Fender Master Built review out

[frankie5string]

IMHO Scott failed to convey what's the added value for the added price. Not a great video to be honest.

Scott is a player (speaking strictly about his bass playing, not business acumen), not a collector. He's said that before. One of his favourite P-Basses is his (relatively cheap) Nate Mendel P-Bass.

The value in these is relative. There is no collector seeking these out because they are rare in any way. Someone you get to know a tiny bit, who is supposedly trained to do everything right, is the person building a bass to their factory specs, only for you. That's really it. If you want that, you can get that. Especially if you can't decide what you want FCS to make for you. They'll take recipes that are tried and true, and make one just for you. Easy, right?

To a player, like Scott, I assume he didn't go much further because there is probably no added value to him. On the surface it's just another well made bass. Most of his audience are young and learning to play. To them, a masterbuilt bass would be virtually worthless.

 

[REV]

At $10 a gig it’s highly doubtful anyone would be doing this for a living … pretty sure there are some unintended math errors here

You're right. That's only 70 gigs. Sign me up!

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I sent a suggestion for one of the courses that was being offered at SBL. My impression was that they were getting next to nothing on registrations. They sent back a rather impressive number of people that had signed up and given that the class was $150 and they do many of those each year, Scott Devine is doing all right. Kudos to him for building his following one the years. He may be one of the top earning bassists on the globe.

 

[mikecd1]

IF I had the money for the 63 bass this is modeled on (and I don't) would definitely consider the MB based on what I HEARD over an original and decide from there. First though I'd like to try to get Yosefina Campos to make me a pickup to try in MY Pbass to see what that does for me - and it just might do it. If you have the feel you want in a bass already, the rest is about tone and that's a very subtle and subjective thing.

 

[Geri O]

Does anyone have experience comparing a Fender Masterbuilt to a Mike Lull or Lakland USA precision or jazz bass? I ask that because I’ve found Lull and Lakland to be among the best passive Fender-style basses money can buy, and those are less than $4,000 for a passive 4-string P or J. I feel that Lull and Lakland have reached the 100% maximum quality that’s even possible on a passive P or J bass. So, if anything, perhaps a Fender Masterbuilt is equal to a Lull and Lakland, but there’s no way it surpasses them to the tune of a $3,000+ higher price tag. It all comes down to supply and demand, and the notoriety of the brand.

I was trying to decide if I should weigh in either way on this subject, as we'd both know, eh?..... I'd love to be able to make that side-by-side comparison.

Frankly, I thought the American Elite Jazz was/is a great bass coming from Fender. And was priced appropriately at a tick under 2 grand.

You said it very well. My thoughts exactly. Thanx, Kody.

 

[Pantofolaio79]

Undoubtedly beautiful .. it sounds really too good but honestly as has already been said it is more of a work of art .. I have a custom shop and it is already more than what you need but I would be really curious to try one as a masterbuilder ..

 

[Killing Floor]

I've experienced the crappy QC on MIMs, first time I hear MIAs also suffer from that. What issues have you run into?

Only speaking for my 2021 MiA Mod Shop P Delivered to dealership with full inspection tags. Nut cut so low multiple strings were benched/witnessed on the first fret instead of the nut meaning it wasn’t possible to tune or intonate. No shielding. Several frets so high you could see the tang. Bridge ground wire not pulled through the routed hole, not connected to bridge.
That said, a PLEK cut bone nut and a PLEK job on the frets and 15 minutes in the cavity and it’s one of the best playing and sounding basses I’ve ever owned. So I’d do it again. 100%.
So we’re clear, I love Fenders and I want MiA more so it’s worth it to me.
My MiM Tele neck that I got from Fender direct (parts page) is as close to perfect as any new neck I’ve bought. Well done.

Here’s the thing, the CNC tools don’t know where they are installed. People have good days and bad days.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

IMHO a master build should be surprisingly hands on built by a master, not overseen by one. LOL
Also this is all CNC parts right?

Everything is a CNC parts bass. It's just a more accurate way to do the same thing as a pin router, but far more accurately. Do people want a hand carved P bass?

 

[Whale guy]

I'm also a bit of a trumpeter, and I have the same rule for both instruments. If you can't tell the difference when you play it, or of the less expensive one is not holding you back in any way, then why spend the $?

 

[Shawn Luckman]

I have watched the video a couple of times and I, just can't see exactly what your getting for your $7000. I apologize if this offends anyone but would this bass, sound & feel better than an original 63 Precision on which it's based on?
Even if I could afford it I couldn't justify it to myself, there are many older P basses out there that I would like to own first.

 

[AboutSweetSue]

Diminished returns are exceptionally evident in bolt-on basses. What magic can they do to justify a 5/6k price difference?

 

[chris_b]

That fact that you can buy basses for less doesn't have any bearing whether this bass is worth $7k or not.

 

[Silky Johnson]

That would be like paying $7000 to have Gordon Ramsey fix me a grilled cheese or a hot dog, I mean ya it's probably quite good but to pay that money for something quite basic, I dunno.

 

[drTSTingray]

I liked the video and playing - and it had a great P bass sound. Personally not my favourite bass sound though.

The one thing I’ve noticed is used prices for Custom Shop basses, where the gulf between team and master built seems to narrow significantly. Scott has not covered this - maybe those people who commission master built instruments don’t plan to sell them ever. I have also noticed that when you select your options on the CS form, it doesn’t take much to stray out of team into master built territory.

Nice bass though.

 

[GreyBeard]

I'm of the opinion that once you hit the $2,000 mark, the increase in money you spend has diminishing returns. A good luthier can take a $1,000 or less bass and make it play as good as this $7,000 bass. How much better will these boutique hand wound pickups sound than a good quality $100 EMG or SD? How much better will the fit and finish be compared to a run of the mill American Standard or Player model for that matter? The question was asked: Would you pay $7,000 for an Alembic? The answer is that Alembic doesn't make any $700 basses that look and sound like their $7,000 basses. Fender does. This bass will not sound, play or look any better than a well setup American standard or Player (imho). This bass would be a waste of my money but, it's your money, buy whatever you want.

 

[AngelCrusher]

Damn thats same price as a Moog One.

 

[Rich67]

Beauty of a bass, and great overview. Thanks for posting this!

 

[Honkey tonk]

Interesting color

 

[OptimalOptimus]

When they can make a great Pbass for merely 500$ …

Scott is geeking out on this one as Pbass are his thing … especially since he is an old school kind of player

 

[brianrost]

How the heck do you "master build" a P bass?

I hope for my $7k I'm getting a hand made body and neck that not only feels great but mows my lawn and does my laundry and a great sounding pickup. After that, what am I paying for? Tuners, knobs, bridge, ashtrays and straplocks cost the same as for other Fenders like AmPro, Am Orig, Custom Shop...less than $100 I expect. Well, I suppose the SBL video will help Fender sell a few.

Waiting for thread to be locked.