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Double Bass Fantastic Musical Instruments in LA

bobsax

bobsax

Jan 16, 2011
818
143
Southern Oregon
#1
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#4
Thanks Jake
You don't need to remind me about the search function.
Fantastic Musical Instruments gets about 9 pages of searches that contain the word Instruments ,Fantastic and/or Musical.
"Fantastic Musical Instruments" did not fare any better.
The only one i found was this 1 reply thread that was very positive.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f3/set-ups-fantastic-musical-instruments-854650/
Is this the thread you wanted me to find?
If there is some more info on them perhaps somebody could throw me a bone:help:

In particular has anybody gotten an Eminence EUB from them?
thanks :)
 
#6
bobsax said:
Seems like they have a good rep/QUOTE]

That depends on who you ask. If I understand the narrative correctly, they recently lost an intellectual-property dispute with an acquaintance of mine and had to withdraw a new product from the market.

Plus, they're notorious for including free, unsolicited Scientology literature with every purchase, which really bugs some people.

Personally, I'd select another vendor. It's not like Eminence basses are all that hard to find.
Click to expand...
 
#7
I just ran across this posting here and take offense to the last posting, done by KungFuSheriff.
Sheriff, please explain how we are notorious, and what intellectual property we could possibly have lost a dispute over and with whom, and why you would suggest someone look elsewhere for an Eminence bass???

We are absolutely a solid reputable upright bass specialty shop with no reason to be slighted by anyone. Give us some actual facts here or take your aspersions back.

Moderator please take note of this as well. Seems to me this kind of posting violates tou.

What's your real problem Sheriff ?
 
#8
T Kerr said:
I just ran across this posting here and take offense to the last posting, done by KungFuSheriff.
Sheriff, please explain how we are notorious, and what intellectual property we could possibly have lost a dispute over and with whom, and why you would suggest someone look elsewhere for an Eminence bass???

We are absolutely a solid reputable upright bass specialty shop with no reason to be slighted by anyone. Give us some actual facts here or take your aspersions back.

Moderator please take note of this as well. Seems to me this kind of posting violates tou.

What's your real problem Sheriff ?
Click to expand...
I can chime in here, being in LA for the past 5+ years as an upright player. For some reason, and I admit that I don't really know why, FMI has a questionable rep among the bassists I speak with. Of course, that's not ALL of the bassists in LA, so maybe I'm getting a biased sample. Regardless, it seems as though FMI have some work to do on their rep before they are really taken seriously amount dedicated upright players in LA. I suspect KungFu is commenting on that rep rather than anything else. Maybe it's just because FMI is the newer kid on the block, but I suspect that there's more to it than that. Prove me wrong.
I do know that I'd buy an Eminence from Gollihur or Gary Bartig directly before I tried FMI. In fact, I bought my Eminence from World of Strings in Long Beach. And I think John was happy to get it off of his showroom floor.
All of that said, I think I bought a styrofoam bass case from FMI several years ago and I think I got fair deal, straight up, for only $300. A few years later, the zipper broke on that inexpensive foam case, and I had a shoe repair guy repair it. It's a cheap case, but I definitely got my money's worth out of it.
Buyer beware, but IMO, I think FMI is a reputable musical instrument business. They may tend towards the less expensive items, but then, that's the consumer's choice. If you want something better than rock bottom prices, I'd ask them and a few others about options.
Gotta say, I tend to trust John at World of Strings, where I bought my carved upright, and Stein on Vine. Over the years, I've done a lot of accessory business with Gollihur and have always been happy with my purchases there, even years later. I think Bob and Mark really make an effort to steer the buyer to the product that meets their needs, and they only carry good stuff.
Long and short, FMI is probably okay for less expensive purchases and for some reason, they have a less than wonderful rep in LA local. My personal experience with them for an inexpensive accessory went well. Shop around. If you're shopping for a bargain, FMI may well have what you want.
Personally, before I bought a bass for non rockabilly music, I'd check with others first and then circle back to them.
Just one man's relatively educated opinion.
Flame away. It's the truth as I know it.
 
#9
Mr. Kerr, we've never met and never done business so I have no personal beef against you or your shop.

However, people I am friends with and whom I trust have ugly things to say about your business practices not to mention your practice of stuffing unsolicited and unwanted religious leaflets in the envelopes strings are shipped in. You pissed off a good number of people off with that one, in case you are not aware.

Further, I'm friends with Ivan Souvarain, whom I have done business with on multiple occasions and whom I have always found to be a straightforward and honest buyer and merchant.

Since you extended the invitation to be specific, what I referred to by theft of intellectual property was your decision to market a copycat of the most successful product marketed by Ivan's company, Cordes Lambert, and to compound that ethically questionable decision by using his company's name in your eBay auctions and continuing doing so despite Ivan's objections. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the resources to force you to stop this behavior, but I have an iPhone and an Internet connection and will be happy to report your behavior just like I was happy to alert Ivan to your use of his company's name.

And I don't appreciate you impugning my honesty. I was deliberately vague in an effort to take it easy on you, but since you challenged me to explain, there you go. Have fun with that.
 
#10
Watching this thread closely since it has been reported several times. The recap to this point:

* Question was asked about the reputation of a particular shop.

* One positive reply and one negative was posted. The owner of the shop asked for clarification and specifics on the negative aspect of the review. These were given. I had to moderate the tone but not the content of one comment in this reply.

All of this, so far, is within the scope of our terms of service. Users should be able to ask questions about the reputation of a shop in their area, and other users should be able to weigh in on the question. If there is a dispute, people from the shop should be allowed to weigh in and address any negative concerns directly. The main thing our TOS concerns itself with is that the participants in such discussions must be prepared to represent themselves truthfully, and that all comments in the discussion must be made respectfully (on the level of respect as fellow human beings). If there is a dispute, bring it to the attention of the moderators, and we'll get together and discuss it among ourselves.

EDIT: Here is the most usefule and most current thread on FMI I was able to find by searching. It provides some perspective for those wishing to research further.
 
#12
I picked out a plywood bass for a colleague to use as a sound design tool from FMI. It was a very pleasant experience. If you are in the LA area and looking for a plywood bass, this is the place to go. LA Bassworks (where I bought my bass, that I love!) really deals with nicer carved instruments. Stein might have some plywood basses, but I've mostly seen carved basses there, too. World of Strings closed recently. Lemur is obviously a possibility, but it is a pretty long drive from Los Angeles.

The plywood bass I picked out now has two bass strings and two piano strings on it. Wild!
 
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#13
I bought a rockabilly bass from FMI and the setup was as good as any I've seen.
If you want a cheap bass that plays well, sounds fine, and works great for dragging around
town to all the clubs - FMI is a good place to start.

If you don't trust what TalkBass.com says about FMI, join the
Upright Bass Players Union - Facebook Group. Full of professional bassists who have bought from FMI.
 
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#14
Richard, July 24, 2026: Fantastic Musical Instruments in Pasadena, CA is a real “bass shop”. Tom Kerr was very gracious to me when I was trying out basses a few years ago, even after I returned a fine bass I had on trial. I ended up buying a Pollmann Bass from another store. However, when I needed a set-up, , cleaning, and sound adjustment, I took my Pollmann to Tom. My bass now sounds better than ever, and he had a solid string recommendation. Also, just this week I bought a Kay Bass, circ, 1940 from Tom, for my bluegrass, gigs. It was reasonably priced and he did some work I requested for a minimal charge, adjustments to the bridge curvature, and a replacement tailpiece cable (I wanted a new Teflon version). I kept the original metal piece since it was part of the original bass. Thanks, Tom, for your expertise and gracious manner with me as a customer who needed some guidance.
 
#15
I've only been there a few times over the last 10 years or so, FMI is about 60 miles from my home and I've only visited the shop when I happened to be traveling though Pasadena. Finding the store, located behind other buildings on the address street, is challenging if you've never been there before. All the times I was there the staff were helpful enough but perhaps a little bit distant; maybe they were distracted or maybe I just looked like a stranger off the street -- which is really what I was to them. I wasn't ever seriously put off by that, and I have purchased a few items from them; they were good and functional standard DB accessories, all which I'm still using today. Unfortunately I have never had an opportunity to talk with Tom.

I've never entertained the idea of buying a DB from FMI because I'm really not in the market at all, but they had a lot of DBs in stock there, especially compared to any music store closer to my home that I'm aware of. The instruments there that initially caught my eyes looked mostly finished (ie: painted) to cater more to RaB or PsyB -- my Alcoa would have been very comfortable there -- but there were also some more natural finished DBs that might have been Shen or older American or European made instruments. I wouldn't be surprised if they had between 12 and 20 DBs in the shop at the times I was there; it was pretty amazing for me to be around that many DBs.

It's nice to know they are good at fingerboard work, if I ever need a fingerboard dressing or a fingerboard replacement I'll contact them; I currently know of no one closer to where I live who would be able to do that kind of work well.
 

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