Say, why did Fender get rid of the S-1 switch?

[dgce]

Having that little series/parallel switch seemed like a cool and practical addition to the simple, passive J & P format. Why did Fender get rid of it on their American Standard P & Js?

[pasta4lnch]

I cant speak for everyone, but I hated it. I ripped it out of 2 basses I had it on almost immediately . . .

edit: ok "hate" might be a strong word. I just didnt dig it. The switch sort of broke on my J V so I ripped it out. I got a used P w/ it didnt even wait, ripped it right out . . . the alternate tones weren't all that appealing to me

[RCCollins]

p4i speaks for virtually everyone

i personally think it was a pretty cool idea for a jazz bass (less so for a P), but the switch/knob was super chintsy - didn't make the US Fenders look good at all. It's a fairly easy mod to do if you like it.

[drnknmstr]

It didn't do anything. It just made the sound worse. My good friend called it the "Suck-switch" because it made your bass sound suckier.

[dvh]

May have been chintsy but I think the idea is great. Especially for a Jazz bass.

[dgce]

Perhaps an after market push/pull switch of better quality would have done the trick. It really seemed like a great idea for Jazz basses, even if you barely used the switch. But I always wondered how much of a tonal difference could it possibly make on a P bass. Oh well, not much I guess.

[lousybassplayer]

When Fender heard that TBers didn't like them, they pulled the S-1 program in a panic. I have only played a couple of S-1 equipped basses, never owned one, but I didn't really care about it one way or the other.

[DTF]

i love it on my jazz

[ThaLowEndTheory]

Originally Posted by DTF

i love it on my jazz

+1 great for a jazz, not so much for a P.

[electracoyote]

Originally Posted by dvh

May have been chintsy but I think the idea is great. Especially for a Jazz bass.

+1

I can recall several times when my Jazz wasn't sitting in the mix the way I wanted it to. S-1 switch to the rescue.

"Chintzy?" As in it looks and feels cheap, breaks easily?

That's not my experience. Indeed, it seems to be camoflauged rather nicely.

[Jonyak]

I have one on my pbass, and it just makes it sound like crap, I never use it.

[bobalu]

I can't tell you how many times I played one in a shop only to have the switch stick down and not release. IMO major cheap quality part, good idea though.

[SJan3]

Originally Posted by dgce

Perhaps an after market push/pull switch of better quality would have done the trick. It really seemed like a great idea for Jazz basses, even if you barely used the switch. But I always wondered how much of a tonal difference could it possibly make on a P bass. Oh well, not much I guess.

I have an '04 P Bass with the switch and it does offer a different palate, although not for everyone. The switch engaged thins out the typical P Bass tone (not as chunky), BUT...it provides more articulation ala Jazz bass. So, if you're thinking of some fleet fingered solos on your P Bass, this switch will help your notes to be heard with more focus and less "blur".

[flipper_gv]

it broke a lot.

[Billy3000]

I never played it on a jazz, but it really did suck on a P. I probably played 6 or 7 different S-1 equipped P basses over the time they had those in production. At least 4 of them the switch was broken. The other ones that it did actually work on, it really did just make the bass sound suckier. I wasn't a fan of those years of Fenders in general, and that s1 switch really made it even worse. I actually remember gravitating towards the Mexican standard basses because I hated the way that the MIA ones sounded so much. They fixed everything that I didn't like about the MIA standard series in '08 though! I love my '08 P bass!

[GregC]

It seemed to provide a nice alternative on a jazz bass. Sounded like crap on a P.

Nevertheless, I've always been dumbfounded as to why some people hated it so much. As someone said, it was well-camouflaged--hell, I didn't even notice it the first time I tried a Fender from that era in a store! And it didn't affect the tone when it wasn't engaged, I don't believe.

[M0ses]

The vast majority of people hated the S-1. A lot of people just ignored it. And then maybe like 1% liked it. Try justifying THAT cost of production.

[Staccato]

Originally Posted by M0ses

The vast majority of people hated the S-1. A lot of people just ignored it. And then maybe like 1% liked it. Try justifying THAT cost of production.

The salesmen talked about it like a gimmick, and the customers yawned on many of those occasions.

[Big Mike Ipp]

To be honest, I love it on my Hot Rod Jazz, played it on a few p's, it was lackluster. To each their own...

[madmatt]

I never understood the "I hate it and I ripped it out" mentality.
If you do not like it then do not use it of course.
I would say it increases resale value because it is an extra option, which some folks might want. Personally I would leave it in even if I did not use it.

As far as "do I like it?" goes: I would have to say I do not use mine very often. I actually like to have one pickup on full and the other backed off a bit (talkin about a two single coil Jazz type setup). But if I need some heavy thump I will "engage".