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A Fender made in China?

#41
iunno said:
Should be a Sqiuer IMO, China has more than earned their reputation for making cheap poor quality crap.
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Except for iPhones, iPads, desk top and lap top computers, the underwear you have on and your shoes.

But the rest is crap. :rollno:

It's funny that both of my favourite basses are made in the USA, and I hope to get another Sadowsky at some point. I think bass gear is very well made and consistently better that gear from a lot of countries. That said, I have basses from Japan and China that I Love playing that are very well made.

Over here, American made cars are still considered poor quality compared to local offering. Reputations are hard to shake, regardless of where a product is made, or what improvements have been made.
 
#44
bmc said:
You should upgrade your knowledge of the Chinese business environment. It's outdated.
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Yup. Talk to Bassamatic about it , he has first hand knowledge of this subject, and according to him , the situation isn't at all like it used to be, as it is still perceived to be (incorrectly) by a lot of people. To ear him describe it, Chinese workers are better off than most American blue-collar workers.
 
#46
My comments were not based solely on Chinese musical instruments. I'll readily admit that SOME manufacturers in China DO produce high quality products, and this includes SOME of their musical instruments. That being said, SOME are just firewood, so buyer beware.

However, I stand by my previous statements. Many Chinese companies knowingly produce dangerous products, without any concern for the consumer. Many of these products have shipped to the US, and many of these products have killed and injured American citizens.

As was suggested earlier, I did take the time to "upgrade my knowledge" of current Chinese business. I found out that there were, in fact, laws against abuses like this, going back nearly two decades. But, these laws were non-binding and allowed most of these practices to continue. However, I also found that two months ago, today, the Chinese Government enacted new legislation intended to close earlier loopholes, and impose penalties on businesses who produce dangerous products. Only time will tell, if this will actually correct the problem.

So, if I was out of date, it was only by 60 days.

In the meantime, until I see hard evidence that China has put this behind them, I still won't buy anything Chinese. It's not a judgement of their ability to produce a quality product. It's an ethical position, based on a country that would allow the export of hazardous products.

If a Chinese made instrument meets your needs and quality requirements, and you don't personally have ethical concerns with doing so, then go ahead and buy it. More power to you! I've just made the personal decision not to.

hrb
 
#47
greybeard125 said:
Add this to the mix. I recently traded for a 2010
american std jazz with all the hangs tag etc and one of them said "Assembled in Mexico". So how's it an American made bass?????

Merry Christmas everyone!!! Hope all your gear wishes were granted!
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Maybe someone added that hangtag before you got it??? I highly doubt your 2010 Am St Jazz was "Assembled in Mexico"...


- georgestrings
 
#48
Bass4LifeRS said:
Well, IMO and as I see it, the Fender company has different quality/production lines. Unfortunately it is also differentiated by country and that does confuse things. So let's say for instance that Fender has these lines of basses:

1. Budget
2. Standard
3. Premium
4. Custom Shop

If this was it, and the quality of wood, hardware and workmanship got better for each line, it would be easy to understand. You could say "I got a Fender Precision Premium" etc and it would be clear.

Unfortunately, people (and especially patriotic Americans, no offense intended) are very interested in where the products are made or assembled, and will choose their instrument with this factor in mind in addition to the actual quality of the instrument in question.

This is why Fender names them differently in stead:
1. Made in China
2. Made in Mexico/Japan
3. Made in USA
4. Made in USA Custom Shop

A complication is that some basses are only available from a certain production line. They don not make every bass model available in all production lines.

To further complicate things, a bass build is not rocket science, and thus you can have great instruments coming from each of these production countries. So even though the quality of hardware and wood may be lower in the low labor cost factories (as intended, because it is their Budget line), you could end up with a great instrument from whichever country, and maybe with a replacement pickup or tuners or minor fret job etc, you could have a great sounding and playing bass.

So it's funny to read posts like yours, because you liked a bass in the "1. Budget"-line as described above, but you seem to think it's strange that the budget line is made in China. As you see, it all makes sense though. If you like it, you like it. Toss the predjudice, buy it, mod it or not, and be happy, brother !

Correct me if I'm wrong :)
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I would not buy fender made in communist China not today … tomorrow or any other day !!
 
#49
bmc said:
Except for iPhones, iPads, desk top and lap top computers, the underwear you have on and your shoes.

But the rest is crap. :rollno:

It's funny that both of my favourite basses are made in the USA, and I hope to get another Sadowsky at some point. I think bass gear is very well made and consistently better that gear from a lot of countries. That said, I have basses from Japan and China that I Love playing that are very well made.

Over here, American made cars are still considered poor quality compared to local offering. Reputations are hard to shake, regardless of where a product is made, or what improvements have been made.
Click to expand...
I would not own a Chinese bass !!
 
#50
It's almost unfathomable, the amounts of money that goes into trade with China today. It's USA's biggest trade partner, and same goes for many countries in Europe. On topic, is it in 2023 no more China-fenders and all that moved to Indonesia?
 

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