Well with online sarcasm, sometimes including one of these
does wonders for conveying your meaning. Flat typed words don't always work as intended.
Very true!
Now back to those basses...
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Is there something wrong with me, or is there something wrong with Fender?
- Thread starter LaklandMike
- Start date
Very true!
Now back to those basses...
Without reading everyone else's replies, I'm almost positive it's because the MIA Fenders have been hanging on that wall for a long long time with no care put into them and every grubby Fieldy-wanna-be teenager banging away at it.
I used to work at GC so I know the drill. And yes, it was the worst job I've ever had.
I used to work at GC so I know the drill. And yes, it was the worst job I've ever had.
I could see Squiers standing up to the MIM Fenders - My Squiers stood up to my MIM's when I had them. But I can't see them standing up to the MIA's. a $300 vs. a $1500 + instruments?? Nah.
A bit on the Setup/GC factor........
I used to walk in to my local GC in NJ and pick up a few basses only to hang them back up in disgust and walk out. They were all in need of a set up, new strings - God, just a tweak on the truss even would help some. This of course made me not want to go back to a GC --- but of course I did.
After a few trips like this, I would start mentioning it to the employees at GC: "Hey, I don't want to be a PITA, but you know a few of these basses could use a set up, here check this one out." He replied: "Thanks, I will look into it." or "I'll let the tech know". A few more similar trips and no set-ups to follow and I realized I was being placated. Say yes, smile, get rid of me. This, of course infuriated me. I tought, I'm definitely done with GC now. (I wasn't.)
In more recent times, I now have a friend or two that work at the GC in question. He is a nice guy, a bass player - he gives a crap about what goes on. Knows his stuff. He introduced me to the store tech who I even had do a set up on one of my basses. The tech did a knock out job. Clean, pleasant, very informed. Now my curiosity had been stoked. I had to investigate - if I could. Here is what I came up with (at my local GC anyhow)...
1. The tech works at GC, but doesn't actually work FOR GC - he's an independent contractor basically. They give him space and tack on extra to his rate. He cares, and he is a really great fellow. It's not that he doesn't care if the basses at GC are set up or not... it's that GC ISN'T paying him to do it. What is he gonna work on? The stuff he is payed to do or the stuff they aren't paying him to do? Gotta put the food on the table.
2. The guys who work at GC? They aren't uninformed. They aren't dooshbags. They are overwhelmed and under appreciated by the company they work for. You ever work in retail at a place that you thought of as "The Man"? Well they work at "The GC Man". They just want to get through the day half the time, I'd assume.
Just food for thought.
Oh yea - just curious - how many people you figure that surf TB also work at GC? It's a website full of musicians. My estimate is that there are more than want to bother fessing up to it. And why would they? GC is flamed constantly and they have to see it and hear it constantly here. Think before typing....
A bit on the Setup/GC factor........
I used to walk in to my local GC in NJ and pick up a few basses only to hang them back up in disgust and walk out. They were all in need of a set up, new strings - God, just a tweak on the truss even would help some. This of course made me not want to go back to a GC --- but of course I did.
After a few trips like this, I would start mentioning it to the employees at GC: "Hey, I don't want to be a PITA, but you know a few of these basses could use a set up, here check this one out." He replied: "Thanks, I will look into it." or "I'll let the tech know". A few more similar trips and no set-ups to follow and I realized I was being placated. Say yes, smile, get rid of me. This, of course infuriated me. I tought, I'm definitely done with GC now. (I wasn't.)
In more recent times, I now have a friend or two that work at the GC in question. He is a nice guy, a bass player - he gives a crap about what goes on. Knows his stuff. He introduced me to the store tech who I even had do a set up on one of my basses. The tech did a knock out job. Clean, pleasant, very informed. Now my curiosity had been stoked. I had to investigate - if I could. Here is what I came up with (at my local GC anyhow)...
1. The tech works at GC, but doesn't actually work FOR GC - he's an independent contractor basically. They give him space and tack on extra to his rate. He cares, and he is a really great fellow. It's not that he doesn't care if the basses at GC are set up or not... it's that GC ISN'T paying him to do it. What is he gonna work on? The stuff he is payed to do or the stuff they aren't paying him to do? Gotta put the food on the table.
2. The guys who work at GC? They aren't uninformed. They aren't dooshbags. They are overwhelmed and under appreciated by the company they work for. You ever work in retail at a place that you thought of as "The Man"? Well they work at "The GC Man". They just want to get through the day half the time, I'd assume.
Just food for thought.
Oh yea - just curious - how many people you figure that surf TB also work at GC? It's a website full of musicians. My estimate is that there are more than want to bother fessing up to it. And why would they? GC is flamed constantly and they have to see it and hear it constantly here. Think before typing....
I've never played a MIA Fender that was on the downside of a Squier and I've been playing for 37 yrs.
To each his own.
+1, since at least 1985, and have owned both a VM Squier (i.e. one of the "good ones") and several Fenders (American and Mexican). I've just never had a bad experience in the store, or in my possession, with a Fender. I have also never played a Fender in a GC, since I live in Canada, and I swear the QC complaints I have come across have 100% been on TalkBass, from folks who played Fenders at GC. I *did* play a Squier VM Modified once at a GC in Portland Maine, and even it was no comparison to the one that I bought in Canada. Small sample, and not statistically significant, I know, but there ya go, FWIW. And all this says nothing about the TB posters making the complaints, and how much experience they have to even be able to judge quality (no offence to the OP, just saying I don't know the experience level of all these folks, yourself included, complaining about Fender QC at GC).
The VM Squier I had was *great* value for the money, but was not in the same class of quality as even the MIM Jazz I currently own, let alone the American Standard/Series Fenders I have owned or the AVRI I currently own.
I suspect that the GC's do a high volume of Fenders, and the "good" ones get spread out, so that the worst of the lot are left behind, unbought, in stores, and when they run out the busier stores order in units from less busy stores, so in time the POS units end up congregating at a few stores. Just a theory. Another theory I had was that maybe GC has some distribution centre that Fender ships to, and maybe their humidity control is subpar in the DC.
I'm sure Fender does more volume than EBMM, Or Lakland... and likely every wanker who walks in picks up at least one Fender.
To equate a MIA with a Squier is laughable IMO.....And I am a guy who owns a Squier and who quite likes it. But I have owned a MIA and a MIJ and have tried many of all kinds. Those Squires don't hold a candle to the Am or Japanese.....In fact, if you play a MIA for 20 minutes then play a Squier, it feels quite toyish. Now, if the OP didn't like any of the basses that is another story.
Squier > MIA.....laughable IMO
QUOTE: The VM Squier I had was *great* value for the money, but was not in the same class of quality as even the MIM Jazz I currently own, let alone the American Standard/Series Fenders I have owned or the AVRI I currently own.
I fully agree with this
Squier > MIA.....laughable IMO
QUOTE: The VM Squier I had was *great* value for the money, but was not in the same class of quality as even the MIM Jazz I currently own, let alone the American Standard/Series Fenders I have owned or the AVRI I currently own.
I fully agree with this
No offence taken! In my OP, I was simply stating my conclusions after playing several basses and hoping to hear from others their thoughts and experiences. My intent wasn't to complain or bash, I was just interested to know if my experience was an anomaly or if others had experienced the same thing I had.
More proof that TB is a great community: there are now 6 pages of posts ITT, and except for maybe one or two of them, they have been totally non-inflammatory, thoughtful, polite, and useful to the conversation. Thanks to all who have contributed... I've learned a lot!
Have to chime in on this thread...
I own a 2010 Fender ADPB. This is got to be one of the best basses I have ever owned. The neck is straight as an arrow, and I have the action lower than my MM Stingray 4H without any buzz.
This bass plays great and I have no issues or regrets.
I own a 2010 Fender ADPB. This is got to be one of the best basses I have ever owned. The neck is straight as an arrow, and I have the action lower than my MM Stingray 4H without any buzz.
This bass plays great and I have no issues or regrets.
Just for the record, I do love many Fenders that I have played over the years. I am, afterall, a P-Bass guy ...at heart and to the bone.
But I look for an instrument that feels great in my hands, plays well and has the tone I love and want; regardless of the brand name.
Over the years I've played old Fender P-Basses and Jazz basses that gave me musical orgasms, lol. As well as playing Tele's, Jazzmasters and Strats that I loved playing (although I'm not a guitarist, their for the love of music, writing and getting ideas demo'd)
Unfortunately I have not had good experiences with the new Fenders, when I've auditioned them in several places.
I did finally find a Fender P-Bass (two weeks ago) that felt really good in my hands and I liked. But that's one out of many I have auditioned since November.
For me, it's not about slamming Fender. I love a lot of old Fenders. But recently, I'm not impressed. Maybe I've been really, really unlucky.
But I look for an instrument that feels great in my hands, plays well and has the tone I love and want; regardless of the brand name.
Over the years I've played old Fender P-Basses and Jazz basses that gave me musical orgasms, lol. As well as playing Tele's, Jazzmasters and Strats that I loved playing (although I'm not a guitarist, their for the love of music, writing and getting ideas demo'd)
Unfortunately I have not had good experiences with the new Fenders, when I've auditioned them in several places.
I did finally find a Fender P-Bass (two weeks ago) that felt really good in my hands and I liked. But that's one out of many I have auditioned since November.
For me, it's not about slamming Fender. I love a lot of old Fenders. But recently, I'm not impressed. Maybe I've been really, really unlucky.
GC is great for strings, amps, cabs, effects, straps, killing time on a rainy day, etc. But IMO not a place to go check out the latest stringed instrument.
For that I would go to much smaller local Guitar shops that setup stuff before they hang it up, and the guys that work there are invested in you as a person and buyer.
For that I would go to much smaller local Guitar shops that setup stuff before they hang it up, and the guys that work there are invested in you as a person and buyer.
Sorry I haven't red the whole thread but jsut htought I'd chime in here. There was a thread a while back on the EBMM forum about "awful" EBMM basses at GC stores. Apparently the culprit was the bone dry air and cooler temps in GC. This has the effect of drying out some guitars and basses and causing the frets to "sprout" out of the end of the fretboard, giving the neck a rougher feel. I have yet to witness this phenomenon in person. However it was enough of a known issue for folks from GC and EBMM to comment on.
I like the Squiers too but its hard to tell at GC. They seem to just take the basses out of the box and slap them up on the wall. A lot of them would play a lot better with a 15 minute setup. I don't get it.
okcrum
in your chest
Yet another "you get what you pay for" posts is what is laughable IMO.
When I was looking for a Fender I did this drill! I did every bass store that had Fenders within reasonable road trip distance. And what I discovered is EXACTLY what everyone is saying here once you get to the bottom line: Fender Basses are VERY variable! I saw a LOT of Squires that kicked butt and I saw a few MIA Fenders that were hideous nightmares. I mean bass so poorly constructed you would have had to re-assemble it to get a perfect setup. I know a pro bass player here in town whose main old school axe is a Squier (hand-picked by him, natch). He can afford anything he wants.
So what did I end up with? Did I go for the MIA "you get what you pay for?" No I didn't. (came close though) Did I get a Squier? Nope didn't find a "keeper" one of those either (I especially dislike the "rattly" sound many of them have when you play unplugged that in my experience is a sign that you are not going to be happy with this bass.) I guess you could call it the "toy" feel. Nope, I bought a used MIM mint Jazz (at GC of all places!) that except for the tone of the pickups (still haven't replaced them) was one of the finest basses I ever saw. That neck is SO perfect and stable. Fit and finish SO nice. and the price SO low, I felt guilty getting so much more than I was paying for.
So what did I learn? I learned that all rules like all MIA basses are better or all Squiers blow away MIA basses are bunk. I learned that Fender basses are VERY variable. I learned that Fender basses in stores are even MORE variable than factory ones because they often have next to no setups on them. I learned that it's possible to find that "keeper" bass in either Squier, MIM or MIA. They occur in all ranges. However, in my personal quest, I learned that if you look at MIA Fenders you have a much better chance of finding a killer bass than among the MIM Fenders which has a much better chance than among the Squiers. Of course a Custom Shop bass is probably always great, but that is substantially more cash, and it's not fair because you are essentially paying an expert to go pick a winner for you.
But I tell you true. The model of the bass you buy and where it was made is NO guarantee that the bass will be great. If you want a great bass then you have to go pick it out. These silly rules simply won't work to make sure you get a great bass.
This is never going to work, because most of the people shopping for basses can't distinguish between a bad bass and a good bass with a bad setup, and as you noted, most of the basses on the wall have bad setups. When most people speak of "the good ones" what they really mean is the ones with low action (and new strings) hanging on the wall in the store.
Actually, not a single employee came up to me the entire time I was there, and it wasn't that busy! Honestly, that's fine with me, because they usually don't know anything anyway at this particular GC. Every time I go there, I ask about Laklands just just to see the look on their faces when they have no clue what a Lakland is. I did the same thing yesterday on my way out, and the guy just looked at me with a blank stare until I repeated the question, and then he just shook his head and told me what I saw was what they had.
If you know about Laklands, why are you asking them about them? Just so you can feel superior in your bass knowledge? Congratulations - you win.
An aside, one of my preferred local shops has a motto - more of a credo regarding how the owner prefers doing business: "We count friends, not dollars."
Very simple, but shops like his will get my bigger dollars every time!
Very simple, but shops like his will get my bigger dollars every time!
