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Maruszczyk

Green Knight

Green Knight

Oct 18, 2016
3,557
7,410
#1
I'm blown away by their diversity in terms of scales, electronics, and styles. The options are amazing, particularly in the extended range. Window-shopping on ReBay, it's like I never see the same piece twice. How can they afford to produce so many different models? Indeed, some of the ones I salivate over have been sitting on ReBay for quite some time. I'm curious: what's their business model in comparison to other builders, both big-time and boutique? Is it one guy going bonkers 24/7 or a big team?
 
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#2
Think he has a team and his model is to crank out what people ask for and suffer.
The ones I tried are put together nicely but you can have so many whacky options built, you have to check out all the options that may be added.
This can get messy imv.
Trying too hard to serve too many options and when those oddball types need selling, resale is probably not good.
This isn't necessarily this makers fault, some brands just dont retain what it costs to buy..and by some way.

Howevet in the market they are in..around $2000 and change..there is a lot of competition and multiple options is his thing.
Just don't expect value to realistically hold.

imho.
 
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#3
I agree with all the above. OTOH, some of those options are usually only found on much more expensive instruments. I find many sellers of used ones ask for close to list price, maybe bc of the rarity factor of each. I’ll probably get one next time I can drop a chunk of change on a bass.
 
#4
pepj said:
Think he has a team and his model is to crank out what people ask for and suffer.
The ones I tried are put together nicely but you can have so many whacky options built, you have to check out all the options that may be added.
This can get messy imv.
Trying too hard to serve too many options and when those oddball types need selling, resale is probably not good.
This isn't necessarily this makers fault, some brands just dont retain what it costs to buy..and by some way.

Howevet in the market they are in..around $2000 and change..there is a lot of competition and multiple options is his thing.
Just don't expect value to realistically hold.

imho.
Click to expand...
It’s like Carvin/Kiesel. The resale value is not great because people would rather spec their own custom instrument instead of buying someone else’s.
 
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#6
He needs to put his price up then.. lol
Built in Poland so the buyer benefits from lower build cost, I'm thinking.

Doesn't in itself make it a poorer product ....old east Europe is building some nice stuff, but resale is not the same as some prestige U.S names.

Maybe rarity is its own thing regarding prices.
 
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#7
Green Knight said:
I'm blown away by their diversity in terms of scales, electronics, and styles. The options are amazing, particularly in the extended range. Window-shopping on ReBay, it's like I never see the same piece twice. How can they afford to produce so many different models? Indeed, some of the ones I salivate over have been sitting on ReBay for quite some time. I'm curious: what's their business model in comparison to other builders, both big-time and boutique? Is it one guy going bonkers 24/7 or a big team?
Click to expand...
Like Kiesel and a couple other custom shops they invested heavily in CNC and rely on their ability to produce in volume to stay profitable. The processes don't leave room for a lot of off-menu options without significantly raising the prices (eg, if you want a non-standard pickup location, the body comes off the machine and you pay for a human to cut it) so they usually try to find a balance of what will work for them and what will work for the customers.

It's not a bad way to do things. Given that large instrument companies like MusicMan and Fender have stock (non-custom) basses approaching the $3000 range now, being able to buy a custom for around that is a comparatively affordable option for those who like the options available.

Of course since they're custom instruments each is built to only appeal to one person. Which is why resale value takes a hit -- I'm guessing in an inverse relationship to original cost, because the more custom tweaks there are, the fewer people there are who are interested in that exact combination.
 
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#8
ardgedee said:
Like Kiesel and a couple other custom shops they invested heavily in CNC and rely on their ability to produce in volume to stay profitable. The processes don't leave room for a lot of off-menu options without significantly raising the prices (eg, if you want a non-standard pickup location, the body comes off the machine and you pay for a human to cut it) so they usually try to find a balance of what will work for them and what will work for the customers.

It's not a bad way to do things. Given that large instrument companies like MusicMan and Fender have stock (non-custom) basses approaching the $3000 range now, being able to buy a custom for around that is a comparatively affordable option for those who like the options available.

Of course since they're custom instruments each is built to only appeal to one person. Which is why resale value takes a hit -- I'm guessing in an inverse relationship to original cost, because the more custom tweaks there are, the fewer people there are who are interested in that exact combination.
Click to expand...
Custom pickup locations have been free of charge for me so far.

If this video is anything to go by, it seems like pickup cavities are still done by hand (as are quite a lot of things, it seems)

 
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#11
I’ve owned both Kiesel and Maruszczyk and they are similar in that they offer a menu of options and models at reasonable prices. Kiesel seems to focus more on guitars so the number of bass models are very limited. I currently own two Kiesel headless basses with a third on the way, but that model was discontinued right after I ordered it and there really aren’t any current models I’m interested in.

The Maruszczyk I owned was a headless Frog 6 I picked up used and the fit and finish were on par with Kiesel. I think the pickups were some of the best I had ever heard (Delano?) and the playability was great. But the ergonomics weren’t great, it was significantly larger than my Kiesel Vader and weighed a whopping 10 pounds.

I’ve speced out other Maruszczyk basses and like the option-to-cost ratio. But weight is always going to be a gamble and I knew with Kiesel, as long as I made relatively simple builds, returns were easy. One day I might give Maruszczyk another try.
 
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#12
My Frog 5 Beta - in the “Hellfrog” finish (only offered in the Hellwood finished Elwood body now) is incredible. It’s light, fit and finish are fantastic, and the neck is my new favorite. I like it better than my Modulus Quantum, Modulus Genesis, Pre-Gibson Tobias Killer B, and my Thumb 5. (The Killer B is the only one I’d truly like to own again, but for sentimental reasons). A friend who’s tooled around on a Fodera yin yang likes my Maruszczyk better.
Seriously - I just can’t recommend them enough, I don’t have bass GAS anymore, except to get a Frog 5 fretless. And maybe a Frog 4.
I’m smitten. And the electronics are incredibly well executed on mine: Delano Sonar 3 w/ passive push-pull, BassCulture soapbars (B35’s, if memory serves).
 
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#13
My Maruszczyk has a chambered body and is 7lbs something. Beautiful bass. If you want it to hold value don't make your build fricken' goofy. I think it's more like Warmoth where people make the most god-awful basses with everything they ever wanted in one bass, upside-down tele neck, purple SG body with a pink bubble-gum pick guard, etc. No one wants that, and neither did you since you're selling it now ;-). Order something tasteful and it helps all our Maru values. Anyway, I think many in parts of Poland are pretty poor, and the labor relatively cheap, so I am thankful for my bass and hopefully the business is worth it to them after everyone takes their cut. I think Mensinger is the factory's own brand which they sell themselves, and probably make better profits on? Idk.
 
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#17
These are my two Maruszczyk's and I can report that they are magnificent instruments and offer Great bang for the buck. I love the zero fret that I believe all of his builds come with. The green P is a medium scale (32") and the burst P is 34". The builder, Adrian, is a superb bass player himself and has a very talented band that he plays with. I think there are some links on his web site. Here's an old video from 2003 there may be more recent ones but this is first one I came across.
 

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#18
My Mensinger Joker B is my go-to 5 string for a few years now. I bought this one directly off the website because I lack patience! I think it's still featured on the site. It's a 34" scale which is unusual, I guess, from what I've seen. They shipped it to me with the neck removed at a substantial savings on shipping. Really fine instrument! Like the zero fret, although I lowered it a bit for my personal taste.

BBB

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#19
KJMO said:
My Maruszczyk has a chambered body and is 7lbs something. Beautiful bass. If you want it to hold value don't make your build fricken' goofy. I think it's more like Warmoth where people make the most god-awful basses with everything they ever wanted in one bass, upside-down tele neck, purple SG body with a pink bubble-gum pick guard, etc. No one wants that, and neither did you since you're selling it now ;-). Order something tasteful and it helps all our Maru values. Anyway, I think many in parts of Poland are pretty poor, and the labor relatively cheap, so I am thankful for my bass and hopefully the business is worth it to them after everyone takes their cut. I think Mensinger is the factory's own brand which they sell themselves, and probably make better profits on? Idk.
Click to expand...
I thought Mesinger was the other partner and he focuses primarily on guitars, not basses.
 

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