Oh. It's not a Fender...

[spade2you]

Well, it's not by accident that Gibson headstocks are what feeds luthiers! It's not their prevalence, it's not Gibson owners being more negligent than the others, it's the non-existent design. Really. There are ways to make a mahogany neck more durable than the Gibson design, and by the pertinent criteria, the other brands ARE better guitars than Gibson in that respect. Does it matter whether you can depend on your guitar not breaking from being dropped 10 inches (the luthier I use demonstrated this...) and not have the headstock break? To me, it seems that reliability is a crucial point in calling an instrument a quality instrument.

There are objective criteria in hardware specs and allowed deviation from specified measurements, the prevalence of blemishes in finish, the work necesary to bring the fretwork to an acceptable level and so forth. Gibson and Fender do not try to produce the best guitars for the money, they try to maximize the price they can get for a given guitar.

It's willful ...something to say that since Gibson and Fender happened to end up the duopoly on the market for a time we should accord them respect. It's according companies in pursuit of winnings and in the process buying out the comptetition completely unfounded, misguided and historically revisionist moral justification for doing what companies do.

Pretty much. Specifically in regards to Gibson, I can't believe the amount of blems on $3k+ instruments. Gibson's fragile headstock simply blows my mind, having seen my share of headless Les Pauls. No, not Steinberger style.

 

[warnergt]

...i was doing stunts on my upright on the dance floor tonight, and i was bodysurfing it and kicking my feet up...

You know what they say: pics or it didn't happen.

 

[warnergt]

...Having said that, let's not open this can of worms again!!!

treekiller said that 113 posts ago -- obviously too late.

 

[ster]

It's strange, but not once in 32 years of playing bass has anyone had an issue with what type of bass I play. Even more, hardly ever was I asked what brand it was. I don't get it. Why would an engineer care? Yes, I use Fenders now, but that's only been in the last 8 years or so. Before that, I had every bass BUT Fender. I am wondering if there really still is a bias by engineers. Fender may be an icon, but it's not really the standard anymore. Not since about 30 years ago, when 1000s of other bass companies were formed. Most engineers I have worked with are younger then me, and probably came up in the era of Ibanez and other common brands......


Link Removed

It all depends on the engineer. Some are just so familiar with what they are going to get from a Fender (or whatever they are used to) its going to be easier for them based on experience. One time when I showed up at a studio with my 5 string Stingray, I noticed the engineer staring at my bass as I removed it from its case. After we recorded the first tune and heard the playback I mentioned how great the bass sounded. I asked him what's making the bass sound so good? He said, "It's your bass man!" He said every time someone brings in a Musicman or a Fender he knows he has to do very little tweaking to get the perfect sound. It's similar to the Shure SM58 microphone. It's not the best microphone for live performances, it's the one most sound guys have had long term experience with thus have an easier time getting the ideal sound.

 

[Gary Lynch]

Has this ever happened to anyone else? I played a Labor Day festival gig, and somebody came up to me during a break and said he liked my bass and thought it was a Fender, but upon closer inspection he saw that it wasn't. "Oh, well. Whatever works, I guess," he said, as if I was slumming by playing a Lakland Duck Dunn model. This has happened about three times in recent years, twice with my Lakland and once with my Music Man Stingray. ("Is that a Fender?" "Well, no.")
I don't really care what people think, but I find it interesting that Fender apparently has such good marketing that folks don't realize there are brands out there that are at least as good. Anybody had that experience with reaction to their non-Fenders?

So many builders copy Leo's body and/or neck/head shape that many non players think they are all Fenders. But, players on this site know what is and isn't.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

Of course - I had a Warmoth J-bass I played for *years* - and at many gigs, folks would check it out, and say "oh - guess you couldn't afford a real Fender..." I just smiled and said "Nope!"

 

[ProfGumby]

Has this ever happened to anyone else? I played a Labor Day festival gig, and somebody came up to me during a break and said he liked my bass and thought it was a Fender, but upon closer inspection he saw that it wasn't. "Oh, well. Whatever works, I guess," he said, as if I was slumming by playing a Lakland Duck Dunn model. This has happened about three times in recent years, twice with my Lakland and once with my Music Man Stingray. ("Is that a Fender?" "Well, no.")
I don't really care what people think, but I find it interesting that Fender apparently has such good marketing that folks don't realize there are brands out there that are at least as good. Anybody had that experience with reaction to their non-Fenders?

Next time this happens, start a conversation with the guy, ask him what he has and when is his band playing as you'd like to go see him in action with his bass.....98% of the time they don't have a bass and are not in a band.

 

[Gopherbassist]

Before I started playing bass I didn't know anyone but Fender made basses. I don't think that it's odd for people to expect bassists to play Fenders, and I think their reputation with commoners is such that to see a non Fender is for them to think they see a poor instrument.

 

[audiophile21]

that happens to me with my schecter stilletto studio 4... even though it looks NOTHING like a fender and says "schecter" in big silver letters... people are so dumb some times

and im proud to say i have never and will NEVER own a fender bass... every fender guitar/amp/bass amp i have ever owned broke without any abuse or came with something horibly wrong with it
broken fender amp count: 6

 

[Gaolee]

I play an EB-2 and a Thunderbird. Nobody has ever asked if either one was a Fender, but most people don't know or care what they are, either. I sure don't care if anybody else knows or cares what I play.

 

[totallyfrozen]

So in other words, decades of accumulated snobbery

Not really. My wife is from the South. It doesn't matter what kind of soft drink she has, she calls it a Coke. It could be an orange Fanta...she calls it an orange "Coke". When you have a head ache and a fever, do you ask someone for an acetaminophen tablet? No, you ask for Tylenol. Does that make you a drug snob or is it simply that Tylenol has become a familiar household name? There are thousands of these household names. I don't think it's because people are snobby. I think it's because many people only know what's familiar to them and they don't think about the fact that there may be more than one maker of a type of product.

I think all you guys are lucky to have people asking about your Fender. Most of the people I know don't even know there is Fender (or any other brand). It's simply "your bass". I like your bass. Where's your bass. Can I play your bass. As if there is only one in the world and it doesn't have a name brand. At least the people around you guys know enough to ask.

 

[LGT]

How about this, when somebody asks "what kind of bass is that?" you simply say "I'm not going to tell you." Also, are people really too stupid to look at the headstock?

 

[Aspidites]

How about this, when somebody asks "what kind of bass is that?" you simply say "I'm not going to tell you." Also, are people really too stupid to look at the headstock?

I have a TRB6P that has the Yamaha 3 tuning forks logo so I doubt many people would know what it was outside of TBer's of course.

 

[Batmensch]

Not really. My wife is from the South. It doesn't matter what kind of soft drink she has, she calls it a Coke. It could be an orange Fanta...she calls it an orange "Coke". When you have a head ache and a fever, do you ask someone for an acetaminophen tablet? No, you ask for Tylenol. Does that make you a drug snob or is it simply that Tylenol has become a familiar household name? There are thousands of these household names. I don't think it's because people are snobby. I think it's because many people only know what's familiar to them and they don't think about the fact that there may be more than one maker of a type of product.

I think all you guys are lucky to have people asking about your Fender. Most of the people I know don't even know there is Fender (or any other brand). It's simply "your bass". I like your bass. Where's your bass. Can I play your bass. As if there is only one in the world and it doesn't have a name brand. At least the people around you guys know enough to ask.

So, in other words Fender is the Kleenex of the bass guitar world?

 

[Boombass76]

Yep, back in the 50's a 'Fender Bass' was synonomous with a 'bass guitar' no matter what the brand... Today, it may be Kleenex or Xerox ;-)

 

[mongo2]

How about this, when somebody asks "what kind of bass is that?" you simply say "I'm not going to tell you." Also, are people really too stupid to look at the headstock?

My #1 doesn't have a name on the headstock so I just tell them it's a Krappy bass. Which it is.

 

[Jaymi]

I have only Rickenbackers and no one says a word and I play sessions in Nashville, TN with the Rics!!!

 

[Chad Michael]

....
I don't bitch at keyboard players because they may prefer Korg over Roland. I don't bitch at drummers because they use Ludwig over DW. If they sound good, play well, and we're locking in, IT DOESN'T MATTER.....

Cheers. Musicians understand this.

Regarding the "Non Fender patron" attitude:
People in the audience may love their "toys" - whether it be motorsports, guns, RV's, electronic gadgetry or (insert latest thing here). The difference is, you can play with your toy well enough to get paid for it. Some people may resent that and feel the need to belittle your experience in some way. Just remember this and be proud of what you do.... it's ok to enjoy what you do, more than what you do it with.

 

[syciprider]

Until we learn to break away from things from 30, 40 or 50 years ago then Fender will always be synonymous with "bass guitar".

 

[Aspidites]

I think it's hilarious that we have a thread dedicated to bashing people who only recognize Fender basses, yet on this same forum we have several threads dedicated to replacing Squier headstock logos with Fender decals, and reshaping SX headstocks to look more like Fenders.

The Fender obsession isn't attributable to the general public, guitarists, etc... its YOU, bass players, who are the cause.

Get over superficial nonsense like headstock logos, headstock shapes, alder bodywoods, etc... before assigning blame to people who have no reason to know better... unlike you.

Ah, who am I kidding? Bassists will still obsess over body woods, company names, "60s vs 70s" pickups spacing, neck woods, and other arbitrary matters, all while playing in their bedrooms, basements, and neighborhood bars, where no one cares. Ha

What got your panties in a wad?