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Fender Custom Shop prices are SOARING!

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#101
You couldn't have thought inflation was dead? While the "official" inflation rate is (currently) 8.9% in real life I am finding it much, much higher for things we buy on a daily/weekly basis. I lived through the 70's as an adult and have an idea of what's coming (and it ain't pretty).

Four years ago was a different world. What comes to mind is the GK amp that I bought for $400, shipped is now $750. Have you purchased a used car recently?

While I think $10k is outrageous for (even) a custom Fender, if you're going to buy something, buy it now. An already depreciated good used instrument is the best bet as a currency hedge. At least you'll have a hard asset that will appreciate with inflation.
 
#102
mdogs said:
This thread should be a sticky for representing so many things that are wrong with TB:

-every thread eventually turns to Fender bashing
-people don’t read the thread
-people makes uninformed comments on issues they clearly don’t understand
-Fender bashing
-People make way too many non-sensical analogies:


-Did I say Fender bashing
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Absolutely correct sir! All these sad, angry people who insist on inflicting their version of the TRUTH on us... Get a life!
 
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#104
RichSnyder said:
I really like roasted necks. Stability and it acts like vintage wood out of the box. Some luthiers don't like it because it can be more brittle.
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truand85 said:
My understanding is that roasting maple makes it less stable (though with maple it's no big deal), but the goal is to prematurely age the wood by roasting to get a darker look and an arguably more "vintage" tone.
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My Warmoth maple neck came with special instructions. It says "Your new neck is built from one of the most stable woods available." It also says that roasted maple is less forgiving than standard maple and more likely to split if you force screws and tuner bushings into holes that are too small.
 
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#108
DuluthDank said:
It matters to me insofar as I care about how I spend my money. I feel like this "does it really matter" style reply could more or less be made in response to a strong majority of content on Talkbass. Do your feelings matter? Does your hobby matter? Will Talkbass matter after the heat death of the universe?
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Those are are all questions 1000 individuals will answer differently. As to your buying - if you dont like it dont buy it or - counter offer. Fun fact - every bass I have sold was sold due to someone sending me an offer which was always a bit lower than my price. Food for thought.
 
#109
vindibona1 said:
You couldn't have thought inflation was dead? While the "official" inflation rate is (currently) 8.9% in real life I am finding it much, much higher for things we buy on a daily/weekly basis. I lived through the 70's as an adult and have an idea of what's coming (and it ain't pretty).

Four years ago was a different world. What comes to mind is the GK amp that I bought for $400, shipped is now $750. Have you purchased a used car recently?

While I think $10k is outrageous for (even) a custom Fender, if you're going to buy something, buy it now. An already depreciated good used instrument is the best bet as a currency hedge. At least you'll have a hard asset that will appreciate with inflation.
Click to expand...


I think for whatever reason GK has been hit unusually poorly, in terms of the price increases they've had to put out. You can get a Markbass CMD121P for $650 at Guitar Center, and a GK MB112ii for $750 (sure $650 is sale price, but it seems to go on sale every month or two). There is no way to deny that the prices no longer match the features on the GK when compared to the competition. The GK MB110 started out at less than $300 when released around 10 years ago, now it's $600. They've been assembled in USA this whole time, so I'm not sure why they seem like such an outlier in terms of percentage of increase.
 
#110
Why have people not noticed that we're in an inflationary period right now? I went to the car wash yesterday to have my car thoroughly cleaned and the package deal that used to be $28.00 is now $41.00. For whatever reason, I was not inclined to blame Fender for that.

Unfortunately it's clear that, for the time being, we're all going to have to "tighten our belts," as my dad used to say. My discretionary spending isn't going to be what it was a year or two or three ago for the foreseeable future because my money isn't going as far as it used to. Hopefully things will change.

My husband and I live on investment income so we've seen this cycle before. It's bad right now, but things have a way of recovering.
 
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#111
I don't currently play Fender basses, but I like to know what's going on in the industry so I click on these posts - my point being that I don't have an opinion one way or the other on Fender basses so what I am about to say doesn't come from a point of bias.

It seems every time anyone says anything even remotely negative about the brand, it's called out as Fender bashing. People have complained about pricing or quality of other brands on random posts and on those brands' dedicated threads and there are those that agree and those that disagree, but no one gets called out for "<insert brand name here> bashing".

Someone mentioned above about how Fender sells over 10x the amount of basses as other brands, so it's just a natural fact that you're going to generally hear more of the complaints (and they will seem like a lot given the number of Fender instruments out there).

I don't know how many times I've come across the term "Fender bashing" here, and then always that one person that comments on how it's been "only x number of days since the last Fender bashing". I'm kind of glad I don't play Fender or I'd seriously be hesitant to post about a complaint or issue so I don't get called out for "Fender bashing".

As for pricing - $10,000 is just ridiculous, FOR ANY BRAND. You can talk about high cost of doing business in big cities, rising material costs, scarcity of materials, it still doesn't make sense. Of course, people are obviously paying those costs (Alembic is still around), and hey, good for those brands that can still move instruments at that price. I'm sure if I had money coming out of my ears, I'd probably have a roomful of custom Alembics, Fedoras and Spectors. Thankfully, there are still plenty of nice basses at all price points.
 
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#113
Snert said:
No, that's your projection.
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Nope, not a projection, there is 25 years of empirical data documenting the effect and affect. At it's core it's basic gear shaming, price shaming etc and it never comes from top down. I didn't make it up which is why it is my observation, not 'opinion'.

Snert said:
I could afford a FCS MB if I chose, or a new Alembic SII, but having tried a couple of FCS as well as a whole slew of other FSO, I simply don't see the value in them (FCS)
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My point exactly. You simply do not see the value in them... and it's such a dis-value that you must let it be known in a way that ridicules. Not discusses. That again was my point. Being offended by something has nothing to do with whether you can afford it or not. We are not talking 'price'...we are talking 'value'. That's something you don't get to control outside of your own world.

Snert said:
especially for such a basic spec as in the OP. You spend your money however you want, but it's a public forum and the topic was the pricing of the FCS gear, so comments on value are relevant and on topic.
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Again it's a matter of value... I don't know why, but so many of these threads compare function and form with value. 95% of our needs in as far as function or form as bassists can be had for very little and in abundance. We all know that. It takes very little to gig or get great tones... everything else is subjective.

LOL and not to mention I wasn't speaking to you. But you did respond.
 
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