That would have been about when I was in grad school out there playing that Alembic around the valley (when not working up at PARC!).
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I LOVE/HATE - CAN'T STAND/CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT A FENDER
- Thread starter Gravedigger Dav
- Start date
I came into playing bass inspired by 1960s/1970s music, and most of what I liked on the bass was played on Fenders. But getting a good Fender was out of my price range, so I got a Yamaha. It didn't sound quite like what I wanted, but it seemed nice. Over time, I got more Yamahas, and truly believed I was happy with what I was playing. I had tried a few (circa 1990s) MIM Fenders, and was mostly unimpressed, and thought, well, maybe old pre-CBS Fenders truly were good, but evidently the new ones aren't that great.
Just a few years ago, while desperately still trying to get the sound I wanted out of a Yamaha bass, I happened to try some new MIA Fenders. I was amazed. The way they felt in my hands, and more importantly the way they sounded, was so much more to my liking than the Yamaha basses. I couldn't get rid of my Yamaha fast enough.
I got a Precision bass and a fretless Jazz bass right away, and more recently, a fretted Jazz bass. I have never been so happy to play the bass.
I'm sure there are lots of good basses. In retrospect, even the Yamahas I had weren't "bad", they were just not primarily what I was after. I have no intention of parting with the Fenders now, but exploring other more modern designs as additional instruments may well be a good thing to do.
Just a few years ago, while desperately still trying to get the sound I wanted out of a Yamaha bass, I happened to try some new MIA Fenders. I was amazed. The way they felt in my hands, and more importantly the way they sounded, was so much more to my liking than the Yamaha basses. I couldn't get rid of my Yamaha fast enough.
I got a Precision bass and a fretless Jazz bass right away, and more recently, a fretted Jazz bass. I have never been so happy to play the bass.
I'm sure there are lots of good basses. In retrospect, even the Yamahas I had weren't "bad", they were just not primarily what I was after. I have no intention of parting with the Fenders now, but exploring other more modern designs as additional instruments may well be a good thing to do.
DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
Okay, so now it is something production that you can order, still not a custom option. Fender's Custom Shop will do literally whatever you ask, including things they would never do in production. Hell, if you want a Fender Stingray in ANY colour, they would make one. Sterling would ready his shotgun if you asked him to make a Precision bass clone down at the factory.
I may have mentioned this already on this thread, but two of the best P basses I ever owned were not Fenders (and I've owned many Fenders, including pre-CBS ones.)
And I started thinking, how many other companies have some version or other of a P bass? Seems like many, if not most. Not all are direct clones, but the passive, split-coil bass design is so incredibly prevalent. Ubiquitous, even.
Peavey (Fury), Ibanez (several models, especially thinking of older Blazers and Roadstars), many Yamahas, G&L (obviously) etc., etc. all are based on the Fender P design. Most companies also have a version of the Jazz Bass. Many have basses with a P/J configuration.
I understand why some people prefer a Lakland, Sadowsky, Nash, Gamma, etc. in a "Fender-type" bass, and I acknowledge that many makers such as these will make instruments that, while they hearken to old Fenders, come with certain design elements or appointments that Fender has never really produced.
But most Laklands, etc. I see are clearly based on old Fender designs. Many are more or less direct copies.
And this leaves aside the fact that every low-budget, third-tier brand out there (SX, Guitar Fetish, Indiana, Jay Turser, Stagg, Johnson, JB Player, etc., etc.) markets models based totally on old Fenders.
And this sort of thing has been going on for decades...so many really well-made Fender clones came out of Japanese factories in the 70s and 80s. Some not-so-nice copies also (ditto Korea, Indonesia, China...)
I'm just thinking, yes, what you own and play or prefer may not be a Fender, but if it is obviously based on the Fender P and/or J design (and so many are)--would you not acknowledge that what you are playing wouldn't exist if Fender hadn't done it first?
And I started thinking, how many other companies have some version or other of a P bass? Seems like many, if not most. Not all are direct clones, but the passive, split-coil bass design is so incredibly prevalent. Ubiquitous, even.
Peavey (Fury), Ibanez (several models, especially thinking of older Blazers and Roadstars), many Yamahas, G&L (obviously) etc., etc. all are based on the Fender P design. Most companies also have a version of the Jazz Bass. Many have basses with a P/J configuration.
I understand why some people prefer a Lakland, Sadowsky, Nash, Gamma, etc. in a "Fender-type" bass, and I acknowledge that many makers such as these will make instruments that, while they hearken to old Fenders, come with certain design elements or appointments that Fender has never really produced.
But most Laklands, etc. I see are clearly based on old Fender designs. Many are more or less direct copies.
And this leaves aside the fact that every low-budget, third-tier brand out there (SX, Guitar Fetish, Indiana, Jay Turser, Stagg, Johnson, JB Player, etc., etc.) markets models based totally on old Fenders.
And this sort of thing has been going on for decades...so many really well-made Fender clones came out of Japanese factories in the 70s and 80s. Some not-so-nice copies also (ditto Korea, Indonesia, China...)
I'm just thinking, yes, what you own and play or prefer may not be a Fender, but if it is obviously based on the Fender P and/or J design (and so many are)--would you not acknowledge that what you are playing wouldn't exist if Fender hadn't done it first?
I have owned mostly Fender and Fender derived basses. Just a 1963 copperburst Dano Longhorn was the exception to the 8 basses I have owned.
My first bass was the Dano, but when gigging started, I needed a proper, long scale bass. A brand new 1983 Electra/Westone X630 (which was a PBass spin off) came home with me. A genuine 76 Pbass replaced the Electra a couple years later. I rocked these two basses for a few years when the Jbass itch hit. Picked up a 72 Jazz in 1993 and found the Pbass sitting and not being used for a couple years. Now I wanted a 5 string. The Pbass was traded for a new 1997 Jazz Deluxe V. A used 1999 Koa Carvin Bunny Brunel BB75 with dual Jazz PUs came along for $250 in 2003, had to get that as it had a very similar feel and sound to my Jazz V.
Now I missed the P sound, and owned a 1999 P Deluxe 4 string for a short while, but couldn't bond with it. A couple trades and needless parts sales resulted in a Partscision bass made with a Dirnt body, no name Chinese Tele neck and EMG P pickup I had laying around. It's amazing for a bass I'm into for $75.
Currently, I have 4 basses, two real Fenders, a Jazz derivative and P parts bass. Fender laid the groundwork properly. Kudos!
My first bass was the Dano, but when gigging started, I needed a proper, long scale bass. A brand new 1983 Electra/Westone X630 (which was a PBass spin off) came home with me. A genuine 76 Pbass replaced the Electra a couple years later. I rocked these two basses for a few years when the Jbass itch hit. Picked up a 72 Jazz in 1993 and found the Pbass sitting and not being used for a couple years. Now I wanted a 5 string. The Pbass was traded for a new 1997 Jazz Deluxe V. A used 1999 Koa Carvin Bunny Brunel BB75 with dual Jazz PUs came along for $250 in 2003, had to get that as it had a very similar feel and sound to my Jazz V.
Now I missed the P sound, and owned a 1999 P Deluxe 4 string for a short while, but couldn't bond with it. A couple trades and needless parts sales resulted in a Partscision bass made with a Dirnt body, no name Chinese Tele neck and EMG P pickup I had laying around. It's amazing for a bass I'm into for $75.
Currently, I have 4 basses, two real Fenders, a Jazz derivative and P parts bass. Fender laid the groundwork properly. Kudos!
I like fender basses. Love the tone. And their just a classic. Not to mention an icon in the bass world. That being said they aren't my favorite. I recently re-arranged my apartment and decided to leave out only 3 basses I play the most and keep the rest in their case in the corner. Well turns out all 3 I left out were peaveys. Guess I'm a peavey guy.
(Stopped reading after page 5, but) I recently bought a sunburst MIM P for reasons which, I confess, have mostly to do with Boomer nostalgia. There are basses better than Fender; there are basses worse than Fender. I have both. But the Precision *is* the baseline instrument; it will get you through most any door.
My beef with Fender/Precision is not the things themselves but the herd mentality that seems to accrue to them, the whole predictable tort/flats mumbo-jumbo. Once modded, my new P will have neither. It's like the equally herd mentality of ABGs are not loud enough to hang with two acoustic guitars. Unless you are speaking from first-hand experience based on a representative sample,
perhaps it is better not to speak.
And Fender did try to dig out of the iconic pit it had dug for itself, with its Heartsfield and HM lines, neither of which were sterling successes. Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Guild -- all almost were
cursed by their early successes. The Gibson EB excepted, almost all have to stay with their classic designs in order to receive consumer acceptance.
i
My beef with Fender/Precision is not the things themselves but the herd mentality that seems to accrue to them, the whole predictable tort/flats mumbo-jumbo. Once modded, my new P will have neither. It's like the equally herd mentality of ABGs are not loud enough to hang with two acoustic guitars. Unless you are speaking from first-hand experience based on a representative sample,
perhaps it is better not to speak.
And Fender did try to dig out of the iconic pit it had dug for itself, with its Heartsfield and HM lines, neither of which were sterling successes. Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Guild -- all almost were
cursed by their early successes. The Gibson EB excepted, almost all have to stay with their classic designs in order to receive consumer acceptance.
i
I worked for TI on the 994A assembly line for about a year. One of my life's happiest moments was the day I handed in my badge and said "I quit!".
Got plenty of P-clones, P/J clones, and finally got a "real" Fender Geddy Jazz Bass. Good bass.
There are also Peavey Foundations, sometimes called Jazz Bass On Steroids, that are here and sound/play VERY similar....except they've lasted 25~31 years already.
A young and "foolish" story. Note that this was pre-Billy Sheehan fame but I guess more than a few people thought the same. Here we go.
The last real Fender P I had was in the early 70's when I lived in NOLA(1964 P bass used at original New Orleans Saints games). A Gibson EBOL was it's stable mate so I thought it would be good to carve a hole in the body and put a Gibson mudbucker near the neck and carve a slot near the bridge for a Ric pickup plus put in a 3 way strat switch. A block of lead was also melted into a hole carved under the bridge. Worked very well. A later owner restored it in white but the lead stayed and he called it "The White Albatross".
There are also Peavey Foundations, sometimes called Jazz Bass On Steroids, that are here and sound/play VERY similar....except they've lasted 25~31 years already.
A young and "foolish" story. Note that this was pre-Billy Sheehan fame but I guess more than a few people thought the same. Here we go.
The last real Fender P I had was in the early 70's when I lived in NOLA(1964 P bass used at original New Orleans Saints games). A Gibson EBOL was it's stable mate so I thought it would be good to carve a hole in the body and put a Gibson mudbucker near the neck and carve a slot near the bridge for a Ric pickup plus put in a 3 way strat switch. A block of lead was also melted into a hole carved under the bridge. Worked very well. A later owner restored it in white but the lead stayed and he called it "The White Albatross".
Why would you call musicman for a p clone? why call fender to have them make you a stingray? That's all a bit silly Imo.
Did you not read my original post? Im not someone who hates everything fender. I enjoyed both the p and the Jazz I owned. I just think the custom shop prices are a bit extreme.
haha small world.... wonder if I had one of your computers!
still, poor as those jobs were, they were jobs... and now it's the same thing in China and under even worse conditions. I recently returned an HP Zbook laptop which arrived to me with a smudged screen, and worse yet.. it was DOA.. completely dead. I told HP, I wanted to return it and ended up buying another Macbook Pro.. granted, also made in China.. but at least the QC is good.
Me too! That' why I won't type on a PC that isn't IBM running Microsoft software!
The original is always the best.
Jigsawjaybus
Guest
- Feb 17, 2015
- 124
- 104
- 47
- Disclosures
- I'm just here to drool over other peoples stuff.
I've never owned a rick but I think part of the issue is that people put expectations on them that aren't realistic. The price point of a rick isn't that different from an american standard fender and yet they're balked at for being pricey and having QC issues just like every other company out there. Any company can put out a bad product. Secondly, they're not as utilitarian as your average Fender design. Sure they're capable of all sorts of tones but they're not quite a swiss army knife.
