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Fender Master Built review out

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#21
Why do we care what people choose to spend money on, let alone how much they spend? Lots of unnecessary hate in this thread. Let a man enjoy the fruits of his labor.

A Timex and a Rolex both tell time, just like a Squier bass and a master built bass both accomplish the same thing, but that’s not really the point. You buy a Rolex or a master built bass for very, very specific reasons, and you choose the features you want for very specific reasons, and the cost is ultimately secondary. It’s not ignorance—you know you can go to the store and get a perfectly usable bass for $200 or a Timex for $20. But that’s not the point. It’s a very personal experience that doesn’t need to be justified to anyone else.
 
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#25
I want an older pbass or jazz of sorts, I’ve “eye-balled” the custom shop fenders on reverb for $4k. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a fender, but I want a U.S. built piece that I can pass down to my nephew once I keel over. So yes it’s an investment so what do I get that will hold value and be a cool instrument to pass down?
 
#27
Since Scott raises the question it seems only appropriate to have the conversation here. Full disclosure, I didn’t watch the whole video. My mind was made up before it started.

For me, it wouldn’t be worth it. But I can understand why others would differ. First of all, I don’t view my playing or gig prospects as worthy of such an investment in a single instrument. As I’ve grown older and closer to retirement I’ve also come to value the piece of mind that comes with conservative financial decisions. After a week of watching others deal with hurricanes, floods and fires, I’d rather that 7k sit in savings should I ever be in a similar predicament.
 
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#30
Saw the video. It's beautiful bass although the amount of amber yellowing in top clear coat over what's supposed to be Olympic White seems a tad drastic. I didn't get any meaningful sense from the video of why a $7K CS master build is all that superior to other or why. How it's better, how much better, or why it's better than a $2K Fender, Nash or whatever else I don't know. I'm skeptical.
 
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#31
alack said:
Since Scott raises the question it seems only appropriate to have the conversation here. Full disclosure, I didn’t watch the whole video. My mind was made up before it started.

For me, it wouldn’t be worth it. But I can understand why others would differ. First of all, I don’t view my playing or gig prospects as worthy of such an investment in a single instrument. As I’ve grown older and closer to retirement I’ve also come to value the piece of mind that comes with conservative financial decisions.
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These are personal fiscal conditions that are irrelevant to the custom instrument being discussed.

alack said:
After a week of watching others deal with hurricanes, floods and fires, I’d rather that 7k sit in savings should I ever be in a similar predicament.
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Who’s advocating for financial irresponsibility?
 
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#32
Just an opinion, but once you've accounted for quality materials and components, most of what constitutes a great instrument is the set up (including fretwork). There are small builders out there doing great work that rivals or bests the CS, for far less money. With the CS, you're paying for the logo.

My experience: I was a guitar guy first, and I have a S-type built by a very reputable 1-man shop. It was built to my specs (after consulting with the builder), and it was a terrific job. It cost half what a similar CS Strat would have been. It is the best guitar I've ever held. It felt right from the moment I picked it up, and every other guitar since has been "meh".
Why? Good material, good components, builder skill, great fret-work, and a great setup.
But you don't need to pay CS prices for it, unless you want the Fender and Custom Shop labels on them.
 
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#35
Roger W said:
I watched that. More power to those who A) can easily fit that in their budget and B) believe/think/feel that the difference in quality justifies the price (for those who haven’t watched it, $7000 + for a master built bass).

And before someone jumps in and mentions the price of pianos or trumpets, I get it, but you can buy a quite nice bass for under $1000. You can even get one from a luthier for under $4000.
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Hey, you're right.
I don't care if Fender has a naked girl hand deliver it...it's not worth it to me, not even at half the price.
It's one thing to be a Fender fan.
It's an entirely different thing to be a Fender fanatic raving and writhing on the floor amidst poisonous snakes.
 
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#36
I would pay $7k for a fodera, Zon , MTD ,etc, but not a fender which really has nothing special about it ( compared to the $2k U.S.A. mass produced models) other than who built it…fender is not a boutique bass, it is a workhorse and a great tool, but they gotta stop tryin to charge boutique prices….

Wait, no they shouldn’t… let the fools and their money be easily parted
 
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#37
marchone said:
You can buy a playable electric bass for under $1000, but its fit and finish won’t be comparable to a Fender Masterbuilt.
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Well, that makes no sense: of course it would be comparable. If you can't compare the two items, what are you paying for? What you're trying to say is that when you compared the master-built to the $1000 bass, the qualitative differences would be obvious. Perhaps they would and perhaps they would not be. I'm pretty sure that I would encounter the law of diminishing returns long before I spent $7000. If Scott, or anyone else, wants to spend $7000, I wouldn't stop them; after all even the master builders at Fender have to eat.
 
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#39
Roger W said:
Well, that makes no sense: of course it would be comparable. If you can't compare the two items, what are you paying for? What you're trying to say is that when you compared the master-built to the $1000 bass, the qualitative differences would be obvious. Perhaps they would and perhaps they would not be. I'm pretty sure that I would encounter the law of diminishing returns long before I spent $7000. If Scott, or anyone else, wants to spend $7000, I wouldn't stop them; after all even the master builders at Fender have to eat.
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To your first point, it’s semantics. You’re parsing my words. To the second, of course there is diminishing return the higher up the price ladder you go.

As Henry Royce famously opined, “The quality will remain after the price is forgotten.”
 
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