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Charging more for left handed models.

#41
Spector also charge 15% more for lefty ( on few Euro model )

Otherwise I only saw Carvin and Warwick offering lefty at no additionnal cost on every model they make.

I should have learned righthanded when I started but no one told me it was hard to get lefty instrument ... now it is too late and frustrating to learn righty. ( I tried oh god I tried ).
 
#43
walkerci said:
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?:bassist:

Jeez.
Click to expand...

A gearstick is not the same as a complete way of doing things. Try write with your left hand. Try chop onions in a fast manner, try cut with a scissors straight, try hold a gun steady the other way, swing a baseball bat. Now try play bass left handed. That is a ridiculous last statement. The thread wasn't about being left handed, it was about how that one charge was too high, compared to other bass companies.
 
#46
noahw1 said:
Have you tried asking in the Fodera thread here on TB about it? There's someone who works in the shop constantly answering questions about what they do there. Maybe he can explain why the up charge is so much for lefties.
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Nah, I wasn't going to persue anytime soon. I don't think I'd bother though. I was just looking for fun. And my fun sadly has been ruined by people making smart ass comments. I don't mind a little joke. But some of the comments being made were just down right ********. Thanks for anyone who made honest feedback though.
 
#47
Clef_de_fa said:
Spector also charge 15% more for lefty ( on few Euro model )

Otherwise I only saw Carvin and Warwick offering lefty at no additionnal cost on every model they make.

I should have learned righthanded when I started but no one told me it was hard to get lefty instrument ... now it is too late and frustrating to learn righty. ( I tried oh god I tried ).
Click to expand...

I noticed their retails were also higher when I was looking for a bass a while ago(this was years ago) I always liked their basses funny enough. I think if it comes down to me getting a custom model in years to come. I'd either go with a local builder or else warwick. I love what they're doing with the new chrome paints. Looks almost like Trujillo's sig is made out of metal XD
 
#49
walkerci said:
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?:bassist:

Jeez.
Click to expand...

No lefty piano but both hand do equal work so its no biggy.

Drum kit ... well you can assemble it the way you like. Prefer the Hit-hat on your right foot, yeah no prob.

It isn't easy on a instrument that have a "direction". I'm sure when you learned you didn't put to much attention at your picking hand, your fretting hand get all the attention. well if you played on a lefty I'm sure you would have a hard time on both rythm and fretting. I had a ridiculus hard time playing a right handed DB when I was in college, I was so frustrated by it. I could play in the college orchestra since it was very easy but I hate it. I finish my degree on the EB because of that. few year latter I found a Ns Design NXT, tried righty ... got the same frustration, I mod it to be lefty. I'm not an happy musician.

Funny thing is I play the vast majority of sports righthanded, music require much more finess.
 
#50
Ian the bassist said:
I noticed their retails were also higher when I was looking for a bass a while ago(this was years ago) I always liked their basses funny enough. I think if it comes down to me getting a custom model in years to come. I'd either go with a local builder or else warwick. I love what they're doing with the new chrome paints. Looks almost like Trujillo's sig is made out of metal XD
Click to expand...

I think it is actually real chrome ... if you look at Warwick website that option cost a lot of money ... like A LOT MONEY (around 4000euro )
 
#51
Ian the bassist said:
A gearstick is not the same as a complete way of doing things. Try write with your left hand. Try chop onions in a fast manner, try cut with a scissors straight, try hold a gun steady the other way, swing a baseball bat. Now try play bass left handed. That is a ridiculous last statement. The thread wasn't about being left handed, it was about how that one charge was too high, compared to other bass companies.
Click to expand...

It's called practice. When you first picked up an instrument you sucked with both hands. You decided to go with a "leftie" bass, not realizing that the regular bass is a leftie, and the leftie bass relies heavier on the right hand.

You made your choice and nobody changed the rules because of you. You do not have to play their bass, and they don't have to sell to you at a loss, just to be "fair". If you want the bass but don't want to pay extra - buy the one that doesn't cost extra and learn to play it. Read the first statement I made here.
 
#52
G&L also makes left handed models at no additional cost. Every bass I've played by them is a winner and their US stuff rivals most basses out of their price range. There are plenty of factory and custom builders who don't have an upcharge on lefties.

I don't understand why Fodera has a 15% upcharge on such an already expensive instrument. However I think the 15% is part of the base price of the instrument. So a bolt on monarch (cheapest custom model) would have a $975 upcharge which is still, frankly, ridiculous. Several custom builders, if I recall correctly, had an upcharge of around $200 to make a lefty instrument. I haven't been in the market for a custom bass in awhile, nor am I lefty, so don't hold me to that. I can't think of any "righty only" parts unless its certain control plates with beveled edges such as EBMM or G&L.

I don't think they use a CNC machine at Fodera, but doing it by hand only means flipping the template. Its just probably a pain in the ass which is why they charge more. They do instruments in small batches and doing one of them lefty is probably a hassle. The upcharge discourages potential customers from infringing on their build process. Hey, it discouraged you didn't it?!


Keep in mind though, that this company also charges $500 for a pickguard, so being upcharged $1000+ for a lefty model is a steal!
 
#55
GeneralElectric said:
G&L also makes left handed models at no additional cost. Every bass I've played by them is a winner and their US stuff rivals most basses out of their price range. There are plenty of factory and custom builders who don't have an upcharge on lefties.

I don't understand why Fodera has a 15% upcharge on such an already expensive instrument. However I think the 15% is part of the base price of the instrument. So a bolt on monarch (cheapest custom model) would have a $975 upcharge which is still, frankly, ridiculous. Several custom builders, if I recall correctly, had an upcharge of around $200 to make a lefty instrument. I haven't been in the market for a custom bass in awhile, nor am I lefty, so don't hold me to that. I can't think of any "righty only" parts unless its certain control plates with beveled edges such as EBMM or G&L.

I don't think they use a CNC machine at Fodera, but doing it by hand only means flipping the template. Its just probably a pain in the ass which is why they charge more. They do instruments in small batches and doing one of them lefty is probably a hassle. The upcharge discourages potential customers from infringing on their build process. Hey, it discouraged you didn't it?!


Keep in mind though, that this company also charges $500 for a pickguard, so being upcharged $1000+ for a lefty model is a steal!
Click to expand...

Probably because if the buyer doesn't come through with the money when it's completed, they don't want to be stuck with something they can't sell. Something tells me that they got burned once or twice and had to pass that rule.
 
#57
You are NOT a loser. I too am left-handed. However, when I was in junior high school I was offered the opportunity to play the guitar (this was in the mid-seventies). My teacher told me it was better to learn to play right-handed because of the scarcity of lefty guitars. Anyway, fast-forward to present day and I am glad that I started learning to play right-handed. If you think about it when you are playing righty, you are fretting with your left. I think this affords more control as it is easier play with my right. I don't know if this helps, but look at this way...my basses cost less (I'm not being mean...just telling it like it is). I hope I haven't offended anyone.
 
#58
Yeah, learning lefty is stupid IMO. there's a time to rebel and then there's a time to realize you're just being an idiot. I write with my left hand and am left side dominant in nearly everything save hockey and batting. So it made sense to grab the guitar and use my MOST COORDINATED hand to do the HARDEST JOB, the fretting. I'm sorry if i seem rude but i argued with one of my buddies who is learning guitar for literally days about learning guitar right handed. He was a lefty and said it didn't make any sense, then i explained my theory. He looked dumfounded and then claimed being a lefty just "felt right". His loss, in an attempt to be cool he's lost out on serious selection and dollars. smart move for something you can easily adapt either hand to do as you have no previous experience with the motor skills necessary to play guitar.
 
#59
Maybe Fodera charges 15% because they DON"T WANT TO make left handed basses. But they don't want to come across as a custom builder who won't make custom instruments. So by charging 15% more for a lefty, they weed out most left handed requests for instruments except those who are truly ready to pay a premium.

That's just a guess on my part. I'm not trying to speak for Fodera. I also agree with the Mod's opinion that maybe they have to bring in a lefty to test out the basses. I used to work in a guitar store and any time I even simply restrung a left-handed guitar or bass, even tuning and testing were a real drag. I can't imagine the mind-bend that happens when you try to build and assemble an instrument in a way that is essentially backwards to the way you're used to doing it. Feel and muscle memory are so key when handling a stringed instrument- I've always found it monumentally frustrating to try to fiddle with left handed instruments. Maybe Fodera does too, and for their trouble, they've decided that if you're going to make them build one- they're going to charge you an extra 15%.
just my .02
 
#60
Us lefties do have a tough time there is no doubt. I was duped into learning to play left handed because a local music store owner convinced me I had to play left handed and he just so happened to have an old lefty guitar to sell. I have no idea if I could have learned right handed but its way too late now.

Some companies only charge a small up charge but it seems like most of the boutique builders are in the 10-15 % range. I found my happy place with Ernie Ball bases and own more then a few of them now because of the fact that they are available in any color and a ton of configurations. You cant get every model but the selection is really very good for such a moderately sized company.
 

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