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Hey Fender- This is NOT cool!
- Thread starter rogerbmiller
- Start date
Oh no!
I'm getting a mental image of desperate nit pickers assaulting their local GC and Sam Ash stores, armed with a set of feeler gauges and a camera, poking at all the Fenders and Squiers to see which ones are "best", then "reporting" back to Gawkbass.com with their astounding findings.
Thanks for that graphic image!
This type of thing keeps me up at night.Oh no!
I'm getting a mental image of desperate nit pickers assaulting their local GC and Sam Ash stores, armed with a set of feeler gauges and a camera, poking at all the Fenders and Squiers to see which ones are "best", then "reporting" back to Gawkbass.com with their astounding findings.
Thanks for that graphic image!
Indeed. We have a lot of fun. Our little group vacillates between a support group and a group of enablers!
I'm in the camp of not caring about my wood grain matching... Honestly before this thread I don't think I ever thought about it. I also have never spent $1000 on a bass before...
And to think...if that bass the OP saw had been finished in Olympic White, we all would probably have back the fifteen minutes of our life that we spent reading this thread .
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And to think...if that bass the OP saw had been finished in Olympic White, we all would probably have back the fifteen minutes of our life that we spent reading this thread
Correct. Thanks Fender
Not being a luthier or a woodworker, I have a hunch that ash is easier to match up than alder.
The grain is so visible, and although quite straight when think and thin stripes are aligned together no matter how mismatched it still seems to come from one plank very often.
As long as the grain orientation is similar of course, and I bet you don't get those anamolies that only show up after varnishing.
The grain is so visible, and although quite straight when think and thin stripes are aligned together no matter how mismatched it still seems to come from one plank very often.
As long as the grain orientation is similar of course, and I bet you don't get those anamolies that only show up after varnishing.
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
Yes, I am. If it's not ash, then I stand corrected. Maybe it's alder. Either way, it looks like one big slab of wood. It isn't, but it's well matched.
Really? Look at my '78 fender stratocaster (3 piece ash body):
Yes, based on that one example I take it all back.
But if you are willing to consider what I actually said, take look at your bass and think how much more matched it would look if you flipped one of the peices around top to bottom.
It might actually support my hunch.
I just went to the 34th st Sam Ash a few hours ago and saw the bass in the OP. his picture does not do justice to how bad a job they did with that body.
If it was just the mismatched wood it would be one thing, but i also noticed that there is a significant (imo) dent in the finish that goes all the way up the body where those two pieces of wood meet. i would not buy that bass at any price. having said that, YMMV. a deal breaker for me may be a deal for you.
If it was just the mismatched wood it would be one thing, but i also noticed that there is a significant (imo) dent in the finish that goes all the way up the body where those two pieces of wood meet. i would not buy that bass at any price. having said that, YMMV. a deal breaker for me may be a deal for you.
OK at this point I'm beyond curious myself. I'll be in the city on Wednesday and will try to get to Sam Ash and take a peak at it...
I have a 2014 MIA P sunburst that is mismatched too. It is a great bass that is my main gig bass. No one has ever noticed the wood doesn't match. I've gotten plenty compliments on the sound though.
Here is an idea - if it bothers you don't buy one. Problem solved. It amazes me that so many people spend so much time complaining about something they aren't going to buy anyway.
This is cosmetics. There are colors I don't like so I don't buy them. This is no different. If you like better grain look for one with better grain, just as I look for one in a color I like.
Here is an idea - if it bothers you don't buy one. Problem solved. It amazes me that so many people spend so much time complaining about something they aren't going to buy anyway.
This is cosmetics. There are colors I don't like so I don't buy them. This is no different. If you like better grain look for one with better grain, just as I look for one in a color I like.
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Complaining about what Fender did.
Complaining about others complaining about what Fender did.
I love Fender but that bass is ugly, never should have made it out of the factory. Have standards, hold your product to those standards. Simple.
For the people who defend it that's cool too. Lot's of people like unattractive things, nothing to get all worked up over.
Complaining about others complaining about what Fender did.
I love Fender but that bass is ugly, never should have made it out of the factory. Have standards, hold your product to those standards. Simple.
For the people who defend it that's cool too. Lot's of people like unattractive things, nothing to get all worked up over.
I'm late to the party as usual, but I pretty much echo the OP's opinion. If I'm going to plunk down more than a grand then I want my grain to match. I think they've changed things now, but I remember in the mid '00's where it seemed that every trans-finish Lakland Skyline Hollowbody (I was obsessed with that bass for a while) I saw had mutliple obvious wood match lines. Now of course it was an import, but it was a $1300 import!
If it's a cheap bass I don't care. My LTD Vintage 214 had an obvious line like that, but as it was a $300 bass that played like a $600 MIM Fender It didn't bother me at all. Likewise grain mismatch doesn't bother on my T-40 or former T-45.
Everyone knows that as the price of a bass goes up you get diminishing returns as far as upgrades, but once a bass passes $1000 bucks one of the things you should expect to see improvement on is the selection and alignment of the wood grain.
If it's a cheap bass I don't care. My LTD Vintage 214 had an obvious line like that, but as it was a $300 bass that played like a $600 MIM Fender It didn't bother me at all. Likewise grain mismatch doesn't bother on my T-40 or former T-45.
Everyone knows that as the price of a bass goes up you get diminishing returns as far as upgrades, but once a bass passes $1000 bucks one of the things you should expect to see improvement on is the selection and alignment of the wood grain.
I know the popular trend is saying Squire or Mexican Fender basses are just as good as USA but I 100% disagree. I tried using both instead of my USA jazz bass and hated it. The fretwork, neck, pickups and overall feel did not even come close to the USA. If I was a bedroom warrior I would have no problem with it. But 100+/gigs per year no chance I could make the switch full time.
I also sand all the lacquer of my USA Fenders so that also makes a difference in comparing how the neck feels to other models.
I also sand all the lacquer of my USA Fenders so that also makes a difference in comparing how the neck feels to other models.
just got an oiled bacchus jazz and the woodgrain is matched and the fret ends are dressed perfectly there is no excessive nut glue, no weak pickups, and no questionable hardware (the bass is heavy, but i can deal with that since i saved way more than a wider strap will cost)
I'm in the group of if it was on a squire and it played well i'd buy it and paint it a solid color but for a $1200 bass I shouldn't need to do that it should be high quality out of the factory, presumably the reason why people by MIA fenders is for the better build quality out of the factory so if the build quality coming out of the American factory is starting to get worse then the others we should just start buying MIM or Squires and upgrading the electronics.
I don't mind it if grains don't match up and you can tell where the joints are like some of the other posts in this thread but the fact the color is completely out is what bugs me. (My main bass being a neck through 5 piece where its obvious there are joins).
I don't mind it if grains don't match up and you can tell where the joints are like some of the other posts in this thread but the fact the color is completely out is what bugs me. (My main bass being a neck through 5 piece where its obvious there are joins).
Here is an update. Today I went to Sam Ash again and as I expected would eventually happen, found the bass on the clouseout wall. However they did not reduce the price?!
