So, I've been thinking....Fender Bass Designer

[BlueTalon]

I agree that having the same builder for CS would be fun and interesting but there are so many options that it wouldn't be easy to build. And then when people started to see the price, another thread would be opened titled "Fender wants $$$$$$ for that? Ridiculous!"

That's kinda happening now anyway. But the whole point of a custom shop is that you pay extra to get exactly what you want. Who cares if it's harder to build? That's why they charge the extra.

Not to belabor the point, but that's why I like Warmoth as much as I do. You can get exactly the part you want with exactly the options you want, for a heckuva lot less than what Fender would charge for the same thing. Want an alder body with flame maple top, and a birdseye maple neck with an ebony fretboard? Done! Mahogany body with figured bubinga top and pinstriping? No problem. Want stainless steel frets? Gold frets? No frets? No problem. How about turquoise block inlays? Shark fin inlays? Gothic cross inlays?

I could go on, but you get the point. My three-pickup Jazz body is a Warmoth custom creation (I got the bubinga neck with wenge fretboard from the showroom, so it wasn't exactly custom -- but try getting one of those from Fender!). Getting the pickup routes exactly how I wanted them cost me an extra $90. And since Warmoth is licensed by Fender, there's no worry about compatibility.

Now granted, a Warmoth bass is a bit more DIY than many people might like to deal with. But the easy solution to that is get everything you want to go on your bass, and then take it to a tech and have them build it for you. In my case, I installed the shielding, bridge, and pickups. I had [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] do the electronics, and then I had [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] install the tuners on the neck & the neck on the bass using machine screw inserts, set it up and PLEK it.

And all of that cost me about the same as a "custom" American Design Experience bass would cost me. I'm pretty sure I couldn't even get my bass from the Fender Custom Shop with my wood choices -- but if I could, it would probably cost me about twice as much as the bass I got from Warmoth.

 

[lz4005]

If you take the ADE as what it is (a basic option for putting together off-the-shelf parts, at slightly above AS prices) it's actually pretty good. It's a slight upcharge to get what you want; and I'd imagine it works out cheaper than, say, buying a new Jazz & Precision, switching the necks and selling off the bits you don't need.

If you expect it to be a fully customised experience that'll offer everything (a Bass XII? really?), then you'll obviously think it's a waste of time. The Custom Shop will mock one up for you if you wanted, I'm sure, but how on earth would they even design a builder that'd cover every eventuality? Moving pickups just isn't feasible on a mass produced instrument like those.

We should be annoyed at ADE for it's real flaw - not letting you stick a P neck on a Jazz body

My suggestion of the Bass XII was an exaggeration. But the rest of them should be easily doable with parts the have in inventory and the automated manufacturing equipment they already have. Moving pickups is as simple as plugging a few different numbers into the routing machine. Granted it might require a bit of extra time as opposed to using a backlog of pre-cut parts, but it should be an option. Just as putting a J neck on a P, or a lefty neck, or omitting pickguards, or 5 strings, etc should be.

As other people have said, the problem is a marketing one. Calling it a "Design Experience" instead of a "very limited ability to mix and match a few parts and colors" is the problem.

 

[Donavan321]

Wow, sorry I've been away for awhile. After reading through the comments, experimenting with the "designer" a little more, I've made up my mind. If I were to spend that kind of money, I'd be better off spending it on a custom shop. I like keeping tabs on my local craigslist as well as Ebay for vintage gear. Lately I've been eyeballing a 70's styled Squier Vintage Modified with a maple neck, block inlays, binding, etc. As far as the designer, it just seems like a waste of money at this point. I could piece together parts from Ebay, end up with probably a better quality bass, and spend less money. I agree the designer is a great concept, but it's lacking and could be improved.