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Nate Mendel Fender Signature

M

miller_l

Jun 30, 2011
85
8
Medford, MA
#1
Just got the latest issue of Bass Player Mag and it features Nate Mendel of the Foo Fighters. In it, there's a little blurb about Fender releasing the Nate Mendel Signature P Bass (His is a 1971 Red P/ RW board, pretty slim neck).

"Though details are still being worked out, Fender plans to release the Mendel model some time around January 2012. It will be MADE IN MEXICO and treated to the same kind of process Fender employs with its Road Worn series of basses to replicate the unique wear pattern on Mendel's 1971 p bass. 'We're still ussing out the details of the pickup and electronics, but it will definitely have some sort of high mass bridge, possibly a Leo Quan Badass II.'"

To me, this sounds like a pretty cool signature bass. I'm a pretty big Foo Fighters fan, but fanboy aside, I think this bass really has a lot to offer. A '71 styled bass (Only downside is we don't don't what pickups there are, that can make or break it, I'd op for '71 styled pups, not really some duncans which Fender seems to love these days) with a slimmed down P neck (Seems comfy), and the BAII sounds pretty good.

BUT, seeing as they mentioned it'll be like the road worn series, to me that puts the price point at at least $1000 (Thats what a road worn P goes for).

So what do you think, just another over priced P bass or something special?
 
#4
Yeah Nate has fully admitted on many occasions that the Laklands sound better then the Fenders (see the Fender 60th anniversary video of him). However he is still technically a Fender endorser, as is Chris Shifflet (even though he mostly plays Gibsons). Personally I think Fender's just trying to leech off Foo Fighters' popularity. Now with that said, I'd definitely give this bass a try, despite not really being a P bass guy. I love the red/black guard color scheme and a slimmer neck would do a P bass good. I just hope to god that it's not incredibly overpriced.
 
#6
From checking out Nate's bass on Invalid Link Removed it looks like he was playing a Fender P-bass for that whole set. The headstock and the logo looked more like a Fender than a Lakland. This bass had a the rosewood board and a BadAss bridge. But the thing is, I've seen him with a number of different P-basses over the years, so who's to say what this version from Fender may be?

I agree that this is probably very much a marketing move on Fender's part. Foo Fighters have been one of the biggest rock bands in the US for a lot of the past decade, and they might be a good group for Fender to get their name attached to. Also, I think that fans of the roadworn basses might be happy to have Fender releasing a roadworn P-bass with a rosewood fingerboard at last.
 
#11
UnfortunateTony said:
Yeah Nate has fully admitted on many occasions that the Laklands sound better then the Fenders (see the Fender 60th anniversary video of him). However he is still technically a Fender endorser, as is Chris Shifflet (even though he mostly plays Gibsons). Personally I think Fender's just trying to leech off Foo Fighters' popularity. Now with that said, I'd definitely give this bass a try, despite not really being a P bass guy. I love the red/black guard color scheme and a slimmer neck would do a P bass good. I just hope to god that it's not incredibly overpriced.
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Just watched the 60th Anniversary video, he doesn't say anything about laklands or other basses sounding better than fender!!

And yes, we all know he plays laklands too, he's not allowed to try out different stuff?? He's getting this bass, like Matt Freeman, based on the bass that he started with and that got him where he is.
 
#14
Down_Low said:
The bass at the end of Back and Forth is a Higheay One. But it looks like he recorded most of the nee album on a Lakland.

Excited about this though!
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Now that you mention it, it IS a lot like a Highway One, the only kicker is the pickups/electronics combo that they pick. If they make a custom wound '71 (doubtful but you never know) it would be sick, if they pick an SD pup or just a regular precision pup (MIM or MIA) it would detract a little from the bass.

I can't wait to see how this one turns out!!
 
#17
Leeching? Hell, No Fenders/No Laklands, talk about leeching!!! 'Don't know how you judge an instrument until its being played so I guess your asking about the idea of another signature bass. Why not, they have signature guitars and basses from all kinds of people. Just a promo deal and a silly one at that as if your new bass from your hero is gonna raise your talent level or something. The road worn things are ridiculous also who the hell wants a new instrument looking like ****!!! Never understood why anyone would not take normal good care of their instrument, quality tools are not cheap and their working order is depended on by others too.
Not sure where the ruff em an scuff look became cool but to me it looks like an absence of pride and taste. Probably another one of those generational things??? hahahaha! Doc
 
#18
Cost? Let's do the math. Geddy's and Marcus Miller's sigs are MIJ and they're $1000+. It will be overpriced. As much as I love Nate and the Foo Fighters, I'm not anticipating a reasonably priced, quality bass.
 

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