That I can live with, your popular model is backordered, sure the better case to be made. In my case it was not. I ordered it through their authorized dealer Best Bass Gear, they simply didn’t ship it to BBG I call HipShot about a month apart after a month of waiting both times they said they have them in stock on the shelf, and both times they insisted that I ordered directly from them and canceled the BBG order. Gotta love the fact that I’m not the only one that got treated poorly too.
I honestly think the Gotoh Res-o-Lites are higher quality than Hipshot USA Ultralites as well. Lighter, too. Making the blade plated plastic while keeping the machine gears more substantial was a genius idea.
Eh. It’s totally subjective as to whether Res-o-Lites are higher quality than Hipshot USA UltraLites. Gotohs are fine, but the majority of high-end bass luthiers, shops and manufacturers predominantly use Hipshots in their builds.
cite for this? Gotoh are used predominantly here and in fact I have never seen a high end luthier using hipshot here, among very many.
I know for a fact Mayones, Ken Smith, Marleaux, Strandberg, Dingwall, and Fodera use Hipshot tuners.
Here’s just a partial list of some other high-end builders who use Hipshots:
There are many others.
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To be clear I don’t think there is anything wrong with hipshot - love their stuff and have owned several sets of USA Ultralites.
I just prefer Gotoh myself.
The local makers using Gotoh also makes sense as it is a local brand - just saying, Hipshot does not have as large a presence on high end instruments here.
For example, Sadowsky Japan uses Gotoh, despite being on your hipshot list 
I’ve got nothing against Gotoh stuff. I have some high-end Gotoh tuners on one of my custom guitars. That list of Hipshot-using builders I cited is from Google.
Also, regarding Sadowsky Japan basses, from Google:
Yes, many Sadowsky Japan-made basses (specifically the MetroLine and older MetroExpress series) are equipped with, or designed to use Hipshot Ultralite tuners or Sadowsky-branded, Hipshot-licensed tuners to ensure light weight and tuning stability.
Key details:
• Stock Hardware: Sadowsky Japan MetroLine models typically feature high-quality, Hipshot-licensed, or genuine Hipshot Ultralite tuners.
• Upgrades: Some players opt to upgrade stock MetroLine tuners to genuine USA Hipshot Ultralite tuners for smoother performance, which are known to be a direct fit.
• MetroExpress: These models also often feature Hipshot-licensed tuners to prevent headstock dive, as seen in this Facebook post.While some users have reported that the standard, Sadowsky-branded tuners on some Japanese models (sometimes produced in collaboration with Warwick) are not as smooth as USA-made Hipshots, they are still fundamentally designed around the Hipshot footprint.
Sadowsky Japan (MetroLine and older Tokyo/TYO builds) traditionally used Hipshot tuners, specifically Hipshot Ultralite tuners. These were often branded with the Sadowsky logo but manufactured by Hipshot to fit the brand’s requirement for lightweight, high-precision hardware.
Key Details Regarding Sadowsky Japan Tuners:
Brand: Hipshot (USA).
Model: Ultralite Tuners.
Period: Since 2013, standard on Sadowsky MetroLine and earlier Japanese models.
Distinction: These are different from the “Sadowsky labeled” tuners found on newer Warwick-made (German/Chinese) MetroLine/MetroExpress models.
Note: Sadowsky Tokyo/TYO custom models, often distinct from the standard MetroLine, may also feature high-end, vintage-style components to match their premium, non-mass-produced nature.
Based on the history of Sadowsky production Sadowsky Japan (MetroLine) historically used Gotoh-style tuners more often than Hipshot tuners, although this changed over time.
Historical Sadowsky Japan (MIJ): For many years, the Japan-made MetroLine basses featured Gotoh-style lightweight tuners (specifically often GB528 or similar). These were favored for their quality and to avoid the neck-dive associated with heavier tuners.
Transition Period: In the later years of Japan production, some models or customized, higher-end MetroLine models began using Hipshot hardware.
Current Production (Post-2020): Production moved to Germany, and current MetroLine models feature “Sadowsky Light” machine heads, which are often described as having open gears and are generally not branded as Hipshot.
Aftermarket/Upgrades: Many players of Japanese Sadowsky basses commonly replaced the stock tuners with Hipshot Ultralites to improve weight reduction or tuning stability.
In summary, the original Japanese-made MetroLine was characterized by Gotoh-style hardware, while Hipshot was more common on NYC models or as aftermarket upgrades on the Japanese models.
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Makes sense they switch them up to match their supply chain, not surprised they use both.
Looking around here, Suhr, Sago, Black Smoker, Vellmor and others are Gotoh; ESP also look like branded Gotoh (including the model names).
Momose, interestingly, is using hipshot. Not sure if that’s all Devisers; I haven’t checked but I would bet Bacchus is on Gotoh.
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According to the Google machine:
Bacchus uses Hipshot hardware, but primarily on their higher-end handmade and specific headless models, rather than as standard equipment across all budget lines.
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Makes sense for the higher end like the Sakuras where the line blurs with Momose, if Momose is using hipshot. I am thinking more for the production models. Gotoh would make a lot more sense there due to cost for the same performance.
Maybe if you cover this album by “Bohren & the Club of Gore”?
Not the hardness of the wood, but the density. Sustain comes from the waves of the strings vibrating through the magnetic field of the pickup(s). The longer the string vibrates, the longer the sustain.
The denser the wood of the body, the less it will vibrate with the strings allowing the strings to retain energy longer. Less dense wood would pickup the vibrations easier, bleeding the energy off the strings
Bridges do affect sustain as bridges can be designed to transfer less energy
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Does this mean that wood influences tone?
lol :þ
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We’re talking sustain
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You made good points. 
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I’m going to go out on a limb and say that hardness and density go hand in hand, but yes, denser wood will have less damping.
Well, not a 1 to 1 correlation, but close; While density and hardness are often correlated , they are not perfectly linked. Hardness VS Density
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There’s a distinct lack of differential equations in this post supporting the assertion.
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Only one thing is sure: a discussion about sustain can be sustained for a long time. 
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Yeah, and the tone is not always nice, also it’s sometimes hard and dense as some wood
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