Hating on anything but Fender

[OptimalOptimus]

The most successful bass players of all time seem to play what they want:

Paul Mccartney - known for Hofner
Flea - known for Wal
John Entwistle - Alembic
Geddy Lee - Fender
Cliff Burton - Rickenbacker
Victor Wooten - Fodera
Jaco Pistorious - Fender
John Paul Jones - Fender
Les Claypool - Carl Thompson
Lemmy Kilmeister - Rickenbacker
Billy Sheehan - Yamaha
James Jamerson - Fender
Jack Bruce - Warwick
Fieldy - Ibanez
Tom Arraya - BC Rich
...the list goes on like this.

Really, just play what you want and get good.

Flea... played Fender Spector EBMM Stingray Wal and Modulus live

 

[groooooove]

i doubt any of those fools leaving comments on a youtube video can really play...

ibanez QC, whether you like their instruments or not, is significantly better than fender.

I am far more likely to own and play a fender I think, just because I dig a standard jazz bass, but being too loyal to a brand is pretty hilarious.

I enjoy when I can partake in something resembling brand loyalty, but only do so when quality is the driving factor. instruments with perfect factory fretwork, quality components, attention to detail, shielded electronic cavities, smart design, will be things I am drawn to in the sense of loyalty.

Some of my very favorite musicians play instruments that I wouldn't play even if i got them for free. it's fine.

joe rogan often cites that "I bet michael jordan doesn't leave youtube comments," because he's a winner and doesn't have time for that trash. Logical thinking, isn't it? youtube comment really are some of the deepest and darkest trenches of humanity.

 

[JRA]

Never ever ever ever ever has any musician said anything about any of the basses I've ever played!

have been in several bands. Not one of them has ever cared what gear I used or tried to tell me how to sound.

There has been dialogue in recent years on the net about producers wanting precisions because of the way they sit in the mix

you're right, and i see that dialog here a lot, but, for those who don't know:
- it's not true in real life (in the studio)
- real producers really/truly don't care about EB "brands" in the studio --- sound is their game, not looks
- the way some on TB think about the recording game is based on fantasy/stories and/or 'low-level', limited experience
- all "producers" aren't created equal: some are also engineers --- others are wannabe engineers, others are posers
- all "precisions" aren't created equal: some sound great, some are dogs, both could be red

 

[Sixgunn]

So I was watchin some lessons on stuff on YouTube about tone and such, in the comments one guy says the most important lesson to learn is stick with Fender Jazz and P bass and don’t have the urge to be different by getting Ibanez or other.

That you will spend your entire life trying to please the band and get the right tones.


Then someone replied asking if he was talking about the Soundgears, that they don’t understand why anyone likes them.

Then more guys came on hating Ibanez like my SR505 which I love, also love my Jazz bass but what the heck

So I’m thinking of how many bands out there play Ibanez and other basses,there a countless, I’m looking at my SR505 like She is my baby lol, I also have a 4 string vintage modified jazz with dp123s in it, but I just love the Ibanez, well I love both.


What do you guys think about that hate, is it justified? Are we not past the”you gotta have a Fender to be in the band” stuff or what

Sheep mentality.

 

[Geri O]

ibanez QC, whether you like their instruments or not, is significantly better than fender.

QC from Sadowsky and Mike Lull instruments are significantly better than Ibanez QC (I've seen Ibanez QC. Certainly acceptable).

We could do this all day....

 

[mambo4]

What do you guys think about that hate, is it justified? Are we not past the”you gotta have a Fender to be in the band” stuff or what

It's not hate. It's wisdom born of experience.
When time is money, reduce the variables. P ad J basses are an easily and quickly dialed in known quantity in a studio or FOH situation. No muss, no fuss.

Its not hate any more than preferring a simple no frills tool over something more flexible but harder to use.

 

[ezstep]

Just tell your guitarist that you simply cannot work with anyone who does not use ___(fill in the blank)____ brand, and make sure it is not his choice of brand. Or your drummer should (or should not) use Pearl drums. Or ONLY a QSC sound system. Sounds stupid at that point, doesn't it?

Don't overthink this. Just play what you want, and play it well. In some 50 years of playing I have never been asked to bring a different bass. (Well, actually, once the guitarist asked specifically about bringing my Carvin because he liked the sound better than the cheap bass I did bring that one night.) My wife recently bought me a Rogue Beatle bass, and my band mates actually liked the way it fit into what we played.

 

[Kaa]

Yeah so they could pull out the same album over and over... see country music and pop

Possibly. But I still think it would have been more to cut recording costs.

 

[ad9000]

Hate is obviously unnecessary in this case, but I have to say that being ultimately a "Fender guy" I understand the underlying mentality. I have some basses that are Fenders and some that aren't, and I notice that I'm always surreptitiously trying to make the non-Fenders sound like Fenders. However, I appreciate the attributes of other instruments and I don't think I could only play a Fender.

I've run into the pro-Fender bias previously mentioned, both from recording engineers and bandleaders. My automatic defensive reaction is to say "FU, I'll play what I want," but I get where they're coming from. Having said all that, I think everybody should play the bass that works best for them and damn what anybody else thinks.

 

[Kukulkan61]

Play whatever you want as long as the tone is good and it’s cutting thru the mix, who cares what others think..

 

[deff]

It's not hate. It's wisdom born of experience.
When time is money, reduce the variables. P ad J basses are an easily and quickly dialed in known quantity in a studio or FOH situation. No muss, no fuss.

Its not hate any more than preferring a simple no frills tool over something more flexible but harder to use.

Is that an active or passive P or J? Is it an alnico or ceramic pickup? Which Alnico. Which era J? The pickup position changed. Do you mean an instrument made out of wood with Pickups and volume and tone controls. Just stop please.. Acting like all Fenders are exactly the same is just foolish. Acting like one can't get usable sounds out of anything else is insulting.

 

[Vanheusen77]

Fenders are great basses and there are lots of other great basses as well. It does not make you better or worse playing one or the other. What a great bass tone sounds like is subjective. There are however more traditional looking instruments(Fender, Rick, Hofner)modern looking ones(Dingwall, Ibanez). Regardless how they sound they will be percieved differently I think. I like all kinds personally!

 

[Vanheusen77]

And regarding bass tone, a good player can make almost anything work in a musical context. Will A sound like B? No, but that will not matter since they will both sound good.

 

[Geri O]

I've run into the pro-Fender bias previously mentioned, both from recording engineers and bandleaders. My automatic defensive reaction is to say "FU, I'll play what I want," but I get where they're coming from. Having said all that, I think everybody should play the bass that works best for them and damn what anybody else thinks.

Totally get the sentiment here, but we should keep in mind that if we tell the guy writing the checks to “FU, I’ll play what I want”, then we shouldn’t be surprised when the guy writing the check responds with (right or wrong), “No, FU, I’ll get someone else more flexible that can give me what I’m looking for “. Totally within his/her right to do so, again right or wrong.

I’ve really lucky in that regard. I always showed up for a session with a Fender Jazz (or Precision at times) and later, the Mike Lull, which is a Jazz on steroids, one could say. No one has ever balked at what I brought to the session. So far. I imagine if I were to start doing sessions for a new client, I would ask if they had a preference of bass.

(If they ask for an Alembic, I’m screwed...)

 

[James Collins]

Flea... played Fender Spector EBMM Stingray Wal and Modulus live

Most on that list have recorded and played live with any number of basses. Just suggesting what I know them for.

 

[factory presets]

In 40 years of playing bass, 35 of those on fenders, I've never encountered this. No one's ever hired me because I play a fender, or fired me because I played something else. They hired me because I play well, regardless of my chosen brand of instrument.

Last century we were after a decent guitarist for our band. Lost count of how many we tried out. Ended up as these things often do, with 2 good friends turning up together on the same day. Both played strats. Both well capable of playing what we wanted. Neither one deeply into the reggae that underpinned our style. But both keen on our crazy melodic originals. Only difference between them was one had a Marshall stack. And the one we went with had a cheap locally made combo. So pretty much a coin toss. Which Mr Marshall lost.

Time passes. Mr Rockit fits in by and large. Takes himself a bit seriously, tho. One day he asked me why we chose him over his m8. Fishing for compliments or what? Couldn't help myself. Told him it was because he had a Rockit. He was a broken man after that. Developed chronic passive aggression. Had to sack him in the end.

Got ourselves a skinhead guitarist instead. Least he was down with black music.

 

[ad9000]

but we should keep in mind that if we tell the guy writing the checks to “FU, I’ll play what I want”, then we shouldn’t be surprised when the guy writing the check responds with (right or wrong), “No, FU, I’ll get someone else more flexible that can give me what I’m looking for “. )

I should have clarified that I never actually said that, just thought it ; ) However, your observation is correct, and from a professional standpoint it's always best to do the job with a smile on your face, and you can think anything you want on the inside.

 

[twinjet]

So I was watchin some lessons on stuff on YouTube about tone and such, in the comments one guy says the most important lesson to learn is stick with Fender Jazz and P bass and don’t have the urge to be different by getting Ibanez or other.

That you will spend your entire life trying to please the band and get the right tones.


Then someone replied asking if he was talking about the Soundgears, that they don’t understand why anyone likes them.

Then more guys came on hating Ibanez like my SR505 which I love, also love my Jazz bass but what the heck

So I’m thinking of how many bands out there play Ibanez and other basses,there a countless, I’m looking at my SR505 like She is my baby lol, I also have a 4 string vintage modified jazz with dp123s in it, but I just love the Ibanez, well I love both.


What do you guys think about that hate, is it justified? Are we not past the”you gotta have a Fender to be in the band” stuff or what

People who adamantly narrow their choices to only one brand are really missing out. That's fine if it's all you want to play, but to insinuate that everything else is subpar is just ignorant.

 

[PWRL]

I'm told there was a time when if you walked into a studio or "pro" situation without a Fender people looked at you cockeyed. However, time has proven that a good player is firstly known for being a good player. What brand that person plays can change many times over. I can't imagine asking Carol Kaye if she's really sure she wants to play an Ibanez and telling her she should really consider a better instrument.

 

[DrMole]

QC from Sadowsky and Mike Lull instruments are significantly better than Ibanez QC (I've seen Ibanez QC. Certainly acceptable).
We could do this all day....

One would hope that at those price points, the QC would be impeccable.
Think the other poster's point was that a(perceived)lesser brand in Ibanez had better QC than the Big name brand.

Again, would hope the guys that make Better Fenders have better QC than a company making instruments at 1/3-1/2 their price.