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Fender quality control 2025

JutMitch

JutMitch

Jan 6, 2020
184
197
Pittsburgh
#1
Just trying to gauge what everyone's experience with Fender is this year.

My history with Fender has not been so hot. Several MIM models have had issues the biggest being stripped screws about everywhere from Bridge, string tree and strap buttons to various pickguard screws stripped. I had a large piece of poly lift off the side of the heel pocket on a Duff Mc. bass. I vowed to never buy a Fender product again since the customer service was not so pleasant but i gave in a few years ago and bought a new (not b stock) roadworn Jazz. It arrived with a crack on the headstock (the whole width of the headstock) coming off the E string tuner to the end of the headstock. That bass got sent back.

Fast forward last week i noticed Fender had a pretty decent sale going on with their American Performer precision and that combined with some insufferable gas i proceeded to buy an American Performer precision for $910 Shipped.

Not going to lie, i was pretty disappointed. The bass arrived with a rather large (in my opinion) indentation on the body. It looks like the body was dropped at some point and then sprayed with Poly after. The finish was Ok at best, lots of buffing scratches but rather fine scratches and a couple small fish eyes on the finish. The neck is great, but the neck has a couple areas of flat spots were someone was in a rush sanding and took off too much wood. Some pickguard screws are overtightened and chewed up.

The last issue was bubbling of the nickel plating on the bridge plate. Not massive issues but when comparing to some Laklands (China) that i was checking out locally my brand new American Made Fender cannot compare to the QC of a Chinese made Lakland. I still might keep the Fender as it does play great and i did get it for a very good price but i'm not sure if i just got a lemon or if this lack of attention to detail is now commonplace for Fender. I've have had and still have a lot of the usual suspects (PRS, Gibson,MM, G&L,Warwicks and my Warmoth builds) and they have ALL been absolutely as close to perfect as possible. Not sure if i'm just getting some back luck with Fender or if other players are noticing just odd and end imperfections.

I've pretty much stuck with American, German and Japan made instruments with a couple MIM here and there but now i actually might start looking more into the imported bass market.
 
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#3
I was hesitant about it also and I typically buy local for that reason. The playability is fine which is the most important, but just the little odds and ends. The imperfections was not just isolated to neck but body/finishing, hardware quality down to hardware install. This somehow managed to pass final qc.
 
#6
I bought a Player II J with a few issues:
1. Loud G string (pickup adjustment did not improve)
2. Poor fretwork in upper part of neck
3. Very rough feeling tuning machines
4. The finish on the string retainer was damaged

I ended up returning it to Sweetwater and went with a Squier Tele a month or so later that has no major issues. Since it had several issues I didn't have to pay anything for the return.


The J string retainer:
1764715862605.png
 
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#7
skycruiser said:
I bought a Player II J with a few issues:
1. Loud G string (pickup adjustment did not improve)
2. Poor fretwork in upper part of neck
3. Very rough feeling tuning machines
4. The finish on the string retainer was damaged

I ended up returning it to Sweetwater and went with a Squier Tele a month or so later that has no major issues. Since it had several issues I didn't have to pay anything for the return.


The J string retainer:
View attachment 7380629
Click to expand...
That unfortunate because the player 2 isn’t a cheap bass either.
 
#12
IME and this might just be me, but i have had some neck stability issues with my fenders over the years, i've never owned a pricier one though
i was going to get my gf a new fender, but then i thought why don't i just do deep cleaning on her 91 ESP MIV, because we already know that it has no issues rather than some pitting and grimyness
 
#14
I mean QC is fine, or at least pretty on par with what its always been. I've played some great ones this year, and some regular ones, none that I can say were horrible. Probably similar to 2024, 2023 and every year going back 20 years. I guess in my head I can lump certain eras where the QC was slightly better or worse for a span of a few years. But even then, unless someone did a detailed long term study based on random samples of Fender guitars through the years where they evaluated them in detail, its all kinda random.

With big "trusted" brands like Fender or Gibson, its best to not worry about the QC of all their instruments, just the one you want to buy. You seem distrustful of Fender in general so theres really no good answer except find one locally that you can play and inspect. Buy it if you like it.
 
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#15
I own 4 Fenders (MM5, USA Geddy, FCS '61 Jazz, and a FCS '58P) and 1 Franken Fender Jazz that my daughter built me back in high school (custom body and MIM J Neck). All have been solid basses. My only issue was with the MM5 where I needed to swap out the stock preamp for an East Marcus Retro.

I understand how issues can happen and I would be pretty frustrated if I had the OP's bad luck. Here's hoping you find a Fender that works for you.

Bones
 
#16
Honestly it baffles me that anyone buys any Fender at this point. In an age of precision manufacturing they choose to be sloppy and inconsistent. Yes, it's a choice.

We as consumers are spoiled for choice. Even if you limit yourself to just a P bass, there are dozens of manufacturers doing it better at every price point.

"But so-and-so played one..." Yeah, back when they were the only readily available brand that's what everyone played. A lot of those guys today have moved on to other brands.

Do they make a few decent basses in each group? Sure, if retro is your thing. But why feed a company that can't be bothered to step up?
 
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#17
I just bought an american pro classic mustang, and it does have some personality but it plays great and sounds perfectly mustangy.

Only complaints I can come up with, is that it has a bit of a resonance issue (like a dead spot) that slightly dampens the second hamonic above the fifth fret on the E string (I am tuned down to D). Can't be heard unless you really listen for it, but it messes with the envelope on my synth pedal, comes across as a short dip in volume. Quality control or extreme tone nerdiness? Ha.

On the QC front, the bridge is installed slightly off. Strings line up perfectly with the neck, but the holes drilled for the string through are not lined up between body and bridge, making it hard to cram a string through. The neck screws freaked me out. Slightly smaller than normal with a bit finer thread. I replaced with a set of the normal fender kind, CA glued the holes, they tightened up nicely.

Still a keeper, but I have a mim mustang PJ that is so fantastically perfect in every way, plays better than anything, weighs less, even the narrow nut width that would normally have been a deal breaker somehow feels just right... you know the kind of bass that you pick up and play for hours thinking only of the music and when you stop you look down and are suprised that there is a bass there? makes it really hard to be impressed by anything else. It's a 2021, maybe Fender used up all the magic that year.
 
#19
Always hit and miss from the top down. I got a recent jazz from the Custom Shop and there was already warping in the neck. A plek job still didn’t make it playable. Had to use a giant shim in the neck and get the frets dressed again to make it work. Completely sucked but everything‘s fixed now and plays far better than it was ever meant to.

Got a 2025 Pino and it was perfect but sold it off because I’m a gear lusting goofball.

Played lots of American Pro I and II Js and Ps. Some were great, a few were awesome, some were firewood. Fenders always been about quantity over quality. Fender J and P is the sound that I always go for so even if they’re built like garbage, they typically sound just how I like it.
 
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