Price of neck

Anesthesia · #1 09-10-2007, 05:52 AM

This is a question to the good people of luthiery.

what sorta price would i be looking for, for a 5 string dual trusrod neck that could handle up to say a 140 b string?

i was searching round in my local area and a apparently well knkown luthier said he would not make me a neck he only makes whole bass/guitars. what an A$$!

wilser · #2 09-10-2007, 06:20 AM

why is that being an 'A$$'? A lot of people make a living out of this and the neck is the most time consuming part of the process for the price he could charge for one. I've declined similar requests and don't consider myself an 'A$$'.

erikbojerik · #3 09-10-2007, 07:53 AM

That wouldn't be "Perry from Perth" would it? If it is, trust me...he's a straight-up guy and is giving you no BS.

If a respected luthier gave you an honest price for such a neck, a price that made it worth his while, you'd probably choke and then REALLY think he's an a$$....when all he's done is be totally honest with you.

It sounds to me like Mighty Mite or eBay would be a better choice for you (and you don't need 2 truss rods for that kind of neck).

ehque · #4 09-10-2007, 10:29 AM

warmoth could make you one.

Mon Rominee · #5 09-10-2007, 11:11 AM

Ok, so he's an ass for sticking to his own terms? I don't get it. I second erikbojerik's comments, tho I do not know the luthier in question.

Mon Rominee · #6 09-10-2007, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ehque

warmoth could make you one.

Warmoth could make you one to THEIR dimensions. They do not do one-offs, from what I recall.

Musiclogic · #7 09-10-2007, 12:56 PM

I always find it funny when people get bent out of shape when others won't cater to them. It's funny how our society has become so personally self absorbed.

Anesthesia · #8 09-11-2007, 04:49 AM

i just assumed being a luthier he would do his job which is make guitar and bass parts isnt it? and i was expecting a reasonably high price and i also know the dual truss rods would be overkill.

erikbojerik · #9 09-11-2007, 05:00 AM

Making the neck is the 2nd most time-consuming part of making a guitar (finishing being #1), all the rest pales in comparison. The third most time consuming thing is the fretwork+setup (they are intertwined). And let's assume you aren't going to appy the finish to the neck yourself. Now you're talking about ~70%+ of the work that goes into a guitar being on the neck. If a full-on custom bass is (let's say) $3000, are you really going to pay $2000+ for a neck?

Might as well order the full instrument...that's where your luthier is coming from. Yeah some guys might take that project on, but it is a lot more straightforward for a luthier to match his neck to his body, rather than trying to match the finish color-taper-neck angle on a 3rd-party body.

Mon Rominee · #10 09-11-2007, 05:01 AM

But dude, again, it's not his "job" as YOU define it...find another luthier...

Dave Muscato · #11 09-11-2007, 05:32 AM

I'm not a luthier, just a bassist, but I learned a good trick from Jay Leno about work you don't want. I never turn down work; I just price myself out of the market for things I don't want to do. The $2,000 post above is a good example. When I don't want a gig, I just say that my price is 10x what I would normally charge. It usually works (and when it doesn't, I don't complain, either!)

Anesthesia, you are confusing "employer" with "client." You are a potential client. He is his own employer. His job is working for himself. If it doesn't make business sense for him to make you a neck (or if he just doesn't want to), that's his call. If somebody offered you a one-nighter gig playing klezmer music in Haifa, Israel, for $300, would you be an ass for turning it down? One of the mistakes of newly self-employed people is to say yes to every offer for business, even if it's not worth it... and one of the mistakes of ignorant consumers is to expect self-employed people to say yes to every offer for business, even if it's not worth it.

My two cents,

fullrangebass · #12 09-11-2007, 06:55 AM

I have ordered a (custom) neck for one of my Dingwall basses. Sheldon Dingwall has been very honest and direct (as he has always been, knowing him as a demading customer myself) regarding the options, the work, the time frame and pricing. Since the bass was not in his hands, he informed me and urged me to have a luthier to do the final fitting and setup. I truly appreciate the fact that he cares for his products and customers and he is honest to speak the truth, the possibilities and the potential BEFORE he starts a project

gfried84 · #13 09-11-2007, 07:58 AM

As others have said making a neck is just not worth it. Companies like warmoth and usacg make these parts already and their prices are cost effective for themselves but for an individual luthier they are not. If an individual luthier built a neck for a customer and charged him an hourly labor rate the price of the neck would be astronomical. Just for example I have used some warmoth necks in a few of my builds and I ordered two deluxe five necks one was maple/maple and the other was maple,ebony,with a figured koa headcap. I got both for under three hundred.

tjclem · #14 09-11-2007, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anesthesia

This is a question to the good people of luthiery.

what sorta price would i be looking for, for a 5 string dual trusrod neck that could handle up to say a 140 b string?

i was searching round in my local area and a apparently well knkown luthier said he would not make me a neck he only makes whole bass/guitars. what an A$$!

What happened to the first neck? What kind of bass is it?

pilotjones · #15 09-11-2007, 05:26 PM

First of all, +1 on what the luthiers here have said regarding price and the luthier's choice in accepting or turning down work.

Second, regarding this--

Quote:

a 5 string dual trussrod neck that could handle up to say a 140 b string?

--What exactly is the problem that is to be solved here? A D'Addario .125 (which is about the lightest thing you might try for a B) on a 34" scale neck tunes up to low B at 31.3 pounds; a .145, their heaviest, at 41.9 pounds. Considering that full BEAD set of five strings would be about 210 pounds total tension with the .125, and 220 pounds with a .145, less than a 5% difference, what is your concern?

**Rodent** · #16 09-11-2007, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anesthesia

i just assumed being a luthier he would do his job which is make guitar and bass parts isnt it? and i was expecting a reasonably high price and i also know the dual truss rods would be overkill.

I think you are a little confused here. As a builder, my job is to build instruments of my vision (whatever that might be) to my quality level (whatever that might be) If my vision is only to build completed instruments, then stepping outside of this would be contrary to my vision ... and something that I would most likely turn down. If instead my vision is to build parts, this could possibly be a job I would consider.

In either case, my job is to complete the tasks I have accepted to do - and not to do those things I have not taken on. In your case, the luthier you spoke to has not agreed to your project because it does not fit within his vision ... so it is not his job to make you a neck, just like it is not the job of Michael Tobias to build you a neck.

If I was to bid you this job (which I am not), I would give you a quote that was equal to what I would build you an entire instrument for ... and then ship you a free body attached to your neck when everything was done

to prove that the neck is of high quality and properly set-up ... and what you do with the body after you take the neck off would totally be your business

I believe what you are looking for is a builder who also specializes in repair/restoration work, as it is this kind of a person who should have a business vision that includes making one-off type of necks

all the best,

R

WarriorJoe7 · #17 09-11-2007, 06:05 PM

The most expensive replacement necks I know of are Status at about $600. I would expect a one off custom neck to be atleast $1000 (or half the cost of a new bass.)

Do you want to know why warmoth, usacg, mighty mite, allparts etc have such low neck prices... They only had to design it once and then they have sold thousands at that design. They are cookie cutter. It might take them an average of 1 man hour for each neck. A custom designed neck might take 8 man hours.

This is the same reason why molded parts are cheaper than machined parts. A Bridge from a mold might seem expensive at $80 but if you want a newly designed machined one where the design will never be used again... expect to pay atleast $500 for it.

BassicJohn · #18 09-11-2007, 07:11 PM

You might try Doug at www.soulmateguitars.com. He does excellent work at very reasonable prices. I bought this wenge/purpleheart neck from him for a bass that I am building.

scottyd · #19 09-11-2007, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassicJohn

You might try Doug at www.soulmateguitars.com. He does excellent work at very reasonable prices. I bought this wenge/purpleheart neck from him for a bass that I am building.

+1 Doug does outstanding work. And he doesn't mind just building necks. Most luthiers wont because they put pride in building instruments, not just parts for them.

If I had a dime for everytime someone has asked me to build headless hardware I would be out of a lot of time and work and still be broke!