• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Hammersmith K4 - TalkBass Special Model

What finish should the TalkBASS special model be? (select two)

  • TalkBASS BLUE forum theme

    Votes: 79 42.0%

  • White Tux (w/ blocked & bound maple neck, all black hardware) - no binding

    Votes: 19 10.1%

  • White Tux (w/ blocked & bound maple neck, all black hardware) - with black binding

    Votes: 62 33.0%

  • Metallic Gold - no binding

    Votes: 10 5.3%

  • Metallic Gold - with Cream binding

    Votes: 21 11.2%

  • Rootbeer Metallic - no binding

    Votes: 17 9.0%

  • Rootbeer Metallic - with Cream binding

    Votes: 62 33.0%
  • Total voters
    188
#323
DerekW said:
I don't even know what number I am, but, I had actually requested a refund, as another short scale bass came up, and figured that I would jump on it. Ironically, reading Marlo's posts, and his more realistic end of the year (or later, who knows?) predictions, and being a fellow small businessman, and a fellow Canadian, I have decided to wait it out.

That gives me time to sell a couple more basses I have, as I'm going short scale across the board (arthritis is a bitch), and give a guy a chance.

I understand being handcuffed by suppliers in my business, and being f'd by overseas backorders and delays.
I'll give you an example, I own a flooring store, and a lot of porcelain tile, laminate and hardwood floors come from China. We'll have lines that we sell day in and day out with no issues, then suddenly, there will be a backorder on it, and the Canadian distributor will basically say "we have no idea when it'll be here, but it's expected the end of next month." I'll check on it a month later and the reply is "it hasn't landed in country yet.", I'll check a couple weeks later and it's "The container is at customs"... and on and on till they finally know that it is released to their warehouse.
That 5 week backorder is now 3 months. And that is for a humongous distributor doing millions of dollars with that Chinese company, not some guy in Toronto doing thousands of dollars.
Click to expand...
Thank you Derek. Your email gave me something to think about in terms of Canadian support, and I'm going to offer something for the month of Sept specifically for our bass brothers north of the border.

As for your experience dealing with suppliers, it's interesting to hear a different industry with issues. In the LED lighting business, or electronics in general, things are much more timely. Suppliers work with forecasts for a lot of the PCB components, but the industry is basically geared towards quick turn or timeline based work. Aluminum for the fixtures is one of the few variables, but it's generally stable. For years now I've been working with days or weeks as my timelines and I knew the MI industry was different, but I made the mistake of trying to work with the best-case timelines and making promises to customers accordingly. There is a lot of factors at play, I think. Raw materials (ie: wood) has to be available and the factories tend to forecast well, but if there is a moist season or a bigger customer comes in with increased orders, they get priority. That happened past summer with our necks and issues with their forecasted maple stock. I don't have clear answers about the K delays. The rosewood/CITES thing shouldn't be an issue as we're using ebony and synthetic rosewood (Blackwood Tek). Part of it is probably me moving the target on them with scales and colors, part of it is that my contact is no longer there (no one is telling me why) and while I couldn't ever prove it, there's also possible f**kery by a competitor who they also do work for, pushing my stuff off the priority list. That sort of stuff I'll only know when I go over in October.

If we have the necks and bodies in stock, we often turned instruments around in a couple of weeks. This is the direction the company has to focus on - we can more easily do the builds, more easily meet timelines and ultimately have much happier customers. When we have to customize with things like special pickup routes or paintjobs, timelines go out the window. I actually think an in-house finishing dept is going to be critical for us, as most of our timelines issues - aside from the K delays - are finishing based. That P5 we did for twofingers needed a bridge route and ultimately 2 paintjobs. A CAR bass we're finished now was the same - add a bridge route and paintjob. Both times our local painter dragged and dragged, while finishing other colors more quickly. These aren't custom paint jobs the customer pays for, they're "standard colors" that as a company, we decided to re-fin in order to help the customer get what they want, so sending the stuff to Pat Wilkins just isn't an option.

...

Anyways, as for serial numbers... there was 12 of you, and with 3 out that leaves 9. I just landed in Frankfurt and don't have the info handy on my phone, but basically #s were assigned in order. If 7 and 9 are staying, then others would bump forward I guess, except for wintremute who is requesting 13. IIRC it's 4, 6 and 11 that are out.

Regarding the passaround bass, I have Josh working on a 4 string that will go to the first in line around Sept 13th when I'm back in Canada. It will go to each customer for a week, and I will forward the waybills to each one when the time comes to go to the next in line. I was thinking a bass with Big Splits, or MM-J with switchable BigMan, something a little uniqye and not just a P or J.

I get to Zagreb later tonight and will see what I have on my laptop info wise on the #s and will try to update tomorrow.
.
 
#324
MarkoYYZ said:
If I have the usernames correct, you're #9.

@jumbodbassman will be #13, unless he is superstitious and wishes to be #14 instead. I'd kinda like to keep #13 for myself, actually :)

TB serials will have a special batch of numbers... but yes, you're the 44th K bass overall. More were sold on Facebook than here, plus a few others not sold through either site.
.
.
Click to expand...

this was in response to me in april.
 
#329
lethal dose said:
I believe I'm the first non tb K buyer in the general public. Coincidentally, I bet mine is the most challenging build. Sorry, Marko. :p
Click to expand...

Waitaminute...you are on TB. How are you a non TB buyer?

Also, Marko said he had some FB orders. Some of those may not be on TB.

What did you order?
 
#333
wintremute said:
That's an interesting perspective. Also, kinda scary. That can wreck a business.

Marko...if I'm allowed to have a number, I'll take #13 if it's available.
Click to expand...

It can be scary, and it can piss off good customers. Fortunately, in my business, I have the opportunity to switch customers to another available product, but if that product happens to be more expensive, I have to often eat the difference, or give them a better deal. And in a low margin, competitive business, that's often a big chunk of the already tight profit.
And fact is, customers seem to think once they've made a deal with you, they own you. Something goes wrong due to no fault of your own, and suddenly you owe them something. So I'm sympathetic to Marko's woes.

But I have learned, communication is key to keeping a relationship good, business, or otherwise. If I give you my hard earned money, Keep me in the loop, that's all I ask.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wintremute
#338
wintremute said:
Hey, welcome to TalkBass!

What other gear do you have?
Click to expand...
Hi & thanks! My only other bass is a Kubicki Ex-factor that I received in exchange for working 10 extra hours/week for a year when I worked there 30+ years ago, I think it's the only spruce one made. But I'm a crap player, it's all too good for me. The K4 caught my eye because I was always nostalgic over my 1st bass, a black guild B-302.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: saltydude
#339
patobravo said:
Hi & thanks! My only other bass is a Kubicki Ex-factor that I received in exchanging for working 10 extra hours/week for a year when I worked there 30+ years ago, I think it's the only spruce one made. But I'm a crap player, it's all too good for me. The K4 caught my eye because I was always nostalgic over my 1st bass, a black guild B-302.
Click to expand...

The Ex-Factor is on my dream list! Awesome that you own one. any pics?

I've played a K, and I can tell you that they are light and very comfortable (for me, anyway).
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back