A question for those of you that have boutique basses

[Polardog]

I'd check out Strackwoodworking if I were you. Dan Strack is a master luthier who's worked with Dan Lakin and Lakland, among others. He's now building his own creations from reclaimed wood that's been drying for 150+ years.
Excellent workmanship, feel, and tone, and he'll customize just about everything to your specs - and it'll "only" set you back $2500 or so. Highly recommend!

 

[DeepHz]

I did buy a Fodera Vic Wooten NYC many years ago sight unseen. Totally satisfied for sure. Ended up selling it for more than what I paid. I also had a Sadowsky NYC Will Lee that I ordered without playing and totally satisfied with that. I recently sold the Sadowsky for same price I paid. And lastly, I bought two Roscoe basses sight unseen and loved them both. I held onto the Century model and sold the SKB. I'm unclear which of those Basses are "Boutique" but they all sounded/played great and retained their value for sure. I would lean toward play before you buy. I took some risk by not playing them first. The F bass was definitely on my next up list but I ran out of GAS!

 

[GIBrat51]

I am just wondering, for those of you that have boutique basses, how did you arrive at your decision?
Did you have a few favorites, and did you have the opportunity to try each one in-person before deciding?
What was the deciding factor?

I am thinking seriously about getting in line for a build (many have 24 month wait lists) but there is nowhere locally I can try any of them.

My ideal bass sound would be a cross between a jazz bass and a Ken Smith.
At the moment, I am eyeballing an F-Bass DN Deluxe.

Others I have been looking at:

Ken Smith - Killer sound but maybe a little too far from a jazz bass for me. Some say it isn't the most comfortable thing to play, and not overly versatile.
Fodera - Sounds great, but I feel it needs a little more balls. Maybe that is not the case, but it seems a little thin at times in the videos I have watched. Craftsmanship is high, but so if the price. Quite versatile.
Mattisson - Looks great, but the prices are in the same ballpark as a Fodera. I think that is unrealistic to be honest. Can't see anyone choosing one over a Fodera.
Adamovic - Looks good and it sounds like it has good ergonomics. Haven't seen many videos to offer up a good idea of what they sound like.


I play while sitting, in classical position like Hadrien Feraud, so it would need to comfortable for that.

I would love to hear other people's journeys in finding that grail? bass.

Well...
In my case, I own 3 different basses that you could call "boutique". And, it wasn't so much a conscious decision as it was a necessity, and in one case? Just the luck of the draw...
I have 27 basses in my "Herd", of all brands and types. They were all purchased to fill a particular spot; like "Gibson Thunderbird" or "Long Scale Hollow-body". There's a spot for "Active Bass", even though I have no real use for one. I didn't care what scale length or brand/model it was; it just had to be an active bass. And, like all the others, it had to be left handed (which caused a lot of grief over the years...). On the day I started looking on eBay for one, the first bass I came across was a '95 Alembic Epic. After a little research, I bought it. As you can imagine, it's a wonderful bass. It's worn TI Jazz Flats for the last 16 years, and I use it strictly for Jazz. It no longer fills the "Active" spot, though. It's now filling the "Long Scale Set-neck" spot. That one was proving very hard to fill (that lefty thing, again), and the Epic - far as I know - was the only set-neck Alembic Bass. So, it "moved over", and a Schecter Stiletto Studio 4L fretless bass fills the "Active" spot now. As for the other 2 "boutique" basses? To fill the last 2 empty spots, I had to have the basses made. Short scale neck-thru basses are pretty scarce to begin with; lefties pretty much don't exist. Alembic makes one; a Stanley Clarke Signature Bass. The basic model costs north of $15K; a little too much, just to fill a spot in my herd. However, it turns out that Serek Basses makes one, too: a left handed, short scale Sacramento Bass - not exactly cheap, but a lot fewer $$'s than an Alembic. And, they made it to my specs, too. An extremely nice little bass... The other one? Left handed, short scale lined fretless basses are pretty much nonexistent, as well. So, I had Birdsong Guitars make me one; a body style that they had quit making, out of old heartwood Walnut and Ebony. Pretty much as "boutique" as a Birdsong gets...
So... do I have a favorite? Yeah, but it's not one of these 3. It's a '73 Rick 4001; it's been my #1 bass for 16 years, now; since about 5 minutes after I re-strung it and set it up. But, of the 3 "boutique" basses? The Serek, by a whisker...
Did I have a chance to play them first? No, I did not. Left handed bass players pretty much never get the chance to play anything first. I'm able to play right handed for about 6-8 minutes before the sick headaches start, so I can at least see if I would like a bass - if it came as a lefty. Mostly, I just have to rely on reviews and YouTube videos - like pretty much every other lefty does...
Finally; as for a "Grail" bass? I don't really have one. My "Grail" was filling every one of the 27 spots in my "Herd". Some of the spots took a very long time to fill; the "Gretsch" spot took me about 12 years. The '94 G6119BO-LH Broadkaster that does, is the ONLY left handed Gretsch bass that I've ever seen. Still looking for another one... From the time I made the list, until the Birdsong Fusion lined fretless completed it last summer? Took me about 32 years... which is about all the "Grail" searching I care to do... And, in case you're wondering? Yes, I play every one of my basses - even though I have to rotate them in and out of storage, 3 at a time, to play for a month...

 

[Discount Bassy]

I was a one bass player for years. I moved from a dilapidated Jay Turser P-clone 4 to a G. Gould GGI-5 Rainbow Trout when I lived in the desert after finding out that a wooden-necked instrument was ill suited to such a climate and required very frequent adjustments to the truss rod to follow the spikes in heat, direct light and humidity. The stability of a graphite and carbon fiber neck was specifically what I sought when looking for a replacement. The decision to move to a 5 was also a sell point. Being beautiful in of itself didn't hurt either. When I returned to more traditional civilization circumstances, predictable climate and some cash flow, purchasing a couple more G. Gould's (2x 6's, one with frets and one without) seemed to make sense based solely on the comfort and playability of the Trout. I really like the neck's shallow profile that would be a challenge to find in wood. The 17.5mm spacing became natural to me and felt normal. I was also in love with the tonal palette without considering any modifications. I don't think I'll be buying any more basses, barring catastrophe, and do occasionally noodle the notion of letting the 5 move on to a new owner, as the 6's handily cover every gig situation I've encountered. In my mind, I have found three grails.

 

[AngelCrusher]

I didn't own one for the first half of my playing career. I always wanted a Smith and a Sadowsky though. Just recently I finally got a Smith and I owned a Sadowsky for 5 years now. Why?

The sound is the priority. There is nothing that sounds like a Smith. It just matters if that sound works for you or not. For me, it is the pinnacle because of how it fits in a mix. It does what I want, which is retain clarity and sit clearly in the lowmids.

The Sadowsky is just a far better sounidng jazz bass to me. Don't get me wrong, I love the classic Fender Jazz, but I'm more apt to put flats on one of those. The Sadowsky has no noise when favoring one pickup, both pickups are even in volume and it simply sounds incredible if you like the Jbass sound.

Both basses were a big part of the fusion sound that influenced me when I was a kid, and I could never really find that sound in anything else.

The only problem is when you get something like a Smith, your expectations for everything else will be tainted. These basses are built so impeccably well that it is tough to go back to a more inexpensive bass. So that means you may start looking at Vintage Fenders..etc when you want that traditional sound. That's probably just me though, but I feel spoiled when I play these instruments even though I put in the years in the studio and on the road so I have the experience to truly appreciate them.

The Sadowsky can cause this as well because they sound so good, are super light and the necks are perfect. So a modern Fender J is just not in the cards for me. Something vintage could be though.

 

[g4string]

To my ears, a cross between a Smith and a Jazz is an MTD 535/534.

 

[spiritbass]

I am just wondering, for those of you that have boutique basses, how did you arrive at your decision?
Did you have a few favorites, and did you have the opportunity to try each one in-person before deciding?
What was the deciding factor?

I am thinking seriously about getting in line for a build (many have 24 month wait lists) but there is nowhere locally I can try any of them.

My ideal bass sound would be a cross between a jazz bass and a Ken Smith.
At the moment, I am eyeballing an F-Bass DN Deluxe.

Others I have been looking at:

Ken Smith - Killer sound but maybe a little too far from a jazz bass for me. Some say it isn't the most comfortable thing to play, and not overly versatile.
Fodera - Sounds great, but I feel it needs a little more balls. Maybe that is not the case, but it seems a little thin at times in the videos I have watched. Craftsmanship is high, but so if the price. Quite versatile.
Mattisson - Looks great, but the prices are in the same ballpark as a Fodera. I think that is unrealistic to be honest. Can't see anyone choosing one over a Fodera.
Adamovic - Looks good and it sounds like it has good ergonomics. Haven't seen many videos to offer up a good idea of what they sound like.


I play while sitting, in classical position like Hadrien Feraud, so it would need to comfortable for that.

I would love to hear other people's journeys in finding that grail? bass.

When I discovered Sheldon Dingwall's amazing basses, I took a leap of faith and invested in a five-string passive Afterburner I. Since then, I have ordered five more customs. Nothing else comes close for me.

 

[J Wilson]

There were/are lots of small-builder (I far prefer this to 'boutique) basses out there, really good ones.

But for me, it was always going to be an Alembic, period.

Bear in mind, they had only been pictures in a magazine, website candy, a whisper about these ghosts that I'd never seen the first one in the flesh, much less played one.

So imagine my surprise when I walked into a music store in Nashville (the sorely missed Rock Block Guitars in Elliston Place, gone for years now) and saw one hanging on consignment. I fell out. The guy pulled it down and put it in my hands and I was gone. The look, the workmanship, everything about it was simply light years above anything I'd ever held in my hands.

Bought it.

Now, there's a learning curve to these things, and it took me a while to understand what it was telling me, and eventually the little light came on, I got it, and before or since, there's simply nothing else in my long experience with many off[-the-rack basses that's in the same time zone. Past the amazing construction and the brutally honest pickups/controls, it (and the second one I later bought) are the only basses that, well, they didn't ask, they DEMANDED I clean up my technique because now I could hear e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. And as a result, I'm a better player for having had them: If you can play an Alembic cleanly, it's a slam dunk on anything else.

I'll never afford one again, but it was a tremendous learning experience, and of course, they were a gas to play.

However . . . .

Regardless of what small builder bass you buy, expect few other musicians to understand it. I was asked many times, 'uh, you don't have a Fender?'. Other musicians will not 'get it'. You may run into situations where you got THAT sound on your old bass and can not find it on your new wonder axe no matter what you do. It may take far different strings to suit it than you've ever used. It may or may not play nice with your current amps.

In short, just cause you think you found El Dorado, do NOT expect most anyone else around to feel that way. Now you may very well play it, and THEN they'll get it . . . . and maybe they won't.

And it's a leap of faith to buy an expensive instrument you've never seen or played or had in your hands. I was aware that Alembic's design language resulted in instruments that were ergonomically iffy, that the electronics were utterly different, but I was ready to roll the dice as I had huge respect for the many things that the Wickersham family had pioneered and accomplished.

Be prepared that it may NOT be everything you thought it would be, but that alone is not a bad thing, it may reveal itself to be many more new things you never imagined. You may very well have to re-think how to take a different route to get there from here, and that's not a bad thing. So I would urge a little latitude between what you're dreaming of, and what a finished reality would be.

If you don't have that mental flexibility, I would urge you to re-think this.

AND ABOVE ALL:

TalkBass is full of woeful tales of guys that fell in love with pretty pictures on a website, sent serious money off into the ether, and they got screwed, they're still waiting years later, all kinds of bad results.

So BE SURE you are spending your money with a long-time, established builder with a solid reputation of delivering and doing business properly, preferably with a dealer network, real warranty support, etc., just like a Fender or Gibson. Spector, MTD, Alembic, F Bass, etc., known companies with solid track records, and a solid record of delivering on time. When I ordered my 2nd Alembic, I paid in full up front, with a one-year delivery. I had zero concerns with this 30+ year old company, and received mine in 11 months. Painless.

And then there's pricing. Be aware that you are buying top shelf instruments built in very small numbers with the best of everything, so they are NOT going to be cheap. This is 180 degrees out from a Fender or Yamaha or Ibanez that are building several hundred every day from a very small list of features and colors. You are likely dealing in some cases where they'd be busting a gut to make several hundred (or less) a year at exceptionally high standards, so the margins have to be higher to cover the smaller numbers.

I think that's everything.

All the Best,

JW

 

[WayneP]

Boutique basses kind of fell into my lap. Back in the 90s guy I worked who had this “awesome custom hand-made bass” (his words) that he wanted to sell. I expressed only a mild interest, as I was fairly happy with the bass I had. But he insisted I take it home for the weekend and try it out. It was a hard offer to pass: How often do you get to try out a bass with no time constraints?

Well – it completely blew me away! Even more, it blew away any bass I’d ever owned. And I had a pretty nice one at the time, a Steinberger XP-2. Not to mention, with all the exotic woods, it was a work or art. I was sold.

I had the good sense to realize this masterpiece was easily worth 2-3 times what he was asking. Got it for a mere $800. I expect something of similar quality today would cost at least $6-7k.

Before this, I had no idea that such basses existed. I’d never seen anything like it at the guitar shops I’d visited over the years - and the city I lived in had a good number of large shops. It's the one I'm playing in my avatar picture.

It was about 12 years later than I picked up my next boutique, a Pedulla Thunderbass. I picked that one because I wanted to get into 5-string, and it was the only one I’d ever tried that I liked the neck. (I was lucky enough to get hands on one at a local Guitar Center.)

Rather than ordering a custom build and take the risk of being unhappy with it, I’d strongly suggest getting one used from eBay or Reverb. Those are safe places to buy, because it’s easy to return them if there are issues. If there are no issues, and you just don’t like it, you can re-sell it and not be out much money, except for shipping charges.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Make Your Own Cables: A How-To Guide Unique Arrangements of Hymns, P&W Standards, and Original Tunes
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Make Your Own Cables: A How-To Guide

 

[Bassic Needs]

What I love about the Ken Smith's sound is it's clarity and how it punches through a mix.
I've seen comparison videos against big names like Fodera and it crushes. The Fodera was no slouch, but it wasn't as beefy; No doubt more versatile though.

For the Jazz bass, I love the burp and growl, as well as the clarity, over say a P bass.
If I was going for a Jazz bass only sound, a Stenback has been the best I have heard so far. Although admittedly, I haven't exhausted many of the names mentioned in the above posts.

I am taking notes of all of the builders mentioned so I can do some research. I am thrilled that people have chosen to share.

 

[Aussie Player]

A boutique bass is the result of a transition. It takes time to learn what you like and why. Same with amps and speaker cabs.
Bass tone for me is Alembic into Marshall valve amps. The cabs have to compliment the Marshall heads then the Alembics excel.
The goal has reached achievement. Thick notes.
Sustain.
Note articulation, especially when playing fast.
Smooth playing based in familiarity and evolved sound.
The enjoyment is in listening to the tone, the sound within the song and the pleasure of making it come together.
The song is better because of it and the audience responds.

 

[VeryTallBassist]

I build my own basses - using really good woods and hardware. A bass that has absolutely everything the way you like it is a good thing. I have several of those, that's a very cool thing. That is, when you get right down to it, the whole reason for a custom bass - you can't buy what you really want off the rack; you're particular, you "know" what you want; you have an idea of what your dream bass is.

That said, hear's the rub: It took me a lot of builds to really figure out what I really like and don't like. If you've bought a few basses, and are basing your decision of you ultimate bass on comparing and contrasting a limited set of things, you are almost certain to miss your target on your first custom build. When I missed on a build ("this isn't my thing"), I had options - I like the body, I don't like the neck, I like most of the hardware, but the bridge..... when I missed, I could reuse the parts that I did like, and only change those parts I didn't - I iterated my way to my ideal bass, and each iteration could be done pretty quickly. Yes, I ended up with a pile of parts I didn't use (sold off a few sets of pickups), but compared to buying and selling basses from a custom builder, it was quick and "relatively" inexpensive (good hardware ain't cheap).

When you hire someone to make custom for you and it misses, your options are far more limited - typically you'll sell that one and try again. As the cycles are very long and very expensive, there is a lot of pressure/incentive to accept what you have as "good enough". So you're likely to end up with a very expensive bass that....you have mixed feelings about, and eventually you give up and sell. And, when you go to sell it, as your dream bass isn't anyone else's dream bass, you take a bath financially.

My suggestion to folks contemplating a custom build is...don't....for a while. If you think you know what your ideal bass is, buy something off the rack that's kinda close, and mod it towards what you think your ideal bass is. That's how I started, and it was very helpful - even before I started building my own, doing some experiments to figure out my preferences was helpful. You will almost certainly miss on the first attempt, but after a few attempts, when you get really close, you will either have a bass that's good enough (and you' redone) or, at the very least, you'll have a much better idea of what you really want if you do decide to go the custom route. And you won't have spent anywhere near the time or money that a custom build costs.

This is such good advice. I am hopefully looking into getting a custom Spector this year. I currrently own 13 Spectors - MIK, Czech, and USA models. My first one I bought 25 years ago. I have modded every single one in some way, shape, or form. I have a couple that are pretty close, but none ticks all the boxes on its own. BUT..... if I'm buying a custom build, I know exactly what I want to a tee, and I know I'll be 100% satisfied with my choices.

 

[spiritbass]

A boutique bass is the result of a transition. It takes time to learn what you like and why. Same with amps and speaker cabs.
Bass tone for me is Alembic into Marshall valve amps. The cabs have to compliment the Marshall heads then the Alembics excel.
The goal has reached achievement. Thick notes.
Sustain.
Note articulation, especially when playing fast.
Smooth playing based in familiarity and evolved sound.
The enjoyment is in listening to the tone, the sound within the song and the pleasure of making it come together.
The song is better because of it and the audience responds.

The amplifier and cabinet choices are crucial to your tonal presentation. All tube amps (Reeves Custom 225 and Arkham Ultra Linear) and FRFR cabs (Mesa Subway 115 and MAS 110 Bodai) float my boat.

 

[logdrum]

All my so called current boutique were had for less than 1.1 k if you include the my SR5 special then less than 1.6 .k (trade difference)

Pedulla Buzz -- I got it in 1991 from a NEC student in Boston $600. Played a lot of gigs with this
Tune (Japan) BEB6 - Got 2016 in San Diego 1K
No name SingleCut 5 string - 2021 TB Classifieds I have post of it as a coffee table bass $900
TB Bass build - 5 string fretless 2021 TB Classifieds - coffee table post $850

I also have a Yamaha TRB6P made in Japan which you can classify with the SR5 as boutique level from non-boutique makers. Got it from Grandmas Music in ABQ in 2004 for $700

I did get a Ritter in 2012 -- that was 2.4k but I sold it immediately and made a couple bucks profit, also from Grandmas Music.

The Pedulla (Barts) sounds like a Fender Jazz bass, like a Deluxe Jazz. My Fretless jazz is the one I prefer and my daughter has this bass currently. -- The Tune has the most versatile pickups and preamp (quadcoil Delano with a Mike Pope), Singelcut with the Fat Stacks/East is the most agressive sounding. TB Wide jazz fretless (Big Splits) is mellow and many folks ask me to play this . I think the Ritter as pretty as it was paled in comparison to the Yamaha in every possible category except for the price and the looks. That and my wife not happy about that buy meant it was sold right away.

I have played an F-Bass and a Fodera from a buddy who has all manner of high end, high priced basses. I have also played Sukop (local NM builder) Ken Smiths, Spectors and Sadowsky's. I would say that my Tune and Yamaha hold their own and the prices were right.

 

[dangomez66]

I was lucky enough to play most of the higher end brands @ NAMM or colleagues.

I settled on MTD mostly because of the feel. Thin, wide neck, 19mm, light, and looks nice. One can always change the electronics; one can't really modify neck specs as easily.

But I've owned them all (mostly). It's all preference. Smiths are built and sound great, but the tone and slghtly narrower spacing doesn't suit my needs.

Try as many as you can then take the leap. I got my MTD used but in new condition and never been happier. GLWTP!

I am just wondering, for those of you that have boutique basses, how did you arrive at your decision?
Did you have a few favorites, and did you have the opportunity to try each one in-person before deciding?
What was the deciding factor?

I am thinking seriously about getting in line for a build (many have 24 month wait lists) but there is nowhere locally I can try any of them.

My ideal bass sound would be a cross between a jazz bass and a Ken Smith.
At the moment, I am eyeballing an F-Bass DN Deluxe.

Others I have been looking at:

Ken Smith - Killer sound but maybe a little too far from a jazz bass for me. Some say it isn't the most comfortable thing to play, and not overly versatile.
Fodera - Sounds great, but I feel it needs a little more balls. Maybe that is not the case, but it seems a little thin at times in the videos I have watched. Craftsmanship is high, but so if the price. Quite versatile.
Mattisson - Looks great, but the prices are in the same ballpark as a Fodera. I think that is unrealistic to be honest. Can't see anyone choosing one over a Fodera.
Adamovic - Looks good and it sounds like it has good ergonomics. Haven't seen many videos to offer up a good idea of what they sound like.


I play while sitting, in classical position like Hadrien Feraud, so it would need to comfortable for that.

I would love to hear other people's journeys in finding that grail? bass.

 

[eldoctorbass]

I'm generally a lurker here, but just adding my recent thoughts. I bought a few expensive (for me) boutique basses last year. Loved having them in my home, and enjoyed playing them here. But I also feared playing them out. I've forgotten enough gear at shows (mostly accessories, etc) to know I could accidentally leave a bass behind. So, I decided to move the high-end stuff, keep the medium/low-end and be happy with what I have. Even the medium-end is probably more than I'll ever need.

Which is not to say that I don't look and drool over high-end boutique basses all the time!

 

[ragetoca]

I had long seen articles, photos, and videos of boutique basses and curiosity got the better of me so when I could finally afford them I went for it. My Ken Smith and Fodera were bought without playing them first. My Sadowsky and F Bass I was able to get my hands on first. I have 2 Roscoes and I was able to play one of them before buying.

My Ken Smith had a very comfortable neck and that unique Smith sound. Was a bit heavy. The Fodera was pricey and didn't really deliver anything out of the ordinary sound-wise. The F Bass played great and was very light. It was one of the Jazz Bass styled instruments (VF series). I still have both Roscoes, they sound fantastic but both are 35" scale so the feel is different.

I think it's worth spending the extra $$ if the bass you're looking at offers something unique. For example, I can't see spending 5 grand on a Jazz Bass because that sound can be had for way less money.

Look at New York bass works

 

[Parzival]

Please define boutique basses. I have a small builder bass that is awesome, but I would be ever sleepless at night if I offended the cork sniffers.

 

[FightMilk]

I've done 2 custom builds and while it's fun and you do end up with a nice instrument, the headache just isn't worth it. Takes forever to finish, stuff is never right 100% and it is just really stressful. I think I only buy basses that are already made into existence anymore.

 

[micguy]

This is such good advice. I am hopefully looking into getting a custom Spector this year. I currrently own 13 Spectors - MIK, Czech, and USA models. My first one I bought 25 years ago. I have modded every single one in some way, shape, or form. I have a couple that are pretty close, but none ticks all the boxes on its own. BUT..... if I'm buying a custom build, I know exactly what I want to a tee, and I know I'll be 100% satisfied with my choices.

Good luck - hope it ends up being "your bass"