I actually think all those choices are there but they don't use numbers. They say "64 jazz bass neck" but that's just a 1.5" nut with a 7.25" radius. All the modern and vintage choices are actually there, it's just not laid out the way you'd expect.
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Fender American Design Experience
- Thread starter ShoeManiac
- Start date
I actually think all those choices are there but they don't use numbers. They say "64 jazz bass neck" but that's just a 1.5" nut with a 7.25" radius. All the modern and vintage choices are actually there, it's just not laid out the way you'd expect.
Not really.
Wanna design vintage a p bass, you can choose 4 necks
58 maple/maple neck P neck
63 maple/rosewood P neck
70's blocked and bound maple/maple J neck
64 maple/rosewood J neck
Vintage Jazz bass, you get three necks,
64 maple/rosewood
70s blocked and bound maple/maple neck
70's blocked and bound maple/rose wood
Choosing the "modern" button lets you get the 1.5 on a P and a 1.625 on a J, but only with a the modern C profile and 9.5 radius. Just wish there was more flexibility with getting what you want at a decent price.
That's my beef. If the necks are all interchangeable, why not just put them all in 1 big pool? I get the vintage vs modern for the body (bridge holes), but the necks make ZERO sense.
Exactly!!! That's Fenders shtick. The 2.5" heel 4 bolt pattern lets me mix match till my hearts content. Bass players have been mixing matching for years. Why does Fender want to limit one of its strengths.
I think they need to add more colours, matching head stock, Fretless, and gold/black hardware, and then it would really take off!
The hole point of these things (I'm thinking of the ones on the Converse and Nike sites) is that you can get a final product completely unique, that no one in the world will own...
I don't think this cut's it yet, but it's a hell of a good start, and a fun way to waste an hour or so on the internet!
The hole point of these things (I'm thinking of the ones on the Converse and Nike sites) is that you can get a final product completely unique, that no one in the world will own...
I don't think this cut's it yet, but it's a hell of a good start, and a fun way to waste an hour or so on the internet!
Has anyone here used a caliper to measure vintage vs. modern neck thickness and width along with the body neck pocket shape and depth, etc and verified that they are both truly IDENTICAL?
Could it be that they are actually slightly different and people have just been slapping random necks and bodies together because it's "close enough" for them?
I know it might seem like department heads at Fender like to sit around and purposely make bad decisions just to torture some of you, but they might actually have legitimate technical reasons for keeping their vintage and modern necks in separate pools.
I'm asking an honest question here, because I honestly don't know. Just because it might "work" doesn't mean it's up to spec for the manufacturer.
Could it be that they are actually slightly different and people have just been slapping random necks and bodies together because it's "close enough" for them?
I know it might seem like department heads at Fender like to sit around and purposely make bad decisions just to torture some of you, but they might actually have legitimate technical reasons for keeping their vintage and modern necks in separate pools.
I'm asking an honest question here, because I honestly don't know. Just because it might "work" doesn't mean it's up to spec for the manufacturer.
I think you guys don't "get it". Fender isn't trying to give us a way to do an online build of a true custom What they are doing is taking their production overruns of different parts and putting them in bins and letting us use the web to pick parts from those bins and have Fender assemble them for us.
They can't offer matching headstocks because that would require the neck to be painted at the same time as the body - which would mean knowing in advance, when that neck and body are made - that those two specific pieces are going together. And that totally defeats what Fender is doing here - which is selling off extra parts by building parts basses for people who are picking the parts from online "bins".
As for using P necks on Js, etc.. I thought somebody posted much earlier in this thread that J neck heels are more squared off and so they work okay in P bass bodies, but P bass neck heels are slightly more rounded, so they don't look or fit right, if you try to put them in the more square pocket of a J body. I don't really know about that myself. Just repeating what I thought I read here.
They can't offer matching headstocks because that would require the neck to be painted at the same time as the body - which would mean knowing in advance, when that neck and body are made - that those two specific pieces are going together. And that totally defeats what Fender is doing here - which is selling off extra parts by building parts basses for people who are picking the parts from online "bins".
As for using P necks on Js, etc.. I thought somebody posted much earlier in this thread that J neck heels are more squared off and so they work okay in P bass bodies, but P bass neck heels are slightly more rounded, so they don't look or fit right, if you try to put them in the more square pocket of a J body. I don't really know about that myself. Just repeating what I thought I read here.
I think you hit it right here, its another way to market over run parts. This is why you probably wont see the matching headstock option, thats what the custom shop is for. I can see them maybe offering a larger color pallete sometime in the future if the program goes well.
Overrun? Can't be. They don't produce these parts left handed, so they wouldn't have extras of those laying around.
The Fender Visitor Center in Corona, CA has had the "American Design Experience" implemented for quite a while now.
There, you can literally handpick a neck, body, pickguard, etc, out of bins that are set up... they then take those parts and assemble them for you and ship them when it's complete.
So... I think the bin idea is partially correct, but I don't think that these parts come from any kind of "over-run." I think they're made specifically for the ADE and to be used in that capacity.
Here's a video where Steve Miller goes through the process.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nip5HVccVU
That video was posted almost 2 years ago... and I'm guessing that the success and resulting feedback from it must have prompted them to decide to take in on-line... I suppose Guitar Center going out of business didn't hurt either.
Still... as has been stated a MILLION times in this thread:
THIS IS NOT THE FENDER CUSTOM SHOP.
I would NEVER expect to see matching headstocks or any type of neck/body configuration or measurement that goes outside of their normal factory production measurements, colors, body styles, woods, etc.
I can, however, see things like black blocks, PJ pickup configurations, and more colors added to the palette... as long as the online program is successful and it merits those kinds of changes.
PS - Fender, I hope you're reading this and considering giving me a job as an online PR person, because I'm working my ass off here.
There, you can literally handpick a neck, body, pickguard, etc, out of bins that are set up... they then take those parts and assemble them for you and ship them when it's complete.
So... I think the bin idea is partially correct, but I don't think that these parts come from any kind of "over-run." I think they're made specifically for the ADE and to be used in that capacity.
Here's a video where Steve Miller goes through the process.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nip5HVccVU
That video was posted almost 2 years ago... and I'm guessing that the success and resulting feedback from it must have prompted them to decide to take in on-line... I suppose Guitar Center going out of business didn't hurt either.
Still... as has been stated a MILLION times in this thread:
THIS IS NOT THE FENDER CUSTOM SHOP.
I would NEVER expect to see matching headstocks or any type of neck/body configuration or measurement that goes outside of their normal factory production measurements, colors, body styles, woods, etc.
I can, however, see things like black blocks, PJ pickup configurations, and more colors added to the palette... as long as the online program is successful and it merits those kinds of changes.
PS - Fender, I hope you're reading this and considering giving me a job as an online PR person, because I'm working my ass off here.
That doesn't really make sense. I think what we are seeing here is the beginning of a new business model for FMIC. They will cut out the middle man. You will see Fender stores in the mall. It's going to be a lifestyle brand. In addition to Fender branded everything, the stores will stock parts for your custom assembly in shop. I don't think this will happen over night but it will be Guitar Centers worst nightmare.
Interesting, you may be onto something here as the world of commerce is changing rapidly these days
I don't think GC's nightmares could get any worse than what they already are... they're in deep, deep doo-doo right now.
When your adrift at sea and the guy your tied to is drowning, what do you do? Drown with him or cut him loose?
I will also say, that, while I agree that they're taking steps to fly solo, I think adding hundreds of millions of dollars in overhead to this business model would be a disaster.
I could maybe see a "Fender Hollywood" and a "Fender NYC" store... maybe a few others, where it would might make sense... but a store in every mall idea would be a disaster.
It's just too cheap and easy to shop online for the customer and too cheap and easy to maintain an online shop for the vendor.
Point taken but I'm also pretty sure we aren't at the end of this process but at the beginning and I'm quite sure we will see some tweaking.
Let me know when prices drop down to reasonable levels.
I'd love a PB, but since I don't need anything that I can't get off the shelf I'll save myself at least $300 new, even more when I buy used.
I'd love a PB, but since I don't need anything that I can't get off the shelf I'll save myself at least $300 new, even more when I buy used.
