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Original Manufacturer or Knock-off...

DNAcathedral

DNAcathedral

Jun 18, 2015
13
5
49
#1
I found this beautiful slab of purdy wood on dhgate:
Invalid Link Removed

except I know this site is notorious for promoting Chinese companies selling stolen designs from legitimate luthiers. My question is, does anyone know who the original designer is so I can contact them and order one of these sexy MFs?
 
#2
can't tell from those pics, but it appears not to be presented as a particular brand/model...i.e., it's not claiming anything! if you like it, and if you can rationalize possible further tweaking (probably frets, fret ends, etc.) what would stop you from getting it?
 
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#3
JRA said:
can't tell from those pics, but it appears not to be presented as a particular brand/model...i.e., it's not claiming anything! if you like it, and if you can rationalize possible further tweaking (probably frets, fret ends, etc.) what would stop you from getting it?
Click to expand...
Right, at least it's not like some of the others on there, screaming Mayones when it very obviously is not a real Mayones!
 
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#4
No matter what name - if any - is on that bass you should consider the reality of fancy looking cheap Chinese guitars.
The wood and finish are the least important factors in making a playable guitar but it's the only thing these sites care about because........you can't play them first.
The savings you see are found inside and with the hardware. Tuners, frets, p/u's and bridges will be bottom of the barrel in construction and installation. The pots will be tiny and their stated values often have no bearing on their function - assuming they're actually in the circuit or wired correctly.
You might have enough time and money to replace the guts and hardware but to go there you're assuming that the neck has been installed correctly and the frets are in the right spots as well.
There's no free lunch these days. You get what you pay for and quite often, especially from these sites, much less.
 
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#5
Roland GR 88 said:
No matter what name - if any - is on that bass you should consider the reality of fancy looking cheap Chinese guitars.
The wood and finish are the least important factors in making a playable guitar but it's the only thing these sites care about because........you can't play them first.
The savings you see are found inside and with the hardware. Tuners, frets, p/u's and bridges will be bottom of the barrel in construction and installation. The pots will be tiny and their stated values often have no bearing on their function - assuming they're actually in the circuit or wired correctly.
You might have enough time and money to replace the guts and hardware but to go there you're assuming that the neck has been installed correctly and the frets are in the right spots as well.
There's no free lunch these days. You get what you pay for and quite often, especially from these sites, much less.
Click to expand...

Gutting it with barts and hip shots will be the first thing I have done to it, assuming it has two trusses. The neck is what I worry about the most, and the ability to adjust it to low action. I have a guy who completely restored a cheap DeArmond I have into a fretless work of freaking art and it plays beautifully now, so fortunately I know that any issues with this, hardware-wise, will be easily reconciled. Thanks for your advice!
 
#9
India_Sierra said:
There are any number of builders who could build something of a similar shape. Plenty of builders would be happy to use the photos as a reference to make you a true custom using that shape, but going 'off catalogue' will cost you more.
Click to expand...

I will do some searching, thank you for your advice. I would love nothing more than to have my bass tech do it, but it took a year to re-finish my Conklin (he's incredibly busy). I can't imagine how long it would take for a start-to-finish instrument.
 

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