Fender quality control 2025

[JutMitch]

It's so sad the QC is inconsistent at Fender. I wanted to take advantage of the sales, but I dunno.
All my Fenders Jazzes were bought used,. (not abused). Love the ergonomics of Jazzes. I always end of tweaking them either in a tune up or modification or both so why bother and pay the brand new prices? Still, I am seeing a American Pro II Dark Knight that keeps lurking in the back of my mind. I dunno though.

You might have better luck than me. Looking at the big picture for $900 shipped on the Performer Precision, it's still a solid deal even with it's shortcomings. I think the problem is regardless of price, an American made much higher MSRP bass should be held to a higher standard.

 

[HelpImaRock]

G&L and other premium bass/guitar companies don't work that way

FWIW, G&L doesn't work at all now.

IMO, buying from sight unseen from big box retailers is a coin toss. Having real pictures can still be a gamble. You might get a good looking dog. But at least it's a more informed purchase. Otherwise, play as many as you can and buy the one you connect with, even if it is ugly. The buyer shouldn't need to be responsible for QC, but it's been that way for 40 years and neither Fender or Gibson are changing anytime soon.

 

[JutMitch]

If it were as bad as it sounds here, you’d think resale would be half of what it is. Not THAT many people can possibly be so naive.

Honestly i think with my issues, you have to be paying attention and really be going over your bass to notice them. I've worked as a custom interior fabricator and upholster for custom and high end cars/boat/planes so i'm pretty detailed oriented. I would think some of this stuff would easily be passed over by the average consumer.

 

[JutMitch]

FWIW, G&L doesn't work at all now.

IMO, buying from sight unseen from big box retailers is a coin toss. Having real pictures can still be a gamble. You might get a good looking dog. But at least it's a more informed purchase. Otherwise, play as many as you can and buy the one you connect with, even if it is ugly. The buyer shouldn't need to be responsible for QC, but it's been that way for 40 years and neither Fender or Gibson are changing anytime soon.

Not going to lie, the bass is 8.5 pounds (perfect) and plays like a dream. I count my blessing as i'd rather have the cosmetic imperfections and a great playing bass than vice versa. Realistically both areas should be great. I've just never got stung on any "premium" bass. Anything coming out of Germany, America and Japan have been all damn perfect...including a Gibson les Paul DC which was kind of a surprise.

 

[FRoss6788]

The buyer shouldn't need to be responsible for QC, but it's been that way for 40 years and neither Fender or Gibson are changing anytime soon.

You can include many other manufacturers as well, not just Fender and Gibson.

 

[JohnEdward]

I bought a Player II with shameful cosmetic issues in the paint. And it literally didn’t work, lol. I returned that one and dedicated myself to building basses. Making a short scale neck out of gaboon ebony and ovangkol this week. Body to come after.

For what it’s worth, my 3 American Original necks are beautiful.

 

[JutMitch]

I bought a Player II with shameful cosmetic issues in the paint. And it literally didn’t work, lol. I returned that one and dedicated myself to building basses. Making a short scale neck out of gaboon ebony and ovangkol this week. Body to come after.

For what it’s worth, my 3 American Original necks are beautiful.

i have 3 warmoths and an MJT. All perfect!

 

[Slade N]

Ive never owned Fender/Fender but have two Squiers, a strat and a classic vibe P. Both are great with no major issues. Cheap hardware on both and crap pots on the strat. Necks are great on both. All in all the CV P is better than I expected for a $350 (on sale) new cheap bass…Maybe I got lucky with it?

If either had been a US/higher priced model I wouldnt have bought or kept considering the minor issues they have, they wouldnt have been acceptable for the price, even though I think theyre great for what they are

I forgot that I had a MIJ tele many years ago, it was a solid piece, no issues.

 

[Yahboy]

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.

I been own 4 Player P ( 2018.2019 and 2024 x2 ), all just suck in QC especially factory fret and neck issue.

Lucky me that 2022 Vintera 50sP are fine which i hand pick myself. But shame that 2 unit Am Pro II in sexy Miami Blue i try just has issue on poor factory fret work. Proud to own a 2014 CIC Squier Matt Freeman P which has flawless build quality , and a cheapo Bacchus BPB1RSM just come close .

 

[HelpImaRock]

You can include many other manufacturers as well, not just Fender and Gibson.

Of course. Those were just two examples. And again, especially true if you do all of your buying at big box stores.

 

[Micha84]

I do think there is a lot of urban myth involved in the horror stories about Fender QC. Fender has been around for generations and is still the number one seller of electric guitars and basses. Even with modern machinery it is impossible to get a 100% rate of flawless product. People are not only more likely to talk about, but also more likely to remember hearing about negative experiences. So, as there are a lot of customers, there will be a lot of bad experiences, now readily available online for everyone to see and a picture will start to form. Add to that all the not so informed or experienced, but nevertheless very opinionated people who will simply repeat what others have said, and that picture will fortify itself and develop a life of its own.

What we will never know is what the actual "dud to winner" rate is and if it is better or worse than other manufacturers.

 

[HelpImaRock]

Not going to lie, the bass is 8.5 pounds (perfect) and plays like a dream. I count my blessing as i'd rather have the cosmetic imperfections and a great playing bass than vice versa. Realistically both areas should be great. I've just never got stung on any "premium" bass. Anything coming out of Germany, America and Japan have been all damn perfect...including a Gibson les Paul DC which was kind of a surprise.

Everyone's experience, and budget, is different. The worst guitar I've ever played is my Ric 330. The best is my PRS Custom 24. And my best basses are a Korean Guild Starfire II and Indonesian Squier CV Mustang. If Fender ever releases one, I'll probably buy an Indonesian Standard Jazz V. The 4's I've played, even at GC, have compared favorably to the higher end production stuff. But I won't just buy one sight unseen. That's a fool's errand.

 

[JutMitch]

I do think there is a lot of urban myth involved in the horror stories about Fender QC. Fender has been around for generations and is still the number one seller of electric guitars and basses. Even with modern machinery it is impossible to get a 100% rate of flawless product. People are not only more likely to talk about, but also more likely to remember hearing about negative experiences. So, as there are a lot of customers, there will be a lot of bad experiences, now readily available online for everyone to see and a picture will start to form. Add to that all the not so informed or experienced, but nevertheless very opinionated people who will simply repeat what others have said, and that picture will fortify itself and develop a life of its own.

What we will never know is what the actual "dud to winner" rate is and if it is better or worse than other manufacturers.

Well in my case I had and have had quite a number of basses extending 30 or so years and I can reassure all of them have been as close to perfect as possible. The one exception has been Fender. I’ve had a Japanese sting bass, 1 fretless jazz, 2 MIM jazz, 1 MIM precision, 1 MIM Duff, 1 AM standard, 1 roadworn jazz and one American performer. The Am standard was excellent and same with the Sting bass. The rest have had anywhere from annoying qc issues to serious structural issues.

So I think it’s fair to say this extends far beyond urban myth. I mean Fender is the OG so sales are going to be great regardless unless quality became abysmal. I truly want to love and support an iconic company but damn, it does get hard when the product just doesn’t deliver. Again, all that being said the playability of the new AM performer is very good, just wish the attention to detail was as good. Like I said in the original post, I don’t know if these issues are just commonplace and overlooked or if I’m just truly unlucky.

 

[facetsquared]

I had my first bad experience with Fender QC issues yesterday. I tried out a beautiful Custom Shop 1965 Jazz that was light and well-balanced, but which also had the sharpest frets I have encountered on any bass, at any price point. It was beyond mere fret spout; it was as if the frets had not been dressed before leaving the factory.

It was shockingly bad, and Guitar Center wanted $4400 plus tax for it. No thanks.

 

[PiquetBass]

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.

Totally agree with that statement. The only way to put this to a group test may be a simple vote - how many good ones have people had versus how many bad ones?
However, we all know that people in general (me included) are far more vociferous in shouting about the poor ones than we are at praising the good ones, so the result is still likely to be loaded in favour of those who are disappointed.

For my tuppence worth, I have a 2022 MiM Player p-bass that I bought as a back-up when I started gigging again. It was intended to be "second fiddle" to my old Aria from the '80s. It needed a neck shim to get the setup right (so it wasn't great out the factory), but everything else was perfect. No cosmetic issues, dings, scrapes, poor assembly or otherwise. And it's now my #1 bass for just about everything!
I'd put it on the "good one" list - but only after a proper set-up.

 

[PJorBoth]

Bought two this year.
Pro II Jazz and an Ultra II Precision. No issues with either and they are both great instruments and keepers.

 

[FightMilk]

I like my American P bass ok after some new pickups and a fret level. Fender is pretty much trash now, but hey making a great bass or guitar ain’t easy.

 

[jd56hawk]

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.

Try Bacchus MIJ...you won't be disappointed.

 

[pepj]

Generally, my take is that mass produced basses aren't of the standard I go for. That's not to say I couldn't luck out on one..but suspect it would need quite a bit of diligence and set up on my part.

Every now and then Fender produce something that gets a second look but then they could easily be 10lbs which is a turn off.
So..I view them... and other makers at this pricepoint, as not what I'm looking for...but not completely dismiss them. Having said that, its likely that 99% wouldn't work.
Not tested that figure lately, mind you.

 

[backin82]

I've seen as good or better QC on Squier these days than Fender, and you pay way less for it. I'm rocking two Squiers right now that I'd put up against any MiM Fender.