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Adios Fender

E

EBMan

Oct 10, 2006
175
2
#1
I've been on my second round of trying to find a good Fender Precision. I tried it last summer and came up empty. Just recently, I purchased a new American Standard P Bass in Oly White. Beautiful bass--but--it had a visible line in the finish. I posted about this earlier and I also sent Fender and email. Their response was:

"The line you distinguish on this body is likely simply the join line for the two pieces of wood being utilized for the body spread. The only real cause is that the body wood may have shrunk slightly due to environmental conditions, thus causing the paint to sink in and show the join line you illustrate here

We appreciate your support of Fender Musical Instruments

Thanks again and have a good day"

Ok, but no acknowledgement that it was an issue. I returned that one and bought another. Unfortunately, I found a lot of dents and dings on it after getting it home. It also had a loose tone knob. The store had only had this one two days. So I ordered a third one on-line. Guess what, very rough fret edges, a significant finish mar on the rosewood fretboard, another loose tone knob and a faulty volume pot.

I've really tried to like Fender because I wanted one to go with my Sterling. I even ordered a "Fender" strap, three books on the Fender Bass, P Bass keychain and one of the white P Bass models. Obviously, I'm not a Fender basher but I've given up on them. Perhaps I'm too picky but I find the quality I desire in other mass produced basses and guitars from Musicman, Martin, Taylor and Takamine.

Fenders were designed to be mass produced at a reasonable cost. Perhaps their quality has not declined, but instead we have higher quality options.

I'm returning the Fender and have ordered a Musicman Stingray to go with my Sterling. I hope others have better success with Fender. FYI, the new P Bass did sound good and my last one was Blizzard Pearl which was a beautiful color.
 
#4
rufus mangler said:
I own a MIA, and Classic 50. I like the way they sound more than I care about whether or not they look perfect.

I'm sure I'd find plenty of imperfections if I started looking.
Click to expand...

+1

The first thing I do when I pick up a bass is listen to it. If the bass sounds awesome, I could not care less about what it looks like. Second I go for the feel and playability.

But my first priority is always the sound!
 
#7
I like pristeen basses as well as the next one, but if the way a bass plays speaks to me it doesn't matter what it looks like. All things equal, I would like to have a nice looking bass, but when are all things ever equal. My custom ordered blueburst G&L L2500 got several scratches the first time out; with enough time every bass will get dinged up or worn out a bit. Ordering a Stingray, it is possible it may come out a lemon as well, however unlikely. Your best bet would be to visit several stores and inspect the instrument thoroughly before you buy. While I'm not what you call a Fender fan, there are good Fenders out there if you search. If you want a P bass, I feel you may be dissapointed in the Stingray. While I like Stingrays, they are relatively close sounding to the Sterling. If you're looking for a P bass sound you should probably get a P bass, the Sterling will come closer than the Stingray to the P sound. All IMHO FWIW.
 
#8
I guess I've just been lucky. I've owned a whole bunch of MIA Fenders over the years. While I've liked some more than others, I can't remember ever having one with any issues that a simple tweak here and there didn't correct. I've been very pleased with them.

I do agree, however, that their customer service leaves a lot to be desired. I'm talking about simply getting through to somebody with a question, since I haven't had issues with the basses themselves. I feel that any company with such a huge customer base should have a toll-free phone number. Of course that's no longer much of an issue in these days of "free" long-distance, but it used to be an aggravation.
 
#9
I really want to like Fender. And I love the sound of the P Bass. I did see an excellent example of a white Mustang that I was tempted to buy.

My Blizzard Pearl one was really not playable with the frets and volume pot. I guess I also wonder about the unseen things when there are several visible problems? Once again, I'm not bashing Fender at all. I'm just frustrated at what I'm finding from them in a $1,000 plus bass. My first bass back in the '70s was a Fender P Bass that I stupidly traded in on a turntable.

BTW, Musicians Friend has an online deal going where you can get an instant $150 savings on an order of $1,000 or more.
 
#11
EBMan said:
In spite of my frustration with their products, I've found their customer service to be quick in getting back to me. I don't have a problem with their CS.
Click to expand...
I, too, have had pleasant experiences on the phone with them... I wanted to identify a neck I had, which turned out to be from a VERY short run of Japanese instruments. Luckily, the guy I got on the phone knew the bass from a description...

All maple P-bass neck, '57 logo, tiny frets, 70's profile, CIJ... after a few quick questions, turned out to be a 1975 Reissue from a very short run.

VERY pleasant experience.

----

It's simple. Fender's not for you. I look for playability and tone in an instrument and don't care if the finish is perfect... It'll be taking enough abuse from me over the next few years of sounding and feeling good, and it certainly won't look perfect after a little while.

Tim
 
#12
Personally, p's aren't something you really spend a lot of money on. I would just get a used one for a decent price, and ignore the blemishes. At least you know if someone has gigged a while with it, it should be in good working order.

Besides, they don't make em like this these days.

180463891-M.jpg


OR, get a squier p, put in a couple of dollars on a pickup and a little finishing work, and I'll bet if sound and play as good as any p out there for about 500.
 
#13
EBMan said:
I've been on my second round of trying to find a good Fender Precision. I tried it last summer and came up empty. Just recently, I purchased a new American Standard P Bass in Oly White. Beautiful bass--but--it had a visible line in the finish.
Click to expand...

Every multi-piece solid body instrument I have ever seen had some portion of visible seam in the finish. Ones that dont now will in the future. Not a big deal IMO.
 
#14
Those who doubt Fenders need only look at the clip on bassplayer.tv of Geddy Lee showing the collection of basses he uses-- all Fenders. Of course, he owns (and has used) Rickenbackers, Wals, Steinbergers, and others, but chooses to use the Fenders after having extensive experience with the others. Ever wonder why?
 
#15
On an opposite case like yours. . .

I tried to like and love EB/MM (had 12 of them) but little by little sold them all because I could never get to like their sound (or the weeight, in the case of StingRay 5s). I guess sound is more important to me than quality control or customer service.

Still play my less-than-perfect Fenders and I'm pretty happy. Fret filing is easy and inexpensive, and little cosmetic flaws here and there are not going to keep me from playing a bass a want to play.
 
#16
Frankly, I have become a Fender guy over the course of a few years. I now own 5. I have a MIA Deluxe Jazz QMT that you couldn't buy from me.

My latest "acquistion" if you will was that of a used (slightly) MIM P-Bass that I picked up while parusing the bass section of my local GC.....I dunno, it just "spoke " to me. Took it to rehearsal the next night and was absolutely blown away by it's sound. Just goes to show you....

Oh BTW...cost me an even $200

Go figure....
 
#19
lamarjones said:
Personally, p's aren't something you really spend a lot of money on. I would just get a used one for a decent price, and ignore the blemishes. At least you know if someone has gigged a while with it, it should be in good working order.

Besides, they don't make em like this these days.

180463891-M.jpg


OR, get a squier p, put in a couple of dollars on a pickup and a little finishing work, and I'll bet if sound and play as good as any p out there for about 500.
Click to expand...

This is good advice....Hell, by the time I strap a new bass on and run it through its test run it is gonna have some dings and loose knobs. :bassist:These things are for playing, they are living breathing creatures! Not works of art. :scowl: But what the heck, we all have different priorities.;)
 

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