Been reading a lot about the quality of the newer VM/CV Squiers - as I have a couple and enjoy them immensely - and I also have a MIM J that is just great.
We can all celebrate this elevated playability and great finishes and filling voids with unique designs and guitars that are really different, while maintaining the Fender 'mystique' and headstock iconry.
I certainly enjoy what I've recently bought - even if there are 'others' who hold their noses at the logo and vent fetishism and bragging rights to a '
real Fender MIA decal'.
I was thinkin' that there's got to be a sound business reason for Squier stepping up and taking on the perceived shoddy QC issues, and in many cases exceeding the QC of MIJ/MIA basses.
There's a corollary that I'm trying to plug in:
Economic DEflation caused by the US lack of riche-product conspicuity and flatulent consumption. Recession - depression - these are terms that many can understand - even if some cannot think that deeply or in denial - but you've gotta admit that this is prolly responsible in a round-about way for the recent uptick in Squier popularity and heavy sales.
In the economic condition called 'deflation' - companies are holding production to a minimum to keep warehouse inventory to a bare shelf mentality, since the purchasers are holding back, waiting for prices to REALLY drop to a more affordable level and THEN they'll buy!
Taking Fender f'rinstance; The MIA and Artists' series may not be making the daily nut for Fender, so they ramp up the Squier line to keep instruments flowing from the warehouses and keep enough employees on line to make and ship them.
But this may be somewhat incidental to the real story.
What I personally think is that the higher ended basses and guitars were made in totally different factories/countries or at least on a very different assembly lines, and these high-ended artisans are much more valuable to Fender when the economy re-ups (
as an example), so the company moves them down to the lower end instruments, fires or lays-off the low-ended artisans, wanting to not lose their more valued employees. This is prolly the real reason why the Squiers are upping the bar.
A second consideration: The Squier sales MAY be holding the fort for the MIAs too - (the whole factory actually) in the fact that they are selling very well and the higher basses aren't doing so well.
The resulting
up-ramping of QC on the Squiers - while waiting for the public to stop holding their cash until the market hits bottom with extremely heavy discounts (which are very likely to take place) - are just something the consumers feel they can wait for - if one can hold onto their vested cash - that is.
Bottom line:
Why else would Fender allow Squier to take such a big bite out of the Fender line?
I say:
'corporate survival' and seeing who blinks first - they or the consumers.
Maybe the days of the Artist's Series and Skunk-works instruments are on the limit line here too.
Thoughts?
