Author Topic: Price increase!!? (Read 845 times)

bob · « **Reply #15 on:** May 07, 2003, 12:36:41 PM »

New supplier for blackened brass... somehow, it's really painful to read about that in a thread discussing price increases - it was outrageous enough already.

But it would be a pretty long time before I'd be ready to part with my raw brass (once I actually get it) for an upgrade, so I guess I won't sweat it for now.

rami · « **Reply #16 on:** May 07, 2003, 03:02:02 PM »

I recently saw a 1960 Fender Jazz Bass at Rumble Seat Music selling for $14,500!!!!!

Now which would you rather have, an old beat up 43 year old Fender, or pay $1500 LESS and have a perfect new Alembic Series II?

And trust me when I say this....THE ALEMBIC SOUNDS BETTER!!!

My point is that something is only worth what you're willing to pay for it. An instrument's value is more than the sum of it's parts. Someone actually bought that Fender.

Leo Fender made his basses to be cheap and repairable/replaceable (hence the bolt-on neck).

Alembics are made to be the best, the standard by which other high end manufacturers are measured.

I'd rather have the Alembic.

Rami

dannobasso · « **Reply #17 on:** May 07, 2003, 09:33:44 PM »

As Rami stated, I'd rather have the Alembic as well. If some are alarmed at the prices, try looking at a Fodera. I would say much more for what you are getting, including electronics that are made by some other company. The other side of it is we all want to be paid adequately for our work. We wish to live better, and have a good quality of life. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe that the Wickershams et all live extravagently. Check out value for the dollar. I'm passionately partial, but I've chosen Alembics 9 times. If you are a drinker or smoker, try and figure how much you have forked over for those pleasantrys. Anything beautiful and inspiring to show for it? How much has been spent on relationships that went nowhere? If you love what Alembic does enough, you'll find the means to make your dream a reality. If not, you'll get something else and wish it was the real thing. This may offend some, that is not my intention. I love this company, what they do and what they stand for. I look around my studio every day and I'm very happy with what I see. Beauty, craftsmanship, functionality and artistry. Cheap is cheap, garbage in, garbage out. Life is too short to deal with cheap garbage. At least some people here feel that way about their lives.

paul_boulet · « **Reply #18 on:** May 08, 2003, 04:33:09 AM »

Ok ? Here?s my 2?

I have been the customer and personal client of more than one custom luthier. On more than one occasion, I have spent a lot of time talking to different builders, discussing ideas and comparing their skills, materials and costs with the specific intent to ultimately choose one to make a bass for me. To say that one shop is just more expensive than another is an overgeneralization. Likewise, to say that any shop?s cost-to-quality ratio is innately exorbitant is also.

I am a total Alembic fan and I always will be and I?m sure I will be purchasing them in the future, old ones as well as new. But, that decision has come from my tastes as a player merging well with Alembic as an instrument maker and accepting the cost to obtain what I like. When I became a player back in high school I wanted an Alembic more than anything. I played an Ibanez, J-bass copy instead (that must have struck a chord of sympathy with someone?can I hear the bass violins sighing?). I didn?t own my first Alembic until I was out of college. I still have yet to buy the Series II of my dreams but one day that will come too.

I think most of us are total gear-heads at heart even though budget will always make us less so in practice. Price increases are just the inflational reality that smacks hard against our primal consumer urges. We certainly cannot hold any provider at fault for putting (or changing) a cost on their products and services. The market will ultimately decide if the increase will equate to profit, any and all moaning notwithstanding - Economics 101: The effects of capitalism on the aspiring musician; a study on the reciprocal effects of gear envy in relation to more songs about love hurting.

I wonder if Billy S. ever got complaints about increasing the price of his performances? Maybe as long as he kept the free apples coming, all his customers could value the quality.

-Paul (Leo)

paul_boulet · « **Reply #19 on:** May 08, 2003, 04:39:21 AM »

BTW: I don?t believe we?ve heard back from Mr. jlpicard.

Well Jean-Luc, any comments in response?

-Paul (Leo)

dean_m · « **Reply #20 on:** May 08, 2003, 08:10:08 AM »

Well folks,
Nobody likes price increases but, I've been holding off for a while waiting to see what comments would come of this thread. Other than the response to danno's Billy S reference, this is my first comment on this. I can see and understand everyones view on this as well but here's my 2 cents.
I have been and always will be an Alembic supporter and player!! Yes I do play other peoples basses but keep in mind, I do this for a living so just as a carpenter has a number of different tools for the same job, I've got to have different tools as well. Usually my first tool out of the box is my old Elan 5!!
As Rami said, I've seen some pretty comparable J Basses going for about the same amount of money. Would I buy it? Probably not. Why? Because that JBass is that price for an entirely different reason than the Alembics are. And I would be buying it for all the wrong reasons in my case. Would I spend that money on an Alembic? Probably, because I know what went into building that Alembic and those are the reasons that ARE important to me.
It's the same reason I drive a 93 Nissan pickup that's worth about $3,000 but insist on riding Harley that's about 5 times the price. It's what's important to ME. And, it's not about status or anything other than the fact that I prefer to ride a Harley because I see and feel the difference in the quality and workmanship. Can I explain that to a Honda rider? No, and I wouldn't try to influence my beliefs on someone that gets the same amount of joy and pleasure out of their Honda. Ever try to justify the price of your Alembic to someone other than an Alembic player. Good Luck!!! I'll be the first to let them try my Alembic out and let them see the difference though. There's an old saying among Harley riders, If I had to explain, you wouldn't understand Does this devalue anyone who rides or plays something else? No!!! It's what's important to the individual. Ever talk to a symphony player, some string basses can run into the five and six figure range. These people mortgage their houses to afford their instruments. Why? because that's whats important to them.
So if it's important for you to own one of the best electric basses on the market, no price increase will hinder your decision. Like danno said, I'm sure the Wickershams aren't just raising prices because they feel like it either. There is a cost to building these basses and just like everything in life, these costs go up. Alembic has absorbed these costs to the point where now they have to past some of them on to the consumer. We really should applaud them for holding out as long as they could before having to do the inevitable.

malthumb · « **Reply #21 on:** May 08, 2003, 09:44:00 AM »

Dean,

I like your comparison to Harley and your thoughts around letting someone play your bass to see what it's all about. Let the bass speak for itself.

I went to a guitar show in Detroit and took my 5 string Mark King / Series II. In the past when I've told people how much it cost, they usually suggest I try on a little white jacket with extra long sleeves that tie in the back. At this show I let a few folks play it. Those who asked me what it cost didn't flinch. One or two took the time to rationalize how they would get up the cash to order one. I wound up politely leaving the area I was at, because my bass was drawing more attention than the Jerzy Drozd basses on display.

Peace,

James

bigredbass · « **Reply #22 on:** May 08, 2003, 11:21:49 AM »

I will try to parapharase a slogan I heard. I don't remember the product in question, but it certainly applies:

No one was ever sorry they bought the best.

Haute couture is always more than ready to wear. A Ferarri is more than a Vette. Leicas are more expensive than Minoltas. The original is more than the print.

13 grand is a lot of money. A Series 2 is a lot of bass, the ultimate. The question I have is why the hell does an American Deluxe Jazz or StingRay 5 or a Peavey Cirrus cost as much as an Excel? NOW who's expensive?

J o e y

rami · « **Reply #23 on:** May 08, 2003, 12:22:09 PM »

Hey Dino,

I've dabbled in my share of vintage Fender Jazz Basses - No I'm not the pigeon who bought that '60. Most of mine I aquired over the years (I never paid more that $1500 for one - and even then it seemed too expensive). But I agree, that you buy a vintage Fender Jazz for entirely different reasons than buying Alembics. Leo Fender would roll over in his grave if he found out what his original basses sell for today!

Rami

dannobasso · « **Reply #24 on:** May 08, 2003, 03:24:28 PM »

Sometimes I forget that many players are not gear heads. Perhaps they sleep without visions of hippie sandwiches with led's in their heads? I agree that convincing the unbeliever is not a friutful use of time. Every time people ask me about cost, I am branded insane. So to Paul, Joey , Dean, James and Rami and the others that get it, (you know the big IT) we are preaching to the choir. I believe we wish the choir was bigger though. Man! the bass section would be huge! A few baritones and piccolos thrown in to balence the low end. And don't forget the Tributes! We love them too. Perhaps Leo would rise up from the grave to cash in on his legacy?

valvil · « **Reply #25 on:** May 08, 2003, 10:52:25 PM »

Obviously Alembics are about as expensive as electric instruments get, but what you get is truly unique. You can still get a fantastic Alembic bass for about 2000$ or less ( with discounts) from a dealer. Of course that would not be one of their high end models; on the other hand, if you consider that when buying basses like a MTD or a Modulus or Pedulla, you still end up paying upwards of 2000$, Alembics aren't really that expensive by comparison; with other brands you don't get a fraction of the options you get on a high end Alembic. Usually that means no leds, no neck-though, no multilaminated body w/ top & back, no plated hardware, adjustable nut, little or nothing in ways of inlays, very limited choice, if any, of top woods, no custom body shapes, no ebony fretboard and no service comparable to Alembic's.
Series Electronics are really expensive, but it wasn't until I ordered my own series I that I understood exactly WHY they are so expensive; it isn't just because they are about the most versatile electronics around or just because they require more routing and time to install or because the components are terribly expensive. A lot of the cost must be due to the amount of time Ron has to spend calibrating the electronics in each of the basses. In my case Ron had to struggle for over 2 weeks to get the electronics to get them to the point where they were satisfactory. Mica and Susan both warned me that it could take a day or it could take weeks; it took weeks , unfortunately ( Ron told me my bass was one of the more challenging he's ever had to do) but the result was, of course, fantastic and I'm happy as I could be about it. As we all know, Ron's an electronic genius, and it stands to reason that his time would be a heck of a lot more valuable than the average electronics technician that installs circuits in other companies; I am sure that installing your typical high end Bartolini electronics in a bass is a relatively simple business by comparison. So, when I think about what my electronics really cost Alembic, I have to factor in the amount of time that one of the founders of Alembic had to personally put in to make my bass sing; when I consider that, the price of series electronics does not sound high at all. Even if my bass had been easy to calibrate, Ron still would have had to work on it for a day or so, and that, to me, is still worth 4 figures; 2 days of my lawyer's time would cost me more than series electronics, and he wouldn't be nearly as much fun.

Valentino

rami · « **Reply #26 on:** May 09, 2003, 10:15:25 AM »

I just don't tell people what I paid for my Basses. Most people just wouldn't understand a Bass costing as much as a car. Whenever someone asks me How much?, I just tell them that it was as expensive as it looks.

Masterpieces like that are worth what someone who can appreciate them is willing to pay for them. We shouldn't have to justify it to anyone (unless you're married...).

Rami

dean_m · « **Reply #27 on:** May 09, 2003, 11:03:11 AM »

HA!!!

Yeah but even then, my wife knows enough about basses to tell which ones are expensive and which ones aren't. She's really never said no to any of my gear purchases. She'll question them!!! But never says no!!!
Especially when I show her your collection Rami, then she feels pretty blessed. LOL!!!!

Peace,
Dino

rami · « **Reply #28 on:** May 09, 2003, 11:56:41 AM »

The key is to find someone who apprecates them as much as you do! I never met a woman yet who did. From my early Jazz Basses to my Alembics, from High School to the present. They all thought I was nuts.

Rami

paul_boulet · « **Reply #29 on:** May 09, 2003, 12:10:34 PM »

Rami:

I believe you may have a money making opportunity here ? if you could put out a quick portfolio with some nice colorful graphs of your: gear over time over cost, etc. - adding in some nice pictures of your instruments and a prospectus on spending in the future. I can think of a number of us husbands who would pay have augmentative ammunition like that!

I can just see myself saying, ?Honey look, I?m not spending too much. Look what I got in the mail from this guy.? She would just be overwhelmed with thankfulness that I?m not ?that bad.?

-Paul (Leo)