Namm 2016: *New* Fender Elite Series

[guy n. cognito]

Is it stacked coil or split coil? Is there any info on it yet?

There last "noiseless" pickups were multi coil.......but they weren't even remotely noiseless.

 

[Val K.]

There last "noiseless" pickups were multi coil.......but they weren't even remotely noiseless.

What I can hear on my p-deluxe with the N3 Pickup is that the sound simply lacks of personality but it is quiet, really quiet. Just not appealing to my ears. So I wonder if they improved the sound quality. I like what DiMarzio did on the Area J, for example.

 

[meatwad]

It appears the more things change, the more they stay the same. I'm not liking the logo on the Jazz, being how overall the bass still looks all CBS-era, except now with that gawdy old American Deluxe chrome logo. The Precision looks fine with it, and very well could be my next bass purchase.

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

I will be excited if they actually get the "noiseless" thing right this time

Fender did get noiseless right, yours just happened to be a dud. I have owned two of the current production American Deluxes, both with N3s, and both were as silent as could be expected.

Now if Fender could figure out how to get their shielding game down...

 

[Bob Moulton]

Good god, could we get a more boring color palette for this Elite bass series?! Fender drives me nuts putting out the same standard colors again, and again, and again. What about something unique? Ocean Turquoise, Purple Mettalic, or Lucerne Aqua Firemist? I understand putting out some standard colors, but we have black, white, and three different wood-grain/sunbursts to choose from. BORING. And this is coming from a long-time Fender fan and current user.

 

[Slpbass81]

Fender sealed the deal for me. I'm switching over to Lakland. Never thought I would make the move. They put so much pride and effort into their guitars while they give bass players the scraps.

 

[bluesblaster]

Boring, move along, nothing to see here

 

[snakejohns]

Fender sealed the deal for me. I'm switching over to Lakland. Never thought I would make the move. They put so much pride and effort into their guitars while they give bass players the scraps.

I bought a Lakland P/J from Sweetwater after playing one locally that wasn't the color that I wanted. It played nice, but didn't sound good with the stock pickups, so I replaced them. Then the electronics didn't like the new pickups, They they wanted Volume, Blend, Tone, rather than Volume, Volume, Tone. Then of course the knobs didn't fit. Oh well, my money pit now plays and sounds like I want it to. Really disappointed about Fender's elite color options. Oh well, still in love with my Mike Lull V4.

 

[pickles]

Checked these out at NAMM. Very underwhelming. Fine.

 

[Slpbass81]

I might pick up one of the old deluxe models that are discounted right now Since they are close in price to a skyline lakland.

 

[Zoomie]

I got a really good deal on a brand new Adam Clayton just before NAMM. Still, I was a little concerned that Fender might release something wondrous.

Looks like I can sleep well.

 

[ixlramp]

At lest they didn't call them 'modern', Fender should never use that word.

 

[wvbass]

I'm talking about that strange object shortly before the H-string touches the tuner on the 5 string and the A-string on the 4-string.
The B-string still makes me sick. I will dream about how it went astray on its way from the fretboard to the bridge tonight.
Now I've made my way to the g-string on the 5er. It doesn't have a place on the nut and only starts to be on the fretboard at the 9th fret or so.

The "strange object" is just a string retainer.

Also, remember that you are looking at a white nut and white binding on a white background. The bass is also rotated slightly so that the camera won't pick up any reflections. You really can't tell anything definitive about how close the strings are to the edge of the fingerboard from that picture.

You guys act like this bass - which has some Talkbass-requested improvements like the truss rod wheel - is causing you actual, physical pain. I like them both - wouldn't mind owning either of them. But if I didn't... Well, there is another popular Talkbass brand that I don't care much for, but I haven't spent a single post crying about the things I don't like about a bass I don't own.

 

[Pet Sounds]

The truss rod wheel is nice, but aesthetically at least I'm happy to have scored a slightly used 2014 Am Deluxe Jazz a few months ago.

 

[40Hz]

Seems Fender's notion of "innovation" is something akin to stirring the soup or rearranging the deck chairs from what I'm reading.

Bone nut? Compound radius neck? Series/parallel switching? High mass bridges? Locking tuners? Wheel truss rod adjustment? 18V preamp? Yet another "noisless" pickup design? (And still no PLEK?) And the usual breathless words about all these "exciting" and "new for this year" finishes and color options?

I'd guess their the biggest news seems to be something called "Autumn Blaze Metallic" based on the press it's been getting.

I think maybe some (but certainly not all) of this is "new" for Fender. But it sure wouldn't be considered new or innovative anywhere else.

It will be fun to see some of the mags like Premier Guitar and GP try to puff it up and make it seem like something more than it is. But at the end of the day it's mostly minor engineering and cosmetic changes once again being made to already classic and proven designs to generate some excitement and sales.

Leo is a tough act to follow. That's what you're up against when you're trying to sell an "improved" version of a product when the original version got it almost completely right from day one.

Maybe Fender should just concentrate on coming up with more cool looking finishes and colors. That seems to be what's driving customer "excitement" more than anything else these days.

Or so I think anyway. YMMV

 

[SirMjac28]

I love that honeyburst PJ and I'm interested in hearing the new pickups.

 

[jim nolte]

I think they're just fine. For almost $2,000 I want something more than plain black writing like you get on a $180 Squier.

MM style truss rod adjustment, nice. Be interesting to see if they upgraded the pre and added better shielding. Jim

 

[Edmang]

MM style truss rod adjustment, nice. Be interesting to see if they upgraded the pre and added better shielding. Jim

Did read something somewhere that the Pre was updated. No idea about the shielding.

 

[winterburn69]

Are these the only new Fender basses (not including Custom Shop stuff)???

 

[DirkP]

The "strange object" is just a string retainer.

Also, remember that you are looking at a white nut and white binding on a white background. The bass is also rotated slightly so that the camera won't pick up any reflections. You really can't tell anything definitive about how close the strings are to the edge of the fingerboard from that picture.

You guys act like this bass - which has some Talkbass-requested improvements like the truss rod wheel - is causing you actual, physical pain. I like them both - wouldn't mind owning either of them. But if I didn't... Well, there is another popular Talkbass brand that I don't care much for, but I haven't spent a single post crying about the things I don't like about a bass I don't own.

Moaning about dad must be allowed on this board. The truss rod wheel is an improvement (copied from MM after they used it for decades). But Namm 2016 didn't exactly redefined and reinvented the bass... MM copies Fender, Fender copies MM...
I want a revolution every year...capitalism doesn't even deliver this anymore. I'm bored.