Is Fender American worth it?

[bearfoot]

You can go $1200 into an American Fender, and get $800 back out of it in good condition. So you were only in for around $400. Keep it 20 years, and you get an inflation bonus.
Or, get an SX, and rebuild and hotrod it, for about the same $400. Reselling that will likely lose some money.

Fender American is IMO the best economic choice, if you can withstand the entry fee. And if you find a deal on a used am Fender, you might in reality spend zero dollars, or the bass might actually pay you, down the road.

 

[sxaxsx]

and 'all the sorrys' (if need be)

Aw shucks, I'm sure it's all cool. Besides, anyone using pancakes as their avatar can't be all that bad. drool

Do you like pancakes?

 

[Malak the Mad]

Do you like pancakes?

Well, after that I'm seriously considering Communism now!

 

[sxaxsx]

Interesting/true story about Harley Davidson, in regards to international competition;

Back in the '80s, they were getting their tailpipes kicked by Japanese motorcycles. As any American company can do, they lobbied for a combination of protectionist tariffs and Federal subsidy money to bring their domestic quality up to a competitive level. The American Automotive Industry has done this on occasion throughout the decades, but here's where it gets interesting…

Unlike the Auto Industry, when Harley Davidson got their feet back under them and became competitive again, they stopped lobbying for further protectionism and subsidies. So, although their motorcycles aren't exactly my personal cup o' tea, I have to admire that sense of fair play in the marketplace.

Sorry for the aside, but it's a pretty cool story.

Yeah that is why all the Japaneses bikes had to be under 700 cc's for the longest time I believe. In a way it was pretty cool. It caused the Japanese to create some really competitive cool midsized bikes. Now that the tariff is gone the Japanese makers are all just making huge 1000+ cc V-twin Harley clones that get worse MPG than my car.

 

[Malak the Mad]

As far as I know they haven't made Fenders in Japan for at least a year, so if you are buying new it's not really an option anymore.

Nope, it's still an option. The rumors of Japanese Fenders no longer being produced was a quite-understandable misunderstanding. To be brief, the joint-venture between FMIC and Kanda-Shokai was not renewed, so "Fender Japan" no longer exists. Now FMIC is handling all Fender-based production, marketing and distribution in Japan. This covers a number of "Japan Exclusive" models, including the Almighty Aerodyne.

(I'm a bit of a Japan-o-phile, so this became a topic of both concern and research for me. )

Yeah that is why all the Japaneses bikes had to be under 700 cc's for the longest time I believe. In a way it was pretty cool. It caused the Japanese to create some really competitive cool midsized bikes. Now that the tariff is gone the Japanese makers are all just making huge 1000+ cc V-twin Harley clones that get worse MPG than my car.

Now I'm picturing a gas pump with wheels, handlebars and a seat!

 

[garp]

MIM Fenders feel and sound like dodo in my hands.

I happen to like that slightly squawky handling and tone.

 

[Rib 13]

This is how I observed Fender USA in the past decade-and-a-half:

Fender USA seems to have geared itself to the Collector Market as opposed to the Player Market, so there is a big difference in intended function of the instrument at manufacture as well as price-points.

 

[MegaSwing]

I happen to like that slightly squawky handling and tone.

Were they good eating? You think there was much dark meat on them? Puny looking wings.

 

[DavC]

some things' worth is only important to the buyer .. !! YOU ...

i've had lots of basses over the decades , made in many places ... go find the one that feels and sounds good to you for your price ..

the best bet is almost always ... USED .. !! where ever it's made

 

[Dave M]

some things' worth is only important to the buyer .. !! YOU ...

i've had lots of basses over the decades , made in many places ... go find the one that feels and sounds good to you for your price ..

(...snip)...

This ^^^ is how I also generally view these topics.

The topic is about a questions of value, typically asked, and specifics characterized, by the OP. At times it's difficult to really understand (but, not always) the "important" factors that the author/OP has in mind that determine the "value". That's when it comes back to the quotes, above, "some things' worth is only important to the buyer .., go find the one that feels and sounds good to you for your price".

From *my* own perspective, I much prefer an Am Std Fender over anything MIM or Squire/Squier. It comes down to a few things: feel, general fit and finish, spec's. Many MIJs can also be very good. OTOH, I recently had my paws on a 5-string SX jazz bass that really impressed me, especially for its price. I didn't have time to go over it with a fine tooth comb, but the initial impression was quite good.

 

[Linnin]

Yes, they are worth it.

+1 ^^^ This is correct ^^^

 

[keyofnight]

Wow, so now we are racists if we can tell the difference where you say none exixts...

Wait… did you even read my post? I think you just saw the names of countries and assumed that I was calling people racists. Maybe you'll read this post. So, here are some points to consider:

1. I didn't call anyone a racist. I simply said that we perceive different countries (and their products) differently. We may have good reasons to mistrust products from China, and this mistrust will creep into the way we listen to instruments from China.

2. I didn't say there wasn't a difference. I said that some people will take any sound difference between MIJ/MIA/MIM as a negative difference.

 

[keyofnight]

What I'm suggesting is the tone of the thread is starting to take a nastier tone, especially when someone passive/aggressively drops the "racist card" to make another look like the Bad Guy. What keyofnight wrote may not be palatable to you but there's a lot of truth there…verifiable, and not to mention historical, truth. There is a lot of implicit bias on this and other forums. There are a number of people here who will pooh-pooh another's gear because it doesn't meet their own, personal standards.

My instinct to comment on the historical/sociological portion of his statement is quite strong, but this isn't really the place for it. So, instead of delving into this intellectual quagmire before us, much as I'd like to, I'll leave it be in the hopes that we can get back to discussing gear in an objective manner…because it's a matter of discussion and debate that no one will win, no matter how much someone thinks they can. Thus, it's pointless to go any further with it here. All it will leave behind is bad feelings.

Yea… it's a quagmire, for sure. I was just trying to express how complicated the issue is. It's not just a matter of saying "Oh MIA sounds better than MIJ!" Well… what does "sound better" mean when we've already taken MIA as the standard for how things are supposed to sound? Any sound difference from an MIA would be a strike against the MIJ/MIM.

To be honest, all this means is that it's pointless to talk about which instrument 'sounds better'. You might as well ask: "Which instrument sounds better, the Flute or the Drums?" Kind of a silly question, right? One doesn't sound better than the other. They're different, and you might like one more than the other for very personal reasons. The only answer to that question is: "Go study both and decide which one you like to play more."

For the record, I don't own any American instruments, and I'm not defending American instruments at all. I don't really care what instrument people play.

 

[Quilbert]

On this side of the pond the cost of US made fenders, coupled with the strong USD makes them simply way over priced. If in lived in the US I would own one for sure.

 

[JackANSI]

Thank you for your responses so far.

Money isn't really an issue for me I am more than willing to buy American, unfortunately my opinion's been plagued by youtube comments on demo videos that the MIMs are 'just as good'. I know it's just youtube comments but it did have an effect on my initial decision. It just really helps if people who've owned the Americans can guarantee I won't be wasting money going for the high end.

Also one of you mentioned it's better to go MIJ/CIJ instead of MIM, I thought they were the same in terms of build quality and components. Just out of curiosity is there a notable difference making the Japanese ones better than the MIMs?

ps: The squire isn't my only bass, I'm upgrading my current axe so I'm not just looking for something better than squire.

If money isn't really an issue, ring up the Fender custom shop. The basses coming out of there are amazing.

 

[Bigbri]

I know I'm opening up a can of worms here, but I'm just looking for your honest opinions if you were lucky enough to play or own an American and MIM/MIJ.

I'm opting to buy a fretless Fender JB and I'm willing to save up the necessary funds for the American made, the only problem is I don't want the price tag to fool me into thinking I'm getting a much better fender jazz bass compared to their Mexican and Japanese ones. Especially since it's twice the price of a Mexican/Japanese, which seems really high considering I can get a Mexican JB and a P too for that money.

Obviously I want to be playing an awesome bass but it just seems like a lot of money is going into an 'American' label. Although I have no say in this and can't judge between Am and MIM/MIJ because the only fender product I have and played is a squire jb. I'm not too keen on buying 'used' either for a fretless.

Could you give me your honest, unbiased opinion on whether it was worth it to you to pay the extra dollar for any of their American basses?

What I'm thinking, is do you want to pay extra for a new bass. That high "list price" makes it harder to accept any flaws. The only two basses I ever bought new were a Spector NS2 and a Pedulla and I ended up returning them both. The neck on the Spector was much thinner than the one I allready had. I wrongly assumed it would be the same and it was close to a grand more.
It could also be a psychological type thing. You would simply feel better about playing an American bass and more willing to show it off. I know a guy who gave away his MiM strat. It was "to the kid across the street." but I was thinking geeze how bad are they really.

 

[Quilbert]

Sigh, this site is fender obsessed.

 

[Bigbri]

Sigh, this site is fender obsessed.

Everybody wants atleast one but they can't decide what to do when they're made in 3 different countries at the same time. Personally, I think thats kind of strange.

 

[keyofnight]

Everybody wants atleast one but they can't decide what to do when they're made in 3 different countries at the same time. Personally, I think thats kind of strange.

Yeah. I think it's a little strange too. It's like they're counting on us having this argument.

 

[oatsoda]

Nope, they're all garbage. That's why the company never made a dime and had to go overseas for their manufacturing. Didn't help either when all that gun control legislation came in and you couldn't buy bullet strings without a permit.