It's "spam" in that it wasn't a personal email specifically for me. I didn't want anyone to think I had that kind of a relationship with Jason and the guys there.
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I received an update from Marcel!
"The custom bridge arrived, holes drilled, fine sanded and it's being prepped for the pray booth. Should see color within about 10 days.
Should be smooth sailing from here on out. We're passed the point of the "custom" delays associated with the rare beast you have here."
Should be smooth sailing from here on out. We're passed the point of the "custom" delays associated with the rare beast you have here."
Given FBass's Fender-ish vibe, I thought you guys might be interested in an interview with Dan Smith, one of the men Fender hired away from Yamaha in 1981 to turn around Fender.
In 1965, CBS Musical Instruments, who also owned Steinway, Gemeinhardt, Lyon & Healy harps, Gulbransen, etc., bought Fender. Soon CBS required each of Fender's luthiers to make at least 50 guitars and basses a day to get paid. If they could make 75+ guitars in a day, then they were given a higher rank in the union and were paid more per hour.
There was so little automation that Fender needed 90 people to make 120 necks in an 8-hour shift. Standardization was so bad, 30 or so of those necks would be rejected. The way holes were drilled was sloppy and barely measured, resulting in inconsistent finished products. Supervisors knew nothing about manufacturing because they were promoted from the warehouse, as per union rules.
During 1970s, Fender produced about 300 guitars a day, and they had just three quality control inspectors to assure customers were getting a good product. Take a second to consider the time it takes to string, setup, tweak and really test an instrument, how many could you really test in an 8-hour shift?
When Dan Smith arrived, CBS's quality control guy proudly announced that Fender instruments were "97 percent good" and had no problems. Dan grabbed a couple of guys, and together they pulled 800+ guitars from the factory and tested them.
Only 15 percent passed inspection for their existing criteria.
About that time Dan met Forrest White. Forrest was with Leo when they first started Fender. Forrest showed Dan old film of how the factory worked when they first set it up, and it was nothing like what CBS was doing. Somewhere along the way, some CBS MBAs and union guys from the warehouse with more authority than know-how really messed it up.
It took Dan and his guys 4 years to completely retool Fender's Fullerton guitar factory. The Fullerton workers divided themselves into 2 camps: those that really cared about guitars and wanted Fender to make great ones, and those who thought they knew best and despised those forcing change.
Smith and his group also bought a 1957 P-Bass, a 1960 Jazz Bass, and a 1961 Stratocaster and took them apart to study them and inspire their R&D going forward.
They took for granted that the Fullerton could build the instruments, but they struggled to change their thinking. As a result, Smith and his co-owners hearkened back to their Yamaha days and setup a factory in Japan. Smith said the Japanese factors were so well run that they were clean enough to eat off the floor.
While the quality of the instruments was what they wanted, they struggled because players in the USA were prejudiced against the instruments coming from Asia, calling them Fender "copies." Fender primarily sold Japanese made guitars in Japan and oversees, and Smith credits Japan with helping Fender get back on its feet again.
As things improved, CBS started shopping Fender around, but were only getting "low ball" offers. CBS then approached Dan Smith and his associates and said they would rather sell Fender to them if they could raise the capital. They did and they eventually bought Fender from CBS.
The group bought the names Fender, Rogers, and Rhodes, and Squier, and the product that was in stock, the receivables, a lot of machinery, but they heartbreak of the deal was, after they'd busted a gut getting the factory to do the right thing, they learned the Fullerton factory was not part of the deal.
But they did get Fender Japan in the deal.
Fender Japan kept them going until they could set up a factor in Corona, California. Remarkably, it only took them 1 year to start from scratch and build the Corona factor, while it took 4 years to reform the mess that was the Fullerton factory.
=======
Reading this story puts into context my own experience with Fender instruments.
I started playing bass as a kid in the late 1970s. Living in a remote place in Alaska, I mail ordered in my first bass, a 1977 Fender Jazz bass. I must have got one of the lucky 15 percenters, because not only did I think it played and sounded great, professional bass players would come to town and ask if they could trade their Fender bass for mine.
After owning many basses over time, I started to prefer Yamahas. My main basses were two John Patitucci signature Yamahas, one fretless.
Then I bought my first FBass: a BN5. It sounded better, played better, looked better, was better than every bass I'd ever owned. Before long, all my factor basses were gone (except my 1977 Fender Jazz), and I was playing only boutique hand made basses from FBass, Fodera, Alleva Coppolo, etc.
I've played some good Fenders to be sure, but I've always regarded them as inconsistent. By contrast, I've never played an iffy Fbass!
In 1965, CBS Musical Instruments, who also owned Steinway, Gemeinhardt, Lyon & Healy harps, Gulbransen, etc., bought Fender. Soon CBS required each of Fender's luthiers to make at least 50 guitars and basses a day to get paid. If they could make 75+ guitars in a day, then they were given a higher rank in the union and were paid more per hour.
There was so little automation that Fender needed 90 people to make 120 necks in an 8-hour shift. Standardization was so bad, 30 or so of those necks would be rejected. The way holes were drilled was sloppy and barely measured, resulting in inconsistent finished products. Supervisors knew nothing about manufacturing because they were promoted from the warehouse, as per union rules.
During 1970s, Fender produced about 300 guitars a day, and they had just three quality control inspectors to assure customers were getting a good product. Take a second to consider the time it takes to string, setup, tweak and really test an instrument, how many could you really test in an 8-hour shift?
When Dan Smith arrived, CBS's quality control guy proudly announced that Fender instruments were "97 percent good" and had no problems. Dan grabbed a couple of guys, and together they pulled 800+ guitars from the factory and tested them.
Only 15 percent passed inspection for their existing criteria.
About that time Dan met Forrest White. Forrest was with Leo when they first started Fender. Forrest showed Dan old film of how the factory worked when they first set it up, and it was nothing like what CBS was doing. Somewhere along the way, some CBS MBAs and union guys from the warehouse with more authority than know-how really messed it up.
It took Dan and his guys 4 years to completely retool Fender's Fullerton guitar factory. The Fullerton workers divided themselves into 2 camps: those that really cared about guitars and wanted Fender to make great ones, and those who thought they knew best and despised those forcing change.
Smith and his group also bought a 1957 P-Bass, a 1960 Jazz Bass, and a 1961 Stratocaster and took them apart to study them and inspire their R&D going forward.
They took for granted that the Fullerton could build the instruments, but they struggled to change their thinking. As a result, Smith and his co-owners hearkened back to their Yamaha days and setup a factory in Japan. Smith said the Japanese factors were so well run that they were clean enough to eat off the floor.
While the quality of the instruments was what they wanted, they struggled because players in the USA were prejudiced against the instruments coming from Asia, calling them Fender "copies." Fender primarily sold Japanese made guitars in Japan and oversees, and Smith credits Japan with helping Fender get back on its feet again.
As things improved, CBS started shopping Fender around, but were only getting "low ball" offers. CBS then approached Dan Smith and his associates and said they would rather sell Fender to them if they could raise the capital. They did and they eventually bought Fender from CBS.
The group bought the names Fender, Rogers, and Rhodes, and Squier, and the product that was in stock, the receivables, a lot of machinery, but they heartbreak of the deal was, after they'd busted a gut getting the factory to do the right thing, they learned the Fullerton factory was not part of the deal.
But they did get Fender Japan in the deal.
Fender Japan kept them going until they could set up a factor in Corona, California. Remarkably, it only took them 1 year to start from scratch and build the Corona factor, while it took 4 years to reform the mess that was the Fullerton factory.
=======
Reading this story puts into context my own experience with Fender instruments.
I started playing bass as a kid in the late 1970s. Living in a remote place in Alaska, I mail ordered in my first bass, a 1977 Fender Jazz bass. I must have got one of the lucky 15 percenters, because not only did I think it played and sounded great, professional bass players would come to town and ask if they could trade their Fender bass for mine.
After owning many basses over time, I started to prefer Yamahas. My main basses were two John Patitucci signature Yamahas, one fretless.
Then I bought my first FBass: a BN5. It sounded better, played better, looked better, was better than every bass I'd ever owned. Before long, all my factor basses were gone (except my 1977 Fender Jazz), and I was playing only boutique hand made basses from FBass, Fodera, Alleva Coppolo, etc.
I've played some good Fenders to be sure, but I've always regarded them as inconsistent. By contrast, I've never played an iffy Fbass!
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I got lucky, my first bass was a '68 Kingston I got for $69.00 in the mail. My second bass was an L series '65 Jazz I got in '69 which I still have, it's the best passive bass I've ever played, the low mids just kill on it plus that classic burp!Given FBass's Fender-ish vibe, I thought you guys might be interested in an interview with Dan Smith, one of the men Fender hired away from Yamaha in 1981 to turn around Fender.
In 1965, CBS Musical Instruments, who also owned Steinway, Gemeinhardt, Lyon & Healy harps, Gulbransen, etc., bought Fender. Soon CBS required each of Fender's luthiers to make at least 50 guitars and basses a day to get paid. If they could make 75+ guitars in a day, then they were given a higher rank in the union and were paid more per hour.
There was so little automation that Fender needed 90 people to make 120 necks in an 8-hour shift. Standardization was so bad, 30 or so of those necks would be rejected. The way holes were drilled was sloppy and barely measured, resulting in inconsistent finished products. Supervisors knew nothing about manufacturing because they were promoted from the warehouse, as per union rules.
During 1970s, Fender produced about 300 guitars a day, and they had just three quality control inspectors to assure customers were getting a good product. Take a second to consider the time it takes to string, setup, tweak and really test an instrument, how many could you really test in an 8-hour shift?
When Dan Smith arrived, CBS's quality control guy proudly announced that Fender instruments were "97 percent good" and had no problems. Dan grabbed a couple of guys, and together they pulled 800+ guitars from the factory and tested them.
Only 15 percent passed inspection for their existing criteria.
About that time Dan met Forrest White. Forrest was with Leo when they first started Fender. Forrest showed Dan old film of how the factory worked when they first set it up, and it was nothing like what CBS was doing. Somewhere along the way, some CBS MBAs and union guys from the warehouse with more authority than know-how really messed it up.
It took Dan and his guys 4 years to completely retool Fender's Fullerton guitar factory. The Fullerton workers divided themselves into 2 camps: those that really cared about guitars and wanted Fender to make great ones, and those who thought they knew best and despised those forcing change.
Smith and his group also bought a 1957 P-Bass, a 1960 Jazz Bass, and a 1961 Stratocaster and took them apart to study them and inspire their R&D going forward.
They took for granted that the Fullerton could build the instruments, but they struggled to change their thinking. As a result, Smith and his co-owners hearkened back to their Yamaha days and setup a factory in Japan. Smith said the Japanese factors were so well run that they were clean enough to eat off the floor.
While the quality of the instruments was what they wanted, they struggled because players in the USA were prejudiced against the instruments coming from Asia, calling them Fender "copies." Fender primarily sold Japanese made guitars in Japan and oversees, and Smith credits Japan with helping Fender get back on its feet again.
As things improved, CBS started shopping Fender around, but were only getting "low ball" offers. CBS then approached Dan Smith and his associates and said they would rather sell Fender to them if they could raise the capital. They did and they eventually bought Fender from CBS.
The group bought the names Fender, Rogers, and Rhodes, and Squier, and the product that was in stock, the receivables, a lot of machinery, but they heartbreak of the deal was, after they'd busted a gut getting the factory to do the right thing, they learned the Fullerton factory was not part of the deal.
But they did get Fender Japan in the deal.
Fender Japan kept them going until they could set up a factor in Corona, California. Remarkably, it only took them 1 year to start from scratch and build the Corona factor, while it took 4 years to reform the mess that was the Fullerton factory.
=======
Reading this story puts into context my own experience with Fender instruments.
I started playing bass as a kid in the late 1970s. Living in a remote place in Alaska, I mail ordered in my first bass, a 1977 Fender Jazz bass. I must have got one of the lucky 15 percenters, because not only did I think it played and sounded great, professional bass players would come to town and ask if they could trade their Fender bass for mine.
After owning many basses over time, I started to prefer Yamahas. My main basses were two John Patitucci signature Yamahas, one fretless.
Then I bought my first FBass: a BN5. It sounded better, played better, looked better, was better than every bass I'd ever owned. Before long, all my factor basses were gone (except my 1977 Fender Jazz), and I was playing only boutique hand made basses from FBass, Fodera, Alleva Coppolo, etc.
I've played some good Fenders to be sure, but I've always regarded them as inconsistent. By contrast, I've never played an iffy Fbass!
Given FBass's Fender-ish vibe, I thought you guys might be interested in an interview with Dan Smith, one of the men Fender hired away from Yamaha in 1981 to turn around Fender.
In 1965, CBS Musical Instruments, who also owned Steinway, Gemeinhardt, Lyon & Healy harps, Gulbransen, etc., bought Fender. Soon CBS required each of Fender's luthiers to make at least 50 guitars and basses a day to get paid. If they could make 75+ guitars in a day, then they were given a higher rank in the union and were paid more per hour.
There was so little automation that Fender needed 90 people to make 120 necks in an 8-hour shift. Standardization was so bad, 30 or so of those necks would be rejected. The way holes were drilled was sloppy and barely measured, resulting in inconsistent finished products. Supervisors knew nothing about manufacturing because they were promoted from the warehouse, as per union rules.
During 1970s, Fender produced about 300 guitars a day, and they had just three quality control inspectors to assure customers were getting a good product. Take a second to consider the time it takes to string, setup, tweak and really test an instrument, how many could you really test in an 8-hour shift?
When Dan Smith arrived, CBS's quality control guy proudly announced that Fender instruments were "97 percent good" and had no problems. Dan grabbed a couple of guys, and together they pulled 800+ guitars from the factory and tested them.
Only 15 percent passed inspection for their existing criteria.
About that time Dan met Forrest White. Forrest was with Leo when they first started Fender. Forrest showed Dan old film of how the factory worked when they first set it up, and it was nothing like what CBS was doing. Somewhere along the way, some CBS MBAs and union guys from the warehouse with more authority than know-how really messed it up.
It took Dan and his guys 4 years to completely retool Fender's Fullerton guitar factory. The Fullerton workers divided themselves into 2 camps: those that really cared about guitars and wanted Fender to make great ones, and those who thought they knew best and despised those forcing change.
Smith and his group also bought a 1957 P-Bass, a 1960 Jazz Bass, and a 1961 Stratocaster and took them apart to study them and inspire their R&D going forward.
They took for granted that the Fullerton could build the instruments, but they struggled to change their thinking. As a result, Smith and his co-owners hearkened back to their Yamaha days and setup a factory in Japan. Smith said the Japanese factors were so well run that they were clean enough to eat off the floor.
While the quality of the instruments was what they wanted, they struggled because players in the USA were prejudiced against the instruments coming from Asia, calling them Fender "copies." Fender primarily sold Japanese made guitars in Japan and oversees, and Smith credits Japan with helping Fender get back on its feet again.
As things improved, CBS started shopping Fender around, but were only getting "low ball" offers. CBS then approached Dan Smith and his associates and said they would rather sell Fender to them if they could raise the capital. They did and they eventually bought Fender from CBS.
The group bought the names Fender, Rogers, and Rhodes, and Squier, and the product that was in stock, the receivables, a lot of machinery, but they heartbreak of the deal was, after they'd busted a gut getting the factory to do the right thing, they learned the Fullerton factory was not part of the deal.
But they did get Fender Japan in the deal.
Fender Japan kept them going until they could set up a factor in Corona, California. Remarkably, it only took them 1 year to start from scratch and build the Corona factor, while it took 4 years to reform the mess that was the Fullerton factory.
=======
Reading this story puts into context my own experience with Fender instruments.
I started playing bass as a kid in the late 1970s. Living in a remote place in Alaska, I mail ordered in my first bass, a 1977 Fender Jazz bass. I must have got one of the lucky 15 percenters, because not only did I think it played and sounded great, professional bass players would come to town and ask if they could trade their Fender bass for mine.
After owning many basses over time, I started to prefer Yamahas. My main basses were two John Patitucci signature Yamahas, one fretless.
Then I bought my first FBass: a BN5. It sounded better, played better, looked better, was better than every bass I'd ever owned. Before long, all my factor basses were gone (except my 1977 Fender Jazz), and I was playing only boutique hand made basses from FBass, Fodera, Alleva Coppolo, etc.
I've played some good Fenders to be sure, but I've always regarded them as inconsistent. By contrast, I've never played an iffy Fbass!
I'm not a Fender guy, at all. I've owned several Music Man basses, StingRays and Sterlings, and they were all well-built, good sounding basses, just not my thing. I've owned one Fender, an American Deluxe Jazz Bass V. It was the Natural finish with the black blocks and binding. I lusted after that bass. It turned out to be one of the best-looking, worst sounding basses I've ever owned. It was noisy, the passive tone was useless(especially live), and, it quit on me-mid gig. I had had it for less than a year, so I took it in to get fixed. The tech said that some wires had come apart somewhere he had trouble getting to, so it probably came that way. Fender refused to honor the warranty. It didn't cost much to fix it, but that cemented my disdain for Fender.
After reading that article, I despise them slightly less, because it was a really entertaining and fascinating read and Dan Smith seemed like he was a pretty down-to-earth and likable dude. Given what's happening over at Gibson, maybe they should take a really close look at that article...
Would I love to have an early '60's Jazz Bass? Absolutely! Will I ever spend anymore of my own money on a Fender Bass? Absolutely not, especially if FBass and Dingwall are still around...Heck, I may even move to Canada! LOL!
I have an American Elite in the same finish that is a wonderful instrument in many ways, but also not so wonderful in some very important ways. I recently replaced the stock pickups with Aguilar HC like the ones in my F Bass and that is a huge improvement. I also put a set of balanced tension D'addarios' on it with a .145 B string and that helped even it out more. I haven't gigged it since I got my F's and may never again, but I am also unwilling to give it away, so I will keep it for now.
Truthfully, the F Basses crush anything else I've played in every way. To be fair, I haven't played a lot of hand crafted instruments, but by comparison to all of the Fenders, MM, Gibsons, Rics, Kiesel, and. few others, the F's stand far above the others. There is no way I would buy another brand over F for quality and tone. There is this small obsession I have with hollow body basses...
Ever since I got my first Fender deluxe J5V I have had a thing for those basses. I'll try to keep this as short as possible.I have an American Elite in the same finish that is a wonderful instrument in many ways, but also not so wonderful in some very important ways. I recently replaced the stock pickups with Aguilar HC like the ones in my F Bass and that is a huge improvement. I also put a set of balanced tension D'addarios' on it with a .145 B string and that helped even it out more. I haven't gigged it since I got my F's and may never again, but I am also unwilling to give it away, so I will keep it for now.
Truthfully, the F Basses crush anything else I've played in every way. To be fair, I haven't played a lot of hand crafted instruments, but by comparison to all of the Fenders, MM, Gibsons, Rics, Kiesel, and. few others, the F's stand far above the others. There is no way I would buy another brand over F for quality and tone. There is this small obsession I have with hollow body basses...
The first was a beautiful piano black with an aged white pearloid pick guard, rosewood fretboard and the most beautifully crafted neck I had ever come across. It was the only bass I really used for 15 years!
As i moved into different styles of music it's tone seemed one dimensional and unsatisfying.
I sold it and went into a Lakland phase. Something inside though still craved that fender jazz thing.
I then bought a used deluxe J5V. It was sunburst with a rosewood board. It was mean and versatile but it was so noisy I couldn't record with it. I sold it and went into an EBMM phase. They also were great basses but for some reason I couldn't shake the Fender love. I bought a third one, this one sunburst with a maple board. This one was perfect! I was finally set. Then on my was to buying a used Pentabuzz I discovered Fbass. I switched from a straight jazz to a pj and also picked up a BN5. You would think that that would have cured me once and for all right? It probably would have if I didn't have to sell my 'perfect' Fender to finance the Fs. While no Fender could ever replace my Fs I became intrigued by the Elite series. Bassjuju's review of his Elite made me see the light and made me realize I was romantisizing the whole Fender thing so I ordered a VF5 jazz. I'm waiting not so patiently for that to be completed, and I'm pretty sure my Fender days are over for good. A well made Fender can haunt you for life, but they don't come close in my opinion to the beauties that are coming out of Hamilton Ontario, Canada.
I mean if the health care and better beer won’t pull you up here, the basses might be able to.. we also have some decent pedals and amp builders too
Is anyone going to Mas’ place in Brooklyn this Friday? F Bass is never represented in NYC, so this would be a great event to pop in on. Marcel is bringing a few Basses with him as well. I also saw Mas will be carrying F basses now!
... is this small obsession I have with hollow body basses...
While not a hollow body, the FBass AC6 CLASSIC is somewhat hollow bodied, particularly under the BRIDGE which gives it a very upright sounding property in its tone and sustain. You should check one out if you haven't already.
Definitely on my list... just saving up for the one I’ve priced a dozen times. I thought that would give me one of each until the anniversary edition came out.
I set out to get a Sadowsky (think: handmade, high end, Jazz bass), but that purchase was totally derailed by my first contact with a VF5.
The VF5 was so Fender-y in all the things I love about my Jazz basses, but it was better in important ways too, including the way it looks, the way it balances on the strap, and the clean, transparent FBass preamp.
I’ve drooled I’ve the Sadowsky single cut... wonder if we can talk George into one of those. That would be very cool.
So, I did another thing. I'll have this tomorrow, hopefully, if I can convince my wife to go pick it up for me. If not, I'll hafta wait until Friday morning...
Standard F Bass BN5 with a European Flamed Ash Body, Birdseye Maple board, and Brownburst Fade Gradient paint job. Satisfies my need for a "pair" and let's me get on with the business of slotting in a BNF5 before they stop making them.
I'll take some better pics, hopefully, tomorrow night! Yay!
Standard F Bass BN5 with a European Flamed Ash Body, Birdseye Maple board, and Brownburst Fade Gradient paint job. Satisfies my need for a "pair" and let's me get on with the business of slotting in a BNF5 before they stop making them.
I'll take some better pics, hopefully, tomorrow night! Yay!
Maybe if we had a multi bass order we could get something going after the anniversary models are done.
That’s a seriously beautiful bass! Grats! I hope she goes and gets it for you. The wait would be very hard.
Thanks! It's a lot like my current BN5, but that makes me very happy!
It's really a matter of how many meetings she might have tomorrow. I'll be at work, on the other side of town, tomorrow, so I won't be able to get to the UPS location before they close. If she can get away from work for an hour or so, she'll grab it for me...that's why I love her! LOL!
you could always... cough cough... come down... cough cough... with a... cough... cold. Just kidding. Hope it all works out.
