Charging more for left handed models.

[Ian the bassist]

I'd have a problem with Fodera's prices if I didn't think they were worth it.



Which means I have no problem with it.

I think their basses sound amazing(I've never played one, but still) But a charge of that much is just way too much. Just say the bass cost 10,000 dollars to make. That's an extra 1,500 dollars on top. I'm pretty sure the pots, tuners etc don't cost that much.

 

[guy n. cognito]

Maybe keep them until they need to build more?

You've never been to business school have you?

The reason that many companies charge more for lefties is because it requires additional tooling and setup time, plus they either have to pay a premium for the hardware or stockpile it for an indefinite period of time. It is reasonable to expect that they would charge a premium for that.

I am extremely fortunate that I was advised to learn righty from the beginning.

 

[amimbari]

what I meant was if a lefty wants the same thing as a righty and it is not available, they lose. what I mean is if company x says sorry lefty, you want it, it will cost you more, you lose. BUT, like Andrew said there are plenty of companies that do not charge more. PROVIDED you want what they have to offer - 1/2 lose.

go price lefty golf clubs, go price a lefty glove for b.ball, go price a lefty anything not created equally by the same company and it will cost more.

yes I'm a lefty and have been forever, I have always known the issues involved with it, but never am I pissed disgruntled, or jealous in any way. I just walk into the store and say yes I like it, pay the price and walk out happy and never think "man, if I was a righty I could have got this for 200 less".

 

[andrew]

Yes I'm aware of the teasing, I couldn't give a about that though. I wanted to see if anyone else thought it was a bit unfair. But obviously they decided to turn it into a troll off. Thanks anyway for the people who gave general feedback without the need to insult or poke fun. But too many people jump on the troll wagon these days. Maybe it's just something to expect now ;P

The best advice I can say is research who's out there for lefty builders not upcharging and see if any interest you to try. Voice your opinion with your buying power. I'm certain you'll find a bass you'd love from someone besides Fodera.

There are more online resources for lefties now and more choices for basses than ever before. Personally, I'm happy to get to work with a smaller builder and have a personal relationship from them regarding my basses. I recommend reaching out to some of the small guys and see what they can do for you.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

I wouldn't doubt if some builders had to pay local pros/techs who are lefty to come in and test their basses multiple times during the build process. A right-handed luthier probably doesn't want to leave it up to chance and hope the left-handed bass he made works well.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Try buying a left handed piano or amplifier, for example, not to mention a lefty camera!

 

[Nev375]

So, your assertion is that you are a victim of a global conspiracy against southpaws being perpetrated by musical instrument manufacturers?

That's epic facepalm material right there.

Listen,

Each manufacturer has different building methods, tooling and processes to go through to build left handed instruments. It's a case by case basis. If it costs them more, most businesses tend to pass that cost onto the consumer. That's just sensible business, not any form of exploit.

Some businesses are nice and just ignore any extra costs probably because there's not enough lefties produced for those costs to amount to much. That too is a sensible business strategy.

So, either pony up a few extra bucks for the bass you want, or buy one from one of the companies who cater to lefties, or adapt to a right handed instrument. That's your choice, but for Gods sake don't whine about it.

Get used to the fact that you may have to pay a bit more or work a bit harder or endure a little bit of alienation when some aspect of you is in a minority. That's life.

 

[andrew]

Get used to the fact that you may have to pay a bit more or work a bit harder or endure a little bit of alienation when some aspect of you is in a minority. That's life.

Oof, that's a slippery slope.

 

[Ian the bassist]

So, your assertion is that you are a victim of a global conspiracy against southpaws being perpetrated by musical instrument manufacturers?

That's epic facepalm material right there.

Listen,

Each manufacturer has different building methods, tooling and processes to go through to build left handed instruments. It's a case by case basis. If it costs them more, most businesses tend to pass that cost onto the consumer. That's just sensible business, not any form of exploit.

Some businesses are nice and just ignore any extra costs probably because there's not enough lefties produced for those costs to amount to much. That too is a sensible business strategy.

So, either pony up a few extra bucks for the bass you want, or buy one from one of the companies who cater to lefties, or adapt to a right handed instrument. That's your choice, but for Gods sake don't whine about it.

Get used to the fact that you may have to pay a bit more or work a bit harder or endure a little bit of alienation when some aspect of you is in a minority. That's life.

Whining would be "It's soooo unfair, why are they being so gaaayyyy wahhhh" to put it in a childish way. All I was saying is it should not cost THAT much more. Did any of you even look at my argument properly? 10,000 dollar bass. Add 15%= another bass in charges. Most other companies who DO have a lefty charge are reasonable, and will only charge maybe at the most, 2 hundred dollars.

 

[Ian the bassist]

Try buying a left handed piano or amplifier, for example, not to mention a lefty camera!

I didn't even know lefty Pianos existed? That is something, when I do learn, I will learn the way it was made lol. The other two make no sense to me though :S

 

[guy n. cognito]

Whining would be "It's soooo unfair, why are they being so gaaayyyy wahhhh" to put it in a childish way. All I was saying is it should not cost THAT much more. Did any of you even look at my argument properly? 10,000 dollar bass. Add 15%= another bass in charges. Most other companies who DO have a lefty charge are reasonable, and will only charge maybe at the most, 2 hundred dollars.

$200 on a $1000 bass is 20%. You get that, right?

 

[Ian the bassist]

The best advice I can say is research who's out there for lefty builders not upcharging and see if any interest you to try. Voice your opinion with your buying power. I'm certain you'll find a bass you'd love from someone besides Fodera.

There are more online resources for lefties now and more choices for basses than ever before. Personally, I'm happy to get to work with a smaller builder and have a personal relationship from them regarding my basses. I recommend reaching out to some of the small guys and see what they can do for you.

I won't be getting a Fodera just out of principle lol. This bass is one I won't be getting for years(could be many a year) I just always wanted to own a fodera. I guess I'll get a nice local "Joe" builder, to make a replica. If they use all the same woods, parts, etc surely it will sound similar at least XD I'll get him to put on the headstock F##k fodera(lawsuit pending later for slander XD)

 

[Ian the bassist]

$200 on a $1000 bass is 20%. You get that, right?

The models I was looking at that had that charge costed much more I know how to count

 

[spade2you]

It's conversations like this that make me glad my parents and older brother forced me to play right handed when I naturally gravitated toward left handed Well, all you can do is look for someone who won't charge extra for a lefty bass. But even small shops can't just flip their stuff over and make you a lefty. I'm sure they have to have two sets of custom jigs and stuff to do it, and the market just plain isn't there to make it pay for itself like the righty models do. So it affects all builders, not just factories.

As am I. My local shop told me that any lefty orders would need to be prepaid to order them and absolutely no returns unless there was a factory defect. This was before the internet and lefty specialty stores. Still, a few guitars and basses I've grown to love will never be made in the left handed format. This is unfortunate, but the way it is and will always be.

That being said, it's not impossible for lefties to learn right handed. I did. If I can do it, it's obviously not impossible.

 

[Ian the bassist]

what I meant was if a lefty wants the same thing as a righty and it is not available, they lose. what I mean is if company x says sorry lefty, you want it, it will cost you more, you lose. BUT, like Andrew said there are plenty of companies that do not charge more. PROVIDED you want what they have to offer - 1/2 lose.

go price lefty golf clubs, go price a lefty glove for b.ball, go price a lefty anything not created equally by the same company and it will cost more.

yes I'm a lefty and have been forever, I have always known the issues involved with it, but never am I pissed disgruntled, or jealous in any way. I just walk into the store and say yes I like it, pay the price and walk out happy and never think "man, if I was a righty I could have got this for 200 less".

As I said. Production line things are fair enough. I have come to expect this. Read the original post everyone. The custom building should not cost THAT much more. It's 1500 dollars more. That is insane.

 

[walkerci]

Am I missing something here?

When I am in the UK, I have to shift with my left hand.

Its takes a day or so, but I adapt.

Are there left handed pianos?

Are there left handed drum kits?

How tough can it be to just play the instrument the way it was made and meant to be played?

Jeez.

 

[PotsdamBass8]

I wouldn't doubt if some builders had to pay local pros/techs who are lefty to come in and test their basses multiple times during the build process. A right-handed luthier probably doesn't want to leave it up to chance and hope the left-handed bass he made works well.

This is definitely possible.

Also, I would think that there is a lot of hands on work being done on these basses. And I'm sure they take a great deal of care with that work. When you get used to doing something one way every day, and the you try to do the same thing backwards, it usually takes longer. I'm guessing it takes longer to build these lefties too, which would definitely warrant the upcharge.

Remember, it's not $10,000 worth of parts and raw material, it's mostly the labor that warrants the cost.

 

[SolarMan]

Yo, Ian - lighten up dude!

When amimbari said "leftys are losers" HE MEANT THE INSTRUMENT or product, not the person!

And amimbari is totally correct. The company loses money (if they sell for the same price) and the product is also a loser in the aspect of being built mirror-image.

Seriously, is a luthier that almost always builds rightys going to be able to do as good of a job on the few lefties he builds? Doubt it! The quality is going to be lower on the leftys because there is less practice building them.

 

[Ian the bassist]

As am I. My local shop told me that any lefty orders would need to be prepaid to order them and absolutely no returns unless there was a factory defect. This was before the internet and lefty specialty stores. Still, a few guitars and basses I've grown to love will never be made in the left handed format. This is unfortunate, but the way it is and will always be.

That being said, it's not impossible for lefties to learn right handed. I did. If I can do it, it's obviously not impossible.

That is a fair post. Yes it's not impossible for some lefties. For others. Well. Let's just say I do everything left handed and I think if you asked a righty to try learn lefty, they would have the same trouble I had when I picked it up righty. About the left models.

I heard Rickenbacker stopped making lefties? A bass I will own someday, even If I have to track down an really old one lol. My OP wasn't about bashing the system. It was about how ridiculously bad 1 particular companies charge was. I have learned to accept factory produced lefty items cost more. I just felt this one thing was just offensive. And an exploit. But obviously everyone misread what I was saying.

 

[Ian the bassist]

Yo, Ian - lighten up dude!

When amimbari said "leftys are losers" HE MEANT THE INSTRUMENT or product, not the person!

And amimbari is totally correct. The company loses money (if they sell for the same price) and the product is also a loser in the aspect of being built mirror-image.

Seriously, is a luthier that almost always builds rightys going to be able to do as good of a job on the few lefties he builds? Doubt it! The quality is going to be lower on the leftys because there is less practice building them.

I realised what he meant when I saw he too was a lefty, I came in here fine, thinking it was just unfair but I wasn't annoyed. Then I got annoyed when a bunch of people misread what I was trying to say, and started writing comments as if I don't get how the process works and just poking fun at me(in other words as if I'm a bit stupid)

I understand that logic. And had that in consideration in my original post. But it should not cost THAT much more. I could understand a price bump. But that kind of bump is taking advantage I feel.