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Chapman Guitars Bass -Open for pledging, 20 places left

#41
What's to stop 100 people from pledging (without any intent to actually pay), designing it, voting on it, and then claiming they don't want it? Not to say that it will happen, but as far as the builder is concerned, there's no actual financial security, just a bunch of (potentially empty) promises.

I can tell you right now that I would pledge the 50, help with the design, vote, and walk away at the end because I can guarantee the bass wont have 6 or more strings.
 
#42
Well I guess if no one coughs up the deposit at the end of the voting stage it won't get done.

From what I have read the 100 number is allowing for a certain number of expected drop outs and still leave a viable minimum people.
 
#43
I'm sorry, I have read through this thread, watched the vid & browsed through that forum.

Can some one explain to me why anyone would want to be involved with this Brian May want-to-be?

What are they offering that I can not get right now from any number of custom builders that actually have a name & reputation?

They even admit they know nothing about basses!
 
#44
Well how many Custom builders are you going to get input into your bass and have change from 500 clams??

They admit they know nothing about Basses. Hence why they didn't want to do it initially . The business is Rob chapman he's a guitarist . He's been talked into it. They could have went down and followed their already proven template but decided to change it a little to more suit the people who asked them to do this.

Thats right they were asked and had to be talked into it, they didn't think they would do this to continue on the line make the name bigger, a couple of guys who play bass said we want a bit of the same.

The guitars sell out PDQ most are sold before the boat docks. Doing the bass, for them means the same effort but a 3rd possibly less of the return.


Usually people complain that companies treat the bass as an after thought, the unwanted little brother they have to invite to the party. Here's a guy who with a small company based around a small internet community has said fair enough I'll do what a small percentage of the community wants, and still he's getting flak.

Damned if you do Damned if you Don't.
 
#45
Johnston said:
Well how many Custom builders are you going to get input into your bass and have change from 500 clams??

They admit they know nothing about Basses. Hence why they didn't want to do it initially . The business is Rob chapman he's a guitarist . He's been talked into it. They could have went down and followed their already proven template but decided to change it a little to more suit the people who asked them to do this.

Thats right they were asked and had to be talked into it, they didn't think they would do this to continue on the line make the name bigger, a couple of guys who play bass said we want a bit of the same.

The guitars sell out PDQ most are sold before the boat docks. Doing the bass, for them means the same effort but a 3rd possibly less of the return.


Usually people complain that companies treat the bass as an after thought, the unwanted little brother they have to invite to the party. Here's a guy who with a small company based around a small internet community has said fair enough I'll do what a small percentage of the community wants, and still he's getting flak.

Damned if you do Damned if you Don't.
Click to expand...

Once again, what is he offering that I can not get elsewhere?
 
#47
This thread is a bit of a trainwreck :) Very entertaining though. Personally, I think the guy comes off in the video as not serious enough for me to do business with. I know the bass is supposed to come in fairly cheap, but still...500 pounds is about a grand? A grand buys a heck of a lot of backup bass these days (I can't see this being looked at on a bass forum as a possible #1 goto type instrument). You can ge a Cirrus or Bongo or any of 100 others for that coin.

Good Luck though, not bad just not for me.
 
#48
hdracer said:
What are they offering that I can not get right now from any number of custom builders that actually have a name & reputation?
Click to expand...

Tell me a custom builder that will get my input on a bass for 500£ and I'll run for him.

I guess it's all about mentality. It seems that across the Atlantic this kind of concept doesn't work very well. If you go to the forums you'll see plenty of people looking forward to do this and work in this. Maybe Europeans put it in a different way, it is the only way I can explain having such a recepetion here after what I saw in other places.

It was an error to post this here in the first place, but I hope someone can get anything good from it.
 
#49
JLAEST said:
Tell me a custom builder that will get my input on a bass for 500£ and I'll run for him.
Click to expand...

If someone is building a custom bass for you, then they should be getting all your input, wouldn't you say?

To call this stuff "custom" is a bit off the mark. If it goes through, you'll have a committee-built bass that will be produced in limited numbers. While it's not mass-produced, it's not exactly custom, either. Comparing the two is not really fair.
 
#50
JLAEST said:
It was an error to post this here in the first place, but I hope someone can get anything good from it.
Click to expand...

Don't think it was a mistake to post, but don't be offended if everyone doesn't jump up in agreement. I can't speak for everyone, but my train of thought is that I'm not going to say that I'm going to commit my 75 bucks and then back out. So I'm not going to get involved in the process. In the US, backing out is considered bad. Not saying that Europeans don't honor their word by any means, but maybe the initial definition of commitment is interpreted differently.

PS - I lived in Europe for three years and loved it. Not trying to bash at all, but I did run into some slight differences in interpretation. Always interesting.

PPS - Best story about differences in interpretation - A brand new female officer lived off base in Germany. She had a local repairman repaint her bathroom. He told her to make sure that she opens the window when she douches or it would peel the paint off the walls. She cussed him out and kicked him out of the house. Later she found out that douche is the German word for shower.
 
#51
Johnston said:
Well I guess if no one coughs up the deposit at the end of the voting stage it won't get done.

From what I have read the 100 number is allowing for a certain number of expected drop outs and still leave a viable minimum people.
Click to expand...

That was my guess as to how it worked.

Johnston said:
Well how many Custom builders are you going to get input into your bass and have change from 500 clams??
Click to expand...

The difference really is that it's not an individualized custom instrument - it's a 100-person mutual agreement. Unfortunately, bassists tend to be even pickier about their instruments than guitarists, so the final product would likely be something comparable to commercially available 4-string basses. I'd love to be wrong, though - I like creative new products.

Johnston said:
Usually people complain that companies treat the bass as an after thought, the unwanted little brother they have to invite to the party. Here's a guy who with a small company based around a small internet community has said fair enough I'll do what a small percentage of the community wants, and still he's getting flak.

Damned if you do Damned if you Don't.
Click to expand...

His approach to the whole situation is very strange and he's unknown in the bass community. Tt's not flack so much as reasoned skepticism. Look at it from our shoes: Some guy that nobody knows wants 100 people (with wildly varying preferences and no probably experience designing an instrument) to put up their own money and, as a group, design an instrument (that the guy no experience building) for the guy to build.
 
#52
ghostdog93,
it was hdracer who spoke of custom builders in the first place. I don't think you can compare things, and I was just answering him.

cybersnyder,
Of course we consider backing out bad too. However, as Chapman Guitars created this project they are aware of that risk. I see it as an opportunity, and I'm not looking to create my dream bass: I am just putting my input in something that I'll really like to see. We are not looking for everyone to agree on every part of the design. The idea is discussing each aspect, voting and accepting what has been voted. In the end, we'll just look at the final product and decide if it's worth my money or not. Of course I'll also feel bad if I decide to back out, but those are the rules of the game.

funkmetalbass,
I'm going to underline only three aspects:
It isn't a "100-person mutual agreement". It is a "100-person debate and voting". Quite different in execution.
It isn't " put up their own money and, as a group, design an instrument". It is pledge money, design an instrument and put up their money if they like.
And it isn't "that the guy no experience building". Not only he design 3 guitars already, but also the project is with Jaden Rose (http://www.jadenroseguitars.com/) which designed several guitars and some basses too (unfortunately, none of these are in his site as they weren't available for general public).
 
#55
JLAEST said:
ghostdog93,
It isn't a "100-person mutual agreement". It is a "100-person debate and voting". Quite different in execution.
Click to expand...

That's true. In the latter form, only a majority have to agree to any of the designs.

JLAEST said:
It isn't " put up their own money and, as a group, design an instrument". It is pledge money, design an instrument and put up their money if they like.
Click to expand...

Really, I was using "put up" and "pledge" synonymously. I understand the distinction. Pardon the poor phrasing on my part.

JLAEST said:
And it isn't "that the guy no experience building". Not only he design 3 guitars already, but also the project is with Jaden Rose (Jaden Rose Guitars | British Handcrafted Guitars) which designed several guitars and some basses too (unfortunately, none of these are in his site as they weren't available for general public).
Click to expand...

Ah, I must have misread the post where this was mentioned. I was going off of "They admit they know nothing about Basses." My apologies.
 
#56
hdracer said:
Once again, what is he offering that I can not get elsewhere?
Click to expand...
Following through fropm concept , design prototype staging to final product. Heck they even had a video of the last shipment coming into the docks.

But hey if it doesn't float your boat and you fair enough.

cybersnyder said:
IME, design by committee never really works out. We can't decide on 4 or 5 strings (or more) are the best.
Click to expand...

Well it worked with the Guitars which as I said both sold out as did what was termed "The Lost 21" so it has a history of working and if a bunch of guitarists can do it.

jim777 said:
This thread is a bit of a trainwreck :) Very entertaining though. Personally, I think the guy comes off in the video as not serious enough for me to do business with. I know the bass is supposed to come in fairly cheap, but still...500 pounds is about a grand? A grand buys a heck of a lot of backup bass these days (I can't see this being looked at on a bass forum as a possible #1 goto type instrument). You can ge a Cirrus or Bongo or any of 100 others for that coin.

Good Luck though, not bad just not for me.
Click to expand...

500 Great British pounds for a Bongo where???

As for not serious enough. for me thats part of it.

You can go to any number of makers and shops that will give you a product picked from a brochure and made to a price to sell.

But then you end up with something that there are thousands upon thousands of with all sorts of different brandings .

You can get all the corporate ******** youwant all over the show where the intention is to make enough profit at the end of the day as possible.

Here's a guy with a love for guitar started up a youtube channel, got loads of followers started a guitar forum and is making a living from something he genuinely enjoys and passionate about.


I bet there are a fair few ofus that would like to do the same ;)
 
#58
Not over here.

Warmouth is scary pricy when you put on conversion rate the delivery and Taxs.

Body $370
Neck $270
Del $110
-------
$750

Which equals £600 once the taxes go on.

then the Bridge, pups, pots , plate.

Oh and thats to a similar spec as My Fender Mike Dirnt.
 
#60
This is the funniest thread I've read in a long time! :D
I've been a huge Rob Chappers fan for the past five years and a subscriber to his YouTube channel. He's a heck of a guitarist. Three years ago he used this approach to design, produce and market two guitars. It worked well enough that he got two more models in development, and last month decided to try it with a bass. He is NOT a bassist but hangs out with some excellent musicians. Personally, I think it will look like a Jazz. Like the piano-black Sandberg I'm lusting after.
 

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