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Explain me the 'Fender is God' thing

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Originally Posted by Snakeman1066
what you guys keep forgetting and that we Non-Fender people keep trying to point out is that Fender for the most part was basically the only game in town for over 20 years....people used them in all those recordings because that's all there was...

you guys seem to be glossing over this point or ignoring it...but i did say...for the most part was the only game in town

it's like Coke for example....everybody often refers to all cola as Coke even though it may be something else brand name wise and RC and Pepsi were around then too...

Coke was invented in 1886 but wasn't widely distributed until 1910 (and was actually a variation or non alcoholic of an already established european drink derived from the kola-nut and benzoylmethyl ecgonine(cocaine) as well as caffeine called Vin Mariani's cocawine)

RC came along in 1905

and Pepsi was invented in 1893 but didn't reach wide distribution until 1903 by offering a 12 ouce bottle over coke's 6 ounce bottle for the same price (a nickel)



Since it's been established by several others here that Fender wasn't the only game in town, they must have been doing something right or they wouldn't have become the generic electric bass.
 
Originally Posted by Snakeman1066
what you guys keep forgetting and that we Non-Fender people keep trying to point out is that Fender for the most part was basically the only game in town for over 20 years....people used them in all those recordings because that's all there was...

you guys seem to be glossing over this point or ignoring it...but i did say...for the most part was the only game in town
Still rubbish; "over 20 years" is an even bigger pile of rubbish. Where did you get this information?
More accurately, "for the most part was the only game in town" that people wanted to play.
 
yeah. mass producing. :)

And competent advertising and promotion. Fender put basses (and guitars) in the hands of many popular artists at the time to promote the brand.

Even with all of that, you still have to consider the fact that the Fender designs has not only endured all these years but have been "borrowed" by almost everyone under the sun. Fender is the generic for others to follow. Fender created a foundation for others to build upon.
 
Fender ruled the bass world back then, in spite of the competetion. In the '60s it was common to see the album credits giving the person's name and instrument like a: guitar; b: drums; c: vocals and tambourine; d: Fender bass. They never mentioned the brands of the other instruments, but "Fender bass" was specified a lot.
 
not rubbish

Danelectro made a huge mistake by marketing to Sears and Montgomery Wards and knocking of their own products by making inferior copies of plywood and masonite...the six string never caught on and only seemed to find a home in Nashville

Gibson was too worried about their guitar line to worry about basses...and even when they did start to market them they were simply compies of their guitars....and by the time the EB-3 was honed and perfected 1961 Fender already had the market cornered...

Rickenbacker spent most of it marketing efforts on steel guitars until it was too late (1957) as well, and they really didn't catch on in the rock n roll world until the Beatles, John Entwistle of The Who, Peter Quaife of The Kinks, and Roger Waters of Pink Floyd started using them in the early sixties..

and actually in the 70's you saw more Ric's than Fenders on stage

Don't even get me started on Kay....

again for the most part the only game in town
 
I also go to a lot of open jams, thus the reason why I said Ibanez basses are nil where I'm from. As a matter of fact one of my friends does have one (besides his Marcus Miller he bought after the Ibby) and everyone has noticed when he plugs up at the open jam with the Ibby it gets lost in the mix! Very muffled sounding with the pops being very muffle sounding! he's a straight up beast playing the fender though!

Not sure what you're getting at here... :confused:

Are you saying that Ibanezes don't cut through the mix, based on a population sample of 1? I don't know which Ibanez he plays but maybe he should try an ATK, they cut pretty well.
 
Danelectro made a huge mistake by marketing to Sears and Montgomery Wards and knocking of their own products by making inferior copies of plywood and masonite...the six string never caught on and only seemed to find a home in Nashville

LOL, there was no "making inferior copies" for Sears or anyone else involved at Danelectro. That's how they always made instruments. You obviously have no idea what you're talking about.

I have several of Sears Dano basses and they don't even have an adjustable trussrod (no original Danos I've seen did). Yet those necks haven't gone out of true in almost 50 years. One of them had it's frets pulled and the fret slots left open over 20 years ago and it's still not needed adjustment. Every single Fender I've ever owned required at least seasonal neck adjustments.

Fender developed the Bass VI well after the Dano six string. The Bass VI didn't exactly set the bass world on fire.
 
I certainly appreciate Fender's legacy and what he did for electric bass (and guitar). It does not necessarily mean that they are currently the best. With so many choices these days, there is no best, just different flavors and whatever works for you, works for you.

Some people get it in their heads that they have to have a particular brand or look. Fender has been around for a long time and they probably sell the most instruments and therefore some may think that they are basses to have. That's what they see and that's what they are used to, however there are plenty of other great instruments out there. Choice is good.

So, I cannot explain why "Fender is God", because I do not believe they are.

"They are not God, "He" (Leo) is God. or with God now, as it were.

Fender certainly was NOT the only game in town back in the day (for the most part).
It's just the same now as it was then:

The right tool for the job. In my humble opinion.
 
Not sure what you're getting at here... :confused:

Are you saying that Ibanezes don't cut through the mix, based on a population sample of 1? I don't know which Ibanez he plays but maybe he should try an ATK, they cut pretty well.
First up I owned an SR400 bass for 6 weeks and could not get a decent sound out of it. I have tried most other Ibanez basses and was unimpressed with most, the ATK being one of the better ones. But for what I play Fenders work better! And yes his Ibby gets lost in the mix, this coming out a Epifany head and cab!.
 
First up I owned an SR400 bass for 6 weeks and could not get a decent sound out of it. I have tried most other Ibanez basses and was unimpressed with most, the ATK being one of the better ones. But for what I play Fenders work better! And yes his Ibby gets lost in the mix, this coming out a Epifany head and cab!.

Epifany rigs always left me wanting more.
 
for me, i decide what's write based on the specific model, not by brands.

i can't say i hate fender basses, because there are a few i've played that i really like. i also can't say i only love ibanez, i've played some that i really don't like. i'm currently playing u.s. masters, and while i love the bass i have more than any other bass i've ever played, i know they make some basses i don't like.

i just wish people would stop with the fervent brand loyalty. sure, they might have some good products, but all companies i can think of make some that really aren't good at all, despite the similarity in brand name.

and i think some people mostly want to go with the fender and ampeg setup because it's the "cool" setup, not because they've tried out others and decided for themselves what they want to play. that said, they do make some great gear, but if you think you like everything they make, you're kidding yourself.
 
Epifany rigs always left me wanting more.
I don't particularly care for them but they are clear, and besides that every other bass player before and after him sounds fine! He was at the store when I purchased my Victor Bailey and loved the way it sounded! At the time he could not afford it so he got the Marcus Miller instead which allowed his style (thump and popper) to shine.
 
I don't particularly care for them but they are clear, and besides that every other bass player before and after him sounds fine! He was at the store when I purchased my Victor Bailey and loved the way it sounded! At the time he could not afford it so he got the Marcus Miller instead which allowed his style (thump and popper) to shine.


Yeah the pickups/eq on some Ibani is lacking. My SR500 and SR505 can pound the tar off the roof and leave my Fenders at the gate through the same rig. I wonder if it's the woods, pickups or onboard EQ that does it?
 
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