Could you quote a particular "posture and seizure" that gets you off the most caaaaaauuuuse it looks like that's all in your head.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
I’ve gone Fenderless
- Thread starter El Trueno
- Start date
- Status
I’m currently playing 3 Jazz basses. 2 are Fenders, one is an “SX Custom Handmade”. The SX can never be sold, because some family members bought it for me during a period of unemployment. The only mod is a set of SD SJB-3’s. I’ve gigged it, it looks nice, and it’s perfectly adequate.
My Fenders are MIA from a period when Fender tried to “modernize” their basses, but I guess the modern ones didn’t sell as well.
Fender Jazz Plus- 1990-1991. Came with Lace Sensors and a Kubicki-designed preamp. Currently has an EMG setup. Less tha 9 lbs., I like it a lot.
1992 Fender American Standard Jazz Bass- all original, I checked. This one has the 22-fret micro-tilt neck, TBX tone control, and the extended upper horn. The so-called “longhorn Jazz”. I wanted one, I bought it, and I like it. If you want some quality criticisms, I can find them, but there’s nothing that bothers me. Neck pocket is pretty much perfect, the neck slides in and out with just a hint of resistance. To me, it sounds like a Fender Jazz Bass, I.e., really good.
The SX is, I’m guessing, worth maybe $100. I leave it at the rehearsal space, and do all of our rehearsing with it.
The Fenders are probably worth ~$1000 each, and they are somewhat better than the SX, in both materials and playability.
Everyone’s an individual. Play what you like. I like my “modern” 22-fret Fenders.
My Fenders are MIA from a period when Fender tried to “modernize” their basses, but I guess the modern ones didn’t sell as well.
Fender Jazz Plus- 1990-1991. Came with Lace Sensors and a Kubicki-designed preamp. Currently has an EMG setup. Less tha 9 lbs., I like it a lot.
1992 Fender American Standard Jazz Bass- all original, I checked. This one has the 22-fret micro-tilt neck, TBX tone control, and the extended upper horn. The so-called “longhorn Jazz”. I wanted one, I bought it, and I like it. If you want some quality criticisms, I can find them, but there’s nothing that bothers me. Neck pocket is pretty much perfect, the neck slides in and out with just a hint of resistance. To me, it sounds like a Fender Jazz Bass, I.e., really good.
The SX is, I’m guessing, worth maybe $100. I leave it at the rehearsal space, and do all of our rehearsing with it.
The Fenders are probably worth ~$1000 each, and they are somewhat better than the SX, in both materials and playability.
Everyone’s an individual. Play what you like. I like my “modern” 22-fret Fenders.
A real shame that you've gone through such a bad run with Fenders, but good that you've found a bass that hits the sweet spot. I'm a Fender guy. I have an Am Pro II that is likely the nicest bass that I've ever played in terms of playability and comfort. I did swap the pups for GZRs, but the originals weren't bad, just wanted a different tonal range. I have a Performer P and J that I really enjoy (especially rewiring the Jazz with a series option). However, I recently bought a MusicMan Stingray Special and absolutely love it! The tone, the weight...everything! Like or not, it's so much fun to try different basses.
I've had four Fenders, two FGN-built Jazz Specials from the 80s, a MIJ Jag Deluxe and China-made Starcaster. They've all been excellent. Always dreamed of an American-made Jazz bass, but ended up with an FGN Mighty Jazz. It does what I need. I don't hate Fender at all, but I'm a bit odd and gravitate to odd basses.
I'm a Fenderboy. 7 Fender basses and 3 guitars. Most are some level of good or great. One exception, my American Deluxe Precision. It is ok, at best, after working and working with it. But I sympathize with you and others, as I've ready many comments like yours. And I agree with you. If my experience was like yours I'd be right there with you. I almost feel guilty, having fairly good Fender instruments. I'm definitely not offended at your comments.
Please, can you tell me how "cojpnes" should be pronounced?
I've been Fenderless since August 2003. It's ok. The quality of my life hasn't changed. The quality of my basses has. 
M. M.
M. M.
I agree with the first part of your statement, but I also will posit that for the better part of at least two decades, it WAS true. Getting your first Fender was a rite of passage, especially if your first bass was a Teisco-ish, Getting a Fender bass and a Bassman or Showman amp was like landing on Boardwalk in Monopoly.
Fender attained its dominance in the 1950s due to (1) lack of competition, (2) primitive recording technology, and 3) timidity/sloth of recording engineers. At that time the only quality bass competition to Fender was Gibson, who marketed their bass much less aggressively than Fender and whose design had some "quirks" (that endpin). By the time Ric introduced the 4000 in 1957 and Magnatone their Mark VI bass in 1959, first place was Fender's to lose.
And by that time recording engineers had figured out how to integrate the Fender sound into their recording technology and preferred to stick with the devil they knew. With a Fender bass they knew they could just set the console on auto-pilot; no additional tweaking necessary.
So by the time those of us in the sixties started playing, Fender was the iconic brand, and obtaining one for those from less affluent families was like finding the Grail.
Fenders sound really good but IMO they are kind of ugly. I never really liked the æsthetic of them. Yes they are iconic but they don’t inspire me. I feel the same way about Gibson basses. Some of them are iconic but I have zero desire to own one.
If I were to get another bass, I’d much rather buy a Spector.
If I were to get another bass, I’d much rather buy a Spector.
Oh my. Get real, drama king.
But let's all hope Fender reads this...so they can like...save their legacy 'n stuff.
I'll just throw this out:
I started playing in 1998 witha Yamaha BBN5 that I picked up at a pawn shop for $275. My bass instructor (who happened to teach on the exact same bass (pure coincidence), recommend I get 18 volt bartolini pickups, and I did. Brought the total price up to around $800. I like that bass.
I have five more, but I never paid more than $150 for any of them and I got them all off Rondomusic when they had good prices and selection. Only one needed a lot of tweaking, but I got it off their scratch and dent side, so "beggars can't be choosers". And that one is absolutely beautiful and is now my main church bass. It's a six string.
The rest are all great. Fun to play, sound good, look absolutely beautiful. I'd never own a Fender or a Squire because BOTH are too expensive for my blood. I see a bass as a tool, and all of my tools do exactly what I bought them to do and I have no complaints.
And yes, I've played fenders, squires, Music man, etc. (Though I've never payed a rick). I love all my basses. But it may be that my expectations are not all that high. Seriously.
FWIW, the only bass brand that has stood out to me is Peavey. I'm not a fan of their amps, but every time I pick up a peavey I'm amazed at how good they sound and are easy to play. I dunno. Gimme another beer...
I started playing in 1998 witha Yamaha BBN5 that I picked up at a pawn shop for $275. My bass instructor (who happened to teach on the exact same bass (pure coincidence), recommend I get 18 volt bartolini pickups, and I did. Brought the total price up to around $800. I like that bass.
I have five more, but I never paid more than $150 for any of them and I got them all off Rondomusic when they had good prices and selection. Only one needed a lot of tweaking, but I got it off their scratch and dent side, so "beggars can't be choosers". And that one is absolutely beautiful and is now my main church bass. It's a six string.
The rest are all great. Fun to play, sound good, look absolutely beautiful. I'd never own a Fender or a Squire because BOTH are too expensive for my blood. I see a bass as a tool, and all of my tools do exactly what I bought them to do and I have no complaints.
And yes, I've played fenders, squires, Music man, etc. (Though I've never payed a rick). I love all my basses. But it may be that my expectations are not all that high. Seriously.
FWIW, the only bass brand that has stood out to me is Peavey. I'm not a fan of their amps, but every time I pick up a peavey I'm amazed at how good they sound and are easy to play. I dunno. Gimme another beer...
Fender's QC is a lot like Harley Davidson's. It can be a bit shaky but hey, it's a Harley/Fender.
p.s. I've owned a couple Harley's too
p.s. I've owned a couple Harley's too
Last edited by a moderator:
I have a 2008 American Standard P Bass that is just perfect. Sounds and plays great. Couldn't be better. That's my anecdotal experience with Fender.
I sold my '94 Japanese Jazz Bass a couple of years ago. The biggest problem I had with it was the low E string wouldn't intonate correctly above about the 7th fret no matter how I adjusted the bridge. I changed the nut and tried different strings but it was always the same. The bass also had an annoying hum and a low output compared to my two non-Fender basses. I might have still kept it because it looked great but got a good price when I sold it.
I had and stupidly sold an American Standard p-bass that was the 1st release after Fender employees bought the company. It was perfect because it had to be. Not the case these days.
yep, play whatever the heck you like. Getting the job done with a decent sound is more than enough to get you work.
Having said that, I am old enough to remember the "before times" before Squier, before MIM and MIJ when you just had Precision, Jazz, and a few others like mustangs and what. When we bought these basses back in the 70's they were considered half formed animals that needed work to become truly good instruments. A proper setup, possibly upgraded components, etc. and you had a pretty decent bass. Lots of guys still play 70's basses like that. I am thinking of a few like Freddie Washington and Marcus Miller for example. I think the 60's basses were a bit nicer but still - players from that period like Carol Kaye complained that there were a lot of bad basses on the wall even then, and you had to be careful and play them all until you found what you were after. I have always felt that any bass I bought needed work to fine tune it into what I was happy with. Fender is no exception to that rule any less than other brands. The thing about Fenders is that they were early designs that worked well, so I am happy to see these designs being used in a larger universe where FSO's abound that are of high quality.
Having said that, I am old enough to remember the "before times" before Squier, before MIM and MIJ when you just had Precision, Jazz, and a few others like mustangs and what. When we bought these basses back in the 70's they were considered half formed animals that needed work to become truly good instruments. A proper setup, possibly upgraded components, etc. and you had a pretty decent bass. Lots of guys still play 70's basses like that. I am thinking of a few like Freddie Washington and Marcus Miller for example. I think the 60's basses were a bit nicer but still - players from that period like Carol Kaye complained that there were a lot of bad basses on the wall even then, and you had to be careful and play them all until you found what you were after. I have always felt that any bass I bought needed work to fine tune it into what I was happy with. Fender is no exception to that rule any less than other brands. The thing about Fenders is that they were early designs that worked well, so I am happy to see these designs being used in a larger universe where FSO's abound that are of high quality.
- Status
