Seems all boutique builders have put their prices up. I have a fretless Dingwall ABII 6 on order and the price is... scary. So glad I can pay the dealer here in instalments.
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F Bass Reality Check
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
Most informed/experienced musicians know the boutique game. Either you have the cheese (sorry doc) and want to play, or you don’t. “Value” and “worth” can be argued all day long, as they frequently are around here. Lol
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So I purchased my first F Bass this past February. I originally contacted them to get a similar spec to Janek Gwizdala's new Fbass. But that was $13K! I didn't realize how much their pricing had gone up. Pricing is on par with Fodera.
I bought a custom Fbass used to save money and to make sure I liked the brand. The seller was local to F Bass so I had him drop off the bass with Marcel for some nice additional upgrades.
I swapped out the chrome hardware to lighter black hardware with some gold splashes. New bridge to take the string spacing to 17.5mm from the standard 19mm. Had two custom ramps built so I have even spacing across the entire range of the bass. Marcel and team did a spectacular job in matching the ramps to the top wood.
If there are nicer people in this world than the people at Fbass...I haven't met them. Customer service is the best I have ever experienced from a custom builder...EVER.
Yes. They are pricey. How good are they?
After receiving this bass....I'm selling my Fodera.
I bought a custom Fbass used to save money and to make sure I liked the brand. The seller was local to F Bass so I had him drop off the bass with Marcel for some nice additional upgrades.
I swapped out the chrome hardware to lighter black hardware with some gold splashes. New bridge to take the string spacing to 17.5mm from the standard 19mm. Had two custom ramps built so I have even spacing across the entire range of the bass. Marcel and team did a spectacular job in matching the ramps to the top wood.
If there are nicer people in this world than the people at Fbass...I haven't met them. Customer service is the best I have ever experienced from a custom builder...EVER.
Yes. They are pricey. How good are they?
After receiving this bass....I'm selling my Fodera.
As I wrote as a comment under the original video, it sounds really good... like a Jazz Bass with a Sadowsky preamp. I like the look and I bet if feels great to play, but I don't have the "omg, I have to have it no matter the price!" feelings I have with some of the most unique basses.
As with most builders' basses, I tried, I really liked some I really didn't like some others
4K seems a common price point these days, even though at F bass it is a starting point...also not all too uncommon.
4K seems a common price point these days, even though at F bass it is a starting point...also not all too uncommon.
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I recently saw a video of someone that had a short(er) scale one made. Bass looked good and seem to sound good too.
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The price for fretted/fretless varies by model. The AC Classic is fretless by default, frets cost $350 more.
The AC Classic also has a $900 upcharge for any string spacing narrower than 19mm at the bridge, which, as long as it's not just installing a different bridge, should also cover the cost for having to modify the neck taper and joint at the body.
I assume surcharges are based on the extent to which any customization takes the builder away from their standard patterns.
Once you get into the small builders, costs are in a different universe than the off-the-rack mass production axes, whether it be FBass, Alembic, Fodera, etc. Essentially, these are small businesses spreading costs over far smaller, often one-at-a-time production with artisans working at the top of the game.
And if price increases are coming for the majors, when you buy the best of everything and handbuild with those materials and pay properly the people who can deliver at that level, you bet it's not going to be cheap. Small builders can't call a temp agency to find someone who does inlay work, neck carving, finishing, etc.
But . . . . guys in the 'more money than sense club' often buy these things, realize they actually should have stayed with their old Jazz or StingRay, and deals can be found on these often barely used axes.
If I was a serious buyer for one of these things and GAS is replaced with patience, you'd be surprised what you can find in the used market.
And if price increases are coming for the majors, when you buy the best of everything and handbuild with those materials and pay properly the people who can deliver at that level, you bet it's not going to be cheap. Small builders can't call a temp agency to find someone who does inlay work, neck carving, finishing, etc.
But . . . . guys in the 'more money than sense club' often buy these things, realize they actually should have stayed with their old Jazz or StingRay, and deals can be found on these often barely used axes.
If I was a serious buyer for one of these things and GAS is replaced with patience, you'd be surprised what you can find in the used market.
The problem, IMO, is that wages have not kept up with inflation or relative to GDP since the late 70s.
Adjusted for inflation, bass gear was less expensive up until a few years ago.
My first bass cost $320 in 1985 - that would be $910 today.
It's only in the last few years that Japanese basses of that era have started commanding an "adjusted for inflation" price.
So I purchased my first F Bass this past February. I originally contacted them to get a similar spec to Janek Gwizdala's new Fbass. But that was $13K! I didn't realize how much their pricing had gone up. Pricing is on par with Fodera.
I bought a custom Fbass used to save money and to make sure I liked the brand. The seller was local to F Bass so I had him drop off the bass with Marcel for some nice additional upgrades.
I swapped out the chrome hardware to lighter black hardware with some gold splashes. New bridge to take the string spacing to 17.5mm from the standard 19mm. Had two custom ramps built so I have even spacing across the entire range of the bass. Marcel and team did a spectacular job in matching the ramps to the top wood.
If there are nicer people in this world than the people at Fbass...I haven't met them. Customer service is the best I have ever experienced from a custom builder...EVER.
Yes. They are pricey. How good are they?
After receiving this bass....I'm selling my Fodera.
They are some of the nicest people in the business. I used to go into the shop all the time when I was in college. Marcel once re wound a ‘74 Jazz pickup on the spot for me and didn’t charge me. Their basses are right up there with the best in the world.
I think this is a big part of the upcharge. He is probably using the best fingerboard wood for the fretless basses.
He does seem to go a little nuts on the upcharges, though!
I give Furlanetto the benefit of the doubt, my guess is that he has a modest profit margin.
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I thought their prices were particularly high for boutique basses, then I went over to the Sadowsky site and prices are similar, if a bit lower: $7k for dream bass territory. More reason to support smaller builders, like L.E.H., where basses start at $4,200 and upgrades like a flame top are half as much as the big boutique brands.
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Agreed.
My point was simply that costs are up for everyone.
Someone is getting that money, it's not the working folk.
There is nothing with not wanting a given bass. In fact, there is probably nothing worse than buying a bass because someone else thinks it’s cool.
I used to own the 4 string version of this model F Bass. Was well built, played very well, lightweight (7 1/2 lbs!) but at the end of the day it's still a Jazz Bass. Tons of great and cheaper options out there. I wound up selling it. I'm very happy with my parts bass that costs a fraction of an F Bass.
Yeah. I’ve had that thought about the VF series. Though I do like some of the custom options, and their take on the body shape, it’s a struggle to not get hung up on what it is at the core. The BN series has more of their signature twist on a bass design, even though it borrows heavily from the J inspiration.
Yeah I still have it but I might let it go at some point (downsizing). It's nice alright but the parts bass plays better and is lighter. This is why I can't see spending a lot of money on a Fender style bass.
