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Who REALLY makes your bass?

is it really damning when he says that Fender and Gibson use OEM-outsourced parts for "some" instruments? I mean, which ones? If it's something that's purported to be MIA and costs maybe $1500 or more, then yes, that's not cool.

What parts are we talking about here (sorry I wasn't about to watch the whole spiel)? For example, Fender and Gibson never made their own tuning machines, buying them from Kluson, Schaller, Grover, etc. I've seen Schaller bass bridges on Deans, Gibsons, Kramers, Guilds, Hamers. It's well known that Godin supplied necks and bodies for a number of companies before they started selling their own instruments. Starting in the late 70s DiMarzio pickups were being used by almost everybody except F&G, with Bartolini, EMG and Duncan following soon after. Badass bridges, Floyd Rose (and F.R. licensed) bridges, etc., etc.
 
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Meh. I know EXACTLY where my two mains were made. My now retired Indonesian Ibanez? Couldn’t care less. It played great, sounded great, and served me well for nearly 2 decades. I understand the “country of origin” is important to some people when talking about gear, but I suspect most of us don’t give a hoot.
 
Meh. I know EXACTLY where my two mains were made. My now retired Indonesian Ibanez? Couldn’t care less. It played great, sounded great, and served me well for nearly 2 decades. I understand the “country of origin” is important to some people when talking about gear, but I suspect most of us don’t give a hoot.

I asked who, not where :laugh: It doesn’t bother you that Ibanez didn’t really have anything to do with the making of your bass besides just having their name on the headstock? It doesn’t bother you that the exact same bass without Ibanez on the headstock would be half the price?
 
Because it would be about half the price if it said Cort rather than Ibanez on the headstock. Cort made the bass.
Doesn't mean they made it to the same standards as the Ibanez. Doesn't mean they didn't, either, but there's more to the constuction of a bass than the name on the headstock, even those made in the same factories.
 
I know exactly who built three of my four basses (I've met the builders).

For production instruments, the only thing that matters is the quality of the resulting instrument. Name on the headstock, factory, country of origin - often interchangeable. You either like the instrument for the given price or you don't. The rest doesn't mean much these days.
 
in my bass life I grew up with two older Fenders and bought them knowing I was going to enjoy the smell factor and all that came with a Leo product, I'm glad they reside within reach, but my foreign made '00s Peavey holds as much intrigue cos I fell in luv with it's look and got sucked into the rest of the goodness just like I did as a kid at the music store starring at bursted Fenders. we know the Fire Marshall ran for his life from the open dangers at Fullerton and we're very ok with that, yet we don't know most of those history-making worker's names and I probably don't want to know the truths behind what provided me my awesome Chinese #1. I can, and have, lived without my Fenders, but I went thru Hades to get my Zodiac BXP and get faint at the thot of not having it lol
 
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Sigh.
No one is lying to you when a pickup says 'Duncan Designed'. It is exactly what it says it is- a pickup designed by Seymour Duncan, but not made in the USA. No one is trying to fool you. Most guitars are made to a price point- you can't buy a new $500 non-USA instrument that will come with regular Seymour Duncan USA pickups. Do your research, but companies know better than to deceive their customers. They won't last long in this era.
 
I asked who, not where :laugh: It doesn’t bother you that Ibanez didn’t really have anything to do with the making of your bass besides just having their name on the headstock? It doesn’t bother you that the exact same bass without Ibanez on the headstock would be half the price?
Yes but I also know “who” made my 2 mains. And no, it doesn’t bother me that the name “Ibanez ATK305” is printed on the headstock and could’ve been made by a different manufacturer. Not sure where you’re getting this “half price” idea from.