Today is April the 9th, 2011. On Wednesday the 6th it was announced that I have signed with Warwick Basses and have a signature instrument. I am writing this because my website email has been deluged with all sorts of emails
. Some with the words traitor, whore (as in gear), and finally
and all sorts of stuff in between.
Rather than responding individually I have opted to make a statement, of sorts.
For some this may be educational, and for others it may not even matter, as many of us will only believe that which we want.
After many years with ARIA, and with a signature bass there, the US distributor was disintegrating, and the time came to change ( after 10 years).
Fender had always left the door open from way back (think Rippingtons, late 80s) when I played the Heartfield 6 string, which was a wonderful instrument that, for reasons I still dont understand, was simply dropped. It was made in Japan by wonderful people and very finely crafted.
I subsequently went with Aria who incorporated many of the design dimensions etc.. into the ARIA AVB SB.
Around 2004 I started talking with Fender again about introducing an historic instrument; A 6 string bass (not a 6 string bass guitar as they had in the 60s).
This began a LONG process spanning over 4 years of design, stalls, more design, and more stalls, for whatever reason.
I could not have been prouder (until recently) on the day that bass was launched at NAMM 2009. ( I also got to jam with my old bandmateT Lavitz, RIP, on the Fender stage) I was so excited about what many called a momentous day for Fender, the company who invented the electric bass, was finally releasing something that it should have done years earlier (as an innovative company) and I was chosen to help bring it to market.
Many wonderful folks at Fender helped make this happen, and regardless of how long it took, I considered it all worth it. As you probably know Fender is the largest guitar company in the world, and as do most large corporations, they move slowly, deliberately, and often in ways that do not make sense to even the endorsing artists. (and employees).
Mind you, when I was with Fender back in the late 80s I knew the president of company (hung out at trade shows, and even jammed), and dealt with ONE artist relations person. Things have changed a lot!! In my recent 6 year relationship with Fender never had any communication with the suits; never a welcome aboard from the Pres
Or a goodbye... Or anything. Which is cool, but leads me to my next point.. coming up in a second. There still are MANY wonderful folks at Fender, and their tireless efforts were what brought the Steve Bailey Jazz Bass VI bass to life. Here I will single out Jay Piccarillo, Tony Franklin, Michael Braun, and Richard McDonald
all stellar folks, and all dedicated to making things good for me at Fender.
Despite that, there was never much or any promotion for the bass, never an ad, which is OK too
I just thought the instrument was much more important for Fender that it ultimately was for me. Legendary company steps up and creates a first. . that kind of thing. I was very disappointed that the marketing folks never pushed for revues, promotions, etc
And FINALLY.. to the point that I think may be of the educational variety.
Life is about relationships. The older I get the more important this becomes. Fender has such a HUGE group of Artists (and most much more high profile than me), that even with 10-20 artist relations folks, there were times that I wondered if anyone was there. But heck, I dont answer every email and phone call that I get, either.
Back to relationships
I met the Warwick folks way back in 93, and got a streamer fretted and fretless because a genuinely liked the way they played.. no endorsement.. no strings attached. They also made me a 12 string (6x2) bass to use with Jethro Tull
no strings attached.
Much later I got to know Hans Peter Wilfer, the president of the company. He always treated me wonderfully at Trade Shows, made sure that I had strings for my 12 string, and stayed in email contact, not asking about what bass I play, but things like how are you? , I hope life is good!.. things like that.
Later than that I started to notice how Warwick treats its artists
to hear about it from them, and see it up close and personal. It seemed to all start from the top, with Mr Wilfer (HP to many) always there, always motivated, and always excited with a strong passion for what he and his company is doing.
In some ways I sort of felt like Dianna must have felt after marrying Prince Charles. Fender is the royal family in a sense, (although I am not as cute as DI
) but as we later discovered the marriage was not as wonderful as it seemed in the press.. but it was functional, as they produced kids ☺
I have all the Basses and Amps that I will ever need in 5 lifetimes
.. I do not need to be associated with a company.
1. It is obvious that Fender has the capacity to sell 100 times as many SB basses as Warwick.
2. The Fender SB VI is/was a wonderful instrument, with years of effort put into the design.. I STILL LOVE the bass, and always will.
BUT, when over 6 months ago I made up my mind to not renew my Fender Signature Contract I was not even sure that I would settle with another company.
Endorsements are interesting in that when we are young all we want is some free/reduced cost gear, maybe some exposure through an ad..
Then, if we progress in our career, the possibility of a Signature (usually royalty producing) is very enticing. Alot of work goes with that.
Then, when we have "enough", it really comes back to relationships. Do I dig the company? Do they dig me? Do they listen to my ideas, Do I listen to theirs?
At any level and endorsement has to be a Two Way Street. What can I do for them, and what can they do for me? Can we help each other be successful? Sounds kinda like a marriage, huh?
It was also mentioned in another thread about my having a "non exclusive" deal. Not So. I am either all in or all out, ESPECIALLY when we are talking about a Signature model. I have to believe that the product is "BEST for ME"... notice I don't say "the best". That insults a lot of great people/companies. Needs change, as do situations.. so I would even amend that to "Best for Me at this point in my journey".
(Also, since I am on a roll, someone sent me a thread from TB (years ago, I think) where it was stated that I was given a Lakland bass and then sold it on Ebay. I just want to say that I have never been given a Lakland bass (wonderful instruments) and I have never sold anything on Ebay, much less a bass!!)
I will only say this..
1. Warwick did in a few days what took Fender years to bring to market.
2. I am ending a trade show in Frankfurt where ALL of the Warwick artists are treated like royalty.
I apologize for being so longwinded
but I even get tired of seeing Artists jump from company to company. It is not good for the company or the artist.
I was a little reluctant to bring this bass out here in Frankfurt, and if they had not done such an Amazing Job incorporating my previous designs (and some cool new ideas) into the Warwick template (and reviving my beloved BassLines pickups) you CERTAINLY WOULD NOT be reading about the release of the bass.
Bottom line..
Fender is a great big company
Warwick is a great family company
I am not asking for your blessings or curses
just letting you know that I do care about my reputation enough to offer you some explanation.
I reserve the right to amend this as things come to mind, but just wanted to get it out there ASAP. Steve Bailey
For those who can't read German, he is accusing Warwick of "slave labor" - my guess is their "slaves" are better compensated for their labor than most American workers, let alone, say, guitar manufacturing employees in Mexico 
