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Fender American Professional series discontinued?

#41
foolforthecity said:
True as I see it. Have an Am P Deluxe and an P Elite, same beast.
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Right? I'm a P and J owner and I'm looking pretty hard at another one, because No Reason, just GAS.
But the deal is that if you look at how the whole brand sells basses and guitars it is Good, Better, Best and they just update the series names every few years. Even the signature basses are basically identical with a few minor changes that you could do as an upgrade (except for the fingerboards). Nothing wrong with that. It's good marketing.
 
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#43
Shorty3 said:
I recently missed an opportunity to buy a used American Standard Precision in sunburst and rosewood fretboard so I considered looking for a brand new American Professional.
No shops have the Am Pro Pbass locally and big european distributors like Thomann offer almost nothing.
Then I came accross this thread on reddit:



So, is that it? No more Am Pro?
Will Fender bring back the American Standard or issue a "new" MIA series with another name?
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I wouldn’t be concerned as much about what it’s called, my concern would be is a great instrument with a voice I can use.
 
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#50
Vanheusen77 said:
I really hope they start having roasted maple necks, at least on some of them. That would look cool. And for petes sake bring back mocha brown and wine red!
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Agreed totally!
I would really like to see more color options even though I love the classic looking P bass in sunburst.
Roasted maple models would be a plus.
I would like it if they bring back tort pickguards as an option, and the Custom Shop 62 pickup.
One more thing, the decal on the headstock.
Stop reading "CORONA, CALIFORNIA". Either add "U.S.A." or just bring back "MADE IN USA" like the American Standard had.
Or better, do like it is on the American Performer, leave only Fender Precision Bass on the headstock front and put all other wording on the back of the headstock.
And... put a Fender strap in the case candy!
 
#53
Killing Floor said:
Fender has been making Jazz and Precision basses for about 70 years. They change the series names regularly to drive interest. If it looks the same and costs the same it is the same bass. Don't panic.
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Who caused the black hole in Fenders accounts? The management? The marketing department? I wouldn't trust either to be driving anything other than the delivery truck. They will drive significant interest when they can demonstrate they consistently out perform the competition. Only changing the series names is just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
 
#54
686C8198-1561-4507-93AB-E40B15616463.jpeg


Bring it back! :bassist:
 
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#55
Dimension, Starcaster, Coronado, Jaguar Deluxe...I own two of thodd four deviants, but no P or J .... I do have an 85 Jazz Special I bought in 85. Most folks want a P or J or classic Fender and not a redo or rethink. Don’t worry about the mainstays, grab the new ones before they’re gone
 
#56
Well, trends being what they are, roasted necks with oil finish will be the order of the day.

Looking at cars today, metal flake, or "metallic" finishes will vanish. Flat red, flat burnt orange, flat tan, flat grey, etc. still with gloss finishes but not the metallic look. Check out Toyota "Quicksand" and Subaru "Sunshine Orange" for a glimpse of what's coming, I think.

Other than that, they'll be Ps and Js.
 
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#57
Shorty3 said:
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I'd bet it squarely on COVID over anything else. For a while, they were closed. But even when they reopened, the manufacturers they get their hardware, strings, etc.. from may have still been closed. I wouldn't be surprised if they ran out of something, and are basically in a holding pattern. I've talked to a number of builders (large and small) that are all saying this same thing.

So even if they're operational right now (on some capacity), if they can't get components, they can't make complete instruments to ship out.
 
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#59
chris_b said:
Who caused the black hole in Fenders accounts? The management? The marketing department? I wouldn't trust either to be driving anything other than the delivery truck. They will drive significant interest when they can demonstrate they consistently out perform the competition. Only changing the series names is just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
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Ha! Yes, I think it's a little goofy to act like anything Precision or Jazz bass is a new model. OK, throw on a different bridge or a drop tuner. I agree that nothing Fender has done including signature series P or J is any different than you or I could do at home as an upgrade. But you still have to love 'em for putting it out there and driving the market even though from a branding perspective it's fair to say they are driving the market "passively". It's like when you buy soap. You know Unilever changes the packaging every quarter, Nike and others do the same with shoe colors, it hopefully makes people look at the product even if they don't need it at that moment.
 
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