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Thanks AJ and Vic, your kindness is the reason why this is one of the best communities I've been into.
Andy Brown
Commercial User
- Jul 23, 2004
- 5,675
- 312
- Disclosures
- Founder/Owner: Wing Instruments
My pleasure.
I just got off the phone with Joe. The cost to install a truss rod in your existing neck would be $600 USD. This includes new fretboard, new frets and a 2-year warranty. This is a LOT less expensive than a new neck. He didn't say how much, but it emphasized the word LOT.
If you're serious, give Joe a call after 10AM PST to set up the transaction at +1-650-366-3516.
Good luck.
Thanks, AJ! I have no need at the moment but its comforting to know I can have the work done if problems arise. Should I assume its just as easy to retrofit a set-neck as a bolt-on?
Riis
Andy Brown
Commercial User
- Jul 23, 2004
- 5,675
- 312
- Disclosures
- Founder/Owner: Wing Instruments
Hmmm... a set neck may be more work and cost more. You better call Joe on that one.
Martin at Zon answered me :
SONUS 5-string bass, Ash body, Caribbean blue w/chr. hdwr.& gig bag.
S/N 79438
Built : MAY 1998
Looks like there is no coding system directly related to serial number so the only chance is to contact Zon.
It took them few days but they have been really kind
I guess I'll order that Vinny after all
SONUS 5-string bass, Ash body, Caribbean blue w/chr. hdwr.& gig bag.
S/N 79438
Built : MAY 1998
Looks like there is no coding system directly related to serial number so the only chance is to contact Zon.
It took them few days but they have been really kind
I guess I'll order that Vinny after all
Hmmm.... sounds familiar...Martin at Zon answered me :
SONUS 5-string bass, Ash body, Caribbean blue w/chr. hdwr.& gig bag.
S/N 79438
Built : MAY 1998
Looks like there is no coding system directly related to serial number so the only chance is to contact Zon.
It took them few days but they have been really kind
I guess I'll order that Vinny after all
(sorry Mike, you knew I had to, tho your comments on later models still well taken)
Can someone tell me where the serial numbers are on Zon basses? I can't find one on my Hyperbass 
Does any of you Zon experts know anything about a Zon Sceptre ? I've seen an old photo with Ron Royce of Coroner with it, but no idea about body shape or anything else.
I tried to google it without results.
Thank you!
p.s. : if anyone wants to part ways with a Sonus 4 I'd be more than happy to give a new home to the instrument
I tried to google it without results.
Thank you!
p.s. : if anyone wants to part ways with a Sonus 4 I'd be more than happy to give a new home to the instrument
Can someone tell me where the serial numbers are on Zon basses? I can't find one on my Hyperbass
On my Vinny: stamped on the butt end below the tuners.
Riis
Andy Brown
Commercial User
- Jul 23, 2004
- 5,675
- 312
- Disclosures
- Founder/Owner: Wing Instruments
Does any of you Zon experts know anything about a Zon Sceptre ? I've seen an old photo with Ron Royce of Coroner with it, but no idea about body shape or anything else.
I tried to google it without results.
Thank you!
p.s. : if anyone wants to part ways with a Sonus 4 I'd be more than happy to give a new home to the instrument
Here you go... http://www.zonguitars.com/zonguitars/scepter.html
Hey guys, I was wondering, how come Zons are so expensive (This is a TERRIBLE question, I understand) The TJ6 model is an Alder body, if I'm not mistaken. My 300$ peavey 5 string (I don't actually play it, as I've moved to a6 string Spector because Todd is my idol!) has an alder body also. Is it the necks? Or is it just because they're handmade (if they are, I'm not sure) I've not got very much experience with handmade/boutique instruments, so I don't know if that's why they're expensive. I also have 0 - to little more experience with composite necks, that may also be the reason. I understand that the TJ model starts at like 5k or something? How much different is it from the Sonus six, aside from cutout size.
-Thanks,
Kyle
Edit: I also wanted to know if anyone has had experience with a Zon 3.5in strap, or 2.5.. either or. As I am in need of a new strap! Thanks again
-Thanks,
Kyle
Edit: I also wanted to know if anyone has had experience with a Zon 3.5in strap, or 2.5.. either or. As I am in need of a new strap! Thanks again
- Dec 21, 2007
- 15,222
- 45,014
- Disclosures
- Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
Kyle,
Custom basses, and near-custom basses, are inherently expensive. Why is a Ferrari so much more expensive than a Corvette? (and why is the Corvette so much more than a Yari)? It's not that the parts are that much better. Its the level of craftsmanship, the attention to detail (and yeah, better parts too). And the fact that hand labor (especially skilled hand labor) is much more expensive than an assembly line.
With basses it's not the wood - you'll find crazy expensive basses with Alder or Ash bodies, same as cheap ones, though perhaps better cuts of wood.
With Zon, add in the costs for the composite neck, and the tooling required - anyone with decent woodworking tools, time, patience and skill can build a wooden guitar or bass neck. Building composite necks requires a huge investment in technology.
The TJ's are beautiful basses. They have a deeper cutaway than the Sonus', and different electronics than some of the sonus basses. You can find used sonus' for relatively good prices.
With all boutique and high-end basses, it's best to play them yourself, assess your finances, and decide if they're worth it to you. You may find that, for the money, something cheaper is a much better value. Or you may fall in love, and find that cost is not an issue. The decision is yours.
Custom basses, and near-custom basses, are inherently expensive. Why is a Ferrari so much more expensive than a Corvette? (and why is the Corvette so much more than a Yari)? It's not that the parts are that much better. Its the level of craftsmanship, the attention to detail (and yeah, better parts too). And the fact that hand labor (especially skilled hand labor) is much more expensive than an assembly line.
With basses it's not the wood - you'll find crazy expensive basses with Alder or Ash bodies, same as cheap ones, though perhaps better cuts of wood.
With Zon, add in the costs for the composite neck, and the tooling required - anyone with decent woodworking tools, time, patience and skill can build a wooden guitar or bass neck. Building composite necks requires a huge investment in technology.
The TJ's are beautiful basses. They have a deeper cutaway than the Sonus', and different electronics than some of the sonus basses. You can find used sonus' for relatively good prices.
With all boutique and high-end basses, it's best to play them yourself, assess your finances, and decide if they're worth it to you. You may find that, for the money, something cheaper is a much better value. Or you may fall in love, and find that cost is not an issue. The decision is yours.
Way back when... there was a bass website whose name must not be spoken, and on this site they had a photo tour of the Zon shop, and in that photo tour you got to see the Zon neck in various stages of construction, and after viewing the photo tour I was left with the impression: "how does he sell them for such a reasonable price?" They don't just pop out of a mold, ready to play... and that is the understatement of the year. The finished product is so far beyond a mass produced item... I had a Peavey G5 that would have looked very much like the Sonus on paper, and it was like Yugo vs Porsche Cayman S if you played them side by side.
If you want a mass produced instrument then you won't pay as much. As you climb the ladder from "stock" to "custom shop" to "built to suit" to "hand built" and so on, the price goes up. That applies to basses, cars, amps, houses.... the whole shebangabang.
All that said, I bought both of my Zons on the used market. If I coulda sprung for a custom build I would have. I have a really nice VB4 that is very close to what I would have ordered, I didn't wait 6+ months, and I saved about $600. My Sonus is harder to peg because I never priced it new. I played it in a shop and that was it. Luckily I had the scratch... or I woulda been selling gear like a madman to swing it.
If you want a mass produced instrument then you won't pay as much. As you climb the ladder from "stock" to "custom shop" to "built to suit" to "hand built" and so on, the price goes up. That applies to basses, cars, amps, houses.... the whole shebangabang.
All that said, I bought both of my Zons on the used market. If I coulda sprung for a custom build I would have. I have a really nice VB4 that is very close to what I would have ordered, I didn't wait 6+ months, and I saved about $600. My Sonus is harder to peg because I never priced it new. I played it in a shop and that was it. Luckily I had the scratch... or I woulda been selling gear like a madman to swing it.
Andy Brown
Commercial User
- Jul 23, 2004
- 5,675
- 312
- Disclosures
- Founder/Owner: Wing Instruments
Not to mention the fact that the cost of raw materials have gone up in the past few years. Joe was telling me the price of one gallon of the special epoxy used to make the necks went from $50/gallon to about $350/gallon. To me my TJs were both a bargain.
The cost involved in making a neck out of carbon fiber- or making anything out of it, for that matter- is far more than what people would ever imagine. I've been working with it for years for musically-unrelated work, and it's pretty clear that people don't have a sense of how much time, labor, and cost in materials really goes into making a geometrically-and-metrically-perfect product. Even once you get molds made, which is the hardest and most expensive part, the materials and labor time along to go from molding to curing, etc, all the way to a finished, installed part is enormous. The fact that companies like Zon, Modulus, Status, etc, sell their instruments for what they do is more of a bargain than it seems.
The one thing that really strikes me about Zon, and probably relating to why my Zons are my main instruments (and ones I will never part with), is that Joe is a perfectionist- he has a focused attention on making sure that every part of every instrument is perfect...and if it isn't, he makes sure it gets redone until it's perfect before it leaves the shop. Their fretwork is a key example of this- it's incredible. There are very few shops that can attain and maintain that level of quality, imo (Tobias and Fodera come to mind as well). It slows down the build process and he makes less instruments per year because of it, but I really appreciate the unwavering focus on making sure each instrument is right.
I think that is why you see a constant evolution of the designs and features over time.
Besides just that the instruments sound and play incredible, his focus on perfection and minute details of the instrument to facilitate the best function and form is what will always bring me back. He understands what it means to a player to shell out that much money, and what it means for that player to have an instrument that really allows him/her to express themselves easily.
Nobody is perfect, but they've earned the reputation they have for stellar instruments, and they've always treated me with more respect than I deserve!
The one thing that really strikes me about Zon, and probably relating to why my Zons are my main instruments (and ones I will never part with), is that Joe is a perfectionist- he has a focused attention on making sure that every part of every instrument is perfect...and if it isn't, he makes sure it gets redone until it's perfect before it leaves the shop. Their fretwork is a key example of this- it's incredible. There are very few shops that can attain and maintain that level of quality, imo (Tobias and Fodera come to mind as well). It slows down the build process and he makes less instruments per year because of it, but I really appreciate the unwavering focus on making sure each instrument is right.
I think that is why you see a constant evolution of the designs and features over time.
Besides just that the instruments sound and play incredible, his focus on perfection and minute details of the instrument to facilitate the best function and form is what will always bring me back. He understands what it means to a player to shell out that much money, and what it means for that player to have an instrument that really allows him/her to express themselves easily.
Nobody is perfect, but they've earned the reputation they have for stellar instruments, and they've always treated me with more respect than I deserve!
If I were to just order a standard, no "build your own XXX" option, would the bass be cheaper? I probably would never do this. I'm just very unfamiliar with this kind of thing. Thanks for your patience with my stupid stuff guys!!
-Kyle
-Kyle
Check the website. Zons are actually reasonably affordable, a Sonus 4 with the standard specs only runs $2900.
However, you will pay more for any deviations from the standard specifications. For example,
a transparent gloss (instead of matte) finish - $475
any wood top - $500
matching headstock - $350
You might be able to get Zon to take a bit off the price if you went passive or got him to ship the bass without a gigbag. However, you're not going to save much below the base price. It's not like a bass with no options is built out of different materials, by a different guy, or made in some other country.
However, do consider the VBs (Vinnys). An unspecced VB-4 is only $2050, a good $850 cheaper than a Sonus 4 with the same specs. Because of the lower base price, I could order my fully specced VB-6 (radiused soapbars, custom electronics, fretless, extended fingerboard, black hardware) for less than what a unspecced Sonus 4 would run.
Oh yeah, and buying used will bring the prices down even further. If you don't care about options then this is probably the way to go. My best guess is that a USED Zon Vinny 4 would be the cheapest carbon fiber Zon you can buy (there are some import models which are made of wood and are cheaper).
See here: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=537752 <- Zon Vinny 4 with 6 sets of strings goes for $1250
and here: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=437663 <- Zon Sonus 4 with QM top goes for $1500
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