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Fender Dusty Hill
- Thread starter basstodave
- Start date
this works
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you should start a thread only with pics of all the basses you buildeded.She's a beauty, and I'd love to own one, but not at that price. If you don't have the wherewithal to do it yourself but have the necessary scratch, then it's your only bet.
I don't have the chops to make one either but I can design a concept, procure, personalize, assemble, adjust, outsource various services, and ultimately produce a quality instrument. And at a very reasonable price using Warmoth and other off the self parts. My dad custom made the bridge and control plate and I already owned the pickup, which certainly didn't hurt the bottom line. ;-)
Btw, slab bodies and 2 saddle bridges are died, fried, and parted on the side.
+1. That's the appeal, plus I'm tellin' ya- It's a really well-made instrument that sounds awesome.
I haven't followed ZZ since "Rio Grande Mud" and I prefer Rainey, Jamerson, and Reginald Veal to Dusty Hill.
And it's not a bass I'd buy for my arsenal.
But I don't like price-whiners!! ('specially FCS price-whiners!)
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Where/how in the world did you reach that conclusion??
Sadowsky Lull and Lakland are wonderful- I have owned and played them all:
Sadowskdy NYC
Lakland USA Decade ;Skyline Scheff
Currently, Lull NRT. and of course my FCS.
Of these ONLY the Fender Custom Shop builds the necks and the bodies, and finishes their basses in-house- At the FCS, a separate building/entity from Fender.
Not that there is anything wrong w/ Sadowsky, Lull and Lakland out-sourcing, not at all. The finished products are top-rate, as is FCS.
But-
Your statement that the FCS is at "lower end of the spectrum" is....
Absurd.
And yes, you are entitled to post your opinion!
But it really IS absurd.
Of course it's not absurd. It's my direct experience from owning a number of high end basses. It was my experience that they were at the low end. Can you imagine a $5,000 instrument with ZERO shielding in the control cavity? I can....none of the FCSs I owned had any. Can you imagine a $5,000 instrument that had a gap in the neck pocket big enough to slide a credit card? I can...because one of my FCSs had one.
I'm just not a fanboy. I recognize quality and acknowledge it when I see it. Fender can make some nice products....at a lower price point. My main player is actually a 1996 Jazz Deluxe V which is near perfect. I like the brand, I just don't think they compete in the upper end of the spectrum.
Of course it's not absurd. It's my direct experience from owning a number of high end basses. It was my experience that they were at the low end. Can you imagine a $5,000 instrument with ZERO shielding in the control cavity? I can....none of the FCSs I owned had any. Can you imagine a $5,000 instrument that had a gap in the neck pocket big enough to slide a credit card? I can...because one of my FCSs had one.
I'm just not a fanboy. I recognize quality and acknowledge it when I see it. Fender can make some nice products....at a lower price point. My main player is actually a 1996 Jazz Deluxe V which is near perfect. I like the brand, I just don't think they compete in the upper end of the spectrum.
Absurd to the max.
Read it:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Dream-Factory-Fender-Custom/dp/1423436989
If you have a short attention span; get the Calender:
http://www.amazon.com/Fender®-Custom-Shop-Guitar-calendar/dp/141629323X
Those show what comes out of FCS, not your uhhh, "experiences"
To state that knowing the excellence of the output of the FCS comes only from a "fanboy" Absurd again!
You had a $5K FCS with a large neck-pocket gap and that typifies their craft? Funny.The neck pocket on mine is perfectly joined.
You had a $5K instrument. without shielding???! Horrors! I bet it was unplayable.
Get off it; you're ignore-worthy!
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So do you think a large portion of the cost of the bass isn't it's novelty? Do you think most of the $5000 price tag goes into materials and labor?Have you played it?
Thought so! You're guessing!
And yes, I'm guessing, as indicated by the words "I'm guessing" in my post.
It has to be the man-hours. If a famous luthier's rate is $200/hr, + materials, + marketing costs, overhead or whatever, lastly markup, I think it's easy for them to arrive at $5K.
Clothing industry markup is 300%. I don't know what it is for guitar manufacturing but I can put together a bass in a few hours, 2-3, w/ low action & playable.
Clothing industry markup is 300%. I don't know what it is for guitar manufacturing but I can put together a bass in a few hours, 2-3, w/ low action & playable.
- Jan 27, 2010
- 4,141
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- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Genz Benz Amplification
Indeed I have, along with at least a dozen other FCS basses. They're not that uncommon where I live. And compared to a stock US Fender, my opinion is that the extra money doesn't really get you much in terms of a better bass.
And if the FCS reproductions are supposed to be anything other than a dead on facsimile of a particular era someone should tell Fender's marketing department.
Of course it's not absurd. It's my direct experience from owning a number of high end basses. It was my experience that they were at the low end. Can you imagine a $5,000 instrument with ZERO shielding in the control cavity? I can....none of the FCSs I owned had any. Can you imagine a $5,000 instrument that had a gap in the neck pocket big enough to slide a credit card? I can...because one of my FCSs had one.
I'm just not a fanboy. I recognize quality and acknowledge it when I see it. Fender can make some nice products....at a lower price point. My main player is actually a 1996 Jazz Deluxe V which is near perfect. I like the brand, I just don't think they compete in the upper end of the spectrum.
Absurd to the max.
Read it:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Dream-Factory-Fender-Custom/dp/1423436989
If you have a short attention span; get the Calender:
http://www.amazon.com/Fender®-Custom-Shop-Guitar-calendar/dp/141629323X
Those show what comes out of FCS, not your uhhh, "experiences"
To state that knowing the excellence of the output of the FCS comes only from a "fanboy" Absurd again!
You had a $5K FCS with a large neck-pocket gap and that typifies their craft? Funny.The neck pocket on mine is perfectly joined.
You had a $5K instrument. without shielding???! Horrors! I bet it was unplayable.
Get off it; you're ignore-worthy!
Respectfully, those are promotional items sold by Fender. Basses, shot in perfect lighting conditions, probably airbrushed. Is this your "proof"?
I'll take my direct personal experience over the promotional items provided by the manufacturer any day.
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I'd be shocked if those luthiers are paid ANYTHING near $200 per hour. Think of the markup as a "tax".
"Why does any signature model cost so much?"
You need a higher return on a large capital investment in a limited production instrument (limited sales) to make it profitable, or worth the bother in the first place. Not just instruments everything that is for sale from food to medical equipment actually. Every and anything. Unless it's a loss the company can make up elsewhere and has another agenda for the item.
You need a higher return on a large capital investment in a limited production instrument (limited sales) to make it profitable, or worth the bother in the first place. Not just instruments everything that is for sale from food to medical equipment actually. Every and anything. Unless it's a loss the company can make up elsewhere and has another agenda for the item.
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I think the entire cost of the instrument has nothing to do with it's novelty. It is a limited-to-50 piece build IIRC, and whether or not you like/want the bass, that and it's top-notch quality in every facet of it's build allows FCS to charge that price. I'm NOT guessing.
I know I could buy that instrument for < 5K; it would still be high $$ but I'm tired of hearing that figure bandied about.
And, for the umpteenth time- Not worth it to you??
No matter; I would think by this time next year-They will all be sold.
Score one for the FCS. I'm guessing.
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And it's my opinion backed by facts that the FCS P-Bass I bought is built to a much higher standard than any stock US Fender.
I have both so..... Now if you can't determine that when you A/B, stick with the stock basses.
The reproductions are hand-built "facsimiles" the original 1957's etc were production built.
Difference? Uh, yeah.
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Can anyone explain why Classic69s opinion on these basses is "fact", while the rest of us with direct experience clearly don't know what we're talking about? Anyone?
That actually doesn't at all answer my question. I asked if you think that most of the $5000 goes into materials and labor rather than the novelty. I think the majority of the cost is the novelty and rarity of the bass. Yes....things that there are only 50 of are generally valuable.
I don't recall saying it's not worth it to me, neither once nor umpteen times. I asked a specific question about your opinion of what the $5000 applies to in the cost of of the bass.
I had mentioned that I owned a Nash PB-55 with the Wilkinson vintage 2-saddle bridge. Intonation was spot-on.
I don't think you'd have any intonation problems with FCS DH. Players seemed to record and perform with 2-saddle bridges for many years on Fender basses that had them as standard.
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