Companies that sell more basses than guitars.

I don't know for sure but I feel like Rickenbacker sells more 4001/3 basses than anything else in their catalog

 

Musicman?

 

I kept looking for someone to mention Hofner.

 

Lot more brands than I expected to see when I opened this thread.

 

Was gonna say that. But they started to make guitars more recently than basses, so that might change with time...

The real question here is do they sell more musical instruments than motorcycles ?

 

Possibly not, but it might be a close call, especially if you include acoustic as well as electric instruments. (maybe adding in pianos, brass and woodwind too, Yamaha make and sell orchestral instruments in huge numbers.)

I quick check on available Yamaha electric guitars in just one major store here in Australia brought up over two dozen models across a range of prices. Their top of the line SG's are still made, the Pacifica range covers from cheap "starter" models to professional grade, they have a newer Revstar range and then specials like the Mike Stern Tele based model. Then add their semi acoustics, hollow bodies and even more acoustic models than electrics.

 

Hofner archtops and verythins are very popular. I would imagine they sell way more guitars than basses. Unless a company is primarily a bass company that got into guitars (like Lakland) I would bet money they are selling more guitars than basses.

 

How has NO ONE mentioned Fodera Yet?

 

Someone did (post #8, back on page 1 of this thread, with a nice photo).

 

Or anything else? They own a company or two in almost every industry.

Like Disney

Or Nestlé

 

Chicago seems to cover this with Serek and now-or-former Lakland.

 

I'd be stunned if that were not the case and even more so if the differences weren't measured in orders of magnitude.

I got really excited when reading this, then looked and saw they're not NTs like the wife's SG3000 which was stolen.

 

No, I believe they're essentially the same as the old Carlos Santana model from the mid to late 70's, though without the fancy pearl inlays...

I remember at the time they built up a good reputation, especially for build quality and sound. Commonly referred to back then as "LP killers".

 

Got a Greco that's one of them.

 

Not sure where this is coming from with regard to either manufacturer. The Mikro is a pretty niche instrument. The Soundgear line are probably their biggest seller in basses, but they probably sell more guitars in the RG line alone than the total of all of their basses.

Yamaha's overall volume in stringed instruments is probably more than Fender and Gibson put together. At a guess I'd say they sell at least as many acoustic guitars as orchestral instruments but it's hard to know. Basses would be a tiny fraction compared with their acoustic guitar sales.

Both Yamaha and Ibanez are madly popular in lower-income markets, as they are often the first tier of reliable, good quality instruments available to keen players. US brands are usually astronomically expensive in those markets so working musicians are more likely to have Yamaha or Ibanez than Fender or Gibson.

That's a great story - it's amazing how some musicians can transfer so over so easily to an instrument that is physically so different.

They might do! But only because Honda is so dominant in SE Asia. If you get on the road in Thailand or Vietnam, you start to feel like there might be more motorcycles in your immediate square mile than there are guitars in the world...

Yeeeeeeeep.

I love this cover. Most big cities in the world are like this to some degree, as when you're a big enough fish, it's easy to not consider the outside world so much. One of these for Sydney or London would look pretty similar. Hong Kong too - I once knew an expat guy whose entire life was circumscribed within 4 subway train stations.

It's a lot more than that. Every country is parochial in its own way, but it's like the big city thing on a bigger scale - the US is a big enough fish that it's easy to not consider the outside world nearly as much as you would elsewhere. I understand it and don't think individuals are particularly to blame, but it does wear on me sometimes.

 

What's even more amazing was song #1 she learned was Hotel California, the recorded picked version not the easy strummed campfire version. I can still see the stunned faces of the people watching. Many years of piano, incredible understanding of theory and perfect pitch helped. Not to mention talent.

 

Yeah, I was thinking that as well...

 

G&L?
Lakland
Hofner