2023... Not the year for gear

[Mark_70]

I waited about 8 months or so for my Adamovic SuperNova a few years back. Not a big deal as I wasn't suffering for something to play on in the meantime.
Still a great bass.. Was worth the wait!

Regards
Mark

 

[alembicbones]

I've done 3 custom basses in my lifetime, an Alembic, a Sadowsky and the Dingwall pictured on the first page of the thread. Each was a multi-month project. The shortest and probably hardest wait was for the Alembic (6 months back in 2003). I think this was mainly because I only had one other bass at the time, a fretless Stingray 5 string. With the Sadowsky (8 months in 2015) and the Dingwall (19 months spanning 2020 - 2022), I had other basses that suited my necessities.

Customs definitely aren't for everybody. I totally agree that there are many off the rack basses that are awesome. Over the years I've purchased a few (having a world class place like the Bass Shop only 2 miles away helps matters greatly). The special thing about a custom, though, is that you get a chance to consider every detail that you want in your bass, and have a master builder make it happen. In each case, I had a vision, clearly relayed it to the builder, and they made it come true. There is a thing I would change in any of my custom basses.

Bones

 

[conttador]

I would look at other builders. I had Tom Clement build me a 4 string Fretless w a Pale Moon Ebony board and it took maybe 4 months at most.

I liked the bass so much that I told him if he could ever get enough pale Moon Ebony for a 6 I would have him build me a 6 string Fretless with a pale Moon Ebony top. No later than a month or two I get a message from him telling me he was at his lumber yard and they had this:

Four months later he sends me this:

I like Smiths, Sadowskys & Foderas as much as most but I prefer the early iterations of those basses. I have two early 90s Sadowskys & a mid 80s BT & late 90s BMT. I don’t yet own a Fodera but when I do buy one, it’s on my bucket list, I’ll get a 90s AJ (not one for signature models but I do like the early AJs). I have a 90s Pedulla & 90s Alembic. Call me nostalgic I suppose. But regardless there’s other builders out there wanting to take the baton and let’s face it Roger & Ken ain’t getting younger, Mike retired and Ron at Alembic is getting up there too. So we owe it to ourselves to help up and coming builders. I figure in 15 - 20 years I’ll be able to talk about my “early” Clement basses.

 

[Ric5]

Just finished an office remodel. Next month we're doing new hardwood floors in our home. Bruh! No money for basses.

But just for fun, I thought to myself, if I could have any new bass, what would it be? After some thought, I decided it would be incredible to have a custom-made Dingwall. Think about it, fanned-frets, custom top, Glockenklang or maybe even a Darkglass pre. My mouth started watering. So I reached out and just got an email back.

Price is about what I expected (a lot!)... okay
30% down... um, okay
Build time: 2.5 YEARS!!

Even if I wanted to buy one, I wouldn't have it til mid-2025! Good grief, I'd change my mind 68 times before it was done.

How long would you be willing to wait for a bass build?

switch your brand to FRANKENSTEIN

buy your own parts, assemble them and you can control the costs and the build time.

That is what I do.

 

[songwriter21]

Just finished an office remodel. Next month we're doing new hardwood floors in our home. Bruh! No money for basses.

But just for fun, I thought to myself, if I could have any new bass, what would it be? After some thought, I decided it would be incredible to have a custom-made Dingwall. Think about it, fanned-frets, custom top, Glockenklang or maybe even a Darkglass pre. My mouth started watering. So I reached out and just got an email back.

Price is about what I expected (a lot!)... okay
30% down... um, okay
Build time: 2.5 YEARS!!

Even if I wanted to buy one, I wouldn't have it til mid-2025! Good grief, I'd change my mind 68 times before it was done.

How long would you be willing to wait for a bass build?

I don't buy customs. I buy pre-made and used. The former lets me see if the bridge and nut are cut and aligned correctly, and not crooked, for starters. Also, many customs aren't returnable/refundable, or you have to wait all over again for a rebuild (if you're lucky). Even a number of high-end builders are guilty of this (eyeballing), as some aspects should definitely be left to the accuracy of a computer (CNC). Sorry, but 100% handmade ain't all that.

 

[OJ Dorson]

Fwiw, I’m finishing up a custom build Dingwall order with FretNation and looking at only a year lead time. I’d reach out to them - I’m pretty they have slots in queue.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Just finished an office remodel. Next month we're doing new hardwood floors in our home. Bruh! No money for basses.

But just for fun, I thought to myself, if I could have any new bass, what would it be? After some thought, I decided it would be incredible to have a custom-made Dingwall. Think about it, fanned-frets, custom top, Glockenklang or maybe even a Darkglass pre. My mouth started watering. So I reached out and just got an email back.

Price is about what I expected (a lot!)... okay
30% down... um, okay
Build time: 2.5 YEARS!!

Even if I wanted to buy one, I wouldn't have it til mid-2025! Good grief, I'd change my mind 68 times before it was done.

How long would you be willing to wait for a bass build?

I’m 70…not real long. I’ll still buy green bananas, but anything longer than that…LOL!!

 

[Gizmot]

If you’re buying a custom bass, you can’t expect to snap your fingers and get it within a few days. I would be patient, but I wouldn’t wait more than 6 - 7 months especially if you’re making a substantial deposit. I want a Dingwall bad, but a super-long wait time to get one would be a turn off

 

[mikewalker]

I used to run a very-well-organized professional bass and guitar custom shop with 12 builders, and our usual build time quote was 6-8 weeks (up to six months if exotic artwork, inlays, or various unobtaniums were involved). But that was fifteen years ago!

Things are a lot slower lately, my 2018 custom order from Status Graphite was quoted at 'six' but actually took 11 months, my recent Basslab went in just after COVID hit - and took almost two years. Six months seems to be a reasonable timeframe. Back in 2020 Jens Ritter had an opening and quoted me only three months for a custom R8 Concept short-scale . I wish I had jumped on that!! (~8K USD)

 

[micguy]

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How long would you be willing to wait for a bass build?

I build my own. Total time from insertion to working bass is about 3 months. About half of that is getting the materials, the other half is finishing and building. I know what I want, and how to build that better than anyone else.

It’s not the wait that would bother me the most, it’s getting a bass built by someone who doesn’t know as well as I do what I want that would be the issue.

 

[lordradish]

That's a long time. I've waited almost a year and a half for my 6 string fretless build from Cliff Bordwell. It's a long time, I don't think I'd want to wait much more than that. Of course, when you have a few good ones already, it makes the wait less painful.

Wals are now something like three years, and there's also a wait to get on the waiting list.

 

[Jim63]

One of the few basses left on my list is a BC Rich Bich. I was hoping to have Neal Moser build one for me. I mean how could it get better than coming from the person that designed it and be able to customize it? I don't necessarily want an older one. I contacted Moser Guitars and got a form I could fill out. It would be a three year wait before they even started.
I ended up going a different route and had Voodoo Custom Guitars build a Les Paul style bass for me. The owner thought it would be about a six month process, but covid came along and he had a lingering case that lasted for months. It took just about a year but it was well worth it. There are excellent alternative luthiers out there!

 

[Passinwind]

How long would you be willing to wait for a bass build?

Maybe a week for setup and detailing, I already would’ve played it before spending a dime. But I’m not even remotely in the market.

 

[Michael Grant]

I was just quoted by the sales dept at Dingwall that the wait to have one custom built from them is 2.5yrs. They suggested to go to a dealer and if I didn't want what was in stock to try and get one of the build slots. We're still looking at 24mo out... That's a big let down. I plan to take a drive and get a feel for one, then I'll go from there.
Any advice when checking one of these monsters out other than the obvious would be certainly appreciated.
I'll just keep looking for the right one to pop up at a reasonable price.

 

[Katoosie]

I was just quoted by the sales dept at Dingwall that the wait to have one custom built from them is 2.5yrs. They suggested to go to a dealer and if I didn't want what was in stock to try and get one of the build slots. We're still looking at 24mo out... That's a big let down. I plan to take a drive and get a feel for one, then I'll go from there.
Any advice when checking one of these monsters out other than the obvious would be certainly appreciated.
I'll just keep looking for the right one to pop up at a reasonable price.

Unobtainium

 

[Geri O]

I could say I'm done buying basses, but I learned 50 years ago..."never say never"....

My needs are Jazz-style, Precision-style, and Stingray, real thing, no style. And a nice fretless, which would be a custom order from Mike Lull should I decide to replace my current fretless bass. I have the Jazz and Precision-styles covered, can't want for anything more than I have.

The 2011 Stingray SR5 I had on semi-permanent loan wound up going back home to its owner, which is fine of course. So I am on a no-rush hunt for another Stingray SR5 or H or whatever it's called now.

The only custom-order I would even consider at this point would be an Alembic Series One or Two 5-string and oh, my GOSH, that bass might be $20,000 or more (that's 5, yes, 5 zeros!). I haven't made an official inquiry into such a project and I'm hoping that if I get really serious about that bass, I can find a used one out there somewhere. But as I get older, I see the need for such a bass less and less....

 

[GreaserMatt]

Current gear prices are ridiculous....

 

[eastcoasteddie]

I have to pay off the Credit Cards that have magically amassed some heft…and I might move back to NY next year….maybe on my 50th I can make a new bass happen…my last bass…

 

[GHOST AT]

2023 will be a big year for me. I have a MTD 534 that hopefully will be ready next month, and a Wal MK3 four that will be at a three year wait or longer. The Wal is 80% paid for, sold a bass I wasn’t playing much plus another bass traded to dealer for the MTD. After that winding down how many times have I said that before.

 

[jd56hawk]

Just finished an office remodel. Next month we're doing new hardwood floors in our home. Bruh! No money for basses.

But just for fun, I thought to myself, if I could have any new bass, what would it be? After some thought, I decided it would be incredible to have a custom-made Dingwall. Think about it, fanned-frets, custom top, Glockenklang or maybe even a Darkglass pre. My mouth started watering. So I reached out and just got an email back.

Price is about what I expected (a lot!)... okay
30% down... um, okay
Build time: 2.5 YEARS!!

Even if I wanted to buy one, I wouldn't have it til mid-2025! Good grief, I'd change my mind 68 times before it was done.

How long would you be willing to wait for a bass build?

Absolutely no need to wait...nothing really worth waiting for.
I have want I want and can easily find another worthy bass if I wanted one.
I have a hard enough time waiting for whatever I buy from Reverb and shipping is usually a week or so and if I saw something nice at Sweetwater, AMS or Zzounds and it wasn't in stock and it said "We're waiting for more and will contact you when they arrive" I'd simply move on to greener pastures.
Hats off to anyone who doesn’t mind waiting six months, a year, or more, but I have to wonder if the wait is worth it.