Biggest Fender Gripe

[WI Short Scaler]

I admittedly didn't read every post in the thread. Some have legit concerns and some just bashing.

I love my Fender/Squiers and that's all I play. But for a legitimate gripe I'd say the lack of support for their own SS basses is disappointing. Parts are impossible to get from them.

 

[wango55]

My biggest gripe with them is that I can't get a stock precision body with a jazz neck. They have p/j options, but if I want just the single P pickup, I have to make my own. Conversely, I do love that I can make my own - using Fender and Fender licensed parts. I don't know where that puts me on the spectrum of Fender love.

 

[tvbop]

Biggest gripe? That they dont produce a bog standard correct "70's P bass" for around $995 . I mean, Squire pretty much do it for a heck of a lot less so Y can't Fender do it for a just a little bit more?

 

[Phaidrus]

My biggest Fender gripe is that I don't own enough of them.

 

[FRoss6788]

My biggest gripe with them is that I can't get a stock precision body with a jazz neck. They have p/j options, but if I want just the single P pickup, I have to make my own. Conversely, I do love that I can make my own - using Fender and Fender licensed parts. I don't know where that puts me on the spectrum of Fender love.

This is also a feature of Fender...
Endless amounts of Fender and great aftermarket parts that are designed to fit the instruments.

 

[Tanner5382]

My biggest gripe with them is that I can't get a stock precision body with a jazz neck. They have p/j options, but if I want just the single P pickup, I have to make my own. Conversely, I do love that I can make my own - using Fender and Fender licensed parts. I don't know where that puts me on the spectrum of Fender love.

I never thought of that. That is odd that they don't (currently at least) offer that.

 

[GBassNorth]

TB consensus is their basses suck! Oops, I’m sorry, I thought this was a Gibson bash thread. Carry on.

 

[Pings Bass]

Fender's just a name owned by a corporate entity that's changed multiple times. I've got four fenders from three different eras and three countries of origin. They're all pretty good players with no issues.

My biggest gripe about "fender" (the current corp) is that while the namesake went on to further innovate, the brand mostly ossified around his classic 60s era designs. Obviously a solid business choice, but I'm not interested in yet another vanilla take on the p bass 60 years hence.

 

[Honkey tonk]

Gripe this gripe that , if only half true... if Fender really sucked no one would gripe

Be real nice of them if they kept a dumpster downtown with 3rds 4ths parts

 

[gln1955]

I mean.. there is no Fender without capitalism. Leo was running a business not a charity. That's why he innovated what was in the marketplace to give us something we all use and love.

Have you seen Soviet Russian basses? Umm...no thanks. I'll take a capitalistic Fender, even an imperfect one, over those, any day.

 

[Auspuff]

I'm looking to buy a fretless bass, but I'm not sure which one to pick. I'm curious to know why you feel that way about Fender's fretless basses.

Glad to share my own thoughts, on the situation.

Unless I missed something, on their website, neck types, and colors, leaves a whole lot to be desired. For example, try to get a red Precision, or Jazz, with a Maple fretboard/neck. Additionally, try to get a fretboard, without lines, or dots.

Fender's lack of offerings has me looking at the used market, and other brands. Their loss.

 

[Phreaky Phriday]

Have you seen Soviet Russian basses? Umm...no thanks. I'll take a capitalistic Fender, even an imperfect one, over those, any day.

The soviets got a few things right on my Ural 510 - the west needs to embrace push button controls, zero frets, and short scale basses taking long scale strings. Overall vastly worse than western instruments, but a few standout features

 

[Hot Rats]

TB consensus is their basses suck! Oops, I’m sorry, I thought this was a Gibson bash thread. Carry on.

Initially, this is funny but then at a deeper level it's sad because of the true commentary.

 

[Grinderman]

Leo Fender's Precision Bass was an indisputable innovation. What he did at Music Man and G&L, not so much.

That work involved some product development based on relatively rudimentary electronic engineering, but other than that it was about minor iterations on the original form in order to work around copyrights and establish some distinguishable separation in brand identities by way of tweaks to design form language, aesthetics; essential branding.

 

[ElectricBass72]

My only gripe with Fender.... the lack of standard matching headstocks, unless it's a custom order.

 

[Stewie]

I'm a Fender guy, no interest in any
other brand. My only complaint would be the lack of unlined fretless Precision basses for what, thirty years? I appreciate the MIM and Squier models, but the only current bass that I would consider is the Tony Franklin, which is way out of my price range.

 

[five7]

Don't play or own fenders so no gripe.

 

[Roger W]

Well, I'm more than happy to agree to disagree with you

Are the pick guard(s) on your bass(es) made of wood, metal, or non-existent? Mine are all plastic. As is the coating on most of the wires.

 

[wango55]

This is also a feature of Fender...
Endless amounts of Fender and great aftermarket parts that are designed to fit the instruments.

Agreed 100%. As I said before, I love the ability to customize my basses on my own. Definitely a feature for sure. I'm definitely not a Fender hater, but we're talking gripes here - which can be and likely are minor in the grand scheme of things as they are mostly subjective. And selfishly, I'd love a stock Factory built option for a jazz width neck on a precision bass - like they used to in the 70s. If it ever came down to it, and me or my family had to sell my basses, they'd get less on a parts bass than if it came from the factory. Again, a minor gripe - but that's what was asked for here.

 

[Roger W]

As a decades-long bass player and an industrial/product designer, for many reasons, I always wonder what people have in mind when they say this.

If I said it, I’d mean that the market is very conservative and doesn’t buy enough of any new design out of Fender to make it worth their while to keep producing them.