It's been awhile since I've owned a Fender instrument as I have always felt they did not offer the level of value of other manufacturers. Take for example Yamaha. If you have $1500 to buy a bass...the BBP is REALLY hard to beat. The quality and sound is amazing. I recently bought a Harley Benton fretless jazz bass. It arrived in perfect condition with a decent set up. Granted, it's made of lower cost materials and hardware...but the bass costs $149. I can only imagine how fantastic it would be if it were built with the best quality materials. The workmanship is flawless. I would imagine they are mostly made by machines.
I tend to buy most of my basses used. Not only do I save money, most of the time I end up with an instrument that has already had the bugs worked out or has a few tasteful upgrades. Luckily I have never been sent a lemon. I'm fortunate to have dealt with honest folks. I am pretty handy with fixing things, so I often look for a deal on an instrument that has a few flaws. I am currently waiting on a Fender American Pro II Jazz bass to arrive. It was made in May of 2022...so it's still pretty new. The seller did not disclose any flaws, but I'll see when it arrives what shape it's in.
Nearly every instrument I have ever purchased new needed something. I recently bought a new US G&L and it was fantastic except for the bridge adjustment screw on the E string was too short to get the saddle out far enough to intonate it properly. I'm not upset about it. I'll just run to Home Depot and pick up an longer screw and cut it to length. It's not a big issue. I had a custom bass made by a local luthier and the first thing I had to do was shim the neck as the bridge saddles were bottomed out.
The two best basses, in terms of quality, that I own are both Warmoth builds I made myself. I got one body finished by Warmoth, and it's flawless. The other parts I finished myself. I used top shelf components. Both of my Warmoth builds were hundreds cheaper than a new Fender bass. My Warmoth P bass has Fender tuners, a Fender neck plate, and a Fender string retainer to give it the "look" I was going after. But it has a Nordstrand pickup, Emerson wiring and pots, a Switchcraft jack, Shaller strap locks, and a Gotoh bridge. If Fender built an instrument as good as my Warmoth P it would be a $5000 custom shop build. I have about $1200 in it (plus my labor). The genesis of the bass was a Fender I saw hanging on a wall at a music store that was over $2000. I thought "I can build one for less than that"...so I did.
