilt:



The body has been sprayed with a light coat of lacquer, then epoxy was rubbed onto the open grain to fill it a bit. I am doing 320 grit sanding before spraying clear lacquer again.

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by Stanleyism

I dont have any money rifgt now, but I wanted to know how much a custom bass would cost. I don't know what exactly I would want, but here is what I know I would want:
ash body
jazz body shape
2 soapbar humbuckers like the ones on a De Armond Pilot(or like basses)
rosewood fretboard
22 frets
4 strings
thin neck with block inlays
paint:i want to see the wood grain but I dont want it to be straight grained

thats' about all the specifics I can think of right now

My favorite luthier is Chris Stambaugh and a guy whose work I love is Bud LeCompte. I think either could make you a bass you'd be very happy with for somewhere around $2000. However, in this case I'll agree with what has already been said and say that this sounds like something right up Nino Valenti's alley.

[Mr. Majestic]

Originally Posted by joeyl

I believe you could call this spalted:

[IMG][/IMG]





very slight quilt:



The body has been sprayed with a light coat of lacquer, then epoxy was rubbed onto the open grain to fill it a bit. I am doing 320 grit sanding before spraying clear lacquer again.

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but this blank is not spalted. That is mineral streaking sometimes found in the sapwood. This particular piece looks to be slightly brown(maybe the pics) and I think it might be from a black ash. We use quite a bit of black ash in my cabinet shop, we refer to it as "brown ash" (market name), still considered swamp ash by many.

Now getting back on course, I need to mention that Tom Clement has a J-Bass style bass that is fully customizable. A few more would be Nino Valenti, CallowHill basses, Nordstrand, and many, many more. I would suggest you to keep researching different builders and for Pete's sake go custom. Get something that is tailored to you and your needs.

[Rapisme]

Jeff Head Guitars..

look him up, he'll hook you up.

[Rudyboy98]

Uh...Wilser's currently building my bass...check out Ramirezbass.com

[joeyl]

Originally Posted by Mr. Majestic

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but this blank is not spalted. That is mineral streaking sometimes found in the sapwood. This particular piece looks to be slightly brown(maybe the pics) and I think it might be from a black ash. We use quite a bit of black ash in my cabinet shop, we refer to it as "brown ash" (market name), still considered swamp ash by many.

ok, cool. I have never seen swamp ash that looked like this before. Thanks for the info