Fender Can Have It... I'm Done...

[SanDiegoHarry]

I have never played a Fender I like - save for a Japanese made Geddy Lee. If I wanted a P or J type bass I'd get a G&L or Lakland. If I wanted to spend a little more, a Sadowsky. I have had all of them. Superior to Fender in most every way - except the name on the headstock for some people.

Price. You did not mention price. A MIA Fender is about 1/2 the price of a MIA Lakland and 1/4 the price of a MIA Sadowsky.

 

[StraffordMike]

I love my American Standard P I bought from Zzounds.
Don't kid yourself they all build junk once in awhile.
Besides I'm just a lowly mechanic I can't afford the majority of basses seen here onTB.
Nor would I spend that much even if I had it.

 

[FrankLowend]

I not figure out why outahell you didnt try it before buy the dog...

 

[Runnerman]

No mail order brides....I mean basses for me

 

[socialleper]

That's what scares me about buying basses online. You never know if you are going to get a dog. New or used, sometimes you get a f@$* you-in-the-box.

 

[brianrost]

I noticed some similar QC issues with my MIM Pawn Shop Bass VI. There were two spots where the CAR finish had not been properly buffed, two of the pickup screws were not screwed into anything, rough fret ends.

No such issues with my AS P5.

Tele's pickup knobs have been falling off since the 50s - it's just a poor design

I was sitting close to the stage at a Cub Koda show one night when as he flipped the switch the pickup cap flew off the Tele and landed in my lap. He pointed to me and shouted "Hold on to that!". At the set break I gave it back to him.

 

[Panther]

I gotta be honest....I played one of these today and I liked it a LOT more than some other much more pricey basses..

Squier Classic Vibe Jazz Bass '60s Bass Guitar

 

[bikeplate]

So send it back. All set

 

[Shannon]

Well, this raises concerns. I pulled the trigger on a Squier VM Jag Special (long name is long!) on Friday night (just after the 'ships today' cutoff) from zzounds, and am now a little concerned. It shipped Monday. Tracking says it'll be here Friday.

Of course, I am not comparing the two, I *expect* a certain level of quality from the Indonesian Squiers, and from the various makes of Fender.

My sympathies on the bum deal, man. I am still jealous of your music room. I might have a music closet in the future, once I conquer Mt. Laundry...

 

[jlepre]

The ONLY thing I don't like about Sweetwater is they RARELY ever have sales that other people do. I do love them though. I went to Gearfest 2016 and it was freaking AWESOME!!! Great educational classes, one after another and product reps for 3 days straight... for FREE!!! I was blown away and flattered by the new TASCAM director of customer Relations and Marketing and something else (a big wig). We talked for a while and I shared some ideas I had with him and he said 'I'd love to put a camera crew with you.' I was totally blown away but hugely let down at the same time because my job does not allow me any kind of time to do anything really... hence the mobile recording studio I just assembled. Very depressing but flattering at the same time

I give them MF and GC coupon codes and they honor almost every one.

 

[BigBigGuy44]

This can happen to any manufacturer.

I had a custom order G&L where they over-sprayed the paint on the headstock and missed a couple spots on the tinted neck.

Check out the Ric 4003 Noir thread. Limited edition to 25. Two have already been reported to have issues. And that's a $2,600 instrument!

Gibson is also known for QC issues. I was in the market for a 50th Anni T-Bird and saw plenty with paint imperfections at the bridge posts and where the wings attach.

The beauty about ordering online is that you save some money and are often able to find something that may not available locally. Most of the online stores have very good return policies too. No harm no foul. A little frustrating but that comes along with the turf.

Sweetwater is fine (I buy a lot from them) but they miss some things too. Do a search here in the forums. Several people have received items from the that had issues.

 

[veebass]

Sorry to hear about the bad experience.
The couple of MIM Fenders I have bought new over the last couple of years have been pretty good- certainly none of the issues you have had.
As others have said, it isn't restricted to Fender.

 

[SteveC]

Price. You did not mention price. A MIA Fender is about 1/2 the price of a MIA Lakland and 1/4 the price of a MIA Sadowsky.

True. But you can find used versions for less. Also, the imported versions of Lakland and Sadowsky are also really good.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

True. But you can find used versions for less. Also, the imported versions of Lakland and Sadowsky are also really good.

but one should compare like-to-like, right?

So a used MIA Fender will still be about 1/2 of a used similar Lakland and about the same price as a new MIK Lakland.

Now, if you want to compare a new MIM Fender to a new Lakland, you still pay about 1/2 for the Fender - same with used.

For my part, I'd rather play a lakland either way (I've owned a few and even am selling one now!)

 

[physics]

So now we know what the differences are between Fender's run of the mill model and a "Deluxe", no thanks. I always equated the term deluxe with a more expensive item that is of higher quality and has more luxurious appointments, so much for my command of English.

 

[Corevalay]

So now we know what the differences are between Fender's run of the mill model and a "Deluxe", no thanks. I always equated the term deluxe with a more expensive item that is of higher quality and has more luxurious appointments, so much for my command of English.

The Deluxe just refers to the bass being active. The MIM's are Deluxe Active.

 

[kuuuks]

Well I've decided I am returning my Invalid Link Removed I just bought. I cleaned the glue residue they left all around the nut that was notched all out of wack... the E string has a good 1/16th more space than it should have to the A and the nut action is high anyway. I fixed the concave bow it had, lowered the bridge string action. While I'm adjusting the intonation I find that the saddle piece is not only not moving when I'm turning the screw but the screw is stripped inside of the saddle itself! Then I find that another pickup screw I didn't notice (when I caught the top split pickup sitting like a seesaw) was about to fall out of the freakin' hole... not screwed in at all really. I"M DONE!!!! I plugged in my 5 string Schecter and said to myself 'this will do'... I really have more guitars than I need anyway, I definitely don't need a hunk of crap giving me headaches! Refund please!

Welcome sadowsky....

 

[gully_jones]

Think you received an early release of their soon to be named American Non-Standard line. All the price at a fraction of the quality control.

 

[SteveC]

but one should compare like-to-like, right?

So a used MIA Fender will still be about 1/2 of a used similar Lakland and about the same price as a new MIK Lakland.

Now, if you want to compare a new MIM Fender to a new Lakland, you still pay about 1/2 for the Fender - same with used.

For my part, I'd rather play a lakland either way (I've owned a few and even am selling one now!)

Right, but I think a MIK Lakland is still better than a used MIA Fender.

 

[lermgalieu]

I wouldn't blame Fender, I would blame the retailer (zzounds). They should have discovered most, if not all, of these defects and never sold it. And all manufacturers have bad apples; the bigger (biggest) ones will have more bad apples, and that doesn't even indicate a higher failure rate. Last year I bought a *flawless* MIA P bass from Guitar Center of all places. They carefully inspected and set it up before they gave it to me, and an online retailer should always do the same. I agree with the comments about Sweetwater. Never bought a bass from them, but I recently bought an acoustic guitar from them, and from the pictures sent to me prior, the personalized inspection receipt in the gig bag, to the great communication, they are everything an online musical instrument retailer should be.