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A personal insight on Fender popularity...
- Thread starter stflbn
- Start date
ughhh i hate these threads
people play them because if you want to play a jazz or P bass...you get a fender. I know some people may think that fender jazz basses or p basses may not be as good as some other similar companies basses, but its those differences that make those other basses into just that...other basses and not the real deal
if any of that made sense
people play them because if you want to play a jazz or P bass...you get a fender. I know some people may think that fender jazz basses or p basses may not be as good as some other similar companies basses, but its those differences that make those other basses into just that...other basses and not the real deal
if any of that made sense
Some funny responses in this thread ..... 
I totally understand the OP's 1st post, but Fenders aren't the "most popular" simply because they have been around the longest. They're the "most popular" because they work for the most people. And since sales of Fender basses remain constant, apparently they continue to work for most people.
I got my 1st Fender P in 1963 when I was 12 years old. I got a Fender because there wasn't anything else available in the store the day my Dad bought it for me. Over these many years I have had a load of different basses, some quite odd, some quite crappy, some really great, but I've always had a least one Fender because I know what they'll do for me.
Now, playing ERB's almost exclusively, my sole remaining MIJ Fender rarely gets much attention, but I keep it because I know what it'll do for me if all else fails. I also just recently bought a Squier Precision Standard 5 string (for $150
) and I have to say that this bass, with it's somewhat fatter neck and traditional body, feels (as others have said) like home to me, too. It is the first non-ERB that I have gigged with regularly in years, and that's because it's fun to play, sounds good ($150 ) and it reminds me of my younger days.
People buy Fender because they're consistent, available, priced right for the one you get, and most importantly, you know what you're getting when you buy one .....
I totally understand the OP's 1st post, but Fenders aren't the "most popular" simply because they have been around the longest. They're the "most popular" because they work for the most people. And since sales of Fender basses remain constant, apparently they continue to work for most people.
I got my 1st Fender P in 1963 when I was 12 years old. I got a Fender because there wasn't anything else available in the store the day my Dad bought it for me. Over these many years I have had a load of different basses, some quite odd, some quite crappy, some really great, but I've always had a least one Fender because I know what they'll do for me.
Now, playing ERB's almost exclusively, my sole remaining MIJ Fender rarely gets much attention, but I keep it because I know what it'll do for me if all else fails. I also just recently bought a Squier Precision Standard 5 string (for $150
) and I have to say that this bass, with it's somewhat fatter neck and traditional body, feels (as others have said) like home to me, too. It is the first non-ERB that I have gigged with regularly in years, and that's because it's fun to play, sounds good ($150 ) and it reminds me of my younger days.People buy Fender because they're consistent, available, priced right for the one you get, and most importantly, you know what you're getting when you buy one .....
Let me add:
1. I make good money and can afford any bass that I want.
2. I have a son in the business, and family discounts run about 50% off, making it easy to try out many, many different models of basses. Yes, I get to take them home to play with them!
I have tried Brand A basses, wooded pickup covers and all - an over $5000 bass . . . and I've tried a Brand M bass with chechan fingerboard - a very expensive bass, to say the least!
I have two basses . . . a Fender Jazz bass and a Fender P bass . . .
They do what I need from them. They feel right in my hands. They sound wonderful to my ears. They match well with my bass amp rig.
I'd recommed either or both to everyone to at least try them. Then they can make a conclusion for themselves!
1. I make good money and can afford any bass that I want.
2. I have a son in the business, and family discounts run about 50% off, making it easy to try out many, many different models of basses. Yes, I get to take them home to play with them!
I have tried Brand A basses, wooded pickup covers and all - an over $5000 bass . . . and I've tried a Brand M bass with chechan fingerboard - a very expensive bass, to say the least!
I have two basses . . . a Fender Jazz bass and a Fender P bass . . .
They do what I need from them. They feel right in my hands. They sound wonderful to my ears. They match well with my bass amp rig.
I'd recommed either or both to everyone to at least try them. Then they can make a conclusion for themselves!
Yeah, the argument that Fenders were the only thing around at the "beginning" is very untrue. Paul mostly used a Hofner or a Ric. As I recall, he did pretty well with those.
Still, it's clearly true that Fenders were the most popular of the early basses and guitars. I suspect there is a reason for that. I suspect it's the same reason many people still gravitate toward Fenders. They are good instruments.
Meanwhile, people like Michael Manring and Stanley Clarke need something different. Maybe you need something different.
Me? I need to get a life and stop reading these threads!!!
Ya, I think many people have misunderstood my stance... a lot of people are overlooking the 'maybe's' 'could be's' and 'possibly's' in my original post and just taking it as Fender bashing.
Either way it's been good conversation regarding the topic.
Q: What are the two least expensive departments in a University.
A: Math - they just need paper, pencils, and a wastebasket. But Philosophy is cheaper because they don't need the wastebasket.
Hey now, some of us CHOSE to take a degree in philosphy, and are better people because if it.
And that is how it should be. However, if you don't play a Dingwall you are an idiot!
A guy I know questioned my choice of gear (which, at the time was mainly Carvin and Warmoth) stating that "nobody uses it". He is of course a Fender fanboy. I have nothing against Fenders and have played some nice ones but I read a quote somewhere that sums it up: "It's not the band I hate, it's their fans."
Hey now, some of us CHOSE to take a degree in philosphy, and are better people because if it.
Not everyone who wanders is lost...
i would believe every word of that if this were the 50s 60s or 70s, and im not a fender player. but that puts a real grim outlook on how smart a society we have, that we would rather stay comfortable than progress, but alas, thus is life.
What evidence do you have that "progress" is not being made? I guess if you ignore the incredible number of options, technology, and variety that we can now have in our basses, then yes, perhaps progress has not been made.
Hypes don't last 50 years. People buy them because they fit their needs.
This from a guy who never owned a Fender and doesn't plan to.
This from a guy who never owned a Fender and doesn't plan to.
The basic design of a knife hasn't changed much for Centuries.
Yes, there have been improvements in materials, and the quality of the build, but the basic concept and design still works pretty well.
You could just as easily say that about the Fender Electric bass.
If you want the latest in technology, it's out there for you. The old standby's seem to work just fine too, if that's what suits you.
Will a .357 Magnum do the job better? Depends on what you're trying to do, not if your trying to carve a turkey.
Again, not so hard to understand from where I'm sitting.
I'm lucky enough to own 5 basses, soon to be 6. All of them are relatively good quality and consist of Rickenbacker, Gretsch, ibanez, Spector and a Fender P bass. Guess which one i keep picking up? Yup, the P bass.
I love the Fender sound but it had to grow on me first so i think that proves, at least in my case, that i choose Fender because they sound right to me and not because they are endorsed by many professional and amateur players. I absolutely love the simplicity of the Precision Bass....so much so that i've added another to my collection.
I love the Fender sound but it had to grow on me first so i think that proves, at least in my case, that i choose Fender because they sound right to me and not because they are endorsed by many professional and amateur players. I absolutely love the simplicity of the Precision Bass....so much so that i've added another to my collection.
It's funny, but I've never particularly liked the standard Fender Precision or Jazz basses. My main bass is a 1992 Fender Jazz Bass Plus V, which was widely criticized when it was available because t sounded *nothing* like a regular Fender bass. I didn't know, and wouldn't have cared about this, because I had no preconceptions of what a bass guitar "should" sound like. I just knew that I thought Precision and Jazz Basses were rather ugly to me, and that the regular Jazz Bass 4 string neck was too narrow for me. The Jazz Plus V, OTOH, was beautiful (especially in natural ash, like mine), the neck fit me perfectly, and the sound struck a chord with me.
The Jazz Bass Plus V was, from the period about 1990-1993, Fender's top of the line bass guitar. It represented Fender's first attempt at making a modern five string bass, had Fender Lace Sensor pickups and an active premap designed by Philip Kubicki. It also introduced the smaller body style that is now used for the American Deluxe Jazz Bass instruments.
I absolutely love the sound of this bass, and if I ever replace it with another bass of that type, it will be a Warmoth Deluxe 5 made to my specifications, mainly because I feel that the current workmanship at Fender is substandard. In fact, I may replace it with both fretted and fretless versions of the same. I'm thinking Transparent Violet with a matching headstock and a pearl pickguard, and I'd add a piezo bridge. The American Deluxe basses I've played in stores recently just don't measure up to their price tags in terms of workmanship. They sound fine, though.
That said, for anyone that wants a Leo Fender design, I'd more likely recommend an Ernie Ball/Music Man StingRay, or a G&L of some sort, than any standard Precision or Jazz Bass. Not that I have anything in particular against those models, but Leo's later designs are better, IMO.
If you asked me to identify an archetypical P or J tone, I'd probably fail the test. I just know what I like to hear, and the three instruments in my .sig all give me different varieties of that.
The Jazz Bass Plus V was, from the period about 1990-1993, Fender's top of the line bass guitar. It represented Fender's first attempt at making a modern five string bass, had Fender Lace Sensor pickups and an active premap designed by Philip Kubicki. It also introduced the smaller body style that is now used for the American Deluxe Jazz Bass instruments.
I absolutely love the sound of this bass, and if I ever replace it with another bass of that type, it will be a Warmoth Deluxe 5 made to my specifications, mainly because I feel that the current workmanship at Fender is substandard. In fact, I may replace it with both fretted and fretless versions of the same. I'm thinking Transparent Violet with a matching headstock and a pearl pickguard, and I'd add a piezo bridge. The American Deluxe basses I've played in stores recently just don't measure up to their price tags in terms of workmanship. They sound fine, though.
That said, for anyone that wants a Leo Fender design, I'd more likely recommend an Ernie Ball/Music Man StingRay, or a G&L of some sort, than any standard Precision or Jazz Bass. Not that I have anything in particular against those models, but Leo's later designs are better, IMO.
If you asked me to identify an archetypical P or J tone, I'd probably fail the test. I just know what I like to hear, and the three instruments in my .sig all give me different varieties of that.
