Anyone Else NOT Like Fender Basses?

[zacharybass76]

I've been playing bass for 23 years now, and I have never played on any Fender brand bass, whether it be a Jazz or P bass or other, that I have actually cared for. They sound decent (good, actually), yes, but to me, their playability is not to my standards. I get that they're the first, and that they revolutionized the bass guitar as we know it, but thank God for other brands and their improvements! Any one else agree, or am I part of a HUGE minority?

 

[Michael B]

Fret spacing is about scale length.
Shared by all models of bass.

Plus the I Don't like [brand] threads are real downers.

 

[kkaarrll]

I wouldn't buy a new us one for the money. But, I don't unlike them. It's just a value thing to me.

And frets to far apart?

The frets are too far apart,

 

[MonetBass]

The frets are too far apart...

So I take it you like short scale basses? Because on any 34" scale bass, the frets will be the same distance apart as the Fenders.

 

[zacharybass76]

I wouldn't buy a new us one for the money. But, I don't unlike them. It's just a value thing to me.

And frets to far apart?

It just feels like it to me. Lol. Maybe it's string spacing that gives me the illusion of frets being too far apart.

 

[Michael B]

It just feels like it to me. Lol. Maybe it's string spacing that gives me the illusion of frets being too far apart.

Again shared by all brands of bass. So is fret size.

 

[zacharybass76]

Again shared by all brands of bass. So is fret size.

I did not know that. Seems like different basses have slightly different variations on string spacing. Learn something new every day.

 

[kkaarrll]

I think I like pretty much all basses really.
There are just some I would pay more for than others.

 

[TBird1958]

It's true...........

I don't like them.
I've owned three.

They are fine basses, I'm not slagging on them.

 

[Michael B]

I did not know that. Seems like different basses have slightly different variations on string spacing. Learn something new every day.

Can't tell if you're being sarcastic.

Model to model they will vary but all brands have different models that differentiate on those variables.

There are fat neck Fenders and thin neck Fenders. There are Ibanez's with wide string spacing. Etc.

 

[zacharybass76]

Can't tell if you're being sarcastic.

Model to model they will vary but all brands have different models that differentiate on those variables.

There are fat neck Fenders and thin neck Fenders. There are Ibanez's with wide string spacing. Etc.

Now that's what I figured. I was scratching my head, wondering why I thought otherwise. And no, I wasn't being sarcastic.

 

[BigBobbyBass]

Again shared by all brands of bass. So is fret size.

Fret size? Nope.

 

[Michael B]

Now that's what I figured. I was scratching my head, wondering why I thought otherwise. And no, I wasn't being sarcastic.

Cool. I vacillate between loving my Fender P and then grabbing my Ibanez which is superior in almost every way except that it's not a P.

 

[Michael B]

Fret size? Nope.

Not saying they are all the same. Saying they are all different in the same ways.

 

[chivsjawn]

I think that Fender's sound fine, and there are enough fans of them that you can't discredit the quality of a good Fender. I haven't liked the Fender's I've played, or the G&L's for that matter, but I don't think I could put my finger on why. It's just one of those intangible things, the Fender vibe is just not my thing, even if scale and string distance is the same. There is something ineffable that makes me gravitate towards other brands. But as with all things tone, looks, and playability, it's all subjective and based on personal preference.

 

[Norwegian Bass]

Maybe you need to set up the Fender to your technique? Like for instance; I learned to play on a Stingray, and one thing that was a big thing for me was the nice feeling the strings felt over the pick up where I was plucking. Nice, tight and precise. That was not the same on a P with the same strings. But heavier strings pluss a slightly higher action allowed me to play a P with basically the same force with the right hand as I do on the Stingray without getting "fret buzz city"; it sounds fantastic. I'm a big believer in setting up an instrument to suit you; like really getting in there with the microscope, so to speak. I think that almost any bass can be made to work for anyone; if you allow yourself to be flexible when it comes to "specs"; you know? That the relief doesn't "have to be" like this, or the action like that etc. If they do; then you define what you want an find the one bass that'll give you these things with your technique. I played the Stingray exclusively for 10 years, before I "branched out". And in those years I sometimes thought that I couldn't play any other bass, before I understood that I shouldn't just be copying my specs on the Stingray over to other instruments and that'd be that, you know? I learned to maneuver different instrument's idiosyncrasies. Eventually!

 

[blmeier7]

I'd say I'm just the opposite...I don't care much for non-fender style basses. After owning around 40 different basses over the years I found that I prefer 4 string, passive, bolt-on, P or J basses.

 

[Gabbs]

Ah crap, I'm out of popcorn.

 

[40Hz]

Maybe they're just not your thing. Lots of people don't like one bass or another. Nothing unusual about that. We like what we like. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Old Blastard]

I like my Fenders. I like the way they feel and the sounds.

I like my Ibby's too.

I like my Drakes.

I like my Epiphone and have for 40 years.

I like basses.

I'm not real picky, ask my ex wife.