Stigma for not playing Fender

[DISCOSTUVW]

Wow, I've never dealt with that (surprisingly based on the church I use to go to). I played a Korean Squirt, a Van Halen (RIP) striped Ibanez SR300, and an Ibanez Ergodyne before switching to guitar. No issues from the "Have's vs Have-nots" congregation.

 

[TreySonagras]

I sub at one of the local TV mega churches and the regular bassist uses an active 5 string Ibanez of some kind. I show up with my old school sunburst jazz and the sound guys love me. The band looks at me like “hey grandpa” but they like the sound. LOL

 

[Drkwdsman]

I have played custom basses (Since 1996) at a very large multi campus church in Birmingham. They have never stated you could not play a certain type of bass. Any suggestions would be the style or what you add to the song (they prefer straight off the recording). Now if you are just starting out and trying out for the worship team and do not have a bass, they would suggest a Fender P or Jazz and quite frankly, I would too.

 

[pbass62]

I brought my 4003 running 2 different sends to the board.
Engineer loved it, his exact words “sounds a little angry “

 

[Indiana Mike]

This is all you need.

 

[Rib 13]

Example: worship music. You play a Fender Jazz or a Fender P and those are your choices. You show up to a big church with something that's not a Fender and you'll get some looks.
Seems like this is also the sentiment for studio as well. You're using a Fender P, Fender Jazz, or a Fender active 5.

I don't see that at all in RnB/Funk Gospel
( such as Fred Hammond, etc).....In those genres I see a lot of 5, 6, and 7+ string basses like Conklins and such. Its one style of music you rarely see a P- bass and when you do see a Fender, it's often a Jazz ( like the dude who used to play with Hezekiah Walker)

 

[Hypercaffium]

This is all you need.

View attachment 4034555

Nice suggestion, but it seems to attract too much attention. You don't want that in a church, right?
You want this one:

 

[Smooth_bass88]

Similar to those that consider the Precision Bass the "one bass to rule them all" (and probably justifiably so), I've noticed there's a lot of emphasis in a lot of places that if you aren't playing a Fender, that you don't have "the sound/authenticity" (sorry Gibson).

Example: worship music. You play a Fender Jazz or a Fender P and those are your choices. You show up to a big church with something that's not a Fender and you'll get some looks.
Seems like this is also the sentiment for studio as well. You're using a Fender P, Fender Jazz, or a Fender active 5.

It feels like there's some stigma about the instrument not being legitimate if it's not a Fender. What are your experiences?

Maybe it's just me?
Discuss?

Really? That's how it is at church gigs? I'll be avoiding those.

 

[Nunovsky]

Here's what I take to church:

View attachment 4034407

If you bring that to a church gig I think you'll burn a hole on the floor all the way to hell right in the middle of it.

 

[mankybass]

My dad and I play a fender

 

[Nunovsky]

I play bass since my 16's and I've only bought my first Fender last year. I'm 44 years old BTW, about to turn 45...
IMHO, I think it's all in the eyes instead of the ears. My two Fender basses are an American Original 60's Jazz Bass that leaves much to desire in terms of quality build (has a faulty tone pot that needs to be changed and has the most unstable neck of all my basses) but I love the tone of it, and my Mexican Mustang JMJ that is superior constructionwise compared to the american made.
Nevertheless, my most used basses at the present time are a Yamaha BB 735A taht's my main workhorse and an Ibanez ATK300. In fact, recently I subbed for a friend that had a heart attack and couldn't play for 2 weeks and, since he used a Jazz Bass and I was using his rig at the bar, I took my JB to play with the band. But it always felt that the sound was loosing itself in the mix, so at the 3rd gig I took my ATK and I never got lost again. One of the days, a fellow musician that was there at the bar came to me after the gig saying that he loved the sound of the ATK and he always wanted to get one for himself.
So, I still love my Fenders and I also love my other basses. I just take whatever sounds and feels right for the gig that I'll be playing.

 

[Robscott]

Who's saying this? Not the audience, they wouldn't know a Fender if you hit them over the head with one. And that's who you are playing for...... (plus of course the Big Guy if you are in church, and I don't think he cares much either)

 

[lfmn16]

In general, as long as you don't show up with a pink, pointy, 80's reject, nobody cares. The reason they are preferred in the studio is that most engineers are used to working with them so it's quick and easy to dial in the sound they want. It's all about time and money, any time actual music is made, it's purely accidental.

No nefarious deep state plot here, just economics.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

This has never been my experience . I guess it depends on the church and what style of music they play.

 

[squarepeg]

I took my EB3 to a jam session when I was in my first year of college in 1973. The girl singer said "What kind of a bass is that? It looks like a cheapo." I replied, well, it's good enough for Jack Bruce." She said "Who's Jack Bruce?" I didn't feel bad.

 

[Chewy_B_i_T_s]

About 7 years ago I was emailing with a worship leader's assistant about auditioning for the team. After we got the details worked out I followed up with another email asking:
"I'll be bringing my own bass since I'm most comfortable on it. You don't think anyone would judge me do you?"

Here's the original...

 

[TrevorR]

All of these have been used in church over the last 30 years... not a Fender among them. And like others, not a soul ever commented or complained about any of them... The old sound guy at my church LOVED my 85 Mk1 Wal Custom (definitely NOT a standard Fender P or J) and would look sad on mornings when I brought along another bass for a change!

 

[Gizmot]

I stopped using Fender basses back in the late 70s and since then, I've played gigs all over the world including in some big churches. No one has ever looked down their noses at my Rics, Warwicks, G&Ls, MusicMans or told me that my sound wasn't first-class. I'm certain that some recording engineers are more comfortable working with players that use Fender but I've never had that problem. Although it seems that I'm beating up on Fender, what's really happening is that I've found other basses that are more comfortable to play and provide the sound I'm looking for.

 

[Medicine Man]

In my experience, gospel musicians love active 5s and 6s, and are among the least likely to demand Fenders. Guys at Blues Night open jam on the other hand......

 

[neil|lien]

I wish people would listen with their ears rather than with their eyes.

Personally I respect musicians who proudly use a cheap bass or anything that stands out from the crowd. It's much more of a personal statement than using the same old Fenders that are highly overrated anyway (please note I didn't say "bad" but "overrated", I love a good Fender but also think the USA models are hideously overpriced for the level of QC/craftsmanship you get).

I did a blind test with a small group of friends a couple of months ago, all of them pro or semi-pro musicians and/or audio engineers for over 30 years. I had recorded the same track using a Fender American Original 60s Jazz Bass and a Harley Benton JB-75 (both basses 100% stock except that I had shielded the HB with copper foil). The recordings were level matched but the basses had different strings so it was hardly a scientific test (both had somewhat similar sounding flats though, Optimas on the Fender and Pyramids on the HB).

They listened to the clips both with the bass soloed and in the context of a mix. No-one really preferred one over the other. When they were pushed to make a choice the Harley Benton won 6-1.

Like I said: Hardly a scientific test but still...

Is the Fender decal on the headstock worth the extra $1800? Certainly not in this case. Cheap basses have gotten so good these days that if you know what to look for (which is important because there ARE still some pretty bad ones out there) you can get a really, REALLY good instrument for very cheap.

I should probably add that the reason I did this blind test was because I was so shocked at how good the Harley Benton JB-75 was (it not only sounds great but plays/feels great too). Not all cheap instruments are as good as this one of course. In fact, I've also got a Harley Benton PB-20 which is probably the worst bass I've ever owned.

But if you know what to look for there's not really any GOOD reasons to buy an overpriced MIA Fender these days. Lots of BAD reasons though (and I'm probably guiltly of them all, lol).

Dear Fellaz & Fellazettes !

It's not just you, OP! I have the same feeling & experiences...
- i used to play for a singer-songwriter in Paris. At first, he was a pain in the bum cuz i didn't have a Fender Pbass & i was, on top of that, playing an amazing Fame Baphomet 6-string bass... he let go after a while cuz i was doing my job well enough but i had to take a few stabs before we got to that point.
- i also have, in Paris, a friend who is a guitarist & a sound engineer: same thing, U have to record with a Fender (even if the pick-ups are Nordstands in there loool)...
- I recently joined a Soul band, here in Seville, Spain. I am 37y/o & the band is made up of veterans that have been on the professional circuit: drummer is 65y/o, keyboard player is 62 & the guitar player is 55 & used to be a professional bass player. I showed up for my audition with my RMI 6 string bass, a fantastic instrument, best i've ever had. They told me i could be part of the band, but that i had to get myself a real instrument => a Fender. The guitar player kept going on and on about is 1960/70s Fender J. Turns out it has Bartolini pick-ups, but yeah, whatever. As long as it is a FSO right?

The reason why i quote that previous post in the thread is because after a couple of rehearsals with my RMI, i brought them my only other bass at that time : a Harley Benton JB-75MN. Fantastic bass indeed. 160€ new, shielded the cavities & had to do some work on the frets, but otherwise, an instrument i highly recommend. And they were pleased enough. Still wasn't a Fender but...
Even the keyboard player whose son is a cellist & bassist (they have 7 basses @ home, half of them Fender, the rest are vintage rarities) was surprised by the Fender-like tone i was getting from my FSO... lol

Anyway, i think a loooot of people still judge before they even hear U play the first note, & i think i will never buy a Fender just to piss them off ;0p