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I LOVE/HATE - CAN'T STAND/CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT A FENDER
- Thread starter Gravedigger Dav
- Start date
Same here. I GAS for a T-bird, a Ric, an MM, and I also always lust after old Ibanez Blazers and early Roadstars and some other not-as-common older/out of production basses like the Guild B-301 or an Ovation Magnum II.
Heck, I would also like to have a fretless again, and some kind of retro-ish hollowbody or semi-hollow to play with flats.
But I'm a man of meager means and am lucky to have the minimal gear that I do have. GAS passes (no pun intended!) but the pleasure I get from the instruments I have is always available to me.
It wouldn't necessarily have to be a Fender either. I just happen to have a Fender and another cheapo Fender copy. I'm pretty satisfied and happy and feel fortunate.
What I really "need" is a big ol' amp rig!
Fender Forever!
Fender is Love!
Fender Rules!
Freddy Fender was the brown Jesus!
Leo Fender was the white Jesus!
Fender or Die!
Fender is Love!
Fender Rules!
Freddy Fender was the brown Jesus!
Leo Fender was the white Jesus!
Fender or Die!
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,024
- 1
- 31,754
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
Tacky, utilitarian and boring. I fully understand and recognize their historical significance, but meh. Just meh.
They are ok... I still have my first bass.. a 78 Jazz.. but if I were to decide to buy another Fender it would probably be a P of some kind.. I just have found a real nice trio of great basses by other manufacturers than Fender.. I don't hate Fender.. and in may ways I think you can get some great value with Fender.. but I am not itching to get one by any means.. I'd buy another Lakland before I bought another Fender unless it was a Squire CV P...
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I had a biased opinion in general against Fender growing up, and I think it was mostly due to experiences with a Squier Stratocaster being my first guitar and not liking it at all. It was a hand me down and had noisy electronics and I just didn't like the aesthetics.. but that's not really a fault of the guitar. I was inexperienced, and a bit of a metalhead at the time. I owned LTD's and Schecters mostly after that and the Schecters were set necks or neck throughs with satin finishes and really just high quality guitars. From the moment I got something other than that Squier I never really looked back at anything Tele or Strat style ever and had no intention to.
Fast forward 15 years later I realize bass is my true calling.. after breaking callouses on the plucking hand I upgrade from my super cheap crappy playing starter bass to an Ibanez SR500, which is a great bass. Good bang for the buck. I love it.
Then I start hearing more bass in the music I listen to.. and my taste in music has broadened quite a bit since my young angry teenager days. And I start hanging out on these forums... and joined a band and it's like..in my neck of the woods everybody loves their Fenders.. I see Jazz and P basses every where I play out.. I see nice MIM and MIA Telecasters and Strats that sound amazing and even look like they'd be a dream to wrap my hands around. I've seen many Yamaha P-bass copies that sounded great. First I was in denial, and just wasn't interested in anything Fender at all. Then I started actually listening to them. Jaco and his jazz.. Marcus Miller and his Jazz.. and all the P-bass love on these forums, and in general by audio engineers and other bass players in the world. The most used design in the industry as far as I can tell.
I think what really flipped my switch was Scott Devine showing off his relic'd P-bass in one of his videos. When he rolled the tone pot down the milkiness made me lust a bit for that tone. I started drooling for an instrument I couldn't afford at the time..even at MIM prices (I was going to get an arctic white P-bass). For a few months I had the GAS for one so bad. I go to my local guitar center and while I'm there I decide to check out their P-bass selection, and hanging there is the GC exclusive "Nitro Satin Finish" P-bass... they had it labeled as an American Deluxe for some reason and on sale. When I picked this thing up, and started playing random notes just to see how the neck felt, and check to see how level the frets were, and whether or not there were dead spots, it just FELT beautiful in my hands. I initially thought coming from an SR500 neck to the wider C-Shaped P neck would take some adjustment, but out of my 3 "Nice" basses the P-bass I own the P-bass by far is the easiest for me to play. The fretwork was beautiful.. the pickup was HOT and immediately putting out that milky tone that drove me to think about a P-bass on a day to day basis. It wasn't arctic white...but it was pretty and I put her on layaway before they could take it from me to let someone else play it.
As lovely as the bass was, it's not particularly suited to my style of playing, so it sits at home.. I lovingly pick it up and play it quite often, but the sr500 won the spot as my band/gigging bass (it actually stays at the rehearsal room.. maybe I do it so my only choices for playing at home are my P-bass and my beater gsr200.. the P being the obvious winner.) I did actually do one show with the P-bass, and also recorded about 5 songs with it in some video footage with my bandmates.
Fastforward to 2 weeks ago, my plans for a white bass had developed into a white jazz bass (Having been turned onto Jaco). Initially, I was going to get a jazz style body cut and finished by a local shop that builds mostly Fender style guitar/bass bodies and order a Status Graphite neck to put on it.. then there it was advertised on facebook and CL, MIM Jazz.. white on white, rosewood fretboard.. $250. I went to inspect it and the electronics were horrible, but aside from a few dings in the finish, the neck and the body are pristine, excellent playing condition.
I replaced the pots, and got rid of the janky feeling plastic knobs, and also replaced the output. Bass started screaming at me in all sorts of beautiful noises. I was getting Jaco tones out of it, I let a guy slap on it and with his tone settings he sounded like Marcus Miller.. 2006 model, those pickups are pretty freaking beast. This guy has become my main player. I love the bridge pickup on the jazz. I love that it can get milky, and I love that it can get low, and close to a P-bass tone even while very different.
The Jazz comes home with me from rehearsals, I haven't gigged with her yet.. but at rehearsal she's hanging on the Herculous double stand next to my Ibanez... while my P-bass gets love and attention while I'm at home.
I love all of these basses but.. I guess my reason for typing this long winded story is that for a very long time I really really disliked all things Fender. But as I grow as a bassist I realize why P's and J's are amongst the most widely used in the business. And I'm disregarding brand here. I don't care if it's Sadowsky or Lakland, or Yamaha, or Peavey.. most of the basses I see used fall within the designs of a Jazz or Precision bass.. and I have developed a strong amount of respect for these two styles of basses, while loving both of mine as much as I love my Ibby.
So much so, that even Strats and Telecasters catch my eye now. I've seen some beautiful ones.. and just yesterday I was standing in GC with my guitarist admiring a white on white MIM strat, and a black Tele that was on sale for $400. (If I had the money to blow I might have bought one of them..even thought I rarely pick up a guitar these days.) I look at my Dad's collection which is mixed between Gibson and Fender guitars with a new sense of respect and admiration..
There may be more modern sounds out there.. there may be higher quality designs, finishes, and hardware out there on other brands. (Put your hands on a $800-$1000 Schecter Guitar.. chances are it will feel, look, and sound amazing although my last schecter needed solder work out of the box) But, most of those brands carry some kind of Fender-esque design in their catalogs for a reason. They're great instruments.
Fast forward 15 years later I realize bass is my true calling.. after breaking callouses on the plucking hand I upgrade from my super cheap crappy playing starter bass to an Ibanez SR500, which is a great bass. Good bang for the buck. I love it.
Then I start hearing more bass in the music I listen to.. and my taste in music has broadened quite a bit since my young angry teenager days. And I start hanging out on these forums... and joined a band and it's like..in my neck of the woods everybody loves their Fenders.. I see Jazz and P basses every where I play out.. I see nice MIM and MIA Telecasters and Strats that sound amazing and even look like they'd be a dream to wrap my hands around. I've seen many Yamaha P-bass copies that sounded great. First I was in denial, and just wasn't interested in anything Fender at all. Then I started actually listening to them. Jaco and his jazz.. Marcus Miller and his Jazz.. and all the P-bass love on these forums, and in general by audio engineers and other bass players in the world. The most used design in the industry as far as I can tell.
I think what really flipped my switch was Scott Devine showing off his relic'd P-bass in one of his videos. When he rolled the tone pot down the milkiness made me lust a bit for that tone. I started drooling for an instrument I couldn't afford at the time..even at MIM prices (I was going to get an arctic white P-bass). For a few months I had the GAS for one so bad. I go to my local guitar center and while I'm there I decide to check out their P-bass selection, and hanging there is the GC exclusive "Nitro Satin Finish" P-bass... they had it labeled as an American Deluxe for some reason and on sale. When I picked this thing up, and started playing random notes just to see how the neck felt, and check to see how level the frets were, and whether or not there were dead spots, it just FELT beautiful in my hands. I initially thought coming from an SR500 neck to the wider C-Shaped P neck would take some adjustment, but out of my 3 "Nice" basses the P-bass I own the P-bass by far is the easiest for me to play. The fretwork was beautiful.. the pickup was HOT and immediately putting out that milky tone that drove me to think about a P-bass on a day to day basis. It wasn't arctic white...but it was pretty and I put her on layaway before they could take it from me to let someone else play it.
As lovely as the bass was, it's not particularly suited to my style of playing, so it sits at home.. I lovingly pick it up and play it quite often, but the sr500 won the spot as my band/gigging bass (it actually stays at the rehearsal room.. maybe I do it so my only choices for playing at home are my P-bass and my beater gsr200.. the P being the obvious winner.) I did actually do one show with the P-bass, and also recorded about 5 songs with it in some video footage with my bandmates.
Fastforward to 2 weeks ago, my plans for a white bass had developed into a white jazz bass (Having been turned onto Jaco). Initially, I was going to get a jazz style body cut and finished by a local shop that builds mostly Fender style guitar/bass bodies and order a Status Graphite neck to put on it.. then there it was advertised on facebook and CL, MIM Jazz.. white on white, rosewood fretboard.. $250. I went to inspect it and the electronics were horrible, but aside from a few dings in the finish, the neck and the body are pristine, excellent playing condition.
I replaced the pots, and got rid of the janky feeling plastic knobs, and also replaced the output. Bass started screaming at me in all sorts of beautiful noises. I was getting Jaco tones out of it, I let a guy slap on it and with his tone settings he sounded like Marcus Miller.. 2006 model, those pickups are pretty freaking beast. This guy has become my main player. I love the bridge pickup on the jazz. I love that it can get milky, and I love that it can get low, and close to a P-bass tone even while very different.
The Jazz comes home with me from rehearsals, I haven't gigged with her yet.. but at rehearsal she's hanging on the Herculous double stand next to my Ibanez... while my P-bass gets love and attention while I'm at home.
I love all of these basses but.. I guess my reason for typing this long winded story is that for a very long time I really really disliked all things Fender. But as I grow as a bassist I realize why P's and J's are amongst the most widely used in the business. And I'm disregarding brand here. I don't care if it's Sadowsky or Lakland, or Yamaha, or Peavey.. most of the basses I see used fall within the designs of a Jazz or Precision bass.. and I have developed a strong amount of respect for these two styles of basses, while loving both of mine as much as I love my Ibby.
So much so, that even Strats and Telecasters catch my eye now. I've seen some beautiful ones.. and just yesterday I was standing in GC with my guitarist admiring a white on white MIM strat, and a black Tele that was on sale for $400. (If I had the money to blow I might have bought one of them..even thought I rarely pick up a guitar these days.) I look at my Dad's collection which is mixed between Gibson and Fender guitars with a new sense of respect and admiration..
There may be more modern sounds out there.. there may be higher quality designs, finishes, and hardware out there on other brands. (Put your hands on a $800-$1000 Schecter Guitar.. chances are it will feel, look, and sound amazing although my last schecter needed solder work out of the box) But, most of those brands carry some kind of Fender-esque design in their catalogs for a reason. They're great instruments.
I've had a bunch in the past and sold them all. Recently got a CS59 and am never turning back. That bass is about perfect.
I have a couple of Fenders and I don't play them much but I do have to disagree with Meh. Just a bit too historical and old school for my taste but while I used to be of the Meh opinion, I changed my mind when at a guitar show a really good bass player was trying all these high end boutique basses ( I mean like Drosd, Low end, Smith, etc.) and comparing them. All were killer in their own way, natch, but then he grabbed a plain old USA Fender and it was abundantly clear that there was SOMETHING about the tone of that bass that put in into that same class. And of course while it is not exactly free it certainly is a huge bargain compared to the custom basses. So there are times when you don't get what you pay for, you get much more! Certain brands and models are like that and Fender seems to be one.
As for me, I'd just point out that Leo didn't die after he made the Jazz and P-bass. My main axes are three G&L L2500. They give me a little more aggression, a little more growl, a little more range, a little more control, in short, a little more "Fender". My Fender Deluxe Jazz V isn't exactly a slouch, but it's only a "go-to" when I have to have a Fender-shaped headstock.
It's easy to love something "warts and all".
I love my Fender P I've owned it for 46 years but I haven't gigged it for about 20 years. We've been together too long I won't sell it, but these days I'm playing better 5 string Fender inspired basses.
When I started the choice for a serious gigging professional musician was either Gibson or Fender. I started with an EB0, played 1 gig and realised the mistake. Bought my P bass and I was set from then on. It's not just a crappy plank of wood with suspect wiring, as I think someone has described it. It's a crappy plank of wood with suspect wiring that makes the best sound in the world, if you play it right.
Loving Fender/hating Fender seems to me to be very close to a religious question, not unlike the very vexed Apple/Android discussion. It all seems sort of pointless to me - you choose the products that you like and which work for you, others have different needs and preferences. Of course, it's nice if people agree with you, we're only human after all. I've got an Am/Std P, and am very happy with it. I've also got an EBMM Classic Sabre, and am very happy with that as well.
Never owned a Fender until last Saturday with the purchase of an Am. Std. P bass. Just something about that tone that fits so well in many situations. Quite a switch from playing a 5string for 25+ years but really liking it.
Most people answered that they like Fender just fine, and own at least one. That seems like a pretty-close-to-neutral answer. I think that most people don't really feel strongly one way or another and we just notice the few, loudest mouths.
For a future study, you may want to add a few more answers such as "It's not my main axe, but I own a Fender and like them just fine", because it seems like the most common answer "I Like them and I own and play at least one" could be taken either as neutral or slightly in favor of Fender. I.e. split that option into a slightly-positive one, and a neutral one.
Chef
In Memoriam
I'm firmly convinced owning a Precision Bass is unavoidable if you're a professional bassist or you have aspirations to become one. And I'm saying that even though my main bass is a Gibson Ripper. The PBass (and to a lesser extent the Jazz) is what gets asked for - and also what gets used.
Other basses may give you a different or more versatile range of sounds and textures. But nothing in my experience ever replaces that unique quality a Precision brings to the party. Definitely not the best sounding bass when played by itself. But in a band setting or a studio mix, nothing slots in so smoothly or works so well with virtually any style of music as a Precision. Jazz, rock, dub, funk, punk, church, big band, or orchestral - a PBass does it all with style and a certain panache. Or so I think. And I'm no fanboy. But credit where credit is due.
For an example, check out Snarky Puppy's studio-live Invalid Link Removed performance. Even with something like 20 other instruments, the minute bassist-composer Mike League hits his opening note on his Precision around 0:45 in, it feels like a god just stepped into the room. (The expression on that lovely cellist's face just before he comes in says it all.) Crank it with good speakers to get the full "live" effect.
Other basses may give you a different or more versatile range of sounds and textures. But nothing in my experience ever replaces that unique quality a Precision brings to the party. Definitely not the best sounding bass when played by itself. But in a band setting or a studio mix, nothing slots in so smoothly or works so well with virtually any style of music as a Precision. Jazz, rock, dub, funk, punk, church, big band, or orchestral - a PBass does it all with style and a certain panache. Or so I think. And I'm no fanboy. But credit where credit is due.
For an example, check out Snarky Puppy's studio-live Invalid Link Removed performance. Even with something like 20 other instruments, the minute bassist-composer Mike League hits his opening note on his Precision around 0:45 in, it feels like a god just stepped into the room. (The expression on that lovely cellist's face just before he comes in says it all.) Crank it with good speakers to get the full "live" effect.
Huh, I never heard of those guys before. I like it.
I agree. The only thing I'd say is that you can probably get the same sort of "meat and potatoes" from a bass with a different humbucker in the same spot as a P-bass has its pickup. However, people already are familiar with the P-bass and thus ask for it so it is what it is. It's also a great platform for maintenance, repair and modding since a billion replacement and aftermarket parts are made to Fender specs. Standards are standards for reasons like that.
