Part of the Joy of being a Creative Person is passing along the "Tales of Old".....How life used to be~Parts 2 & 3.
One of the Fun Tales for me is how one YEAR was better than another and if you find a bass from that particular year, it's got a better chance of being a keeper than that made in some other year.
That's quite similar to walking through a forest and picking out trees that were planted in 1957 instead of 1958 and somehow coming to the conclusion that one tree was better than another.
Everything comes down to a couple of simple factors.
Suitable Wood is getting harder and harder to find...
Technology is better than it's ever been...
Humans have less and less to do with the building process of ANY big manufacturer.....no matter WHAT the product.
The last person in the Decision-making line decides which basses go out the door and which corners to cut to make a bass......If he/she is looking to score points and get a raise, more junk gets out the door. THAT is the American Way.
Illusion and dreams are what make consumers buy product. Next come Logos. Next come what Basses Your Heroes play.
I Love Leo.....have since 1951.......Didn't play but was a Good Man and a Wonderful Innovator. He CARED about his customers...and slowly developed products AS NEEDED....not to be able to have 35 NEW things at the next NAMM Show to keep you from buying someone else's 35 NEW Things.
I like SOME Fender basses....and MANY Music Man Basses and Some G&L Basses. Should that have ANY bearing on what YOU like? Nope...None at all.
Pricing: This one is a beauty....and it's VERY easily Explained.
The President of a VERY well known company (not Fender) was in a sales meeting and when asked about ever-increasing prices of their product, said.....
"We'll continue to raise the prices until they (you) stop buying them. Then we'll lower them just a bit". Think about that for awhile.
Tone. Sound. (And the funniest thing since the Adventures of Wally & the Beaver: "How does it sit in the mix?"~~the New 'Sweeeeeeeeeet' ")
These discussions are, IMHO hysterical...Why? So many talk about buying a certain bass cuz they loved it!, changing many of the parts, adding this, taking away that....and then discovering that you no longer LOVE the bass. What Happened??!! With all due respect, DUH!
And last but not least......You pay hundreds or THOUSANDS of dollars for a Nice bass; Tons of Dough for a Killer amp....and $27 each for a dozen foot pedals to make your substantial investment sound like a Turd in a Fishtank. We ARE an odd Species.
Follow the Money and You'll Find the Greed......but keep your Dreams Alive.....cuz there ARE some GREAT folks building Fabulous basses....including Fender. <3
And there are some Fabulous Players USING them....as seen here.