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Sei Owners Club

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#901
notrt,

Having seen this bass 'in the flesh' I can say that it's absolutely stunning looking. When I went to see Martin to finish off the spec for my build, the other week, it was face-down on the work bench having the electronics installed. I was quite surprised when Martin turned it over to reveal the fan-frets...

If I played more fretted bass I would be considering a fan-fret bass of some description.
 
#904
Here is a picture I took yesterday of the facing I've chosen for my Sei.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I'm still pleased with it, hopefully the finishing process will really bring the contrast of the two woods up. I pretty much chose the darkest piece of burl Martin had, I think that's where it's most impressive.

We also discussed the initials I want inscribed onto the battery compartment. As the design is quite precise he suggested putting the emblem in black onto a mother of pearl plate. He assured me it wouldn't look too 'bling' :p but I can't really imagine what that may look like. Do you guys know of anything similar I could look at?

Aidan
 
#905
That's how the 12th fret signature was done on my Sei 7, etched onto a mother-of-pearl base. Hope this helps !

Seidetailsmall14.jpg


Sei76small.jpg
 
#908
Aidan, that is a lovely looking top and will make a beautiful looking bass. I have also seen Mark's bass and his signature at the 12 fret looked really good. :)

BidRedX, the light logo looks very effective and Martin offers a number of different colour LEDs. Some run on 9V (blue, violet...) whilst some others run on 3V (red, green...). I believe the 9V LEDs are quite power hungry (Martin warned me as I have violet and blue side LEDs on the SEI 8).

Talking of which, the SEI 8 is very nearly finished (electrics going in according to Alex)...more than just a little excited :hyper: :hyper: :hyper: I go away for a 3 week holiday middle of next week (off-line for most of which), so hopefully I might have a rather nice welcome home present! :bassist: :D :bassist:
 
#909
BigRedX said:
Right! I'm nicking that for my build. (That's OK isn't it...?)

I have to say the illuminated logo looks completely brilliant.
Click to expand...

Hang on one small moment, every idea I have put into one of my basses seems to be nicked by someone on this forum :scowl:















Of course you can I would be flatterd if you did, no one has a patent on these sorts of things so go for it. :D

I have blue leds on the side of the neck as well and they all run off one 9v battery. The battery does last a reasonable length of time and as the battery starts to fail the lights simply get dimmer which is your cue to change it. I think its a great system especially for dark pubs where I tend to play most often.

Regards

Matthew
 
#910
Someone might have mentioned this before but I have checked the last few pages!! I apologise for not being as active on this thread as of late due to huge mounds of Open University work to do... (that's what I get for trying to do 2 courses in a year!). I do get the daily digest sent to my e-mail though :D

Anyway, has anyone noticed that this thread, of Paddy's making, has a link to it from the Sei Bass website ??

Does this make us official club? Do we need t-shirts/stickers and some kind of handshake now?? :hiding: (I know there's a baseball cap lurking in Sei HQ :ninja: )

Congrats to Paddy and all who have contributed to make this thread/club a success and the place for Sei Bass based discussion :bassist: :bassist: :bassist:
 
#912
I have to confess that I made the 4 baseball caps that are in existance with the Sei Logo on the front and the names of Martin, John and Alex and myself on the side. Totally unofficial with no plans to do any more. I did ask Martin if it was ok.

Obviously using the Sei Logo again would be a big no no without Martins permission so future ones are very unlikely unless done by The Gallery themselves.

Regards

Matthew

ps I would like to add my thanks to Paddy for this thread and to be able to see and read about all these wonderful basses!!!
 
#914
I was looking at the Sei bass site for the link to this thread and found it under 'options and pricing'.

However, I think of more importance is the announcement on the same page under the red news for 2007 is that prices are going up in August by 20%.

I don't know when in August but anyone thinking of ordering may wish to speak to Martin and do it sooner rather than later!

Regards

Matthew
 
#915
That's been up there for a few days at least, and there has been some interesting reactions to it on one of the basschat threads. The gist was pretty much that if you like the Sei designs, then they're still worth it (and possibly more!).

It'll have an interesting effect on the 2nd hand market for them too I think.
 
#916
Alpha-Dave

I have just read through the thread on Basschat. I agree, it is an interesting read and one with which I can mainly agree.

I think that Martins basses have been some of the best value basses you could buy anywhere in the world. Additionally when you consider that on every level they are right at the very top of the bass tree I can understand why waiting times have grown as they have.

With regard to the 20% price rise, I think that Sei basses are still worth every penny even now and that they are still cheaper than other top flight basses like Alembics, Fodera, Ritter etc.

I have had the pleasure of trying or owning almost every bass manufacturer in the world that I have wanted with the exception of Ritter [I missed trying the Ritters that The Gallery had in stock a while ago] and Jerzy Drozd. In my opinion there is none better than Sei anywhere. I make this bold statement with two caveats.

Firstly I am old enough to have worked long enough to afford the bass gear that I want and price has not entered into it. If I have considered another manufacturer to be better I would have gone to them.

secondly that when ordering my Sei's, I knew what I wanted so the basses I received fully met if not exceeded my expectations.

Lastly and I say this honestly, my Sei basses are the only basses I have owned that make me smile every time I open the case to get them out to play, be it practice or live. That for me is probably the best thing about Sei basses that I have experienced and whilst I acknowledge that the 20% price increase is large I still rate them £ for £ the best basses and the best value basses in the world.

Regards

Matthew
 
#917
+1

The price list on which Martin worked out the price of my build is labelled August 2005, so it's been two years since the last increase.

Is it me, or is it unusual for a luthier to have a full price list so you can immediately see how much a build is going to cost ?? It's a brave and honest move to have your prices hanging out there for all to see (and that includes all the other luthiers !!).

Announcing a price increase is never easy for a business (and will be a source of conjecture) but at the end of the day, when all is said and done etc, etc, a Sei bass is still worth the money.

If I could afford one, I'd buy another....


P.S. Is that your Pyrenean Mountain Dog, Matthew ??!!
 
#918
The Sei is a FULLY bespoke instrument where you can sepcify scale length, neck profile, woods used, brisge spacing, have pickups made to your own specs, any electronics you want, LED's, inlays, whatever you need / want.

As for the prices, they don't rise every year, and for a decade the industry opinion has been that they are VASTLY underpriced for what you get compared to other high-end instruments (just check out the Gallery prices of the Fodera stuff which sells at a price WAY above that of a Sei)

My first ever Sei was made for me in 1994, and cost me around the £1,800 mark then!!!! In the intervening 13 years, the attention to detail is still every bit as meticulous, and I am now having my 8th Sei Bass made for me - without a single momemnt of "buyer's remorse" - When you get the chance to have something made for your own needs, then it's a highly addictive thing.

The work Martin and John do is incredible in their "magic dungeon", and seeing the instruments in various stages of the build in a fascinating thing (even a lot of my friends who have been dragged along to The Gallery over the years, and who aren't musicians, loved seeing that part of the process).

So, my opinion is that you are paying for something completely unique, and the price charged is a reflection of the time and effort it takes to make these basses. The build is done by hand, and tehse are NOT production instruments, so they take as long as they take. as for some of the comments regarding build times - that's the nature of the beast in custom instruments. At least they aren't as bad as Wal or Carl Thompson, who take up to 5 years between orders and delivery!!! hahahahaha
 
#919
7string said:
P.S. Is that your Pyrenean Mountain Dog, Matthew ??!!
Click to expand...

Hi Mark,

Oscar is one of my Pyreneans, we now have two:hiding: . Oscar was rescued from a home and a breeder we know asked if we would take him on, so like fools we said yes! He is only 12 months old.

We still have Lucy who is now 18 months but being a girl she is camera shy so Oscar did the modelling:D

How are yours doing, didn't you get a puppy a few months
ago?

Regards

Matthew
 
#920
I know I was very surprised at the price of a Sei when I was researching which make to go with. Although I'd be lying if I didn't admit that the price helped to sway me a lot with the decision, I'd quite happily pay the extra 20% and not think twice about it.

I can imagine that this was a tricky decision for Martin and John. There aren't that many bass players to start with compared to guitar/piano and other more popular instruments, and the percentage of these players who would take the step into buying a custom instrument must be minimal. Therefore, to increase the price would surely make these players think a bit harder before putting down the deposit and Sei may lose the advertising that having a wide circulation of instruments brings. Saying that, the typical custom-bass-buyer would probably not put price before quality of instrument or reputation of the luthier they use, and an extra 20% added still makes Sei significantly cheaper than a lot of other high end basses out there.

I say good on Martin and John, it's about time they were monetarily rewarded for all their hard work. I just hope the price increase doesn't do anything to bring sales down and ultimately reduce how many Sei Basses are played and seen to be played.

aidan
 
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