If I were to list all of the issues I have had come across my bench in the past 6 months from Fender, this thread would be 20 pages longer. You forget that I do this work day in and day out, so I have plenty of stories I can tell. It is precisely because I do this stuff all day every day that I can spot a trend when I see it, and the trend of the month is Fender is letting way more mistakes get out the door. For every bad one, I am sure there is a higher percent of good ones, but this month the ratio seems to have flipped so that I have more problem instruments than perfect ones. That is why I decided to start this thread. Something has changed at Fender, and it shows in the products making it on to the showroom floor. Once again, I am not saying don't buy a Fender. I am saying to Fender "Get your act together".That's a very small sample size to make such a generalization. As others have said, you'll see problems with all mass-produced instruments. Sounds like you just got unlucky (or the 'Friday afternoon' batch, as they say). In contrast, my 2021 MIM Player Jazz had zero issues other than some minor fret filing due to the unusually dry winter.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
- Status
This bass came right out of the box with that "phone book" capacitor. This is a 1960 vintage copy bass, and those caps were used in the 50's and up to 1960. I was very pleased to open it up and see that Fender was faithful to the vintage aspect of the bass, but they did not do all their homework. The factory in 1959-60 did not ground the cap to the tone pot like it is in this new bass. The cap ground was run to the volume pot through the grounded lug. Had they done it that way, I would really have been impressed. That is neither here nor there though. It was the fact that they put the pickup hot wire on the wrong lug. That made the whole thing stop working correctly, and it should have been caught in QC.
Glad I got my pre-COVID '19 Ultra Jazz when I did. 
Fantastic bass!
Purchasing from Wildwood is always a plus as well - they scrutinize their instruments.
Fantastic bass!Purchasing from Wildwood is always a plus as well - they scrutinize their instruments.
Last edited:
Every. Single. Friggin'. Day. It's another one of these threads.
Agreed.
I went into a big music store last week and was perusing a large line of basses, including a slew of American Pro II Jazzes/Precisions, MIJ heritage Jazzes/Precisions and a Squier CV '70's Jazz.
I zeroed in on the Miami Blue Am Pro II Precision only to find an imperfectly aligned bridge. Argh !
Honestly, the best looking basses were the MIJ Heritage series, and IMO the Squier CV 70's Jazz took the cake as far as value for money was concerned. Great looking, perfectly constructed and less than a third of the cost of its Am Pro II counterpart.
Last edited:
I totally forgive setup quality. You never know what the weather will do to a guitar by the time it gets to a store. That stuff is all fixable, and the main reason why I have a job. Besides, one guys idea of low action is another's idea of unplayable. Now if a truss rod is maxxed, or the fretwork sucks, that can be a big problem, but a bad setup from the factory, while common, certainly does not help Fender sell their instruments.
And Fender still isn't getting the message! Whose fault is it that these threads are so common? Fender's.
Yes, Mike at Wildwood is very particular about what he gets in from Fender. You are always safe buying from them.Glad I got my pre-COVID '19 Ultra Jazz when I did.
Purchasing from Wildwood is always a plus as well - they scrutinize their instruments.
Exaggerate much? I wonder what's inhibiting the impulse control that prevents people from reading things that are so triggering?
Fender's place on the history of recorded music is undeniable (It's also worth remembering that in those days fenders were often the only option available).
That said, nowadays you can get the same beloved tone with much cheaper basses made with a much more consistent quality control.
That said, nowadays you can get the same beloved tone with much cheaper basses made with a much more consistent quality control.
I guess so, but like I said before, you can't beat a Fender for holding value. Yes, when I started playing bass, there were very few choices. All the pros told me to get a Fender. In fact, no matter what brand of electric bass you had, it was still referred to as a Fender. In 1978 I tried my first Alembic, and that took me as far from a Fender as you could get. Still to this day it is my favorite brand of bass, but I still have Fenders and use them regularly. Heck, I even have a $600.00 Player series P Bass that I put an EMG in, and it is fantastic. The neck is stable, and the frets were so good I did not have to mill and crown them like I normally do with all my setups. Fender has the capability of turning out excellent product, and most of the time does. It is just this recent trend that has me wigged out enough to start this thread.
I wanted to treat myself to a P Bass this year, so I put down a deposit on a Nash PB-57.
There is some truth to that, but not as much as you might think.
Fender introduced the Precision in 1951. Gibson started selling basses in 1953 - Fender had sold a few hundred by that time. Rickenbacker introduced the 4000 in 1957.
Last edited:
If I had real money to spend, Fender would probably be the last place I'd look. I learned a long time ago that brands, product lines, and dollars can be somewhat predictive on spec but it always comes down to this instrument vs. that one. One has it, and one doesn't.
If you will excuse me now, I must go appear in a tortilla in Mexico.
Passinwind
I know nothing.
- Dec 3, 2003
- 23,045
- 45,909
- Disclosures
- Designer/Toaster Tech @ Passinwind Electronics
The pre-CBS tortillas were better.
When I was in the market for another vehicle a few years ago I had my eye on what at the time was the most popular SUV in the US. I was talking with my boss at the time about my potential purchase and he said, "Don't buy that vehicle! My mechanic sees them in his shop all the time! They are the worst!"
Consider this though, if 1000 of vehicle "A" were sold in that area and 100 of them ended up needing a major repair while only 10 of vehicle "B" were sold in that area and only 1 of them ended up needing a major repair, then it's all too easy to see this as a 100 to 1 failure ratio, but in fact we're looking at a 10% failure rate in both cases!
I recently bought both a Squier and a Fender Jazzmaster guitar and I think I prefer the Squier. My data sample is exactly 2 instruments out of thousands though. So, can I say that Squier is better overall than Fender? Nope!
Just a thought.
Consider this though, if 1000 of vehicle "A" were sold in that area and 100 of them ended up needing a major repair while only 10 of vehicle "B" were sold in that area and only 1 of them ended up needing a major repair, then it's all too easy to see this as a 100 to 1 failure ratio, but in fact we're looking at a 10% failure rate in both cases!
I recently bought both a Squier and a Fender Jazzmaster guitar and I think I prefer the Squier. My data sample is exactly 2 instruments out of thousands though. So, can I say that Squier is better overall than Fender? Nope!
Just a thought.
- Status
