Fender American Design Experience

[60bass]

I wrote about my experience a while back on another forum:

"In March of this year I ordered my vintage Jazz. About a month later, balls deep in excitement over cool lefty options, I also decided it would be cool to go for a vintage Precision as well, so I did.

3 months later I take delivery of my Jazz, and it looked and felt great at first, despite a slightly wonky placement of one of the strap buttons. When I went to adjust the neck a little, it became apparent that the truss rod was maxed out and recessed deep into the heel of the neck. This is a new bass. Also, the tuners were stiff and grindy. I returned it, asking for a replacement, to which Fender quickly and happily obliged.

In the meantime, I receive my Precision at the end of July. The second I open the case, before I even pick it up, the cereal bowl-like dip in the neck is readily apparent. It was horrendous. Naturally I try the truss rod, and it will not move without forcing it. That bass immediately goes back in the case, and off to Fender it goes for a refund.

So I'm still waiting for my replacement Jazz at this point, and it's probably not surprising that I had low hopes for that bass given what I've already gone through.

So I get that bass, and it feels good at first, but I discover that it has a nice hump past the 12th fret, and the bass is unplayable in that area. Naturally I was livid, so I reach out to Fender (and keep in mind I somehow retained Zen-like patience through this entire shite storm) to see what my options are. I really wanted this Jazz to work out.
I said that I wanted Glaser instruments to plane and fret the neck, and that I had good luck with a couple basses I had repaired there. The customer service guy said that was reasonable but he had to run it by some higher ups to see what they could do. So, after 3 weeks of waiting and no communication, I finally said 'screw this' and emailed to say I wanted to return the bass and scrap it all. I got an immediate response. Go figure. So that's what happened. Also, this replacement bass had an extra wiring channel mistakenly drilled from the neck pickup into the control cavity, and the drill bit had driven into the bottom of the control cavity as well. This wasn't visible in any way unless you take the plate off, but still. This is just plain incompetent. I couldn't believe how bad it all went, because Fender's American Standard stuff is basically perfect in my experience.

After I returned that lemon I ended up ordering a Stingray 4 (white, tort, matching headstock) for about $200 less than the ADE Jazz."

What a sad experience for you and I'm glad you found a bass that you're happy with.

IMO there's NO EXCUSE for that type of shoddy assembly from Fender or any other manufacturer on a bass at that price point.

You'd think if Fender wanted the program to be successful they would have their better people building and setting up the instruments. SMH at the horror stories about your American Design Experience.

 

[Matt R.]

What a sad experience for you and I'm glad you found a bass that you're happy with.

IMO there's NO EXCUSE for that type of shoddy assembly from Fender or any other manufacturer on a bass at that price point.

You'd think if Fender wanted the program to be successful they would have their better people building and setting up the instruments. SMH at the horror stories about your American Design Experience.

It sucks. I'm definitely a huge Fender fan. Always will be. But this particular program clearly has bugs in it. I hope they sort it out, because as a lefty it was pretty nice to see new options outside of the usual American Standard series.
As disappointed as I was, I feel like they'll step their game up. I may yet give it a shot down the road.

 

[Stranger Danger]

So did they kill this thing or what?

 

[Mastermold]

So did they kill this thing or what?

No it appears to still be around, just not featured on their website. You have to click the old link on the first page of this thread.

 

[boristhespider9]

Resistance is futile!!! Bahahahaha

Well...I finally did it today! I hope it comes out nice. That's an ash body, vintage/trans blonde, and an American Standard Jazz Neck. I went with the 63 pickups. Got a custom message on the neck plate too. Crossing my fingers that it's lightweight, has a tight neck pocket, and the QC is top notch. Don't let me down Fender or I will swear undying allegiance to Lakland exclusively!

 

[freedomryder]

flip that sucker over and it's almost exactly what I want to get... hope it turns out great!

 

[boristhespider9]

Now time to thin the heard to make a place for this one!

 

[boristhespider9]

Have there been any other recent deliveries?

 

[joebar]

I think they s**t the bed on a few counts-
-they should offer a 5 string as well
-they should offer more colours
-active/passive options.
- ability to swap necks =jazz neck on P body and vice versa

 

[boristhespider9]

I think they s**t the bed on a few counts-
-they should offer a 5 string as well
-they should offer more colours
-active/passive options.
- ability to swap necks =jazz neck on P body and vice versa

Well, all this was already discussed at length above. It's an introductory program and they expect to add more options. It's not Carvin. A little dramatic in the criticism too.

 

[awilkie84]

What a sad experience for you and I'm glad you found a bass that you're happy with.

IMO there's NO EXCUSE for that type of shoddy assembly from Fender or any other manufacturer on a bass at that price point.

You'd think if Fender wanted the program to be successful they would have their better people building and setting up the instruments. SMH at the horror stories about your American Design Experience.

And to think that the people doing the ADE are effectively the same crew doing the Am Std and Am Spec lines. Kind of makes you wonder about the actual quality of the MIA stuff. Maybe they cherry pick for the production line & leave the rest in bins for the ADE?

 

[awilkie84]

Well...I finally did it today! I hope it comes out nice. That's an ash body, vintage/trans blonde, and an American Standard Jazz Neck. I went with the 63 pickups. Got a custom message on the neck plate too. Crossing my fingers that it's lightweight, has a tight neck pocket, and the QC is top notch. Don't let me down Fender or I will swear undying allegiance to Lakland exclusively!

That's an American Special neck. Check the font on the logo.

 

[Mastermold]

And to think that the people doing the ADE are effectively the same crew doing the Am Std and Am Spec lines. Kind of makes you wonder about the actual quality of the MIA stuff. Maybe they cherry pick for the production line & leave the rest in bins for the ADE?

If you go down there for the tour (and I realize you're in Canada so not an easy trip! I'm just saying "you" in the general sense) and do the ADE thing in person it's my understanding you get to pick out your own parts yourself. They take what you pick and paint it up and assemble and ship it to you. That's the way to do it IMO.

 

[boristhespider9]

That's an American Special neck. Check the font on the logo.

No sir -- Am Std Jazz neck. That's what I selected and that's what will be on there. Look at the shape of the headstock. The American Special headstock is a wider 70s shape. If you go through the build process you will see the difference. (Note that I selected the "Modern" P Bass body at the beginning of the build.)

They put that Precision decal on the Am Std Jazz headstock if you select that neck. This was a big question earlier in the thread for people who wanted J necks on Precisions.

On the QC issue, which I will be paying great attention to, the ADE rep who emailed me after I ordered said they do all the same QC on the ADE as on the American Standard, plus "more." So, we will see. I own other Am Std J & P and two Lakland USA basses, among others, so believe me I'll be watching the QC.

 

[awilkie84]

If you go down there for the tour (and I realize you're in Canada so not an easy trip! I'm just saying "you" in the general sense) and do the ADE thing in person it's my understanding you get to pick out your own parts yourself. They take what you pick and paint it up and assemble and ship it to you. That's the way to do it IMO.

I could possibly swing that. My buddy lives just outside Corona.

 

[awilkie84]

No sir -- Am Std Jazz neck. That's what I selected and that's what will be on there. Look at the shape of the headstock. The American Special headstock is a wider 70s shape. If you go through the build process you will see the difference. (Note that I selected the "Modern" P Bass body at the beginning of the build.)

They put that Precision decal on the Am Std Jazz headstock if you select that neck. This was a big question earlier in the thread for people who wanted J necks on Precisions.

On the QC issue, which I will be paying great attention to, the ADE rep who emailed me after I ordered said they do all the same QC on the ADE as on the American Standard, plus "more." So, we will see. I own other Am Std J & P and two Lakland USA basses, among others, so believe me I'll be watching the QC.

Huh...I wonder why they do that...seems like an extra unnecessary step. Also, I just checked the Special vs the Std and the headstock looks the same, except the logo. The tuners change, though.

 

[boristhespider9]

Huh...I wonder why they do that...seems like an extra unnecessary step. Also, I just checked the Special vs the Std and the headstock looks the same, except the logo. The tuners change, though.

I believe the scroll cutout on the Am Std J headstock is a bit deeper/more sleek than the American Special. In any event, I like that 70s P-Bass logo. It's got more style than the current American Standard P-Bass logo. Plus I get a J neck with graphite rods, etc. I don't think the American Special neck has stiffening rods or the detailed fret and nut work that the American Standard neck has.

 

[Mastermold]

I could possibly swing that. My buddy lives just outside Corona.

Cool. Maybe have him do the tour for you, just tell him ahead of time what you want.

 

[awilkie84]

Cool. Maybe have him do the tour for you, just tell him ahead of time what you want.

And miss the experience myself? Hell no! I'll just commandeer his couch for a week. lol

 

[awilkie84]

I believe the scroll cutout on the Am Std J headstock is a bit deeper/more sleek than the American Special. In any event, I like that 70s P-Bass logo. It's got more style than the current American Standard P-Bass logo. Plus I get a J neck with graphite rods, etc. I don't think the American Special neck has stiffening rods or the detailed fret and nut work that the American Standard neck has.

No rods, but the frets, edges and nut are all exceptional. And the specials tend to be much lighter.