Handmade vs. CNC what really the diff?

[Lowness]

Well, apart from routing the pickup cavities, and truss rod cover, as well as a metal CNC for making their own solid brass bridges, Alembic use old fashioned wood working saws, rippers, and hand finishing to make their basses, and not a single one is a dud with poor fit and finish... so go figure eh?

Well, sure...........they spend a lot of time doing the work...............and you pay a lot of money for it as a consequence.

No one is doubting that a human can make a good bass if money is (effectively) not a constraint.

As annoying as it might be, we have to work off the assumption that money is a constraint.

 

[SamJ]

Well, sure...........they spend a lot of time doing the work...............and you pay a lot of money for it as a consequence.

No one is doubting that a human can make a good bass if money is (effectively) not a constraint.

As annoying as it might be, we have to work off the assumption that money is a constraint.

but in your above post, you imply that not using CNC will introduce human error (which if the skill of the craftsman is crap, i.e. a factory in China or Mexico, I can understand), which seems a bit final.

But I agree with you... money is THE variable... you DO get what you pay for in this world.

 

[SamJ]

So I see a lot of people saying things like, "yeah it's a good bass, but that not the USA version, the USAA version is "hand made!'" Or some variation. If I have 2 pieces of Mahogany (for instance) and I carve one out with a fingernail file which takes me 10 years and the other I use a CNC that is precision tuned to the same specs as the handmade one, what really is going to be the difference in tone from one to the other (if they have the same neck, fingerboard, electronics PUPS, etc)?? Isn't the real difference in the electronics and PUPs, bridge, nut, etc? I am trying to justify the difference between a $10,000 bass and a $2,500 bass that have exactly the same specs? Does the more expensive one sound better just because you paid more money for it? For instance, I know people who have picked up relatively cheap basses made with good wood and modded them with high end electronics and PUPs and they sound fantastic! Why pay high dollars for an outrageously expensive bass when you can do a mod and have just as good a sound for a quarter the price or less??

Thanks for humoring me!

the $1000 bass has "Mojo" whereas the $2500 one doesn't...

 

[lfmn16]

I am trying to justify the difference between a $10,000 bass and a $2,500 bass that have exactly the same specs?

Good idea because the last 10,000 threads on are expensive basses worth it have been unable to resolve the issue.

 

[SamJ]

Good idea because the last 10,000 threads on are expensive basses worth it have been unable to resolve the issue.

lol... sorry man, that had me in tears laughing.

 

[Lowness]

but in your above post, you imply that not using CNC will introduce human error (which if the skill of the craftsman is crap, i.e. a factory in China or Mexico, I can understand), which seems a bit final.

But I agree with you... money is THE variable... you DO get what you pay for in this world.

Ok.........well, perhaps I'll provide that the preface that every comment I make, and every one makes, needs to be taken in reasonable context - if this reasonable context is not provided it is because it is understood.

It is reasonable to assume that there are money constraints on most people.

 

[lfmn16]

lol... sorry man, that had me in tears laughing.

I don't know why I even open these threads. I guess it's like a two headed bug - you look at it before you step on it!

The snotty, strident, disrespectful tone of some of these posts just irks me. They are like, "if you spend XXXX dollars on a bass you are stupid, your friends laugh behind your back and there is no difference between that and a cheaper bass." No; just because YOU can't tell the difference doesn't mean there isn't a difference.

I remember reading a story about Eddie Van Halen and the first MusicMan Van Halen guitar. He told them the neck wasn't right and they insisted that they'd measured it and it was exactly the same as the guitar he was playing. They eventually got out some super-duper measuring device and it was a tiny bit off on one small part of the neck. There probably isn't one guitarist in 10,000 that would have been able to tell the difference between the two necks but he could.

OK, time to step on that bug!

 

[SamJ]

I don't know why I even open these threads. I guess it's like a two headed bug - you look at it before you step on it!

The snotty, strident, disrespectful tone of some of these posts just irks me. They are like, "if you spend XXXX dollars on a bass you are stupid, your friends laugh behind your back and there is no difference between that and a cheaper bass." No jackass; just because YOU can't tell the difference doesn't mean there isn't a difference.

I remember reading a story about Eddie Van Halen and the first MusicMan Van Halen guitar. He told them the neck wasn't right and they insisted that they'd measured it and it was exactly the same as the guitar he was playing. They eventually got out some super-duper measuring device and it was a tiny bit off on one small part of the neck. There probably isn't one guitarist in 10,000 that would have been able to tell the difference between the two necks but he could.

OK, time to step on that bug!

Amen...