Then you should probably buy new-off-the-shelf or used because I don't see prices coming down.
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Fender American Design Experience
- Thread starter ShoeManiac
- Start date
I think that's what I said .... at least about buying off the shelf or used.
Don't get me wrong, I see the value here for lefties and others in similar situations ....
...but c'mon ... this is hardly a deal for most ....
I couldn't build a bass for less than $1600! I think the post about paying Fender to pick parts outa buckets and bolt it together for you was pretty spot on...
On the other side of this coin, I don't see an ADE bass holding value over an Am Std when looking at the used market. They'll probably be on par, because the person buying isn't getting the benefit that the designer did by choosing the components they wanted.
So, all around, you're paying for the choose your parts perk without it reflecting on the resale value.
I think that's what I said .... at least about buying off the shelf or used.
Don't get me wrong, I see the value here for lefties and others in similar situations ....
...but c'mon ... this is hardly a deal for most ....
I couldn't build a bass for less than $1600! I think the post about paying Fender to pick parts outa buckets and bolt it together for you was pretty spot on...
I guess I just don't understand why you're complaining if you don't even want one and don't even fit the criteria for a person who would want one.
It seems to me that the people who are actually buying them are perfectly happy with the whole thing.
Overruled. The second-hand market has displayed fairly conclusively that modifications are not likely to raise the resale value.
Aftermarket modifications aren't... factory mods with a COA to verify on the other hand...
Aftermarket modifications aren't... factory mods with a COA to verify on the other hand...
Point granted. But what with the glut of Fender guitars and the continuing parade of historically incorrect reissues, I don't think a COA is going to get buyers drooling. Rather, the resale value of any given ADE Fender is going to be dependent on the specific guitar having a color that is widely popular. But I don't think oddball colors or unusual pickup combos are going to make ADE guitars inherently desirable; on the contrary, could be analogous to building your dream McMansion and then finding out upon selling it that Mediterranean villa with a touch of Boston Colonial is not catnip to every prospective buyer…
In any case -- sustained!
Ok, the ultimate Fender, other than a 40th Anniversary Precision:
Bubinga/Wenge Jazz neck, with brass frets and vintage style tuners..
Ash P body with under-routing(like back in the day)
Alembic P and J style pickups, Alembic electronics
BAII bridge
Elixer strings(40's)
Bubinga/Wenge Jazz neck, with brass frets and vintage style tuners..
Ash P body with under-routing(like back in the day)
Alembic P and J style pickups, Alembic electronics
BAII bridge
Elixer strings(40's)
You underestimate the level of mindless desire than Fender creates; Back in the day, when "Antiqua" was new, very few folks bought those instruments - they were just *ugly*. Fast forward and for reasons that baffle me, they are now considered cool. Besides, the FADE isn't offering anything very strange or outlandish as an option - no hot pink/paisley/camo instruments - just basic colors (with the exception of silverburst, which they have offered for years).
I agree that there's nothing strange or outlandish, but it's very easy to assemble a bass that's not available anywhere BUT through the ADE.
An LPB classic precision with a pearloid pickguard, BA style bridge, 58 pickups and jazz neck with blocks is a fairly unique combination... the simple fact that not a ton of them exist and you get a COA from Fender to verify it came from their factory that way adds to the collectibility somewhat.
I happen to love Antigua, but I agree that Fender enthusiasts are freaky about collectibility and originality, even if it is ugly... an all-original bass that has any kind if custom factor to it adds to that mystique that makes some collectors' mouths water.
An LPB classic precision with a pearloid pickguard, BA style bridge, 58 pickups and jazz neck with blocks is a fairly unique combination... the simple fact that not a ton of them exist and you get a COA from Fender to verify it came from their factory that way adds to the collectibility somewhat.
I happen to love Antigua, but I agree that Fender enthusiasts are freaky about collectibility and originality, even if it is ugly... an all-original bass that has any kind if custom factor to it adds to that mystique that makes some collectors' mouths water.
I didn't say these guitar collectors would not buy this product; rather, I proposed that the basses would not be likely to appreciate in value, or even hold their value. After all, these are not custom shop guitars, and if Fender are not even offering unique colors as you point out, then what is going to make these basses of value to collectors in the future?
Your point about "mindless desire" is certainly true to the extent that some collectors are OCD completists who must "collect em all." But Fender has cannibalized their market to such an extent that it is becoming impossible to "collect em all" because there are simply too many variants, many with no apparent rhyme or reason.
there no accounting for taste, its like trying to time the stock market. Unless you have a crystal ball to accuratly predict the future..............thought not. The thing that would probably increase the resale value of ADE would be a return to the custom color pallete, for example, a silver firemist jazz with a 74 maple neck/board with blocks.
