EBMM Customer Service: NOT another custom request (mostly)

[dje31]

Okay, I'm well aware that the good folks at EBMM won't do new custom basses to the general public...BUT...will they modify an existing bass?

I found a Bongo HS, but would prefer an HH...could you send it back to them to re-rout the body, swap the neck pickup, and do whatever magic to the electronics, pre-amp, dummy coil, new pickguard. Would adding a piezo be an option?

For a fee, of course...I found a nice candidate, in a now-discontinued color, which is why I'm asking. I know it would no longer be stock, and couldn't be re-sold as something other than what it was...but I'm a buy-and-hold type, and wouldn't sell it unless I had to for financial reasons.

 

[bovinehost]

..could you send it back to them to re-rout the body, swap the neck pickup, and do whatever magic to the electronics, pre-amp, dummy coil, new pickguard. Would adding a piezo be an option?

No - that's the easy answer.

The factory is geared to build instruments and there really is nowhere for modifications like that to be done - nor anyone to do them, come to think of it.

Not what you wanted to hear, I'm sure, but that's the troof.

Jack

 

[dje31]

Okay, and thanks for the quick turn-around...will they sell the pre-amp bits (if they change), the new pickup? I realize I'd probably have to go through an EBMM dealer...but I have wood-working friends who might be able to pull it off.

Do they not do service on their product? Say, if something goes awry with their gear, do they have a department that fixes such things? Or do they send the replacement bits to a dealer who's certified to work on them?

Not trying to be snotty, just not sure how they do these sort of things.

 

[mynan]

Generally, the policy is "exact replacement" on parts. If you need a new pickup, you have to return the old one for an exact replacement.

 

[Aziah]

Do they not do service on their product? Say, if something goes awry with their gear, do they have a department that fixes such things? Or do they send the replacement bits to a dealer who's certified to work on them?

We do have a repair department here at the factory, which is the only authorized warranty repair department. But we do not do retrofits on existing instruments and we only replace the proprietary parts by direct replacement only.

 

[dje31]

Well, poop. Thanks for the info, everyone...so much for my "brilliant" scheme...

 

[phatduckk]

pretty much it comes down to:

a) if youre not endorsed u cant order custom stuff

b) if you send an MM to the factory for a repair then it will leave with the exact specs it originally left the factory with.

example: your red bass breaks in 1/2 and u send it to MM: MM will (for a fee) put a new body on the bass... but will not paint the new body any other color than the original. if it was born red, it will stay red.

also - certain parts like pickups, the bridge, necks etc can be purcashed for repair purposes but only if the old/broken one is returned first; leaving no stray, original parts to be sold/traded on ebay etc

 

[MrMusashi]

find a suitable bongo with the correct config instead

they should not be that hard to find.. unless youre looking for white or any of the 2 dargie variants

MrM

 

[Movielife]

Keep it like it is and save for another

Mods are not a good thing, but thats IMO.

 

[dje31]

Thanks for the comments...and while I appreciate EBMM's desire to keep things in check, and close to stock, the mods would be changing it to what would have been a stock model. It's not like I'd be trying to bling it out with three whammy bars, chambering the body, ruby encrustments, or any other number of nutty mods.

Not sure if it's kosher to put eBay links on here or not, but here's the one in question, and no, I don't have a thing to do with the seller, other than wanting his bass, and making it an HH instead of an HS:

Music Man BONGO ErnieBall ORANGE FIREMIST FREE SHIP HSC - eBay (item 170560838438 end time Dec-31-10 15:10:23 PST)

From the general consensus on this and other boards, the HS seems to be the least popular and least preferred option among Bongo pickup configs...besides that, I'm saving the HS config for a Sterling I've had my eye on for a while.

 

[mynan]

Thanks for the comments...and while I appreciate EBMM's desire to keep things in check, and close to stock, the mods would be changing it to what would have been a stock model.

Nothing wrong with what you are wanting to do...even from EBMMs perspective. The issue is brand integrity and what making parts available to the general public would do to EBMMs brand integrity.

 

[Rick Auricchio]

...bling it out with three whammy bars, chambering the body, ruby encrustments, or any other number of nutty mods.

Those will probably never be offered as factory options.

But there are lots of other options here: Big Poppa Smokers

 

[dje31]

I've said it before, and respect its use, in real life, as well as regards EBMM, in that they're exercising the (modified) Golden Rule: Whoever has the gold makes the rules.

 

[Big Poppa]

what does gold have to do with it... WE make guitars we dont modify them....Everybody has a nexpectation of what we should od and it all has a cost either in focus or money..The general public would not want to pay what it would cost to set up a conversion department...It would be cheaper for you to sell your bongo and buy the one you want.
Its not about power or denial With the business model we have it is a daily struggle.

 

[dje31]

No offense intended BP, nor was it a dig at wealth...I'm a firm believer in capitalism and a conservative libertarian.

It's your company, and you're free to operate it however you choose. You're not forcing anyone to buy your product, and you're not taking away anyone's life, liberty or property...I respect that.

I'm not trying to tell you how to run your company...you're obviously doing something right. I've defended the way you operate to detractors in the past, and will continue to do so in the future.

I'm a business owner as well, and it ain't easy, especially these days...and I don't appreciate folks who aren't in my business telling me how to run it.

I just wish that orange Bongo on the 'bay were an HH...

 

[bovinehost]

I just wish that orange Bongo on the 'bay were an HH...

You might be surprised at how many people own and love the HS models. I'm a long-time fan of the single H, but for the last couple of years, IF I'm going to play a dual pickup Bongo, it's generally an HS.

I mean, I go back and forth. I'm fortunate to have that option.

 

[dje31]

Fair enough...and if I didn't already have my heart set on a Sterling 4HS---BP's favorite version of the Sterling, IIRC---then I'd probably pull the trigger on the one in question.