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Biggest Fender Gripe

#205
J-Bass RMR said:
I'm trying to figure this out;
If fret sprout happens more than once or twice, wouldn't that mean the neck/fingerboards is continuing to shrink and becoming more and more narrow over time? How old are these instruments?

BTW: I just dealt with my 2nd case of (very mild) fret sprout. (The 1st was on a roasted maple neck! How is that possible?)
The latest one was on a NOS from 2019 - probably sat in a dry warehouse for the last 4 years.
I used a Norton sharpening stone and finished with micro-mesh. It turned out fantastic.
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Fret sprout can happen on any type of wooden necks, even roasted maple. I had this problem also (Stingray).

Keep your bass in my house over winter and there will be a good chance that your bass will develop fret sprout.

Fret sprout won't persist if addressed when it happens, because wood doesn't keep shrinking past an equilibrium point.
 
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#207
I think the fender - harley davidson analogy is great (disclaimer: i am not a bike guy so some of these details could be wrong). Harley was getting killed by japanese imports and cried to daddy reagan in the early 80s to get an absurd tarriff placed on imported bikes. I guess it actually worked and they figured out that they have a core consumer base who really likes classic harley stuff and they just needed to improve quality enough for their customers to be satisfied. People have said that a lot of the more adventurous stuff that harley makes in the sport bike or electric bike space is pretty good, but guys and gals who want those generally dont bother with harleys. Fender has a similar story - they were getting killed by higher quality imports, have generally improved quality since, try non-classic stuff that people like but don't actually buy, and do a great job making classic-type stuff that their key customers enjoy
 
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#208
Phreaky Phriday said:
I think the fender - harley davidson analogy is great (disclaimer: i am not a bike guy so some of these details could be wrong). Harley was getting killed by japanese imports and cried to daddy reagan in the early 80s to get an absurd tarriff placed on imported bikes. I guess it actually worked and they figured out that they have a core consumer base who really likes classic harley stuff and they just needed to improve quality enough for their customers to be satisfied. People have said that a lot of the more adventurous stuff that harley makes in the sport bike or electric bike space is pretty good, but guys and gals who want those generally dont bother with harleys. Fender has a similar story - they were getting killed by higher quality imports, have generally improved quality since, try non-classic stuff that people like but don't actually buy, and do a great job making classic-type stuff that their key customers enjoy
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Exactly my point.
 
#209
One of my Fender gripes would have to be pricing on the MIM models. They are nice instruments, but I would hesitate to spend $1,000 or more for a new Fender made in Ensenada when I can often find a used USA model made in Corona for $900. I realize that being made in the USA doesn’t always mean the instrument is better, but I don’t think we can deny that resale value will be greater in most cases.

I was happier when a Standard MIM bass cost a little over $600. I owned one of those and it was very nice.
 
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#210
selowitch said:
One of my Fender gripes would have to be pricing on the MIM models. They are nice instruments, but I would hesitate to spend $1,000 or more for a new Fender made in Ensenada when I can often find a used USA model made in Corona for $900. I realize that being made in the USA doesn’t always mean the instrument is better, but I don’t think we can deny that resale value will be greater in most cases.

I was happier when a Standard MIM bass cost a little over $600. I owned one of those and it was very nice.
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Hasn't pricing on new instruments regardless of brand or country of manufacture gone up across the board?
How is this a Fender issue exclusively?
I believe the instruments are actually cheaper now than 50 years ago when the value of the dollar is adjusted.
 
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#211
FRoss6788 said:
Hasn't pricing on new instruments regardless of brand or country of manufacture gone up across the board?
How is this a Fender issue exclusively?
I believe the instruments are actually cheaper now than 50 years ago when the value of the dollar is adjusted.
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It's the price of the MIM Fenders relative to their declining quality. I was alluding to this in a previous post. Price vs. quality of mid-range instruments is the key Fender issue here.
 
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#212
MrAB4003 said:
It's the price of the MIM Fenders relative to their declining quality. I was alluding to this in a previous post. Price vs. quality of mid-range instruments is the key Fender issue here.
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Well, lots of folks would argue that the quality of the MIM's is, in fact, not declining.

I just purchased a brand new MIM roasted maple neck and it's one of the nicest I've ever played on.
 
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#213
selowitch said:
I am not sure that fret sprout can be classified as a Fender gripe, because it happens to every brand of bass. You may argue that it happens more frequently on Fenders, but I am not sure if that argument is an accurate reflection of statistical reality.
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It speaks to the quality of the manufacturing since it's clear they don't dry the necks enough or use inappropriate wood.
 
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#215
Kubicki Fan said:
Fret sprout can happen on any type of wooden necks, even roasted maple. I had this problem also (Stingray).

Keep your bass in my house over winter and there will be a good chance that your bass will develop fret sprout.

Fret sprout won't persist if addressed when it happens, because wood doesn't keep shrinking past an equilibrium point.
Click to expand...
What can happen, however, is the neck expands come summer and high humidity and the frets end up being narrower than the neck, leaving notches all over the edge that you can feel. Reverse fret sprout.

Happened to me with a Vintera P bass neck. I fixed the fret sprout in April when humidity was still below 50%. In July the neck was uncomfortably prickly again due to the exposed notches. The neck was also still bowed with the truss rod relaxed. Just a nice looking but badly functioning neck. Really glad I got rid of it.
 
#216
andare said:
What can happen, however, is the neck expands come summer and high humidity and the frets end up being narrower than the neck, leaving notches all over the edge that you can feel. Reverse fret sprout.

Happened to me with a Vintera P bass neck. I fixed the fret sprout in April when humidity was still below 50%. In July the neck was uncomfortably prickly again due to the exposed notches. The neck was also still bowed with the truss rod relaxed. Just a nice looking but badly functioning neck. Really glad I got rid of it.
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Bummer! Some pieces of lumber should never become a bass neck.

"Reverse fret-sprout" is never as painful though.

My point was that all manufacturers can (and do) run into the fret-sprout issue.
 
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#217
Yahboy said:
And .... Don't play it and put at home as decoration. Right ? Haha....

Real player rarely care their instrument, they need serious workhorse. Roasted maple neck and great factory fret work are main factor on my view.
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For modern basses, given a lot of the crappy wood used on massed produced ones, I agree that roasted maple helps. But that’s why I like old wood and old basses - the good ones have necks that are dead on and don’t require roasting.

I play the snot out of my basses - I just treat them right when I’m not playing them.
 
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