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Biggest Fender Gripe

#22
ChetChetney said:
Absolutely no gripes - chose your poison! I like mid 60’s P basses as they feel and sound great to me. OP, fret sprout is completely controllable and is your own fault. Take care of your instruments - humidity, temperature, storage method… It’s simple logic!
Click to expand...

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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#24
Fender is kind of the Harley Davidson of instruments. As they come from the factory they tend to be mediocre. But if you work with them and throw some $$$ into them they can be phenomenal.

I have a 2017 Am Pro Jazz Bass that had really wonky frets. I was pissed. It wasn't a cheap bass. But I sent it to Sweetwater and paid the $400 ($300 plus shipping) to have the frets plek'ed. And I sanded that frigging 1/8" of finish off the back of the neck. Now it's absolutely exquisite. It's turned into something far better than I could have expected, and well worth the now total cost of about $1700.

Am I happy to have to rework a bass to fix it? Not really. But the bass that I now have is worth it.

B
 
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#27
marchone said:
it seems to be a perennial task
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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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#28
FENDER is just like any Company whose customers base loyalty isn't in question. So, there's very little true emphasis on quality control. I.E. Gibson. There's no way I'd buy their high end gear. Because the instruments in higher price range your better buying that Tele, Strat, Jazz, Or PBass from another high end company IMHO....
 
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#30
In classic TB style, everyone will pretty much ignore this post, but it contains the truth.

Pro tip - every bass, aside from those built with invisible fret technology, can develop fret sprout under certain environmental conditions. It has to do with the different expansion and contraction rates of metal and wood along with climate, and absolutely nothing to do with build quality.

Some instruments are more prone to it, and some never develop it. I’ve owned several NYC and MIJ Sadowskys, a Fodera, US Laklands, numerous US Fenders and other brands that had varying degrees of fret sprout. I’m nowhere near alone in this, if all the luthiers I’ve dealt with over the last few decades are correct in saying so.

There’s a good number of reasons why I don’t like modern Fender instruments anymore, but fret sprout isn’t one of them. Disliking an entire brand because of fret sprout is like disliking a brand because there are plastic parts and screws on their offerings.
 
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#32
My gripe is a personal one aimed at myself and not a dig at Fender in the slightest. Most Fender basses I've played just don't sound good to my ears when it's my hands playing them and that's okay. I think they sound great when I hear others playing them. I wish it wasn't that way or maybe I just haven't found 'the one' that clicks for me. But I've always preferred other basses by other manufacturers. Purely a preference thing at the end of the day and I still love hearing Fenders being played in all sorts of music.
 
#33
I'm noticing fret sprout a LOT more over the past year than previously when I go to guitar stores. I wonder if the pandemic related buying spree affected QC at factories, with production trying to keep up with high demand.

Not just on cheap basses either. I ordered a brand new G&L LB-100 and it had sharp fret ends, amongst many other QC issues. Had to return it.
 
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#34
What do you say about an accountant, with one eye, bad health issues and almost deaf who changed music forever?
He achieved this out of his passion for his hobby and his love for musicians.

Not bad for someone who never played a note.
We all know the rest of the story.

So I really have no gripes about Fender just a question?

Mr Leo with all that you have designed why is there not a two octave bass neck as a factory option?

Thanks
Clayton
 
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#36
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?
Click to expand...

This. Fret spout is ususally a one-time problem and fix. And how do you deal with it by sanding rather than filing the frets?

Sounds like the OP is using their incompetence to bash Fender for no reason.
 
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#37
My biggest gripe concerning Fender? Capitalism.

FMIC owns too many of their former competitors, and is solely concerned with churning out profits for its shareholders. The lack of innovation (or at least risk intolerance) stemming from these two issues is mind-numbingly boring.

It’s not surprising, but the results are disappointing.
 
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