When I was growing up, it was just you better not curse, you better not curse or you're going to get it. That was it, it was bad and we better not do it. I take a different approach with my children. I try not to curse and I tell them the reason I would like them to not curse. I tell them to just listen to people that just sling out the F word every sentence. Listen to how unintelligent they sound. They sound like morons. They just either don't have the language skills to properly express themselves, or they do have those skills and are just too lazy to use them. My goal is to constantly impress on them how stupid people sound. If I just tell them not to do it because its bad, they will do it. I know we did.
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SBL: When is a bass maker no longer boutique?
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
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When I was growing up, it was just you better not curse, you better not curse or you're going to get it. That was it, it was bad and we better not do it. I take a different approach with my children. I try not to curse and I tell them the reason I would like them to not curse. I tell them to just listen to people that just sling out the F word every sentence. Listen to how unintelligent they sound. They sound like morons. They just either don't have the language skills to properly express themselves, or they do have those skills and are just too lazy to use them. My goal is to constantly impress on them how stupid people sound. If I just tell them not to do it because its bad, they will do it. I know we did.
Profanity is the linguistic crutch of the inarticulate mothershager
My 2 cents, I have two "boutique" basses; one FBass AC6 and one Sadowsky NYC. Fbass: as far as I know, is only building basses in Hamilton, ON and has not licensed their designs externally or moved to produce instruments outside Canada. To me, FBass remains "boutique". Sadowsky: I think the NYC builds coming out of New York are still boutique, but the licensed stuff now built by Warwick is no longer boutique as they are more mass produced. I think as the hands of the master craftsmen and craftswomen are less involved, the product becomes less boutique. Again, my 2 cents. To be clear, I am not knocking licensing. Good on Roger for building a brand powerful enough to support mass production outside the US. It is how businesses are supposed to grow.
As for SBL, I like Scott and Ian and I do check out some of their vids, but they put out a LOT of content to the point of it being too much IMO. And if you sign up for anything, you get barraged with emails. It also feels desperate, but I guess that is how marketing works now.
As for SBL, I like Scott and Ian and I do check out some of their vids, but they put out a LOT of content to the point of it being too much IMO. And if you sign up for anything, you get barraged with emails. It also feels desperate, but I guess that is how marketing works now.
A lot of Americans have an insane prudish streak. I mean, we are okay with depictions of nonstop violence but someone gets the vapors every time they see a tit.
Scott and Ian have just gotten so freaking annoying lately, I feel like I'm watching two coked-up bass bros lately.
Keith Roscoe said it very well, "If you walk into a shop and don't see saw dust, raw lumber, and a poopie ton of wood working tools, it's not a luthier but an assembly plant."
There goes the ol’ afternoon spewed coffee! “Coked-up Bass Bros”, LOL… there’s a band name or song in there somewhere
I'm not sure there is a hard-and-fast way to tell. Remember that even Leo Fender by definition started out as a boutique maker. I imagine there are some items to consider. For example:
Boutique: makes basses to order, specializes in either own designs or options not available from larger manufacturers, more hand work in the offerings, etc.
Factory: standardized models, streamlined production, more use of automation/CNC/etc.
The grey area is when a manufacturer grows to the point there are some transitions, including larger facilities, adding tooling, adding staff, etc., including talk of "next generation," or such.
Boutique: makes basses to order, specializes in either own designs or options not available from larger manufacturers, more hand work in the offerings, etc.
Factory: standardized models, streamlined production, more use of automation/CNC/etc.
The grey area is when a manufacturer grows to the point there are some transitions, including larger facilities, adding tooling, adding staff, etc., including talk of "next generation," or such.
Their delivery obviously isn't for everyone, but they know what they are doing. A couple of meek, quiet dudes with no strong opinions isn't going to get people to stay tuned in.
I don’t like that in my old trade, to get any good information from the masters I had to endure also taking in racist jokes, sexist jokes, actual confessions of SA expressed with no remorse, stories about regular man-on-man violent assault as shown on TV from 5:30pm-4am on all major TV networks, long stories about adventures in pursuing extreme intoxication… and also a few dirty words, but that’s kinda the way of the world when it comes to masters of any trade- they’re savants of that trade partially due to not having wasted any synapse fires focusing on being A Good Modern Citizen with a children’s TV show vocabulary limit. People who demand communicating exclusively in G-rated language are simply going to miss out on 99% of media, no matter where they’re from (I really don’t understand why these people even own computers or televisions unless they just enjoy being offended by common people. Does it make them feel smug, knowing that they’re in every possible way better than the uncouth filth who can’t communicate without color and spice in their language?). There’s “foul” language spoken by the masses of every country in every language. Whatever.
On boutique: kinda like how the word “vintage” is misused far more often than not, I definitely have had “boutique” mis-synonym’d as “bespoke” in my head for most of my adult life, but only regarding fretted string instruments. “Custom” also meant both “bespoke” and “not made with CNC” to me for a long time.
I’ve been in a few actual Boutiques and all of their product is to a certain degree mass manufactured, and getting them to connect you to a designer, manufacturer, or material supplier is typically as easy there as it would be at a Ford car dealership or at JCPenny.
To me, it boils down to Scale and Availability. If the production numbers are 1/100 or less of the major brands’, it’s boutique. If you can’t order one from your local Long & Mcquades, Guitar Center, or Thomann’s, it’s boutique. I think that definition needs more development, as I think the equation still includes brands like Stagg, Eleca, and Axl :/
Fractional-Scale + Scarcity + Priced-Appropriately-For-Fractional-Scale = Boutique? I think this is right?
On boutique: kinda like how the word “vintage” is misused far more often than not, I definitely have had “boutique” mis-synonym’d as “bespoke” in my head for most of my adult life, but only regarding fretted string instruments. “Custom” also meant both “bespoke” and “not made with CNC” to me for a long time.
I’ve been in a few actual Boutiques and all of their product is to a certain degree mass manufactured, and getting them to connect you to a designer, manufacturer, or material supplier is typically as easy there as it would be at a Ford car dealership or at JCPenny.
To me, it boils down to Scale and Availability. If the production numbers are 1/100 or less of the major brands’, it’s boutique. If you can’t order one from your local Long & Mcquades, Guitar Center, or Thomann’s, it’s boutique. I think that definition needs more development, as I think the equation still includes brands like Stagg, Eleca, and Axl :/
Fractional-Scale + Scarcity + Priced-Appropriately-For-Fractional-Scale = Boutique? I think this is right?
Rap music was one thing. Rap VIDEOS took it to a whole 'nother level...
Yes- dear god they're like giggling school girls anymore, makes me want to sell my basses and pick up guitar
I agree that profanity is more widespread these days, but in the Eighties I worked as a bolier operator and the guy in charge was a retired Navy captain.
You never been cussed at until you piss one of those guys off!
Profanity: words. Boutique, bespoke, vintage, artist, virtuoso, hack, amateur, cheap, overpriced: also words.
Or maybe they’re stick and stones, what do I know? What difference does it make what words people choose to describe your instruments? I often use words generally considered profane, and it doesn’t offend me if others do. The whole idea of forbidden words is strange to me. Thought crime I suppose.
Profanity is like distortion. It doesn’t fit nicely in polite society. If you can shred without it, you are a better person than the unwashed masses who need it.
I own several instruments and some of them could be called boutique. Does that make me a poser? If tomorrow they are no longer considered boutique, am I suddenly the salt of the earth?
Scott uses a lot of words. A LOT OF WORDS. None of them offend me, but I do wish he would get to the point more quickly.
Words, man. Word.
Or maybe they’re stick and stones, what do I know? What difference does it make what words people choose to describe your instruments? I often use words generally considered profane, and it doesn’t offend me if others do. The whole idea of forbidden words is strange to me. Thought crime I suppose.
Profanity is like distortion. It doesn’t fit nicely in polite society. If you can shred without it, you are a better person than the unwashed masses who need it.
I own several instruments and some of them could be called boutique. Does that make me a poser? If tomorrow they are no longer considered boutique, am I suddenly the salt of the earth?
Scott uses a lot of words. A LOT OF WORDS. None of them offend me, but I do wish he would get to the point more quickly.
Words, man. Word.
Hey Doc, me too.
For 14 years my #1 bass was a US Lakland 55-94. A fantastic instrument. I recently I bought a 55-02 and IMO it's also a fantastic instrument. My current #1 for the last 9 years has been a Sadowsky Metro RV5. I tried it against a couple of chambered NYC's and preferred the sound of my bass.
Who needs boutique basses when their mid-range models are this good.
I think both guys are good dudes and have done a lot for bass in general. It's not going to work for everybody. YT makes this cringe stuff happen. Scott explained a while back (maybe it was private, I forget) why he started doing Vlog style, why he does the click bait titles..etc. I think he would prefer to do simple videos, but on YT you are caught in the trap of making catchy clickbat titles..etc or no one will see the video.
A lot of this is an issue with youtube and how the algorithm has changed over time, and it's a shame, but I can't blame these guys for it. They figured out the way to best sell bass education in the modern internet era.
About boutique, I enjoy these blogs a lot. Both guys have a ridiculous collection of basses. Their Ken Smiths are crazy good. It's fun to hear them chat about it. I have not paid much attention to YT in a while, so I'm not too jaded with it. Don't mind the cursing because I speak the same way, it's a podcast/vlog so its supposed to be loose and not too censored, at least thats the vibe I get from it.
A lot of this is an issue with youtube and how the algorithm has changed over time, and it's a shame, but I can't blame these guys for it. They figured out the way to best sell bass education in the modern internet era.
About boutique, I enjoy these blogs a lot. Both guys have a ridiculous collection of basses. Their Ken Smiths are crazy good. It's fun to hear them chat about it. I have not paid much attention to YT in a while, so I'm not too jaded with it. Don't mind the cursing because I speak the same way, it's a podcast/vlog so its supposed to be loose and not too censored, at least thats the vibe I get from it.
I guess nobody needs boutiques, but I am happy that they are an option.
I don’t want my comments to get twisted. I just think cursing makes people sound stupid when it’s half their vocabulary. Save it and use it at an important time when it will have some weight to it.
And, I’m on the record as being all for seeing a tit.
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