Crafted in China Fender?

[98dvl]

I don't get on here much, but had to today after a lunch visit over to Guitar Center.

How long has Fender (not Squier) been making basses in China?

I saw a new (looked like they just took it out of the box, still had hang tags on it) black Jaguar bass on the sales floor. I picked it up, and looked at the back of the headstock and saw it was "Crafted in China". The front of the headstock had a silver spaghetti Fender logo on it.

I hadn't realized they were making "Fender"s in China now. How long has this been going on?

The bass was set up very nicely. Action was perfect (for my tastes). I didn't plug it in, but it sounded (felt) really nice as well.

The neck almost looked like one of those EB roasted necks (but not quite). It was darker in color though than most Fenders. However, they cheaped out on the block inlays as they were just painted it (or so it seemed).

Anyway, only posting this because I couldn't find anything after doing a quick search... Not sure if they're something newly released, or what.

[edit] I just looked on GC's website, and can't find these... It wasn't a true Jaguar (with the extra switches). And, it's definitely not a Squier (red or black with tort guard). When I first saw it, I thought it was a Geddy Lee Jazz bass... It was black and white, with a maple fretboard and black blocks.[/edit]

[ghostdog93]

New Fender series: MODERN PLAYER

NEW MODERN Players series from Fender

Modern Player Jaguar Bass

[C.Linton]

These (the Modern Player series) are brand new, that's why you haven't seen them before, And I do believe they are indeed the first Fender branded instruments made in China, unless you count the Squier Classic Vibes. BTW, there is also a Tele style Precision with two mudbuckers, and a Jazz with two double jazz style HB's.
And I doubt the inlays are painted. If the much cheaper Squier can have real inlays, there's no reason a slightly more expensive Fender shouldn't have them, too. Especially (as is likley) they are probably made in the same factory as the Squiers..

[98dvl]

Interesting... I may have to go back later and try it out. I didn't see a price tag, so it might be a pretty good deal (just because it felt like it might be a good player).

That's what I thought too about the inlays (and why I looked).

The inlays on this bass definitely looked painted on... I tried taking a close look, and the edges weren't straight, they had jagged edges. I rubbed my finger over them, and couldn't feel a "joint" either. The fretboard had a pretty heavy layer of laquer over it, which I assumed was there to keep the blocks from rubbing off. Also, if I remember right, the vintage modified Jazz bass I had also had black painted "inlays". But, I think the pearloid inlays on the vintage modified squier Jags are real inlays.

Looking online, it looks like these are going to be around $400. That's not a whole lot more than the Vintage Modified Squiers. So, maybe they cheap out a bit on the inlays by just painting them on?

Also, the one I saw today had a different logo on it. It was silver, and looked more like the "spaghetti" style Fender logo, not the blocky 70-ish logo (which I prefer).

[WoodyG3]

I guess there have been some guitars from Fender that were made in China before this, but this is the first I've seen in the bass world.

[C.Linton]

Originally Posted by 98dvl

Interesting... I may have to go back later and try it out. I didn't see a price tag, so it might be a pretty good deal (just because it felt like it might be a good player).

That's what I thought too about the inlays (and why I looked).

The inlays on this bass definitely looked painted on... I tried taking a close look, and the edges weren't straight, they had jagged edges. I rubbed my finger over them, and couldn't feel a "joint" either. The fretboard had a pretty heavy layer of laquer over it, which I assumed was there to keep the blocks from rubbing off. Also, if I remember right, the vintage modified Jazz bass I had also had black painted "inlays". But, I think the pearloid inlays on the vintage modified squier Jags are real inlays.

Looking online, it looks like these are going to be around $400. That's not a whole lot more than the Vintage Modified Squiers. So, maybe they cheap out a bit on the inlays by just painting them on?

Also, the one I saw today had a different logo on it. It was silver, and looked more like the "spaghetti" style Fender logo, not the blocky 70-ish logo (which I prefer).

Sorry, no disrespect meant,but you remember wrong. The Squier Vintage modified Jazz bass has (and always had ) real inlays. That's from personal experience AND official confirmation from Fender

[BassBob1]

ahhh, that explains why the bridge from the classic vibe series is on there. If they play like the classic vibe basses they all probably play very well.

[GM60466]

Leo is rolling in his grave!

[rockscott]

Quality on china built guitars is far superior to what it was just a few years ago. Example, check out the quality of the epiphone pro thunderbirds.

[mwesth]

Originally Posted by WoodyG3

I guess there have been some guitars from Fender that were made in China before this, but this is the first I've seen in the bass world.

You're right, I have a 3 years old chinese Fender 12-string dreadnought...