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Fender predictions for 2024?
- Thread starter MtManiac
- Start date
I thought it was obvious lol
No more obvious than that a dual humbucker Strat isn’t Fender’s answer to the Les Paul. Very different. Also, the Dimension was offered at every price point and in H, HH, 4-string, 5-string, and both passive and active models, so quite a bit *not* like a Stingray, they were clearly doing something different, which is why they’re so - as you’ve said - different.
If Fender wanted to copy a Stingray, you think they wouldn’t be able to? There’s nothing any more magical about a Stingray than there is any other $2000+ instrument.
They did some of that with Rays with Sterling and Subs. ..but between the parallel bucker(s) in the MM positions and the wiring nomenclature being nearly identical, and the popularity of Ray's at the time, if anything, it was a smart idea for Fender. They certainly weren't trying to be T40s lol......I think obvious MM marketing scheme is obvious; you think what you want as well
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All I want is a sub 8.5lb P bass with 6230 vintage frets and a rosewood neck.
You know, like a real pre-CBS bass.
And you can paint the thing with latex paint and a brush for all I care...
You know, like a real pre-CBS bass.
And you can paint the thing with latex paint and a brush for all I care...
Sure there is. The proprietary preamp for sure, and the pickups to a lesser level.
Exactly. Its that proprietary nature of the MM preamp was largely why I thought the Dimension fell short.....At the time, it was a sound marketing idea by Fender to build their version of something that was very popular from a competitor, and do it within their scope of practice without trudging into lawsuit territory.
Below is a Boeing B-29 and a Soviet Tupolev Tu-4. They have LOTS of differences but I think its pretty obvious what the Soviets were trying to do here......after all, Imitation is the best form of flattery
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Sure… just like everyone else has proprietary preamps and pickups… including the Dimension, which unlike the Stingray doesn’t even have an after market pickup option. If Joyo can copy a Tech 21 pedal, I think Fender could probably come much closer to the EBMM preamp than the Dimension, and would have used something more Ray-like for a pickup than something completely different. The Dimension pickups are as different from Ray pickups as they are from G&L L-2000, L-1500, Thunderbird pickups, or Sandberg’s Delanos - all of which pretty much nobody bothers to compare to Stingrays, and all of which don’t get punished by poor sales.
This comparison is a big part of what did in the Dimensions in my opinion. So apparently Fender isn’t allowed to make an active single-bridge or dual humbucker bass while everyone else is, and EBMM is able to copy a P bass - much more blatantly. I don’t see any point in my defending Fender, they can take care of themselves, but I think the selective double standards that apply *only to Fender* are hilarious and completely lacking in self reflection on the part of those reinforcing them with these comparisons.
If you hold an opinion but you haven’t given a Dimension a fair shake, you owe it to yourself before insisting on opinions comparing the two. I own both, like I said - two HH American Deluxe Dimensions and a Stingray Special HH. They’re completely different animals, and it’s super obvious that they are, especially once you start playing them and doing a valid *actual* comparison.
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They'll release a J bass that says "Precision Bass" on it. Nothing they haven't done but it's been a long time since..
This is a marketing strategy that Fender learned from Gibson. Gibson is the expert of that type of marketing as they've been doing it that way for decades.
Dimension is a good bass. Wasn't well received by the Fender group. Seems if it isn't a P or a J or a PJ Fender folks turn their noses up at anything different. Fender is just like Harley Davidson, stagnant. Flame suit on.
We may disagree about what the Dimension was intended for, but we are in agreement about that bass: for me, it may have fallen short of being a Ray answer, but it's a wonderful playing and sounding instrument all on its own. As I said earlier, had I not owned three J basses, I would've certainly pulled the trigger ........the twin bucker Dimension is a bass I may wind up owning sometime in the future
If Fender and HD are in fact stagnant, that may be more a reflection of their customer base and what they insist on buying, and their refusal to buy anything truly different. The public gets what the public wants.
Yeah if Fender offered a Rumble combo in that config, I might have to bite.
I love the Player series tbh. I think it’s the best MIM basic line they’ve done in their history.
Always room for improvement but I don’t think they’ll change it tbh. The previous line went on for almost two decades with some minor cosmetic changes and a rare electronics change.
