Here's a Lakland. The width is spot on! But.....then there's a gap in the center
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How Is Fender USA Quality Control Soooo Horrible?
- Thread starter MARVIN MECKLER
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Are you the cat from post #15?
They’re stamped, cut with a die. Always have been.
Same as every other plate part. It’s way more cost effective.
If they don't pay attention to the things you CAN see, they DEFINITELY don't pay attention to the things you CAN'T.
They had to rebuild the house around the door so it could fit better without those gaps...
This thread can actually be very useful.
Make a list of everyone who can't see (or refuses to care about) the defect, then when one of those people either sells something on here (or builds something for sale), you can weigh their level of attention to detail and take that into consideration when they describe something as "perfect" or "mint", etc.
Make a list of everyone who can't see (or refuses to care about) the defect, then when one of those people either sells something on here (or builds something for sale), you can weigh their level of attention to detail and take that into consideration when they describe something as "perfect" or "mint", etc.
FullumMusic
Commercial User
- Oct 13, 2022
- 2,010
- 5,688
- Disclosures
- Audio/Music software developer, contracted with a company you've heard of and deving my own stuff.
Squier (*by Fender) can figure it out for 1/4 of the price new using a lot of the same components and supplies.
Of course, Squier has its own QC issues.
Had a friend who bought a Fender Jazz Ultra, and then was talking about how he needed to shim the neck because the action is a little high but the saddles were bottomed out, and that shimming is a perfectly normal acceptable thing to do for a bass. And like, yeah, maybe shimming is a perfectly reasonable repair, but on a brand new instrument, right out the factory, for the price of a Fender Ultra?
But also Fender can get away with it, because as long as they put that Fender sticker on the headstock, people will buy them and refuse to buy anything else because "Fender is the best" regardless of the actual quality of the instruments. {shrugs}
Of course, Squier has its own QC issues.
Had a friend who bought a Fender Jazz Ultra, and then was talking about how he needed to shim the neck because the action is a little high but the saddles were bottomed out, and that shimming is a perfectly normal acceptable thing to do for a bass. And like, yeah, maybe shimming is a perfectly reasonable repair, but on a brand new instrument, right out the factory, for the price of a Fender Ultra?
But also Fender can get away with it, because as long as they put that Fender sticker on the headstock, people will buy them and refuse to buy anything else because "Fender is the best" regardless of the actual quality of the instruments. {shrugs}
that's too bad...but it's a fender!
you might be expecting too much from the fender brand. OTOH, as with any brand: you can get lucky and the perfect player falls into your lap. hope your next fender is better. good luck! 
that's great...and they're fenders! 
agreed, for what they are = price is too high!
FullumMusic
Commercial User
- Oct 13, 2022
- 2,010
- 5,688
- Disclosures
- Audio/Music software developer, contracted with a company you've heard of and deving my own stuff.
Had this conversation too many times in my life:
"It's in mint condition!"
No. It's not dude. Mint condition means the exact condition it was minted in. The condition it would be in if you walked into the mint/factory/shop and grabbed the newly finished product. This is excellent condition at best, maybe very good condition, because of all these blemishes and you modified it.
"You don't know what you're talking about! This bass is in mint condition, and my modifications are upgrades that improve the price!"
A modified bass can't be "mint." Anything altered isn't mint.
"You don't know anything!"
Ok. Have fun selling it.
The line between your pickguard and control plate is MUCH better though.
Keep paying premium cash for those QC cutting names, guys. That'll show 'em!
*shrugs in Sire owner*
*shrugs in Sire owner*
Wait just a darn second. How did this get by the 55 point inspection performed by a highly trained Sales Engineer?
Actually, I did experience a major Sweetwater mishap.
They shipped a new Fender bass to me that they Plek'ed with a very low fret.
It was a terribly obvious mistake had they actually played the bass. It fretted out so bad that there was no note when you played anything above the xx fret (whichever fret it was).
They really dragged their feat on correcting the issue. They were happy to take my money and ship the bass out asap when I purchased it. However, when it came time to correct their mistake, they moved me to the end of the queue, so I had to call and raise hell about it. Sweetwater is also capable of poor customer service sometimes, unfortunately.
THIS is the most TELLING post in this thread.
You are actually complaining at the level of detail in my original post.
You seem a bit miffed that I included detailed up-close shots at different angles to highlight the defects for those who can't (or refuse to) see them (or care about them).
And, you liked the person's post who couldn't see anything amiss stating, "It looks ok to me."
Attention to detail is a great thing.
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This thread is a great example of why I don't pay for supporting membership anymore here
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 $$.
Oh my God...you're a designer and you couldn't see anything wrong with my bass???!!!?!???
Wow.
You have completely validated my previous post about making a list of people who think this is acceptable quality for $2000:
"This thread can actually be very useful.
Make a list of everyone who can't see (or refuses to care about) the defect, then when one of those people either sells something on here (or builds something for sale), you can weigh their level of attention to detail and take that into consideration when they describe something as 'perfect' or 'mint', etc."
Thank you.
I'm out.
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I’ll keep buying Warmoth parts and assemble them myself !
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