I like Fenders Just Because...

Dr. Cheese · #1 05-14-2013, 02:07 PM

They are Fenders! I came up at a time when almost everyone who was good played a Fender. I remember going into stores looking at Fenders and wishing I had the money. To this day, that name and headstock are pure magic to me. I will always love a good American Fender especially, but I love Fenders in general.

electracoyote · #2 05-14-2013, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese

They are Fenders! I came up at a time when almost everyone who was good played a Fender. I remember going into stores looking at Fenders and wishing I had the money. To this day, that name and headstock are pure magic to me. I will always love a good American Fender especially, but I love Fenders in general.

I agree.

But it's beyond the mystique and pedigree for me. I think they are still functionally and tonally one of the best and most relevant choices out there on a purely objective level.

And I play everything under the sun.

Fender still sets the bar that others use to boast if and when they surpass it.

Buster Brown · #3 05-14-2013, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese

They are Fenders! I came up at a time when almost everyone who was good played a Fender. I remember going into stores looking at Fenders and wishing I had the money. To this day, that name and headstock are pure magic to me. I will always love a good American Fender especially, but I love Fenders in general.

I'm "kinda" in your boat. Coming up in the 60s, there wasn't the choices that there are today. It was pretty much Fender and a couple of others. As a kid, obviously I couldn't afford one so I made do with the old trusty Sears Silvertone.....(Wish to hell that I still had it!)

When I got to an age that they were "affordable", they had sort of fallen out of favor (to a slight extent) so I chose Rickenbacker and still play them. Eventually I got to the point where I was playing Ovation, Daion, Rickenbacker and eventually Steinberger (who DIDN'T play a Steinne in the 80s?)

FINALLY! I latched onto a Jazz. 1984.

Now, the only basses I have are Fender and Rickenbacker. I am a Precision freak, but still enjoy the Jazz as well! Over the years I have garnered a decent collection of Ps and Js (my Wife doesn't understand that I NEED all those same basses)...

So, yeah, I'm with you. There IS magic in that headstock...

madbassplaya · #4 05-14-2013, 02:15 PM

Cool...

**Freddels** · #5 05-14-2013, 02:18 PM

There used to be an old saying in business "you won't get fired for hiring/using IBM". Well, the same goes for Fender. You won't get fired for showing up with a Fender.

tmntfan · #6 05-14-2013, 02:19 PM

I like fenders cause I once fought off a fleet of flying sea monkeys with one, before using it as a jet back to escape the sinking ship with the trapped harem of girls holding on.

Laurent · #7 05-14-2013, 02:19 PM

Same here. I met Larry Hartke at Sam Ash a few years back and he said "I am a Fender guy" talking about basses. I feel the same way. I own other brands but I have a soft spot for them. It's partly due to how they feel, how they sound, how they look. Their long tradition has a lot to do with it as well.

SasquatchDude · #8 05-14-2013, 02:20 PM

Old school junkie here... hate to admit it, but I agree 100%. Every time I play my Am. Special Jazz, I get a special sense of pride and satisfaction when I glance over at that classic headstock sporting my red-silked LaBella flats.

lpdeluxe · #9 05-14-2013, 02:26 PM

I've owned a Strat, several Fender guitar amps, one bass amp and a Squier, four Fender basses (and a StingRay and a G&L, both designed by Leo) and one bass amp.

Didn't bond with the Strat; the bass amp wasn't a good fit; but the basses and guitar amps are IT. Many years ago I was told by one of the best guitarists I've been around "get a Gibson guitar and a Fender amp and you'll have the best." I agree.

If one of my basses or guitar amps doesn't do the trick, it must be music I don't play.

Lee H · #10 05-14-2013, 02:32 PM

because it sucks riding a motorcycle in the rain without them...I know, bad joke, but I couldn't help it.

My jazz bass is the lightest bass I have.

Dr. Cheese · #11 05-14-2013, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by electracoyote

I agree.

But it's beyond the mystique and pedigree for me. I think they are still functionally and tonally one of the best and most relevant choices out there on a purely objective level.

And I play everything under the sun.

Fender still sets the bar that others use to boast if and when they surpass it.

This is very true. A good Fender still compares very favorably to other basses in terms of tone. I also find them very comfortable sitting and standing, assuming it is not an older, heavy Jazz.

mpdd · #12 05-14-2013, 03:13 PM

i like being able to pick up a bass and have it be somewhat familiar after years of my friends and i looking for the more unique retro cool ones

Herrick · #13 05-14-2013, 03:23 PM

One of the reasons I think Fenders are cool is they've mostly remain unchanged after all these years but they're still widely in use.

I only play 5-strings now & unfortunately, I couldn't bond with the 5-string Precision Bass. I still need to try a 5-string Jazz. One of these days. I'm trying to remain GAS free & settle down. We'll see.

Thumper · #14 05-14-2013, 04:14 PM

I tried not to like Fenders (reference gear previously owned) but in the end gave in and am happy, especially with the P5. The Zon and Roscoe round out the stable nicely so if I want to stray........

Baird6869 · #15 05-14-2013, 04:34 PM

I always come back to them.

Nedmundo · #16 05-14-2013, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lpdeluxe

Many years ago I was told by one of the best guitarists I've been around "get a Gibson guitar and a Fender amp and you'll have the best." I agree.

I'm not sure either is necessarily the best on its own, but, without fail, a good Gibson guitar through a Fender tube amp sounds fantastic. It is a magical combination. I've seen several variations used by many great players, including a Les Paul through a Hot Rod DeVille, Les Paul through Deluxe Reverb, SG through a Supersonic, and ES-335 through a Twin Reverb.

More on topic, I love Fender basses too, and I'm more attached to my first Fender than any other bass. I also love my Strats, though the HH hardtail isn't exactly a traditional Leo design. These days I'm more into G&L, but of course those are Fenders in a sense, and mine are simply G&L variants of the classic P and J anyway. Thanks Leo!

inthebassclef · #17 05-14-2013, 04:53 PM

Agree completely with many of you guys. There is something very special about a great Fender bass. I am by birth a P bass lover and will never loose that. With all the modern basses out there bass has evolved and grown more than any bass player in the 60's could have dreamed but yet in the end nothing sounds like a Fender. By the sheer amount of copies out there it is a testament that they are doing something right. Give me a solid Fender P bass (my main bass being a 72 sunburst) with some TI flats I am a very happy man!!

japhy4529 · #18 05-14-2013, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmntfan

I like fenders cause I once fought off a fleet of flying sea monkeys with one, before using it as a jet back to escape the sinking ship with the trapped harem of girls holding on.

You too?!

Joe Louvar · #19 05-14-2013, 04:56 PM

I like Fender basses because they're affordable, easy to setup, easy to play, sound great, and they last a lifetime.

MIMike · #20 05-14-2013, 05:21 PM

Got my first P-Bass a year after I started playing and have been a Fender guy ever since. I've owned a bunch over the years (see profile for more details), but have never been without one since 1977.
They are kind of like my wife; beautiful, not overly done, not high maintenance, dependable, easy to get along with and, after all these years, the thing that "does it" for me more than anything else out there.