Perhaps my Yamaha BB 424 was made by the same employee.
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Who REALLY makes your bass?
- Thread starter mbell75
- Start date
Perhaps my Yamaha BB 424 was made by the same employee.
Much of this debate appears to be the beating of descendants of the original dead horse. The Who (of Guess Who) made how much of which and where is an old story. All those U.S. distributor "badged" Japanese budget basses of the 1960s did not have the maker's name on them (can you imagine a headstock large enough to legibly accommodate "Fujigen-gakki"?), and even among American makers of the era some parts, especially of bodies (and more especially, of f-hole hollowbodies), were jobbed out to competitors in order for supply to meet demand. Fender did not participate in this and I am not sure about Guild, but Gibson and Gretsch certainly did, and the greater Chicago area factories (Harmony, Kay, Valco) did even more. If one reads up on the history of American guitars (not just basses), this becomes quite clear.
I kinda know where everything was made on my Alien Audio, minus the screws and control plate blanks. But it's rare that you get to tour the workshop where things are built.
With all of my basses and pedals (save for my tuner), I know exactly where they were built and by who, as they are all items made by individual “boutique” companies or individual luthiers.
With my amp, I know exactly where it was built because the company only has one factory.
As for certain components - tubes, for example - coming from other countries, that’s pretty much unavoidable.
With my amp, I know exactly where it was built because the company only has one factory.
As for certain components - tubes, for example - coming from other countries, that’s pretty much unavoidable.
Interesting, but if you're gonna use a whiteboard, first learn to spell correctly & print legibly.
4 or 5 folks in a little shop in Woodstock (or Saugerties) NY.
Period.............
Period.............
After extensive research, I've narrowed down the manufacturing location of both my basses AND my amps to either North America or Asia.
It is when they pose as an American Brand. I understand "Made in America" is a Marketing lie.& it isnt 100% true but, it matters? when I'm trying to justfy it's cost! my cost vs. your bottom line .corporate speak. I love American "Made" products I just don't love paying for it, especially, if its not true. I realize some corners need to get cut sometimes, but just don't act like Your 1 thing (Stamp it on your head stock)then, sell me something else (inferior). If I can't trust you or your branding your not getting my money! Just be straight up with me, So I don't feel ripped off by your company when I find out the real truth!
They are though. The Cort factory in Indonesia is making guitars and basses for at least a dozen companies. You think they all have their own sections of the factory with their own workers? lol. They are all done on cookie cutter assembly lines. Thats how you end up with stuff like this...
Fujigen in Matsumoto, I suppose. They have quite a history of building for Hoshino, and for Kanda Shokai as well (Greco). These days they do the top-of-the-line Ibanez stuff. Frank Meyers reported that they play Mozart music for the wood through speakers as part of their proprietary drying process.
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The real truth is that all of the "Made in USA" non-farming products contain some level of imported materials/parts. It's been that way for at least 20 years. I drive an older "American" car which sports a German engine and Japanese transmission in an American-made body. Outrageous, I know.
If you feel ripped off by Gibson - or whichever major manufacturer - there are plenty of custom builders around who will build you an instrument with the parts of your choice. Pre-manufactured "Made in USA" instruments will have you feeling "ripped off" for sure given what you've written above.
- Dec 5, 2002
- 4,165
- 2,254
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Ernie Ball Music Man/Sterling By Music Man
I own a few basses that were mostly assembled using foreign parts and foreign workers. I don’t care much about that, except that they’re not employing children at slave wages. As someone said, “If they play and sound good, they’re good.” I don’t have that much invested in those instruments so they seem like good value to me.
I do have to argue with “everyone does it”. He points out two of the big three, Fender and Gibson, but the third (IMO) is Music Man. (I know and you know that SBMM is entirely outsourced but, well, everyone knows that.) The American-made instruments are, well, made in America. A few of us here have walked the entire factory and have seen it all, from drying the wood blanks to winding the pickups to the final setup. So, no, not everyone does it.
You may have noticed that the back of the Music Man instruments used to say, “Made in San Luis Obispo, California, USA” and now they do not. They say “California Heritage”. This change was, I imagine, a big PITA for Music Man and was mandated by some stringent regulations California introduced a few years back. Schaller tuners found on most Music Man products are made in Germany, and this was, I believe, the impetus for having to change the entire wording and stamp on the headstocks. It seems goofy to me, but there it is. Do USA Fenders and Gibsons have “Made in America” on them now? I have no idea. Maybe it’s a California thing?
Anyway, Music Man does it right and they do it best, as far as I’m concerned. It’s still a family owned business and they still work hard to keep quality up. Personally, having the “Made in America” label taken off the instruments because of German tuners seems like overkill, but now you know why.
I do have to argue with “everyone does it”. He points out two of the big three, Fender and Gibson, but the third (IMO) is Music Man. (I know and you know that SBMM is entirely outsourced but, well, everyone knows that.) The American-made instruments are, well, made in America. A few of us here have walked the entire factory and have seen it all, from drying the wood blanks to winding the pickups to the final setup. So, no, not everyone does it.
You may have noticed that the back of the Music Man instruments used to say, “Made in San Luis Obispo, California, USA” and now they do not. They say “California Heritage”. This change was, I imagine, a big PITA for Music Man and was mandated by some stringent regulations California introduced a few years back. Schaller tuners found on most Music Man products are made in Germany, and this was, I believe, the impetus for having to change the entire wording and stamp on the headstocks. It seems goofy to me, but there it is. Do USA Fenders and Gibsons have “Made in America” on them now? I have no idea. Maybe it’s a California thing?
Anyway, Music Man does it right and they do it best, as far as I’m concerned. It’s still a family owned business and they still work hard to keep quality up. Personally, having the “Made in America” label taken off the instruments because of German tuners seems like overkill, but now you know why.
