Hey Fender- This is NOT cool!

[Iridescentone]

Shame on me, you're right! The 70s Reissue Squier VMs are kind of an exception. They are maple instead of ash according to Fender, but the grain looks like ash to me.
I try to re-establish my public image by stating that Fender seems to care more about matching body parts when it is a natural finish mostly on ash wood bodies. I hope it works out for me

That's true, but it's not just Fender. All the production builders do that because buyers who choose natural ash want to see nice grain patterns. A company like G&L, for instance, charges extra for ash bodies, unlike many other builders. I don't recall ever seeing an ash G&L with flawed wood, but you will pay for it.

 

[bassbenj]

It is this kind of thing that makes me such a fan of SX basses. Three piece bodies in ash and alder that may or may not be perfectly matched. You just have to ask yourself if you feel luckly? Well, do ya? I"ve really been quite SX lucky. My first SX was hideous light and dark alder. Plays and sounds like a champ. I still have it. I have a number of SX basses in natural that are perfectly matched. Just luck of the draw. But I only paid a couple hundred bucks for them at most. Take my Tribute G&L. Ash body grain so-so matched. Not horrible, not killer. Was a decent price. But both my USA G&L have grain to die for as well they should at that price point. Hey, If I start laying out some big bread for a bass I expect that one of the things I"m paying for is for the person making the bass to use their judgment to pick out some decently matched pieces of wood. Otherwise, what am I paying for? I might as well go SX and trust to luck.

Let me add that my Fender MIM Jazz V is about 12 sticks of alder glued together covered with an alder veneer so it looks like a one piece alder body (it's burst). To my ears and sensitivity I find exactly ZERO difference between 12 alder sticks glued together and say a three piece body. Add the alder veneer top and that bass has not only the sound, the feel, but the looks as well. Why would I pay a bunch more to have discolored wood stripes? I can get that for a lot less with SX.

 

[40Hz]

I've seen the same thing on other brands including on the tops of Gibson Les Pauls with $2K+ price tags. Usually you'll see these in the big chainstores like GC.

I guess the old practice of calling a "second" a "second" has gone by the wayside - like so many other things in manufacturing these days.

As long as the eventual buyer doesn't care about it, I guess I won't either.

 

[RedJag]

I would ask for a discount because of it, then paint nitro over it, and relic the nitro with the sunburst showing through. See attached for example.

 

[slagheap]

I had a couple of hours to kill today and I was in the hood so I stopped in the local Sam Ash which features the Hartke bass lounge.

Now, I am a Fender MIJ and MIM guy. So much so that I sold all my USA P basses. But I never really logged much time on a USA jazz so I Gavr one a test drive. It felt great but when I hung it back up I noticed it looked like this:

View attachment 960641

I mean for $1200 this is the best Fender could do to match top woods?!

By way of comparison here is a $230 Squier:

View attachment 960649

And a $340 Squier

View attachment 960655

And a MIM jazz for $599

View attachment 960657

This is NOT ok Fender. If you are going to charge $1200 for a TSB Jazz you have to do a better job!!!

If that's the only thing wrong with it count yourself lucky. Fender build quality...rolls eyes.

 

[rogerbmiller]

Ah another "my squier is better than any usa fender bass" thread. Listen to me, my fender american standard jazz bass has a pefrectly matched 3 piece alder body, trust me!
here it is:
View attachment 960809

No! Squiers are not better basses.

Issue here is that there was a $1200 USA fender in a store that looked way worse than the $200 Squiers.

Fender owes us a better job than that.

 

[fretter]

problem solved

Fender Precision bass

• fretter
• Sep 12, 2015

custom shop mockup

smart aleck remark aside, there are some really nice looking instruments at the lower price points

 

[Papalampraina]

One remark and one question to the OP.
Question: Multiple-part body aside, did it play well? Because I think that's the main thing with a good bass.
Remark: If you didn't like it, don't buy it. I'm sure someone will.

 

[Planespotter]

Fender did a pretty good job matching the 3 piece body of my '00 MIA P. Not that it matters as its a tone monster and plays great so it doesn't need looks to get by! Fwiw I paid $640 for it brand new in 2000 which was allegedly dealer cost for the store I worked at. I think they retailed for $800 ish back then.

 

[rogerbmiller]

One remark and one question to the OP.
Question: Multiple-part body aside, did it play well? Because I think that's the main thing with a good bass.
Remark: If you didn't like it, don't buy it. I'm sure someone will.

It played fine. Not as well as my MIMs but then I didn't get to set this up to my liking. Neck on this one felt pretty nice.

But I couldn't get past the poor wood matching. Should have had a single piece top no?

 

[petrus61]

You should take a look at some of Laklands "choice" matching for their Skyline series. It makes these look bookmatched by comparison and those are almost as much (equal in some cases) as the AmStd's. FWIW, Fenders with trans finishes have been looking like this to one degree or another pretty much since day one.

 

[Papalampraina]

It played fine. Not as well as my MIMs but then I didn't get to set this up to my liking. Neck on this one felt pretty nice.

But I couldn't get past the poor wood matching. Should have had a single piece top no?

I'm sure that a personal touch would have made it a great axe. But as for the single piece top, I think that peoples' tastes vary. Also, we all have different pet peeves, so what bothers you, probably doesn't bother most.

 

[Planespotter]

I think the big takeaway here is to not try and force yourself to like it, because it will always bother you. When your laying out your hard earned money you should be 100% happy with it, especially if it's new. Now flawed used gear that's priced right is a different story for another thread haha.

 

[bluesblaster]

I had a couple of hours to kill today and I was in the hood so I stopped in the local Sam Ash which features the Hartke bass lounge.

Now, I am a Fender MIJ and MIM guy. So much so that I sold all my USA P basses. But I never really logged much time on a USA jazz so I Gavr one a test drive. It felt great but when I hung it back up I noticed it looked like this:

View attachment 960641

I mean for $1200 this is the best Fender could do to match top woods?!

By way of comparison here is a $230 Squier:

View attachment 960649

And a $340 Squier

View attachment 960655

And a MIM jazz for $599

View attachment 960657

This is NOT ok Fender. If you are going to charge $1200 for a TSB Jazz you have to do a better job!!!

and yet people will pay big money to have someone do that to there bass so it looks "worn" it probably happened when some kid was slammin away on it and the staff never bothered to notice

 

[petrus61]

and yet people will pay big money to have someone do that to there bass so it looks "worn" it probably happened when some kid was slammin away on it and the staff never bothered to notice

Yep. Some kid was slapping away and BAM! Changed the grain pattern just like that.

 

[west al]

A couple of ways to get around the mismatched woods. Buy it from the store, on the floor, or order it on line from an online dealer that shows the actual instrument that can be purchased.

 

[rogerbmiller]

and yet people will pay big money to have someone do that to there bass so it looks "worn" it probably happened when some kid was slammin away on it and the staff never bothered to notice

Huh?

 

[BlueAliceOasis]

What am I supposed to be looking at?

 

[D-Smith]

Some of the "mismatched" basses would not appear to be mismatched at all when they were first glued up. It's only when stain is applied that the two pieces take on a different appearance. This is due to the grain in one piece having more runout then the other. Runout exposes more endgrain on the face of the wood. Endgrain soaks up more stain, so the piece with more runout takes on more color and is generally darker than the piece with less.

 

[rogerbmiller]

Yep. Some kid was slapping away and BAM! Changed the grain pattern just like that.

Thanks for clearing that post up for us. For a minute there I though whoever wrote it must not have read the OP.