Crap....I'm not so good at playing the dern things.
Honestly, guitards tell us what we should be using so I don't feel that bassists should join in in that kind of debate. I may not agree what ya use, but I support the decision 100%.
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A personal insight on Fender popularity...
- Thread starter stflbn
- Start date
Crap....I'm not so good at playing the dern things.
Honestly, guitards tell us what we should be using so I don't feel that bassists should join in in that kind of debate. I may not agree what ya use, but I support the decision 100%.
You got anything better to do down in Nashville than get beat up by the Fender TBer's?
I ran a poll recently and overwhelming the sampling said at least 1 Fender in the stable.
Problem with forums, like this thread, is opinions and facts are interchangeable.
My first 'professional' bass was a '72 Sunburst P-bass. Don't have a Fender today although I GAS for a MIA 08. I think of my MM Sterling as a Fender-esque bass in style, tone quality and durability, but that introduces measures in my estimation and not just opinions.
I ran a poll recently and overwhelming the sampling said at least 1 Fender in the stable.
Problem with forums, like this thread, is opinions and facts are interchangeable.
My first 'professional' bass was a '72 Sunburst P-bass. Don't have a Fender today although I GAS for a MIA 08. I think of my MM Sterling as a Fender-esque bass in style, tone quality and durability, but that introduces measures in my estimation and not just opinions.
Your point is so obvious it does not need its own thread. Of course some people play Fenders because they are fairly ubiquitous. So what? People buy all kinds of products for the same reason. Shocking, huh?
Its hard to feel like a rock star with a quarter-sawn, small-bodied, spalted-rock maple-purpleheart-gonclaves neck and 15 knobed 7-string bass! Fenders are like jeans; you always look good in jeans, so its much easier to just wear jeans! New jeans are cool, vintage jeans are cooler, and the jeans you've had for 10 years fit better than any new pair of weird synthetic pants!
FWIW, I never got the impression from your post that you were bashing Fender. But the fact remains that for many of us, Fender feels and sounds right and if somebody as for a recommendation, it seems logical that we would recommend what works for us.
Your point is so obvious it does not need its own thread. Of course some people play Fenders because they are fairly ubiquitous. So what? People buy all kinds of products for the same reason. Shocking, huh?
Thank you!
I wasn't directing that at ya, more towards the ones who bash my crappy Conklin.
No problem. I expected the idea of this thread to be 'motivating' to some.
Actually this thinking kind of comes out of a 3-year cycle i've been through where I've been looking for a backup to my preferred main bass which is :: gasp :: a Schecter Studio5. During that time I've owned about 20 different basses of different brands including P's, J's, and true Fenders, etc. Ask a question about something and you get back "dude, get a P, or J... buy a Fender, everyone has them." Many people are plain offended by the idea that someone may not love a P, J or Fender type bass. It's really entertaining once you start paying attention to it.
Finally, after 3 years I played other Schecters... ya know what? They were right 'for me'. But... if I were not stubborn enough to find my own way to what I personally prefer I'd be playing basses that I didn't personally feel were 'right' for me.
Does that mean I hate the other basses I've owned and tried? Nope. Not a single one of them was bad, awful, horrid, trash, junk, or many of the words we hear tossed around TB regarding different brands and type of basses. (Words usually directed at bass brands that do not have Fender in the name or do not resemble those Fender basses) I could have played any of them, but not 'loved' playing them.
There are some songs that I listen to and think, "Wow, that is the undeniable tone of a maple neck Fender Jazz" and I couldn't think of any better tone for the song. Could you listen to a Marcus Miller album the same if he was playing a Fodera? Sure but it would sound really different. Fender basses, both P's and J's have very distinct sounds compared to other basses and people become hooked to those tones. Fender was the first company to come out with the solid body electric bass in 1951 and back in those days it wasn't called the electric bass guitar by musicians, it was called the Fender Bass, almost as if that was its name. So on one hand you are right, the Fender bass has become the Colt .45 of its time and is the industry's go-to bass. I'm sure many people buy Fender basses because they are popular and because lots of people have them. But they are no gimmick, they are great quality basses for the price you pay. They have great signature tone and have remarkable originality to them. Thats why companies like Sadowsky, Valenti and Lakland exist. Although they where grandfathered in due to being the first bass available to musicians they are still great basses and workhorses none the less. I think your question is more geared toward beginners buying basses. Most musicians I know play many varieties of basses, including myself. Ive got a Fender jazz V, but I also play Musicman, Spector and MTD. I wouldn't go on to say that any bass is the best one; tone, look and feel are all subjective to each person's opinion. I think you have a valid opinion and I agree with you, many people buy Fender's for their popularity. It just so happens that those very same people end up with great basses!
Crap....I'm not so good at playing the dern things.
Honestly, guitards tell us what we should be using so I don't feel that bassists should join in in that kind of debate. I may not agree what ya use, but I support the decision 100%.
Guess I'm lucky... I've never had a guitarist tell me what I should be using... or any other person, short of requesting I bring a bass out again. Then again, that's asking.
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
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- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
I am a long time Rickenbacker player. From 73 until recently a Rickenbacker was my main bass. But these days I am really into my jazz bass.
http://www.3dentourage.com/425/Black-and-maple-jazz5.htm
http://www.3dentourage.com/425/Black-and-maple-jazz5.htm
If I'm not mistaken, hasn't Roger Sadowsky stated in interviews that the reason he went with Fender shaped basses rather than a modern design or some other design was because they were 'more acceptable' to musicians and studio's expecting/demanding the 'standard?'
Always easier to profit from existing expectations and perceptions then to fight a battle to change those things.
40+ years ago is the mid-60's. Before I owned my first Fender, I owned a Japanese Hofner copy, a (Sears, Roebuck) Silvertone, a Hagstrom 4 and a Hagstrom 8. Also available were various Gibsons, Hofners, Guilds, Rics, Voxes, Framuses, Kliras, Danelectros and a myriad of inexpensive instruments from all over the world; inclouding the USA. It is a blatant lie to say nothing else was available, especially when many of the "nothing elses" are still being manufactured and are readily available today.
I don't care what anybody else plays. There are plenty of basses being manufactured so somebody must be buying them and, presumably, playing and loving them. That's cool and is a great representative example of the value of diversity in the marketplace. What kills me, though, is when somebody starts the "I'd never play a Fender" rant and when you look at what they play, there are 2 or 3 inexpensive Fender knock-offs (which shall go unnamed)...you know the ones..."It only cost me $104 and it plays and sounds better than any MIA Fender ever made." Again, you pays your money and you takes your choice; it is all the same to me.
I don't care what anybody else plays. There are plenty of basses being manufactured so somebody must be buying them and, presumably, playing and loving them. That's cool and is a great representative example of the value of diversity in the marketplace. What kills me, though, is when somebody starts the "I'd never play a Fender" rant and when you look at what they play, there are 2 or 3 inexpensive Fender knock-offs (which shall go unnamed)...you know the ones..."It only cost me $104 and it plays and sounds better than any MIA Fender ever made." Again, you pays your money and you takes your choice; it is all the same to me.
Guess I'm lucky... I've never had a guitarist tell me what I should be using... or any other person, short of requesting I bring a bass out again. Then again, that's asking.
I haven't for years, but some butt rock band was bashin' my Cirrus Custom, even though they really sounded like ass (in retrospect). A C- list cover band (d list??) once told me to come back when I had a Fender. Then one band told me my Fender Urge wasn't a real Fender.
Once I left hard rock and metal, never had that kind of 'tude copped at me and most have been very appreciative of my somewhat unique tune.I don't think so. A Madison Ave. mantra read; "Design a better mouse trap and people will buy it" Fender did that. I own Fender basses because they work. oI own other basses because they work differently. Not because someone uses it and so someone else uses it so they get me to use it and so on<> Besides the popularity of a product is based somewhat on it's merit isn't it?
Again, though, "if it ain't broke....."
What exactly is wrong with the basic Fender shape that demands, or begs, that a battle be fought to change it? It is simple, and it works, period.
Perhaps you should do some research on the history of the layout of the (computer) keyboard, and you'll see the situation in a different light.
If I'm reading the O.P. correctly, I would say people recomend Fenders a lot simply because it's a good starting point. Simple, easy to work with, and a lot can be done with them.
Like if someone said, "I'm a newbie to vegetables... Please recomend one for me to start out with"
Potato might be a good choice, simply because A. they're common, and easy to find. Most supermarkets will have them. B. taste good (according to most people) C. Lot's of different things you can do with them from real basic to very fancy. D. Lot's of people know how to work with them.
Recomending a radish might not be the best place to start, although there are lots of wonderful things you can do with them too. Not hard logic to follow.
Now, I would scoff at anyone who said, "You HAVE to play a Fender" or "Fender is the ONLY choice" That's just not logical.
Yes, I'm a long time Fender player, and also have a cart load of miles on my SX P copy as well for the record.
Like if someone said, "I'm a newbie to vegetables... Please recomend one for me to start out with"
Potato might be a good choice, simply because A. they're common, and easy to find. Most supermarkets will have them. B. taste good (according to most people) C. Lot's of different things you can do with them from real basic to very fancy. D. Lot's of people know how to work with them.
Recomending a radish might not be the best place to start, although there are lots of wonderful things you can do with them too. Not hard logic to follow.
Now, I would scoff at anyone who said, "You HAVE to play a Fender" or "Fender is the ONLY choice" That's just not logical.
Yes, I'm a long time Fender player, and also have a cart load of miles on my SX P copy as well for the record.
That was incredible to read with only about an hours sleep in the past 24 hours O_O
I can't speak for others but I went from a Fender HATER to Fender being my second favorite (or equal to my first fav) bass company and it had nothing to do with their hype. But I have to say it was reading all the praise from people here that owned them that made me give them a second chance and I honest to god fell in love with 'em and I PROUDLY own a 1995 Precision Special aka: Cowpoke
The brand name has nothing to do with how I like them. It is the way they feel, the necks, the balance of the weight, the SOUND. I like Fender for the real reasons why someone should like their axe. Least Id like to think so. ^_^ Had the 08 Pbass I played that day to see if it was worth getting that P Special had not impressed me I wouldn't own one period regardless of the name on the headstock.
That being said the name on the headstock I feel does imply something more I have discovered. Something as minor as the look on someones face when they read it and their eyes get big, to 'HEY!! watch it!! The FENDER is sitting there!!!' and people spaz and get away acting like they disturbed sacred ground. LOL The brand name carries some reputation, expectations, reverence even with none guitar players, but if a Fender isn't a good fit for you, the mystique behind the name is no reason to force yourself to own one.
Just my 2 cents worth
Personally, I've never owned a Fender product. Every gig, jingle, soundtrack, album, demo, rehearsal, session and jam I have done was on a non-Fender. Would any of these have been any better with a Fender?
As soon as your time machine is finished, I'll let you know.
That being said....I would love to own a Fender, one day I will, but it will be merely an addition to the family.
As soon as your time machine is finished, I'll let you know.
That being said....I would love to own a Fender, one day I will, but it will be merely an addition to the family.
Great way to put it! Funny too cause I was in a discussion with someone about what it was that I loved about each of my basses and I described my T40 literally as feeling like 'my fav pair of jeans' (but my fav pair of jeans dont weigh 3 metric tons...just want to clarity that
)
