Hating on anything but Fender

[twinjet]

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.

Right.

Imagine saying that to...
Anthony Jackson
Federico Malaman
Victor Wooten
Hadrien Feraud
Tal Wilkenfeld
Will Lee
James Genus

and many more...

 

[groooooove]

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....

haha of course!

I only phrased it that was because the OP mentions Ibanez specifically.

there are countless high QC situations out there. Fender unfortunately is known for inconsistencies, and i've definitely seen that many times on new instruments - the USA flea bass I tried had fret ends that were sharp, worse than I would accept on a $300 instrument. They ask $1800 or so for that new. yikes!!!

 

[Bassdirty]

There, fixed that for ya...

I appreciate ya lookin out for me, however..my post Didn't NEED fixing. It seems you didn't know, but "YMMV" (which I put at the end of my post) actually means "Your Mileage May Vary". Which in this context, obviously (sorry, my bad, obvious to a lot of us) has nothing to do with actual gas mileage. It means that the reader [of my post] may have different results than what I got. different experience than that of mine.

My guess is that the person that the OP mentioned, that was bashing the Ibanez, probably never played one.

YMMV
IMO
IME



T$

 

[BobDeRosa]

Just use your built-in filter and screen out the ********.

 

[frankie5string]

Just remember that the vast majority of comments you see like those on Youtube or social-media videos are from people who are part of the arm-chair brigade - and many of them have never played live or held down a job as a musician.

Just be aware that most working musicians have very little time to comment on social media, never mind having time to make negative comments. Most of the time, musicians lift each other up and don't denigrate each other because of the tools they choose to use.

 

[John Webb]

I've heard bad sounding basses, but it's usually due to EQ and associated stuff in the amp.
Now, the fact that I love Fender basses is beside the point.

 

[mcnach]

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

File under "Ignore".

Enjoy what you like, make music with good people. You'll encounter idiots from time to time. If you want to have some fun, humour them and argue. If not, smile and carry on.

 

[Bassdirty]

I see a lot of people bag on Schecter basses online (including here on TalkBass), yet in the 10+ years I've spent in gigging bands and going to tons of shows, I saw a LOT of gigging/touring bassists playing Schecter Stiletto Studio basses. Those folks probably spent more time on stage than online.

Agreed.
Schecter is another brand that Feels/plays great, yet for some reason bashed a lot. but every single one that I've ever played "off the wall" at GC (of all places) had awesome feeling necks with very low action AND narrow string spacing. which I like. (same with their 6 string guitars- which I have owned). But hey, maybe some people like really high action. If that's the case, I can see someone not liking these low action, buttery smooth, easy to play instruments.

If I'm not mistaken, the do setups on every instrument before it leaves the factory. Unless that was a dream, or I'm just lying, I cant remember which. Either way, they are really nice to play.

To each their own.

 

[Element Zero]

He’s not someone you should be taking lessons from.

 

[Doctor Intrepid]

The Fender obsession seems like a new thing. It was never an issues when I was playing seriously in the 80s and early 90s. It now seems like a thing. That could be a trend or could be that we are exposed more to others via the internet. I've never owned a Fender, and likely never will and I never got any flack for it.

 

[BobDeRosa]

Nobody really cares what brand of bass you are playing - except for other bass players!

Hear, hear! Completely agree. We tend to worry way too much about this ••••. Grab a bass whose sound and feel you love and play the hell out of it.

 

[Bassdirty]

Personally I think the build quality of even the cheapest Ibanez SR series is better, or at least far more consistent, than any current MIA/MIM Fender. For me personally the SRs have a too bright and "modern" tone but they're amazing basses for the money, at every price point. The cheap, entry level 300E with the new Powerspan pickups is a SERIOUSLY good bass for the money. So good in fact that it only comes down to personal taste whether it would be better or worse than a $2000 MIA Fender.

The Talmans are more my type of bass than the SRs. It's a shame the Talmans don't use standard sized pickups that allows for easy upgrades. The Dynamix pickups arent't that great when run passive IMO and the routing for the Dynamix bridge J-pickup is slightly narrower than a standard bridge J-pickup. The more expensive Talmans with Nordstrands... well they're completely different sized pickups so not suitable for upgrades at all (but you probably won't buy one of those with the intention of replacing the pickups).

If they had made an entry level (TMB100 price range) PASSIVE long scale Talman with standard routing sizes for both pickups it could be a very nice alternative to MUCH more expensive Fenders after a pickup upgrade.

Ibanez makes GREAT instruments in every price range (probably only rivalled by Yamaha in that respect), they just haven't quite cracked the code on making "vintage vibe" instruments.

Quoted you just so I could give another LIKE.
In fact, here's 3 MORE since were here. So add these 4 to however many you have on this post.

 

[dkelley]

I only ever owned, actually owned, 2 fenders. one was a stratocaster... It wasn't nearly as good as I'd hoped it would be compared to the cheap entry level models and copies I've owned, and this was a USA limited edition one etc. Long sold. My other guitars are better.

The other was a Mexican P bass. It was great... with aftermarket pickup. I sold that to a guy who really wanted it.

I have PLAYED USA fender precisions that were fantastic that I loved, learned on one, rented one for a while several decades later, and have been loaned them by labels when they suited the sound.

My main bass brands over my main working years were Ibanez, Alembic, Hohner, Ernie Ball, Carvin. Some others at times including occasional Fender.

 

[dkelley]

One thing - passive fender basses are incredibly easy for a very experienced recording or live sound engineer to get a good sound out of, because it's kind of the standard.

So yes, you can mess that up with other basses unless you ( a ) know how to get a similar EQ and fundamentally good tone from your own bass, and ( b ) the engineer has experience with other basses and is willing to listen to your tone a bit when setting things up, and adjust accordingly.

 

[selowitch]

The only time I ever really had an encounter with prejudice against non-Fenders was at a recording studio. The main engineering guy saw me take out my US-made Precision Bass for a session and he nodded, gave me the thumbs-up, and said, “Glad this guy brought a real bass for me to record.”

He was a jerk.

It doesn’t matter if anybody approves of your gear choices. Play what you like and what inspires you to play. Sure, Fender is a respected brand but plenty of other brands are deserving of respect. Life is too short to be impeded by such pettiness.

I still have the Fender and yeah, it's nice—but so are my other basses.

 

[TheSeagoats]

I experienced this in my last band, the drummer was an audio recording major and thought that made him an expert on all things sound related. He said I should play a P bass through an Ampeg because that's "the bass sound."

 

[2F/2F]

Never read the comments.

 

[TrevorG]

View attachment 3775051 View attachment 3775051


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

This video I think was taken to heart by many.

 

[Killing Floor]

I think the love/hate balance is that NOBODY ***** ice cream! Every awesome, glorious factory and artisan or craftsman is capable of making an instrument that does not perfectly fit the needs of somebody. Likewise every mass production megafactory can produce something that sounds fantastic. Play what sounds and feels good to you and perform/record music that brings you joy.
Ooh, look, I'm an optimist even though I'm stuck in my house with my crazy people.
If it works for you let them hate.

 

[Pings Bass]

I'd like to see a photo of this genius...you know, just for laughs.
Other than that, I'll put up my L2000 against his Fender any day of the week.
I doubt if he's heard of G&L, I doubt if he's heard of Music Man, either, so he definitely should be schooled.
(I hope I don't sound like the typical YouTube troublemaker...usually I'm more of a pacifist.)

I was playing in a rock band last year, and we were auditioning a drummer. I exclusively played my tribby l-2500 (for various reasons, including that the leader/song writer liked the key of Bm and really liked that low B at times). The drummer asked what it was. He'd never heard of G&L. Then he asked me about my "stack" (we practiced ampless/iem). He wasn't impressed that I preferred ampless, and that my "stack" is a 1x12 and a micro head.

(FWIW, a L2K gets a nice thumpy sound in passive mode if that's what you're after, and can do all kinds of nice hot, bright bite in active mode, too.)

Anyway, play what works for you and the group. If you think you want to do classic rock session work, get a couple fenders, because producers can be dumb, just like drummers sometimes are.