Need advice on vintage hollowbodies... Any chance EB would ever make one...

[bass addict]

"The Sound of a Hole In Wood" made me laugh.

I think we're venturing into recommendations for other manufacturers, though, which is okay when we're talking amps, cabs, athletic supporters, etc, but not basses - even hollowbody basses.

Jack

I absolutely understand that, but I had seen it that since EBMM did not make a bass of this order, it wouldnt be such a problem. Obviously EBMM isnt going to make a hollowbody jsut for him, and as BP said, there isnt enough demand from EBMM, so w hat is the harm? It isnt going to steal a sale. In the business world you have no sale if you dont have what the customers want.

And yes, BP, I think thats an EXCELLENT discussion to have, especially seeing as I have my own thoughts on it, too. For how conservative this industry can be, I can see how EBMM can be seen as cutting edge, but also as rank and file conservative. This isnt unique to any one comnpany though. Many MANY companies suffer from this, and it isnt a problem with the company, but rather perhaps in peoples ideas as to what is too far over the edge in terms of design, etc. WHo knows.... neither viewpoint is wrong, IMHO, but really relies on the information one person has. I love your basses to death, and will always be a family member.

I await the new thread os that we can discuss is, and I apologize if the recommendation of a type of bass EBMM doesnt make offended anyone, but I dont see it as hurtin EBMM sales or image...

 

[Big Poppa]

Bass addict There isnt a problem with what you posted. ITs where it ends up. You have to have some guidelines...There are plenty of forums that love threads that start out with a valid queston and then end up bashing another or promoting another...thats why it got closed toilet seat/worm wood tis just boring and tired and ugly....

 

[muggsy]

I think threads like this can be interesting, but they tend to start with a simple question that assumes too much. Somebody says, "Hey, I'd really love it if I could get a bass with these (fill in the blank) features. I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd be interested in a bass like that. Why doesn't EB come out with one?" The problem is the second sentence, which makes the leap from personal interest (I want one) to market demand that probably isn't there. I get the sense that BP and crew have a very good idea of what the market will bear and what it won't, though they're obviously not afraid to take calculated risks, like the Bongo.

To use the example that started this thread, there aren't a lot of manufacturers out there making hollowbodies. If the demand was there, the manufacturers would follow. I've owned two very nice hollowbodies in the past five years, and I ended up selling both because I didn't play them enough to justify keeping them. I've also sold a bunch of other basses during the same time frame, and my recollection is that the hollowbodies took much longer to sell than most of the others, which were "conventional" solid body four strings from well-known manufacturers. I know you can't necessarily extrapolate from used sales to new, and my sample size is too small to be statistically meaningful, but my experience, coupled with the fact that most builders don't make them, suggests that it's a very small niche market.

On the other hand, vintage reissues of 40-year old basses seem to be very popular. That doesn't mean EB needs to do reissues either, but it does suggest that the bass-buying public is more into traditional designs than something new.

 

[mynan]

I'm not trying to make excuses for the blissfully narrow-minded ignorant who like to call BP a heartless bastard CEO of the big company who doesn't care about the customer over issues like hollow bodies and string spacing, but I have a theory that some of it stems from a lack of documentation on certain features of the different models that EBMM makes (pickup magnet material, wiring series/parallel, which ones have the same preamps, even a general history/timeline of when different models came out and what significant changes have been made over the years and why).

Maybe these are industry secrets and maybe my theory is based on my own curiosity/ignorance. I just find myself reading some of the factless crap that is spewed on sites like TB and would like to counter with some facts, but I don't have them. I didn't know, until yesterday that my SR5 had ceramic magnets. I'm not really sure what the difference in sound between alnico and ceramic and neodymium is. I'm not sure if my bass, not to mention any other EBMM bass is wired in series or parallel or why. Other than what little I understand of the EBMM timeline, I'm not sure why the SR5 seems more like the Sterling than the SR4.

Right now I feel stupid, but next time I play my SR5 I won't be feeling stupid at all...ignorance can be bliss.

 

[bovinehost]

I think they can be interesting, too.

Very enlightening.

Illuminating, even.

 

[Aussie Mark]

some of it stems from a lack of documentation on certain features of the different models that EBMM makes (pickup magnet material, wiring series/parallel, which ones have the same preamps, even a general history/timeline of when different models came out and what significant changes have been made over the years and why).

Have you visited Gav's great MM history site that has been stickied to the top of this forum for the past 4 years?

Home - Musicmanbass.org, Music Man, Musicman, Music Man Bass, Musicman Bass, Music Man Guitar

 

[mrpackerguy]

OP asked a simple enough question.

Nothing wrong with his question. Seems to me it's either a "yes", "no" or "maybe" answer. Personally, I like hollowbodies. I have two of them from two different makers. I certainly don't know or claim to know, but I would venture to guess they make 'em, not because there was a demand or outcry for them, but because they thought they were marketable.

If BP and the gang don't think a hollowbody is desireable or marketable for EB at present, so be it and that's great. There have to be at a minimum 10 other makers of hollowbodies out there. I think BP sort of said off-handedly "not at this time".

I will say that there wasn't a significant demand for the DD bass, but that one got made, albeit more of an interesting LE design applied to existing models rather than a new "model".

 

[KennethB]

"The factless crap that is spewed on sites like TB" is funny as hell!! It's one of my favorite things about TB, great comedy.

 

[Big Poppa]

Mynan What secrets? the magnet material has been discussed up one side and down the other the wiring diagrams posted a hundred times...Brian because you didnt read the thread doesnt make it a secret. I show you guys protos from the computer screen all the way through the finished product and then get accused of keeping secrets...go figure

In less than ten posts someone has decided to bash TB...Please prove that an intelligent conversation without the one page joke book warwick bashing tb baiting.....

 

[Big Poppa]

You know what is funny...someone here has his basses in the complimentary for sale thread.....and bashes us on the Warwick thread.....Thats just not nice. Guess whose for sale ad gets deleted?

I have not bashed anyone or any company...I tried to see if you guys could talk about the bass and its future and the current crop is just too judgemental and falling back on all of the internet keyboard cliches...

You know what is funny? That if someone here doesnt like Warwick and Talk Bass...I get flamed on those boards because of somebody elses opinion. I didnt say anything I repeat....

TO not expect impartiality here and then not recognize it on talk bass or Warwick's board is just too bad. Please show me a manufacturers site that isnt filled with bias for said product...they dont exist. WOw those ernie ball guys only like ernie ball...Deep Comment

I will close this by saying that I have zero problem with Warwick...(even they have a bass named the corvette that has a rip off pick up in it) They are nice people and Im happy to have more choices for bassists rather than less.