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How Is Fender USA Quality Control Soooo Horrible?

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#201
$2100 for a Fender? My problem is Fender charging over $1000 for any of their basses!

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#202
fhm555 said:
Given the volume of production and price point they hit, Fender's QC is somewhat above average. If you want perfection in every aspect of every unit produced, why are you even bothering with Fender. If you want perfection, buy Fodera or Alembic. If OTOH, you want above average quality in a mass produced instrument, Fender is your huckleberry. If you want the same playability with lower cost, shop Fender's MIM line, the level of finish is not as high as their MIA line, but the playability is there and for less than half the cost of an MIA. If you want perfection there are plenty of boutique houses where perfection is the norm, but not at the Fender price point. Nothing personal, but waddya want fer nutin??? A ruuuuubbbber biscuit?? :D
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is this sarcasm? that thing looks like it came from a high school " intro to metal shop " class.
 
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#204
Matt-J2 said:
Simple answer is tolerance stacking.

Longer answer is still tolerance stacking, but with more words. Every single screw hole has a dimension from one or more surfaces on the body of the bass. So does the neck pocket, and the routing for the pickups, control cavity, etc.

All of these have an amount +/- they can deviate from that dimension. The tighter that tolerance, the more time and cost you incur holding that tolerance. A CNC machine is very good at holding tolerances, but it is not, nor can it ever be, perfect.

So as a designer* we have to decide what areas need to be held closest, and which ones can vary. In the case of a Jazz bass, I'd try to nail the neck pocket, and the pickups and bridge will all be based on that pocket, because those are more location critical based on distance from the frets, alignment with the neck, and so on. The control cavity can more or less be wherever, so who cares.

The pickguard is kind of the same. By itself it's really of no importance, except that here, you have a choice to make. It's relieved to go around the pickup, and to fit around the control plate. So which do you favor? Well, since the pickup is an important piece, you probably want the pickup opening to be favored, which means that the control plate isn't.

So, you have a tolerance for the neck pocket, which impacts the pickup position which itself has a tolerance, which impacts both location and angle of the pickguard, and it's interface with the control plate, which of course has it's own location tolerance.

And this doesn't even get into the fact that both pickguard and control plate have their own overall dimensional tolerances from their separate manufacturing processes that will impact all of the above. For example, even if all the above mentioned holes and routings in the bass body are 100% accurate with no deviation, if the opening in the pickguard is off and at a slight angle, then it's interface with the control plate will be off.

Some of this can be helped with order of operations, like maybe not drill the screw holes for the pickguard until the pickup placement is set (using a template over the pickup, perhaps) or by doing some final fit/finish work by hand, like trimming a bit off the pickguard so it doesn't look out of place, or reshaping the end of the control plate, etc. But that takes a lot of extra time and ends up with bespoke parts that can't always be easily replaced later, as any replacement would need to be fitted as well.

TL : DR- Tolerances impact tolerances, machines aren't perfect, and getting as close as one can will cost more in time, money, or both.

*- I'm a mechanical designer who has done work with stamped, bent, machined, etc bits of metal and plastic. There is almost always an option to hold tighter tolerances, but cost is a big factor. If nothing else, the machine runs slower to keep those tolerances. Some machines are better than others of course, but those usually also cost more. Always about the $$.
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Manufacturing/process engineer here. I really appreciate you taking the time to write a detailed explanation. I see a lot of people on here who think CNC is magic.
 
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#209
MARVIN MECKLER said:
Over the last 40+ years I've owned dozens upon dozens of USA, Mexican, Chinese, Korean, and Indonesian Fenders and Squiers. Some amazing, some perfect, some ok, some kinda bad. Some of the Chinese Squiers, alarmingly, have been absolutely perfect. Every now and then, a USA Fender is as well.

However.

I have never seen such non-existent quality control and pisspoor attention to detail in 40+ years as this latest purchase, a new $1900 (before tax) American Professional II Jazz Bass in Miami Blue that no less than FIVE people signed off on.

View attachment 5472182

View attachment 5472173

View attachment 5472170

$2097.60 with tax.

$2100!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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It's not ideal but not fundamental. I've seen a lot worse. I've seen poorly cut neck pockets and weird stuff going on with the neck, body etc. This is superficial so I wouldn't worry about it if everything else is good. It's a mass produced bass, probably overpriced, but Fender Jazz or P are still the best basses. I agree another poster who mentioned that Japanese Fenders are probably better these days, at least in terms of attention to detail. Don't worry about the plastic, they expand and contract over time anyway. If the wood and electronics are put together nicely then you're good for the next 50 - 100 years.
 
#211
Aussie Player said:
It makes money by eliminating defective product from production costs.

Doing nothing, the popular method allows it to grow and degenerate the company image. Worst still, it tells emlloyees that producing defective product is ok.

Most managers are the real trash in a company. Bigger companies just subdivide the trash. Quality Systems prove this to be true. Quality Auditors never don't speak of it.

When Quality Standards are revised, Management reponsibility is usually the most overhauled area for that reason.
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Guess my sarcasm went over your head.

I forget whether missing the sarcasm is an example of a Type I or a Type II error. It's been over 25 years since doing that stuff in stats. :D
 
#217
I don't get these rage threads. Nobody is forcing anybody to buy a Fender anything, so why get all heated up about it? Return it, and move on with your life.

FWIW, these threads banging a pot about how Fender's QC has dropped have been on Talkbass since I joined in 2007. When was this magical heyday for Fender exactly, when everything shipped perfectly to Sweetwater or your nearest Guitar Center?

Also FWIW, I have several flawless MIA Fenders that I bought *used*. For a lot less than the retail price at supposed value-added retailers who don't inspect before they put gear on the floor.

I actually hope OP does *not* buy anything from me in the TB Classifieds.
 
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