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I have never wanted a P or J bass

#81
coyote1 said:
I know they are good instruments. .... I've never had a desire to own a Fender bass.

It has just always seemed to me that a bass ought not be a Fender.... or a Gibson for that matter. Can't explain that conceptualization, but there it is anyway.
Click to expand...



Ok,, maybe I should read the whole thread..but i couldnt hold back..

So.. didnt fender INVENT the electric bass?..
in fact..wasnt it true that (back in the day) musicians used to call an electric bass a "fender bass" (wether it was fender or not)?

c'mon now.

And theres just something that looks right visually when you see a traditional rock band, and the bass player has a fenderbass. (Just ask TV and movies)


I'm a spector fanboy myself ..but I can't imagine somebody saying that a "bass ought not be a fender"..that's just silly talk. :scowl:


now Im gonna go read the rest of this thread..for some reason.
 
#82
Only way I would purposely own a Fender is if someone gave one to me. There are much better basses out there for the money. I really, really think that Fenders main attraction is that everyone has or does play one. It's more of a tradition than anything else. "Meh" is about the only way I can describe a Fender. You either love 'em or you don't. I personally don't.
 
#83
I like the "red wine" comparison earlier in this thread.

I couldn´t think of anything more boring or uninteresting than a Fender bass when I started playing.... that was until I played a great Jazz Bass during lessons. The sound, the feel and as a result even the look, was all I ever hoped to find in a bass. I am still after this stunning combination of simple construction and unlimited possibilities. While there is still a big place for boutique basses and new concepts in my bass players heart, I see them more as extras or alternatives. Leo got it right the first time.
 
#84
jaxstarke said:
There are much better basses out there for the money. You either love 'em or you don't. I personally don't.
Click to expand...

I agree with the 1st part in bold 100%-
NOT the 2nd
I think they are ok. I've owend several, and they arent for me. I do not hate them, I do not love them.



lowfreq33 said:
It's interesting to me that so many people are getting up in arms over one person saying "Eh, that's not really my cup of tea".
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I do not agree with this either, maybe it's only me but the reason I replied to OP was the statement "a bass ought not be a fender".
I think its more from that , then the fact that "he personally doesnt enjoy them"
Maybe this was just to rile people up.

Not sure why Im on this wagon as , I personally don't play them much (because they aint for me either) but I Just still would never say - "a bass ought not be a fender". again , It just sounds silly to say.
 
#85
No knock on Fender basses - I've owned two J's and a Mustang. Enjoyed them for a time, then found other alternatives more appealing and dumped them all. I prefer Fender clones and Warmoth P's with my choice of electronics. I totally respect Fender's achievements and place in electric guitar history. I just don't find the Fender mystique very sexy. As JimmyM said, (to paraphrase) "that's more for the rest of us". You're welcome. :D
 
#87
Ok I'll confess. I HATE pick guards. Don't like them on p-bass, j-bass, strats, teles, or les-pauls. Fought that stigma for years playing anything but those. As I became a better musician and developed my ears I began to be more concerned with my tone. These guitars match the sound I hear in my head, each in their own unique way so I own all the above along with an ebmm sr5 that has its own character, crap another pickgaurd. So I've made my piece with the pick guard, except white ones I hate the white ones.
 
#88
I love my Fender basses. I can't help but wonder if that's just because my first bass and the one I learned on was a jazz and that's why I feel "drawn" to them. With that being said I have owned a few Stingrays and Ibanez. I've played a bunch of Spectors, a Warwick, a Schechter, and a Ric as well. Good basses, no doubt, but after all them I still like my Jazz the best. Personal preference I suppose.
 
#90
Maxdusty said:
Didn't like them growing up as somehow it reminded me of my parents kind of instruments. Back then, you wanted something newer, more advanced and hip. Growing up in the Eighties, it meant opting for Ibanez, Steinbergers, something with FOUR knobs and two Humbucker type pickups to keep up with the guitarists in the band.
With the feeble Roland Cube 60 amp I had, it meant having a pre-amp on my bass to boost up the power was my way of keeping up.
NOW... with maturity comes wisdom and what may have been old, is still around for a reason. It is the quintessential bass and why change something that works just right? So basically, yes, I now appreciate and understand why Fender bass guitars are so popular- because they do define the "Bass Guitar" in it's simplest, most effective design. The fancy basses in the Eighties just didn't stand up to the test of time.
Click to expand...

I was going to post, but this is pretty much my experience, too.

(I have driven a Vette, several... it was sarcasm, LOL!)
 
#91
I get the feeling there is a generational issue here. Back in the day, (young man), virtually every player who you'd listen to and dig played a fender. There were the session players from the sixties: Jamerson, Kaye, Felder, Dunn and there were the guys from the seventies Will Lee, Jaco, Lee Sklar, Anthony Jackson, Tommy Shannon, Pete Cetera, Max Bennett, etc. (9/10 played Fenders, and originally more Precisions than Jazzes. IMO it was Marcus and Jaco that cause the Jazz bass to become more popular, but that's another story). Sure there were a few that didn't play fenders: Chris squire and Paul McCartney come to mind. By the end of the seventies the Alembic craze was beginning. Slap bass was in in vogue and boutique makers were emerging.

So the comments you made would be very unlikely to come from someone from my generation. Fender was the default bass, it was unusual for someone not to play a Fender. Most of your bass idols played Fenders. If you were a bass player you typically sought Fender.

Now there are so many options. I would be unlikely to purchase a new fender; there are better options at higher price points for sure, and I believe that there are better options at the same price points as the Fenders too.

So to me, your comments represent a viewpoint from a different generation than the one I am from. The legacy of Fender lives on, and many people in the younger generations still gravitate to Fender; but I can definitely appreciate the case for GASing for other brands.

FWIW,

Jim


coyote1 said:
I know they are good instruments. Yet somehow, while I looove playing Stratocasters and own two, I've never had a desire to own a Fender bass.

It has just always seemed to me that a bass ought not be a Fender.... or a Gibson for that matter. Can't explain that conceptualization, but there it is anyway.
Click to expand...
 
#92
Ever since I saw on TV a musician wielding a Fender bass, back in the early sixties, I knew that I had to own one (at least) of those things. I'm the proud owner of a 1973 Precision, a 1978 Jazz and a 1994 MIJ Precision PJ Lyte.

I can certainly understand why the younger generation feels indifferent toward such iconic instruments when there are so many available options in today's market. Back then, a Fender bass was pretty much the only game in town. Not to mention that they are the best looking and classier guitars ever produced. :-)
 
#95
I personally think too much credance is paid to headstock decals...

Funny I'm down to 1 Fender from a whole bunch. Truth is that Leo either got to the party first or he was the first to get to the party with production support behind him. If youbplay EB, the one you're playing owes something to Leo and company...

It's so much easier to ge a decent instrument cheap these days. Screw the decal, play what feels good, sounds good... Unless you're talking metal then all bets are off :-). Oh and for god's sake, put a tort 'guard on it!


(Honey ? Were's my meds, those kids are on the lawn again :D)
 
#96
There is a simple explanation for your feelings:

You are trying to push away "convention" and "standards" - you want new, you want flash, you want sha~zam!, you want tomorrow.

These Fenders are the old clunkers that have been around forever. Your grandfather might have played one in the back seat of his Oldsmobile while listening to Elvis. You've seen them everywhere and you think, quite frankly, that it is time to move on for crying out loud! What is the big deal? Surely modern technology has allowed for superior design compared to that old junk!

~

I assume a lot there, but I'm not really talking about you.

I'm talking about me.

~

After spending 30 years steering well clear of the stale ol' Fender - I decided to finally give them a try.




The end.




~




And the beginning.





~


Since I woke up, I realized the error in my ways. I was swimming up stream the whole time - messing around with lousy bridge designs, set necks, and never being happy with whatever I had at the time.

Here was a bass that just did it's job. Nothing more, Nothing less. Profoundly simple.

Finally I had the instrument that I wish my mind had been open to 30 years ago.




:crying:
 
#99
I'm old, you're probably young. Everyone my age at one time or another wanted a fender something or other. It's just a sign of when you grew up and what was available at the time.
 

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