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If you have a Squier do you have a Fender?

#21
No, it's a Squier. I doubt of anyone who works for Squier gets paychecks from Fender. Maybe some put fake Fender decals on their paychecks so they can fool people into thinking they work for Fender.
 
#22
it's a Squier, not a Fender... having said that, who cares? Jaco could have taken a bog standard Squier Jazz bass and made some incredible sounding music on it

and I know many players who could make a 1961 Fender Jazz sound terrible, so... who cares what the headstock says?

If I came to a gig and heard you kick ass on a cheap Squier, I'd be no less impressed than if it was on (for example) a Sadowsky
 
#25
I think if you call Squier a part of Fender, you have to call OLP a part of Ernie Ball/Musicman, or Tribute by G&L a part of G&L, or a Cort Curbow part of Curbow for that matter ... they are both Licenced Products made overseas....

Squier for that matter, some are/were made in Vester and Samick factories... so are they Fenders or Samick or Vesters... and Vester also made ESPs and Samick also made Schecter....? Tribute by G&L are made by Cort, so would that mean they are G&L or Cort? And Ibanezs are made in a mixture of all those factories as well.

Hrm... makes the whole situation complicated. I think all we can do is call a Squier what it is... a Squier.

For that matter yes I do own a Squier, it's a Jagmaster and I really like it, but I wouldn't call it a Fender.
 
#26
GlennW said:
No, it's a Squier. I doubt of anyone who works for Squier gets paychecks from Fender. Maybe some put fake Fender decals on their paychecks so they can fool people into thinking they work for Fender.
Click to expand...
Actually they probably do, Squier is part of FMIC, thats where I'd asume all the paychecques come from.

Same reason as when a shop wants to order a Squier, they have to talk to the Fender dealer, its just a division of one company.

EDIT, I play Squier's(amongst others), thats what I call them too, but they are part of Fender, no two ways about it.
 
#27
Dr. Cheese said:
+1, I conisider Squiers to be Fenders since they made by Fender and featured on Fender's website.
Click to expand...

so a Guild is a Fender to? and a Tacoma? and a Jackson? and a Charvel? and a couple of other brands, all owned by Fender and on the website...
But people would never say "I have a Fender" if they have a Guild or a Jackson... only with Squier, I wonder why(seriously): maybe because they really wanted a Fender but couldn't afford it(including the fake logo people) and want to look cool or because they don't get the difference...

just because it's backed by Fender doesn't mean it is a Fender, doesn't make it a bad brand or a bad guitar/bass... but it doesn't mean it's a Fender...

if it says Fender on the headstock(and not "by Fender") it's a Fender... otherwise it's just a Squier or a Guild or a Tacoma, made/licensed/owned by Fender...
 
#29
GeddyisGod said:
Some people don't consider MIM/MIK/CIJ products to be real Fenders. It's all about perception anyway.
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You hit it on the nail! Consumer perception is everything
to any company that makes and sells things. The waters are
murky however when it comes to we musicians and our perceptions
of any company's budget lines and brands. Is
a Lakland Skyline bass made in Korea still a Lakland Bass?
Is the Fender Jazz Bass 24 a Fender bass for real? The J-Bass
24 is MIK and it has a Fender logo on it. Is it a legit Fender Bass?
Squier as a brand sells because of it's association and
ownership with the parent company. With that said no one
is going to expect Squier to be anything more than Fender's
bang for the buck budget line.
 
#32
Hmmm...is an Ampeg made in China for St Louis Music as much of an Ampeg as my 19673 B15N made under the ownership of Everett Hull?

Sure. It's only a name. Of course, the reason it is used is that it indicates a certain quality of sound (my '63 and my '05 B100R are reasonably similar, except that the newer one is more powerful, less fragile, and weighs a lot less).

And a Squier is made to Fender's design and specs. The fact that it's not called a Fender is a result of Fender's corporate decision making, not any intrinsic difference in the instruments.

I have played Fenders and Squiers interchangeably over the years, depending on what was on the band stand. I have all Fenders now, but that's a function of which models are available.
 
#36
Step said:
yeah, legally it can be considered made by fender, it is also squier made by fender

but if anyone comes to me with a squier and says: "look I have a fender" I'd be inclined to disagree

it's a matter of feeling, not legal action
Click to expand...

This is how I feel about it. If I owned a Squire, I wouldn't tell anyone that I played a Fender bass. I'd tell them that I played a Squire, even if it's made by Fender.
 
#37
bertbassplayer said:
Actually not quite... in the case of overseas imports Fender pays the Factory to make their products with their logos and the Factory pays the workers.... the factory might not just be a "Fender" factory most of the time it's making guitars for multiple manufacters.
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I didn't say that, but the Jackson enployees etc. are getting paid be FMIC, not the guys in the warehouses.
 
#40
There's also the patented sub-names. No other company can sell a "Precision Bass" other than Fender or Squier, just like no other company can call their guitars "Stratocasters" even if they have the same body shape.

Murky waters indeed. :ninja:
 

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