Fender Lame-o American design experience Fail

[willbassyeah]

Honestly for affordable custom stuffs, sandberg and carvin has got it better then any other manufacturer

I just made this:

 

[Watchootognbout]

Fender:"You can get anything you want from us.As long as it's the same 'ol same'ol".

 

[two fingers]

I could make this:

View attachment 647462

A guy in my area had one made. He's been trying to sell it on CL for months now.

 

[cnltb]

So I did a search and was surprised I couldn't find a thread on this. As some of you know Fender has instigated a so called "design experiance" well my experiance sucked. There are so many things lacking....this rant may go on for awhile....so get the popcorn and pull up a chair.
Well I wanted to design a vintage Precision bass. Essentially a Sting bass like the 57 I used to own.
Sounds easy enough let's get started!
BODY:, oh yea no earlier 50s body available. Obviously NO EARLY 50s PRECISION which by default means NO TELECASTER BASS. STRIKE ONE!
They have decreed that only P and Jazz types are acceptable.
That should be two strikes but there are so many others it doesn't matter. ( I didn't want a slab body but it didn't matter cause you can't have one!) Ash is a $100 upgrade!! WTH really it's one of the cheapest woods you can buy. Sorry. STRIKE TWO,
PARTS:, ok a pickguard is a part and the only "part" available. No single ply available. Oh yea that must be a Tele "part" right! STRIKE THREE
Maybe the stuff I think are "parts" are in the hardware section......fair enough. That comes later.
FINISH: Fender in their infinite(sic) wisdom has deemed 9 finishes "worthy" 2 are non traditional: Silver Burst and Sunset Metallic. A quick google search found about 100!!!!! Nine options HOW COOL!!!!
STRIKE FOUR!
NECK: there 2 Precision necks, 50s and 60S. Only maple board on the 50s and only Rosewood on the 60s. AGAIN ....WTH!
STRIKE FIVE
There are 2 Jazz necks 60s Rosewood only and 70s Maple only? All the necks both P and J have a Lacquer finish except the 70s, thank God! The 70s Jazz has Pearl blocks and binding no black B&B available. Sigh....obviously there is no Tele style Precision cause that's a "Tele" part, I guess they forgot it was used on a PRECISION bass first! And the Black B and B neck... Oh yea I can buy a Squier for that neck huh.
STRIKE SIX!
BRIDGE: simple enough, bent plate or high mass. Done.
PICK UPs: 3 P PUs available I want old school. Vintage 58' WTH again they don't even know that the split coil came out in 1957. Ok I wanted a damn Single Coil PU anyway, remember Fender it was the first Pickup you put in a Precision!
Good Lord. STRIKE SEVEN
HARDWARE FINISH well that's easy cause the options are ...oh yea Nickle only there aren't any options, why bother having a freaking tab to select huh.????? A customized neck plate ohhh cool! Strings.....are hardware, again WTH?
STRIKE EIGHT. Boy this is making my head hurt, where's my ibuprofen.....
CASE: can't really find fault there soooooooo we leave on a high note. No really I just had to take some ibuprofen cause this exercise really did give me a headache.
I am deeply saddened by this monumental FAIL on Fenders part. Don't get me wrong I own about 8 Fender basses and love them but I wish I could laugh this off. It's just absolutely mind numbingly idiotic. Good luck Fender.

feeling better now?

 

[mat666]

Unfortunately, it all comes down to $ $ $

 

[obimark]

Why not use one of those Sting special basses they put out a couple of years ago as your starting point? (and customize it how you want?)

If not as others have said, build a Carvin.

 

[Happynoj]

Maybe the American Design Experience isn't really to buy instruments. Maybe it's just to give you a taste of what it's like to work on the Fender product design team.



"How about this neck on this body?"

"No."

"Ok, what about if we kept the neck but gave it a different colour hardware?"

"No."

"Ok, ok, how about just a non-standard paint colour?"

"No."

"Ok, well what can we do?"

"Pick a model out of one of our old catalogues. We'll reissue it and charge 30% more than the standard model."

"But that's not designing. Why am I on the product design team?"

"People don't want anything new or different. They want to pick between two shapes, with the same necks and pickups as they've always had, in a choice of red, black, or sunburst. Give them something that we already designed 30 years ago. Innovation will just confuse them."

 

[I Need a six...]

Finally somone who agrees! It sucks bad and is part of why I'll never order a new custom shop fender. So little options for a "custom" bass. Should be called quasi custom, as in seemingly but in realality, not. Custom colors, great. That's pretty much all you get, and it's All the same stuff as the production models get exept it's "greater figured" wood, yea and then you paint it so.... Nothing. Pick a pick guard and color, it's custom. Nah, not really.

 

[Double E]

I happen to like the concept of the design experience… I understand what it is, simply a way for you to select from a few options that are not available off-the-shelf for their two most popular models.

 

[Co0O]

I'm not left-handed myself but I've noticed that everything on the Design Experience can be built left-handed as well. Since there's no lefty versions of the American Vintage reissue basses, this would be the only way to get one. Too bad they only deliver orders within the US.

 

[pauljude]

I believe the problem with Fender is that they have gotten 'Too big for their Britches". You should be able to create ANY bass you want from them. I have had Carvin build me three....2 of 3 are Fender style designs. PB4 and JB4.

 

[Midak]

PICK UPs: 3 P PUs available I want old school. Vintage 58' WTH again they don't even know that the split coil came out in 1957. Ok I wanted a damn Single Coil PU anyway, remember Fender it was the first Pickup you put in a Precision!
Good Lord. STRIKE SEVEN

The Vintage '58 is the pickup used in the new '58 NAV Precision - that is what the have for now in their vintage-line, that is what they use as a vintage '50s pickup. Moreover, they offer the Vintage '63 as a vintage '60s pickup. Saying that they don't know their history based on that actually points you as the uninformed one. Or should Fender offer the '57 pickup just because 1957 was the first year of that particular design and also the year of your old bass?

Fender's American Design Experience is a (pilot-)program to offer some further design options, even if not many as of today. I don't know if they are gone add more soon (or at all), but Fender already has a division made especially for that "custom-built/specs" orders - their Custom Shop. Period.

I really don't get the anger at the manufacturer for not currently making exactly what you want. They don't exist to satisfy just you, you know.

+1.

 

[pholli00]

So you don't really need or want the service, just wanted to rant. Congratulations you've officially become a geezer. Grab your lawn chair head for the front yard and start yelling at the kids to" GET OFF THE LAWN!".

I'm really looking forward to that day.

 

[ShoeManiac]

So I did a search and was surprised I couldn't find a thread on this.

Ahem.

Fender American Design Experience

 

[Fletz]

This has been discussed. I think I even started the thread because I love the idea. If you don't like the options, don't buy it. Simple. NEXT!

 

[mdogs]

I believe the problem with Fender is that they have gotten 'Too big for their Britches". You should be able to create ANY bass you want from them. I have had Carvin build me three....2 of 3 are Fender style designs. PB4 and JB4.

You can, it is called the Custom Shop, what is being discussed here has nothing to do with true custom. If you want Carvin, order a Carvin, but don't think the few basses that Carvin builds every year come even close to the number that Fender builds and that Fender should be able to build all those as customs...

 

[Sav'nBass]

I don't get it, you can get anything and everything you want at just as good quality from other vendors, so who cares? Go to Warmoth and get whatever you want. I really don't get the anger at the manufacturer for not currently making exactly what you want. They don't exist to satisfy just you, you know.

Bholder nowhere in my post did I say I'm angry, I'm not. I

He probably surmised that from....

So I did a search and was surprised I couldn't find a thread on this. As some of you know Fender has instigated a so called "design experiance" well my experiance sucked. There are so many things lacking....this rant may go on for awhile....so get the popcorn and pull up a chair.

Rants usually do not suggest happy ... (I'm just sayin... ) ...

ANYWHO... I feel your pain.. and you know.. Fender is the iconic guitar company that set the standard and all.. but I don't get it... If I wanted to do something like that I'd go to Carvin or Sandberg too.. I wouldn't even consider Fender.. Not that I have any hate for Fender.. but I just... don't care about them one way or the other... It seems crazy though to me that at this point knowing what is out there that they would not offer up something more competitive if they were going to go that route... I remember seeing a post somewhere in here when that all first started where someone was complaining about the whole neck thing..... It's like a custom shop with an asterisk next to it... I never looked at it since..

 

[Fletz]

Waaaaaaaaaaaah!!!

 

[TuneIn]

DESIGN YOUR OWN FENDER GUITAR OR BASS....is what the website says. If you can't choose what type of pick guard, p/j pup option, matching head-stock...the list goes on and on, then yes another big Fender Fail. What I would expect from a company that simply wants your money...duh

 

[mmbongo]

Sucks don't it? What's with companies these days?? I walked into Pizza Hut to order a Hamburger the other day AND THERE WAS NOT ONE HAMBURGER ON THE MENU! All I wanted was a hamburger and Pizza Hut refused to provide what I wanted. Who do they think they are? Now how the heck am I ever going to get a hamburger???