SirMjac28
Patiently Waiting For The Next British Invasion
On a side note has anyone else notice how fast zombies are getting? I don't have chance against these new Usain Bolt zombies.
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Hey Fender- This is NOT cool!
- Thread starter rogerbmiller
- Start date
never mind,.... didn't see the top wood part, it looked like there was a piece of paint missing above the bridge but on closer inspection its most likely a reflection, my bad
Actually they don't owe you anything, they just didn't do a very good job on that one and some other not so picky person will buy it and life will go on
This would likely be a deal breaker for me as well at that price point unless a bass with that kind of grain mismatch just had THE TONE...and then I'd just refinish it Lake Placid Blue. 
I wouldn't exactly fault Fender for building basses to certain price and points but this kind of stuff is why I'd be very unlikely to spend my money on any Fender; I have my Fender P and J basses already for those bandleader's that need to see that logo so I'm now free to buy other basses which suit my tastes and wallet more.
I wouldn't exactly fault Fender for building basses to certain price and points but this kind of stuff is why I'd be very unlikely to spend my money on any Fender; I have my Fender P and J basses already for those bandleader's that need to see that logo so I'm now free to buy other basses which suit my tastes and wallet more.
This thread is why I buy solid color finishes.
Because I'm not buying furniture.
I really don't care.
Because I'm not buying furniture.
I really don't care.
If I'm paying $1,200 bucks for a bass, I'm paying primarily for the right feel/action, good tone, and so on. I'd buy that bass if it fit my playing/tone criteria.
This is completely untrue and total garbage. Early MIM fenders might have had a veneer but we're talking way back in the early 90s. I am so sick of these photos popping up again here on talkbass... they don't 'prove' anything. Could be from any factory anywhere. I've never seen anyone actually show photos of a Mexican fender that had a veneer top.The Squiers and even some mexican Fenders have a thin alder veneer put on top of 5-12 parts of unmatched alder or poplar parts. So the comparison isn't fair. Some of the Squiers aren't even alder. As others have mentined before: some players sometimes even love the brutalism and honesty of unmatched parts. I wouldn't care about it if I like the bass. It would influence my decision if it would be ash under a natural finish. Even many of the real vintage Fenders from the 60s are not so well matched parts of wood, often 3-4 pieces.
The early Fullerton reissues are known for this too.
The mexican plant and their multipart bodies:
The veneer on top of the parts:
So let me get this straight...
Fender has the option to match wood better than that. They can willfully set aside bodies that match better than others. They are staffed by people who are paid to be instrument building professionals. It would literally take minutes for them to do that.
They could take a stack of matched wood bodies, put them in a rack marked "trans finish" and then send them to be finished.
And they could also have a rack called "solid color" and do the same thing with the remaining bodies...
But despite their ever-increasing prices on said basses, they opt not to. Does that sound about like what this is?
Because if so, that's sad.
BUT... let's say it was a mistake. Wrong body got put on the wrong rack.
It gets sent through the process, sanded, finished, buffed, assembled, boxed, shipped, tagged and sent to the floor and NO ONE said anything about that being rather off for such a high-priced bass?
That really points to bad QC on so may levels. ALSO SAD.
I'm not saying it's new either, but is it so wrong to expect that with these climbing prices, we could at least expect a modicum of quality control? If they want to put out lesser products for more money, that's literally their business to do so. But I hope they understand that people see them doing stupid things and get saddened by it.
Fender has the option to match wood better than that. They can willfully set aside bodies that match better than others. They are staffed by people who are paid to be instrument building professionals. It would literally take minutes for them to do that.
They could take a stack of matched wood bodies, put them in a rack marked "trans finish" and then send them to be finished.
And they could also have a rack called "solid color" and do the same thing with the remaining bodies...
But despite their ever-increasing prices on said basses, they opt not to. Does that sound about like what this is?
Because if so, that's sad.
BUT... let's say it was a mistake. Wrong body got put on the wrong rack.
It gets sent through the process, sanded, finished, buffed, assembled, boxed, shipped, tagged and sent to the floor and NO ONE said anything about that being rather off for such a high-priced bass?
That really points to bad QC on so may levels. ALSO SAD.
I'm not saying it's new either, but is it so wrong to expect that with these climbing prices, we could at least expect a modicum of quality control? If they want to put out lesser products for more money, that's literally their business to do so. But I hope they understand that people see them doing stupid things and get saddened by it.
With most quality products, that outcome would be considered a "second", wouldn't it?
I'm sorry but that is silly. These posts sound like they are all from Fender shills! When you pay the money for a higher priced item, the aesthetics are a major part of it. Go ahead and pay $2K for a mismatched "tone master", and then bitch and moan when no one wants to pay more than $200 for the cheap-looking POS down the road... Ok, so it's "hard" to match alder, so??? It's done. All. The. Time... And for that price point, it should be a given. Period. You get a 17-piece body that looks like poopie? Send it thru the LPB line!
The OP is 100% on point. That is poor quality for Fender... And all the Fender-apologists masquerading as "only the TONE matters, dude! We promise!" can go back to their cabal... How ridiculous! Do they actually expect a reasonable person to accept such a lame argument?
This "$@(& me in the @$$, and I will thank you later" attitude is exactly why Fender gets away with it in the first place.
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For fifty-plus years I've been reading/hearing the OP's gripe. Yeah, I'm an old guy and I assure you that there's nothing new or extraordinary about loudly pointing out flaws in things you weren't going to buy anyway.
If you didn't actually buy the instrument you have nothing to grouse about and you'd make your point much better by buying something that meets your wants (a.k.a. "high standards") and then telling Fender, or whoever it may be, that you just bought elsewhere and why. It's known as voting with your feet. If you did buy an unsatisfactory instrument without noticing something significant before laying down your money then it's entirely on you for failing to exercise due diligence.
Flame on!!
If you didn't actually buy the instrument you have nothing to grouse about and you'd make your point much better by buying something that meets your wants (a.k.a. "high standards") and then telling Fender, or whoever it may be, that you just bought elsewhere and why. It's known as voting with your feet. If you did buy an unsatisfactory instrument without noticing something significant before laying down your money then it's entirely on you for failing to exercise due diligence.
Flame on!!
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It's called character. If it plays & sounds good, someone will buy it.
People buy things for their reasons, not ours.
People buy things for their reasons, not ours.
You get what you pay for. Or at least, you should.
For $200-$300 you get an instrument that will play notes when you pluck the strings and probably stay in tune most of the time.
Spend more money and you get better functionality. $1,000 should get you a bass that sounds great and plays like extremely well. It should also have an appearance free of any noticeable defects.
I truly believe that upwards of $1,000 you are paying for extra attention to detail and for "luxury" options.
The bottom line: if I spend $1,200 on a standard MIA Fender, then it's unacceptable for there to be such a mismatch of top woods.
But my opinion is meaningless here since I would never spend $1,200 on a Fender MIA bass because there are a bazillion of them out there that look the pretty much the same. Whenever I've spent more than $1,000 on a bass it's because I found something unusual or unique in some way. Or else, I bought a less expensive bass and then spent money to upgrade components.
For $200-$300 you get an instrument that will play notes when you pluck the strings and probably stay in tune most of the time.
Spend more money and you get better functionality. $1,000 should get you a bass that sounds great and plays like extremely well. It should also have an appearance free of any noticeable defects.
I truly believe that upwards of $1,000 you are paying for extra attention to detail and for "luxury" options.
The bottom line: if I spend $1,200 on a standard MIA Fender, then it's unacceptable for there to be such a mismatch of top woods.
But my opinion is meaningless here since I would never spend $1,200 on a Fender MIA bass because there are a bazillion of them out there that look the pretty much the same. Whenever I've spent more than $1,000 on a bass it's because I found something unusual or unique in some way. Or else, I bought a less expensive bass and then spent money to upgrade components.
I get the feeling most of you who find this an issue have never finished a piece of wood, let alone 2 pieces glued together. Putting stain and gloss finish only magnifies any differences in the wood grain. They very well may have been perfectly matched at the factory before they were finished.
It's such a non-issue. Who cares? Move on with life.
It's such a non-issue. Who cares? Move on with life.
I think it demonstrates that Fender doesn't consider matching top woods to be an important feature. It's not in their books.
I had a MIA P bass that had a quarter sized knot in the top wood in a very visible area. It looked a bit off, but played fine.
