Help me understand The Vault a little better.
The Vault is basically used for five purposes now:
1) For EBMM to sell "normal production" models that are not generally carried by retailers like Guitar Center, Sweetwater, etc., direct-to-consumer. For example, you can only buy the
Silhouette these days in the Vault (retailers can ORDER it for you, I guess, but they don't stock it). EBMM MAY have 1 or 2 in stock at the factory, or you may have to order and wait for it to be built. You can't "customize anything" (so far) in the Vault.
2) For EBMM to sell a limited number of Ball Family Reserve (BFR) models when those are announced. BFRs are sold through retailers, but let's say retailers pre-order a total of 72 units, EBMM might round it up to 75 units and sell 3 direct-to-consumer on the Vault.
3) For EBMM to sell a limited number of special models like the
Moonbeam StingRay 5 Special bass, that are also available from retailers, direct-to-consumer.
4) For EBMM to sell "normal" models in unique direct-from-EBMM-only colors. An example is the
Kaizen in Bleeding Heart Pink -- that is only available on EBMM Vault, and not from retailers. You can determine this by going to the
guitar's detail page on Music Man's main site and as you click on different colors in the OPTIONS box, it will either show all the retailers where that color is available, or it will just show a Vault Buy Now box. These are cool because they're not one-off's like #5 below, but you could call them "few-offs" and most of them will sell way fewer units than a BFR model might have.
5) EBMM makes a lot of prototypes, especially around color options or wood choices. For example, they may try out a new finish called
"Showtime" on the Majesty, and they decide, "Nah, that probably won't sell too many." Or maybe JP says, "I hate that color." "Or maybe someone says, "That color was cool but trying to get that special burst right is going to be a real pain in production - let's skip it." Those one offs need to go to one of four places -- (a) sitting around somewhere in the factory taking up precious space; (b) the chopper (where EBMM destroys guitars it doesn't want rather than them getting into people's hands from dumpster divers); (c) the actual Vault in the EBMM factory, where special things stay forever; or (d) onto the Vault store for sale to customers.
I think that's all the scenarios. Did I miss any?
