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EBMM price - ouch!

#101
KillerEddie said:
I have major GAS for the new Bongo 4H in that Firemist Purple but not t the price they’re asking. In two years I’ll be able to buy one for 1100 on here. I can wait. I love their gear but the prices are absurd for what you get.
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You mean a quality, well balanced USA instrument with a powerful, versatile 4 band EQ in an unusual paint scheme and some pretty sweet black hardware? Youre getting a lot of bass. I know you mentioned a single H instrument, which "only" has a 3 band EQ but still, thats a hell of a lot of bass. Not sure what else you could jam into an instrument of that caliber, outside of maybe another pickup, piezo, fancy rare woods, etc.

The price increase sucks but thats life and how businesses work. Rest assured the quality is still there and always has been with EBMM basses, and I say that even as I no longer primarily play their instruments.
 
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#102
Daniel Piper said:
in fact at one point Sterling said that if it wasn't for John Petrucci- and his endorsement deal with EBMM- they might be out of business.
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That and EB slinky strings are keeping EBMM afloat, I believe. Proof is in their monthly BFR releases this year. Tons of fancy guitars with fancy unique finishes but only one bass in the entire list of offerings (that Ive seen anyway).
 
#103
Epitaph04 said:
That and EB slinky strings are keeping EBMM afloat, I believe. Proof is in their monthly BFR releases this year. Tons of fancy guitars with fancy unique finishes but only one bass in the entire list of offerings (that Ive seen anyway).
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Indeed.

While I don't particularly love how he talks to people - when he talks about his company, and his passion for keeping his employees in work - I kinda trust the direction they are heading in.
 
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#105
MultiScaleMale said:
I'm probably late to the game, but I'm looking for a four string "fun" bass. Not a P, I want sexy, slappy, tappy, happy. Looked at a Sterling 4 HH and noticed the price is up $500 from just a short time ago. More digging and found that they all went up $400-500. I thought that Bongo at GC was $2199 the last time I looked and is now $2699. A 25-30% increase at least taps the brakes. They know what they're doing, but that significant of a price increase seems to put all but the gotta have it purchases on hold. The killer is that Musicians Friend had the bass at the previous price, but now the same bass is $500 higher. Come on, it's like I'm buying a mattress or a used car now.
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I thought they went up, I love the MM, I have had a Stingray4 HH for a while, bought a used Bongo at GC, which I think the Bongo has great playability, like a boutique bass, which I have owned a few, BUT, the new prices seem to be approaching the higher end. I have done some business with a bass store out of Chicago, and one of his comments was, when your approaching the 2K and higher price point, for those basses, a lot of consumers, will opt to spend a little more, and enter the boutique market. I was looking at a new Bongo, not any more.
 
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#106
Panther said:
Caprice/cutlass have best neck of them all tho ime..
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Could be worse. EB basses in the UK are so expensive. You'd struggle to get a good used Ray34/35 for $600.

A new Old Smoothie is almost $4k
3-band 4H at $2700

Fender ain't much better with the latest AP from $2k. That's more than double what a MIA used to cost here when I first started playing bass.. New MIM's are the same price as what MIA's were back in 2005. I feel old saying that.
 
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#112
In 2013, a Stingray 5 H with matching headstock ran $1,599. The same bass was $1,890 in 2015 and is now $2,099. It will stay the same price in 2018 however the matching headstock is no longer an option and it will have a roasted instead of plan maple neck, which seems like a fair trade-off.

So all in, the price went up $500 in 5 years. This is in-line with Fender American Deluxe (now Elite) and AVRI (now American Original) models.
 
#113
Epitaph04 said:
You mean a quality, well balanced USA instrument with a powerful, versatile 4 band EQ in an unusual paint scheme and some pretty sweet black hardware? Youre getting a lot of bass. I know you mentioned a single H instrument, which "only" has a 3 band EQ but still, thats a hell of a lot of bass. Not sure what else you could jam into an instrument of that caliber, outside of maybe another pickup, piezo, fancy rare woods, etc.

The price increase sucks but thats life and how businesses work. Rest assured the quality is still there and always has been with EBMM basses, and I say that even as I no longer primarily play their instruments.
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Consistent high quality basses made in America are not cheap. Just remember that while Music Man is now over $2K, actual boutiques are now regularly over $4K. I know that when I checked on new prices for a Pedulla, the cheapest was $5,200+. The price increases are no fun, but I do not think EBMM is out to gouge anyone.
 
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#114
Great, $1200 basses. I’ve had a few and they’ve all been well put together. At current prices, no way I would even consider them. At 30-40% less, they would warrant consideration, but I can get really great, used basses without the depreciation if I sell later, at the same price. Their poor business model and overhead is not my problem. I’ve cut my overhead so people can pay for my services: these are not fixed demand commodities. Plenty of well priced competition.
 
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#116
We don't know the financial situation of Musicman - There are too many examples of great manufactures going into chapter 11.
I'm sure they love making great guitars and basses at Musicman, but if they want to continue doing that - The business model must profitable.

The mark-up must be necessary to survive and/or make a decent profit- Just my educated 0.2 guess.
 
#117
jd56hawk said:
And you've never considered this?
No need to spend big bucks when this gets the job done…and it's beautiful!
View attachment 2963241
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Not the same - if you A/B them, it becomes clear that the US EBMM is the superior instrument... Sure, some people are willing to sacrifice some quality to save money, others are not - nothing wrong with either approach, it just depends on your situation... This is not unlike the differences between G&L's Tribute line and their USA models - only even more pronounced, since the electronics differences between EBMMs import lines and their USA stuff are significant...
 
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#120
I'm wondering if they did a price increase in order to put more distance in between the USA stuff and the Sterling overseas stuff? They are probably doing good financially from the Sterling line, and they may be trying to slow down USA production by raising the prices so they can keep up.

While the prices are shocking and I will no longer consider a new EBMM (the Stingray I was looking at 2 months ago went from $1400 to $2100 on Sweetwater), I'd consider an EBMM before a Fender which are priced about the same or higher. And what about a USA Lakland? What are they, around $4k now?
 
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