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"Do you play a Fender?"

#161
This is crazy, people's obsession with branded gear. I don't care what make of guitar, keyboard or drum kit any of my band mates use and never will care. All I care about is 1. Can they play abd 2. Is the standard of their equipment reliable enough so it sounds good and won't breakdown. As for Fender stuff, it's fine but you can get a lot better bang for the same money.
 
#162
pacojas said:
anyone remember the 80's and synths?!! i recall when bands almost demanded you had the lastest keyboard & expansion cards. the DX-7 was the hot ticket when it hit the streets, not Fender! :)
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Learning to program and play them was bad enough, but I made my living fixing them for a while back then. The worst PITA of the bunch? Easy, the Fender Chroma. "Do you play a Fender? Oh, that's nice. I'll be outta town until 1991, sorry."
 
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#163
Dogbertday said:
Dizzy Gillespie used to carry cymbols to his gigs and make the drummer use them.

As long as whoever's paying me treats me with respect and is upfront about requests I'll work with them, but they will be paying well.

If the gig doesn't pay well or is collaborative, then I play what I want. (which is sometimes fender and sometimes not)
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Yeah, but if Dizzy was still around he wouldn't need to answer CL ads for a bass player.
 
#166
As has been brought out, the Fender is the industry standard, and to a lot of up and coming bands and especially ones that have never done anything professionally before tend to think that because it's the industry standard, it's what only good bands play. Its an unfortunate issue but it's one that's made me go out and get a Squier precision and then if I get the gig, I bring my other basses to show them that there are other basses that sound as good if not better.

I agree though, the brand bias has to stop.
 
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#167
This topic reminds me of a Waylon live at Austin City Limits performance from the eighties. On the stage right up in the middle of that country business is a bass player with I think? A pink shirt, acid washed jeans and a Steinberger. It looked out of place but not out of date and also sounded great.

Straight up rhyming
 
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#168
As a lot of people have pointed out, there could be a good reason they want a fender bass. Whether or not you think it is valid, it's their party and they are allowed to want what they want.

However, it seems unbelievably short sighted for that to be the question that gets you an audition. What if the OP is the best bass player this band could ever hope to get? Seems like it would be better to get an idea if he can play then talk about the equipment requirements.
 
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#169
Though I'm certainly a Fender bass fan on the highest order, the person who asked you that question is probably out of line and is very likely a clown so I wouldn't worry about the lack of response to your inquiry. I play in blues bands for the most part and there are a few of what I call "blues Nazis" on the scene who are very concerned with whether you play vintage instruments and amps, tubes, point to point wiring, etc. These guys are typically white "wannabe" type players who think that all the above BS gear requirements give them some kind of fantasy street credentials. I've played quite a few opening act and festival gigs with national blues acts who are the real deal over the years and many of their bass players used modern equipment and nobody … particularly the BL seemed to give a crap about it. For example, the bass player for Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets featuring Sam Myers played a Music Man StingRay when he wasn't playing upright. The bass player for Lonnie Brooks played an active G&L L2000. The bass player for Junior Wells who is/was a living legend of old school, gut bucket blues on the highest order played an active Jazz through an SWR SM900/Bag End 4x10 amp rig and he and the band simply killed it. Sometimes I wish that musicians could jettison all their pre-conceived notions, listen with their ears - not their eyes and concern themselves more with their own playing and less with gear machinations that are barely relevant.
 
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#170
I haven't read all of the posts, there are a lot, so this may have been said, but I think something is missing here.

It seems unrealistic that the BL would reject someone that he otherwise was interested in based just on the fact he doesn't currently have a Fender. There must have been something else that made the BL think the OP was not the right guy.
 
#171
Mr Gaston said:
I haven't read all of the posts, there are a lot, so this may have been said, but I think something is missing here.

It seems unrealistic that the BL would reject someone that he otherwise was interested in based just on the fact he doesn't currently have a Fender. There must have been something else that made the BL think the OP was not the right guy.
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I agree.
 
#172
Quilbert said:
As for Fender stuff, it's fine but you can get a lot better bang for the same money.
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Certainly in Fender's standard lineup the value is as good or better than anything within the respective pricelines. From the Classic vibes and Vintage Modifieds, to the American Standards and AVRs, Fender is comparative in price and quality with the competition.
 
#174
I would have told them "yes I play a Fender", knowing full well that you wouldn't want to be a part of any band who's only question to you is wanting to know what kind of bass you play! Then show up at the audition with the front fender from some old clunker that you picked up from a salvage yard. When the BL questioned me about it I would say "oh you meant a Fender bass", drop the fender on the ground and leave! :)
 
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#175
Well, I have not read the entire thread, but I got lambasted on another thread for saying that I had been in situations over the years where if I did not have an instrument of good reputation that I would be laughed out of the job. This other thread was specifically in response to Squires, but the point is the same. There is definitely a stigma around bass type/brand/body style/color/etc... Some of these stigma make sense and some are just stupid. But, when you are a hired gun, you play what you are asked to play. I get a call for flats on a Stingray, I calculate having to buy a set of flats for a bass that never wears them and probably never will again, into my cost and decide whether or not the job makes sense to take. BL's have every right to "demand" or maybe better said, request, a certain instrument. They have a reputation they have to live up to and they have quality control to worry about. Now, more than likely, this was just some hack band that didn't want someone showing up with some crap bass and this was their idiotic way of doing quality control. I mean lets face it, this guy probably just got done destroying Stairway to Heaven in some music store, like he was in Wayne's World.
 
#178
danosix said:
To be fair - Lenny is high profile enough to demand what he wants (regardless of whether it makes sense) and since he is totally going for a 60s vibe, anything other than a 4 string passive bass would be inappropriate (especially visually). Having said that, I know he loves his EB3, so I don't think that story is entirely true - though I'm sure he insists his players have vintage style instruments for the look.
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Either way, he has that preference. The only difference is he has the capital to demand it. I would be willing to bet this preference came long before the success. Most bandleaders would like to think they have the potential to be high profile - true or not. They have a vision of how they want to be perceived. And in most cases it boils down to taste (not good or bad, that's subjective I know). I think its fair to want to play with bandmates with a similar taste in music/gear/style. It's pretty typical for bands to want a unified style/look/vibe.

I wouldn't think poorly of anyone who has a particular vision. Most of the greats who rise to the top do. If you don't fit the vision and are mad about it, it's just plain ole sour grapes.

I highly doubt a metal band would want me, with my short hair, glasses and Ric (or P bass). I look like an aging hipster dad. But then again I think I would have the wherewithal to know better than to try to fit in to a band that doesn't share the same tastes. Just my 2 cents.
 

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