Is Fender overrated?

[petrus61]

Originally Posted by Bassbubble11

"how well one might play or sound" are the most important
things regardless period. Who makes it is not important.

Light years away? Pick up a nice, well set up anything and
some people will like it and some won't.

Yes, compare bridges, rolled fingerboard, posiflex rods, finish, pickups...am I missing anything? My point was exactly that a well setup bass will make a better impression. A well setup bass will play well but there are aspects such as I mentioned that should be considered also. While how it plays and sounds is absolutely crucial, nobody wants an ugly duckling either.

[Malak the Mad]

Remember Marty, you need to get up to eighty-eight beats per minute for the 1.21 gigawatts of sound to set off the Jazz Capacitors! Only then is time travel possible!!

Originally Posted by mellowinman

My Fender helps me time travel.

[jdwhitak]

I don't think they are overrated, but I don't think they represent the best value either. Your money goes further with other manufacturers IMHO. It's all branding really.

[Edward G.]

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

[Malak the Mad]

To the OP: You say you like nothing about your Squier. Could you at least narrow down what two or three things stand out the most about "nothing"? Give us a little more to work with. Is it the esthetics and looks? Is it the weight, fit or feel? Is the sound not "what I want" and if so, what is the sound you want?

You say you don't have a very good local music store, but in another thread you mention your "local Sam Ash". Did you have a bad experience there or was the go-to-bass-person not there? Certainly a big store like that will have, at the very least, a fair selection of basses to try out, right? All the ones I've been to, from New York to Florida, seem to be decently stocked. Also, Sam Ash stores tend to be in fairly populated areas. Surely there are other nearby stores to take a peek at. Hell, the Cherry Hill, NJ store is in the same plaza as a Guitar Center. Do they overlap on stock? Yep! But they also have enough variety between the two of them to give a good cross-section of selections, outside of the high-end boutique market.

Ultimately, if you're going to be dropping a fair chunk o' change on anything (bass or otherwise), make a bass-huntin'-day of it. Go to as many places you can reasonably travel to, bring a notepad and try out as many as you can until you're satisfied with one, two or three. Forget brands. Ignore whether or not "this" or "that" is overrated or underrated. Afraid of pushy salespeople? Tell them you're going to try out as many basses as you can. Find out what feels good, regardless of the price. And when you're done, if it's affordable…grab it! If not, find out what it is that makes it "The One" and see if you can find a similar or used bass that you can afford.

[tbplayer59]

I don't play my American Fender any better than my MIM Fender or my Frankens.

Seriously, Fenders aren't overrated. Some of their high end specialty ones are overpriced though, IMO.

[hailet]

I've never played a Jazz bass that I loved but I've owned and loved several Precisions.
But do what others have said play every bass you can get your hands on and buy what you like. An instrument is very personal. If they were all the same there would only be one brand.

[Nephilymbass]

Try stuff out and play what you want. I love my conklin and have seen a lot of people bash them. To each their own. I've owned fender jazz basses and p basses. To me the best fender was a p with the pj setup but I don't like the tiny necks on jazz basses. a lot of people do so just take a day and go to a music store with a good variety and try stuff. I would definelty say the American built fenders are overrated to me. You can put a badass and upgrade the electronics in a Mim fender and it normally sounds better than a stock American fender.

[Jazz Ad]

Fender is overrated by many musicians who think it is the beginning and end of all things bass and nothing else exists.
The brand itself produces instruments that sound good and stand abuse, no overrating here.

[Munjibunga]

No.

[Musiclogic]

Fender is Fender...... simple, average, where it started. Definitely not the Be all End All, and not junk either.

[JimmyM]

Is Fender overrated? Who gives a crap? If you like them, buy them. If not, buy something else. TB is getting really full of angst lately.

[Davo-London]

Is Fender overrated?

No.

Davo

[punkjazzben]

I think TB needs a standardised rating system. Then we can get to the bottom of this mystery.

[DudeLeap]

Originally Posted by Snakeman1066

lol um NO...

musician and inventor Paul Tutmarc from Seattle, Washington, developed the first electric string bass in its modern form, a fretted instrument designed to be held and played horizontally. in the 1930's

Leo Fender, with the help of his employee George Fullerton, developed the first mass-produced electric bass. His Fender Precision Bass, introduced in 1951, became a widely copied industry standard.

Woops, apparently he wasn't the inventor but either way Fender set the standard for everyone else.

[Mr_Music90]

Well for me they are in price range

Fender = Fender and they can handle any situation Never owned one and never will own one, but I played several at music stores and such.

One brand is (for me) overrated in both sound and price : MusicMan. There is nothing boutique about them : Poor choice of woods, bad sounding (way to dull and no good output) and the electronics aren't good either.

No, this is not about trolling or anything, it's just my opion. If somebody plays on a MM, I respect that since it's his / her choise

[Mr_Music90]

Originally Posted by Jazz Ad

Fender is overrated by many musicians who think it is the beginning and end of all things bass and nothing else exists.
The brand itself produces instruments that sound good and stand abuse, no overrating here.

Yeah, this too

[steelbed45]

Wow, welcome to day 2.
And no, imo.

[ChessTiger]

Why aren't you proud of your Squire?

[C.Linton]

Yeah, OP's use of the word "proud" tells me it's an image issue with him, and quite frankly, that's not the way to choose which bass you want to play.