Fender Style Boutiques Overpriced?

[mophead]

With Fender’s newly improved B string, better playability, and active/passive options of their 2010 Deluxe models, I think one can make a pretty good argument that the other Fender-style boutiques are now overpriced. However, if there was a Fender-style boutique out there that offered a truly custom bass where you can choose your string spacing, scale length, chambered/non-chambered, 4-6 strings, pickup placement, etc., then they can freely charge whatever they want because no one currently offers that, I don’t think.

But how can the new Fenders be on par with the boutiques when it's so much cheaper? I think it's because of volume and experience. When a company sells a large volume of something, they have the resources to purchase the necessary machinery and production power to cut out any middle men. And if the product is engineered and put together well through years of trial-and-error, they can make a boutique quality product at a fraction of the cost. However, most consumers will think that boutique products are always better than mass produced, no matter what. Sure there are lemons, I think even the top builders produce lemons 1% of the time, but 1% of Fender lemons can mean thousands of guitars!

Looking at the new Fender Select Basses at $4K sort of blows away the "cheap Fender" argument.

I do agree that in 2008 they really raised the quality of construction. I also have a post 2008 P 5 that I just love. Took three years and about three different basses to find one at 9 pounds. The rest were boat anchors

Fenders' being large and able to buy millions of dollars worth of equipment does give them some advantage in the ability to produce in volume but it surely does not allow them to eliminate middlemen. Guitar Center and all the other retailers are middlemen and they have to make their profits also, so if we could buy direct from Fender perhaps they could be even less.

I have had some earlier model Fender 5 string basses and did not like any of them. None. In 2008 they changed the quality and construction and finally have a B string that sounds like it is part of the bass instead of an add on accessory that did not belong. Is it the best? No, but much improved over pre 2008.

After the accolades then came the price increases, remember? So the argument could be made that the boutique guys should have raised their pricing accordingly and some have.

I do agree that you can make music with just about any bass you chose. Does that multi thousand dollar F bass sound 10 times better than the Fender?

No.

Does the $4K Fender Select sound 11.5 times better than some of the new Squier basses? Do the math.

Probably not although I have not heard the new Select.

If Fender keeps raising the level of their Squier line people may eventually be able to look past the name on the headstock and just put some decent strings on a Squier and let it rip.

We should probably give Fender more credit than we do just because they do produce a nice bass and yes sometimes old Joe is hung over and screws up some frets on Mondays. That same old Joe probably wants to get off a little early some Friday also and doesn't get the pots soldered just right maybe.

If we did not have Fender then we would not have Sadowsky because Roger just did not start building basses but rather working on Fenders to put his own personal touch that working musicians liked and throughout the years we now have the Sadowsky offerings, as well as Lakland, Ibanez, and all the other manufacturers who compete for our GAS money.

You could make a living with any of these if there was only one. Some folks drive a Chevy and some drive a Cadillac. Some like Dodge trucks and some like Ford.

Where would we be without Henry Ford?

So is a Fender worth it? Don't know but they just keep selling them like Big Macs at McDonalds. Personally I hope they never go away.

What would we talk about then?

 

[king_biscuit]

There is no such thing as a neck with no dead spots - it is just that some are more subtle than others.

+1 However, and no offense to anyone in particular, most people don't seem to know what a dead spot is and confuse it with fret buzz or fretting out.

 

[nostatic]

+1 However, and no offense to anyone in particular, most people don't seem to know what a dead spot is and confuse it with fret buzz or fretting out.

which makes it even easier to find them on a fretless

 

[bassbenj]

I do agree that in 2008 they really raised the quality of construction. I also have a post 2008 P 5 that I just love. Took three years and about three different basses to find one at 9 pounds. The rest were boat anchors

I have had some earlier model Fender 5 string basses and did not like any of them. None. In 2008 they changed the quality and construction and finally have a B string that sounds like it is part of the bass instead of an add on accessory that did not belong. Is it the best? No, but much improved over pre 2008.

I've got a 2002 Fender and the above is the most PERFECT description of its B string I've ever heard! Was I in love when I bought it? No. But it was about the best one I found in town. I got it because it had a Fender shaped headstock that said Fender on it. The classic jazz tone was a plus. I'm still not enthused about it. I hate the profile of that jazz neck. But it works OK as a bass.

On the other hand, I was over at Sam Ash a while back and they had this Lakland there. Now over THAT I was definitely in LOVE! I only wish I'd had the cash to grab it. Oh well. But that is the difference, I think. Each boutique maker has a certain vision. And when that vision coincides with yours, well then to YOU it's worth the money. To me the basic Fender does not coincide with my vision. (too many years back in the early days I'm afraid. Not quite as rosy as some seem to think)

So if I trade the 2002 up to a 2008+ , yeah it would be nice, and I'd like it. But I doubt I'd be jumping up and down.
But a new Lakland?

 

[Kwesi]

The idea of something being overpriced is completely subjective and even it were absolute fact you'd still have folks buying the overpriced stuff anyway.

 

[WoodyG3]

Fenders are overpriced.

 

[Kitsapbass]

no no no! They are overpriced!!! Make them STOP!!! Write your congressman and insist that laws be passed to lower boutique bass prices! Do it for the children. Won't someone think of the children?!?!?

......

 

[JimmyM]

Goody, the daily "_____ is overpriced" thread! I agree...every instrument should be $19.95.

 

[cnltb]

If someone wanted a Fender clone with absolutely nothing different from Fender's standard MIA options, then I can't really think of a logical reason why said person would be purchasing a bass from anyone but Fender.

...apart from built quality?

 

[JimmyM]

I once paid a boutique builder $3000 to clone a black Squier Affinity Precision to the letter. I give him the money, and an hour later he comes out of his workshop with this gorgeous Affinity clone that you'd swear was the real thing. Most of these bass building assclowns take months to build their stuff, and it sounds and looks nothing like an Affinity. Next bass I get from him will be a copy of an SX vintage PJ but that's $500 more and has a 4-day turnaround instead of an hour. He said he needs the extra time to nail SX's trademark bad fretwork.

 

[Rip Topaz]

^LMAO

 

[spade2you]

Fenders are overpriced.

There's a lot of truth to that. Part of why I've been using luthier made instruments is that if I'm spending money, I'd like as much $ to go into the guitar or bass itself as possible. Endorsements, advertisements, retailer markup, and legal teams are all part of the business of the big companies. These all add to the final price tag without going into the instrument itself.

Find yourself a nice independent luthier who mostly works on word of mouth with a low overhead and you might notice. Sure, my stuff is more expensive than a standard USA Fender, but fully decked out (at least in my opinion) and built by really talented luthiers. Master built Fenders may have about the same quality, but are way more than I'm paying. A lot more.

 

[malthumb]

If they were overpriced, they wouldn't be selling every single one they build. Fender's quality seems to have gone up over the last few years, and the difference between them and the boutiques has narrowed.

Whether boutique prices are justified by the differences between the instruments is debatable, and this exact topic has been debated here countless times.

I own a bunch of boutique basses in the $3K to $5K+ range. I also own four Fenders. I can tell you unequivocally that a $5,000 F Bass does not sound five times better than a $1,000 Fender.

So you have a good point about the comparative quality of boutique versus mass-produced basses, but the market decides what is "overpriced." If you want a boutique bass and have the means to get one, the price isn't going to stop you. But there's really no musical reason to spend a lot of cash on a bass. Pretty much any music you want to play can be done with a Fender or Ibanez and the like.

The RED TEXT should be automatically emailed to new members and robo-mailed to every member once every 6 months. I'm just sayin'........

 

[deepdown]

I once paid a boutique builder $3000 to clone a black Squier Affinity Precision to the letter. I give him the money, and an hour later he comes out of his workshop with this gorgeous Affinity clone that you'd swear was the real thing. Most of these bass building assclowns take months to build their stuff, and it sounds and looks nothing like an Affinity. Next bass I get from him will be a copy of an SX vintage PJ but that's $500 more and has a 4-day turnaround instead of an hour. He said he needs the extra time to nail SX's trademark bad fretwork.