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Long Wait List Custom/Boutique Brands

#3
I read something about the build time for the new Wals being about 5 months on the new homepage when it was up in the recent "Wal is back in business"-threads, and i was surprised they could do it so fast. Maybe they can't after all, then?

Ritter usually has a build time of 8-10 months, although my custom took 18 months due to a delay in having the fretboard made. You could send him an e-mail and ask, if you're seriously interested.
 
#6
He has some very beautiful basses at very fair prices- so much so that I considered getting one a year or so back (which is a big deal for me as I've given up on most basses that aren't Js or semi-hollows outside of Elricks at this point). He said it was either a 12 or 14 month wait though, and I simply don't have the patience to wait that long- the one time I waited 9 months for a bass, it drove me crazy.
 
#11
Bryan R. Tyler said:
He has some very beautiful basses at very fair prices- so much so that I considered getting one a year or so back (which is a big deal for me as I've given up on most basses that aren't Js or semi-hollows outside of Elricks at this point). He said it was either a 12 or 14 month wait though, and I simply don't have the patience to wait that long- the one time I waited 9 months for a bass, it drove me crazy.
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While the waiting isn't the most fun part, I'm generally in no hurry to fork out the $ any quicker than I need to. I personally look at the build time as financing towards it since it's usually 1/2 up front and the rest on completion.
 
#13
PRUNEFACE said:
Well I haven't been lucky enough to be able to afford a bass of the "wait list" quality. I'm planning on working this summer and will hopefully have enough to at least place an order...
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I think one "trick" is to order from a small independent luthier. Going through a store might seem nice, but dealers typically tack on their fees and don't do a whole lot during the custom process. No offense to the big names out there, but there are several great luthiers out there who don't advertise, pay for endorsements, etc. None of these things add to the bass, so why pay for it?

Also, generally best to wait until you can fully afford the bass. Nothing is worse than seeing someone have to sell their dream bass, usually for a loss, when an unexpected bill arrives.
 
#14
The one (possibly big) downside to going through a luthier rather than a store is that you're pretty out of luck if the luthier starts having trouble producing (Ken Bebensee, Darrin Huff, Minnieweather, Dr. Bass cabs, etc.). Luthiers that go through a dealer have more legal obligations, so you'll be much safer if there's an issue with a luthier that requires you getting a refund. It's sad that this is even a factor to think about, but I've seen quite a few TBers either wait far beyond their promised wait time for a bass or just not get one at all when the luthier turned out to be a bad businessman.
 
#18
natw42 said:
7-8 years?!?!
What ever happened to delegating?

That's just someone being stubborn about looking for employees.
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Or someone being committed to offering exactly what it is they originally went into the business to offer: a completely uncompromised instrument that's 100% handbuilt by the guy whose name is on the headstock.

I've had online conversations with some esteemed custom bicycle framebuilders about long wait lists (I'm currently about 2 years into the 5 year wait for a Richard Sachs) and most of the guys with multi-year wait lists insist that they'd rather not accept new orders than accept them and then farm out the work to underlings or subcontractors.* They're not being stubborn, they're being realistic: Mr. Sachs didn't go into business to sell frames, he went into business to make frames. Presumably it's the same with Mr. Walker.

If I ordered a Carl Thompson bass and found out that my instrument was built not by Carl but by Carl's well-meaning but much-less-experienced intern Shaggy, I'd be pissed. Some folks would rather wait for the real thing.





* an interesting exception is Sacha White, whose Vanilla brand handbuilt bicycle frames have a 6 year waiting list...I think he stopped taking orders for these in the last 12 months or so. But he also opened up a new division of Vanilla, called Speedvagen, which are bikes designed by Sacha White but built by a local network of subcontractors, all under Sacha's supervision. You still get an awesomely excellent product built to extremely high standards, but now the wait is less than a year.

What you don't get is a bike built by Sacha with "Vanilla" on the downtube. If you don't care about that sort of thing it's not a dealbreaker. If you do...
 
#19
PRUNEFACE said:
Oh really? I thought they were a little quicker -I thought those were factory (or "workshop" as they say on the dark side of these forums) basses albeit VERY nice factory basses.
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Some are, but the highest end are not. Currently Dingwall's shop spans the gap from Asian-Built instruments (combustion), to fully custom handmade creations (Artist / Prima Z)

All of them are set up in the shop, however -- even the combustions.
 

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