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Stigma for not playing Fender
- Thread starter dwagner
- Start date
personally I love building the instruments as much or more than playing them. When I decided to build a short scale bass I chose to emulate fenders, but not because of any stigma. For me it was the practicality of having all of the electronics mounted on the pick guard, along with the vast variety of parts that can fit on a fender guard. Separating the woodworking and the electronics simplified the process considerably. I have never owned a true fender, but the Bass VI "knockoff" I built has incredible sound and sustain that goes for weeks... I built it as a curiosity, just to play around with, it quickly became my favorite instrument.
On a side note, along the same lines:..
My off brand drums I play now sound better than my Pearl drums from my heyday. I also used to be a Zildjian snob, but now use a variety, including Paste.
Bottom line...… The brand name means very little to those who know how to really play.
On a side note, along the same lines:..
My off brand drums I play now sound better than my Pearl drums from my heyday. I also used to be a Zildjian snob, but now use a variety, including Paste.
Bottom line...… The brand name means very little to those who know how to really play.
That is the perfect response, same thing I say with my Wal.
Not so much that it pays well (quite the contrary in many cases), more that the "worship team" in churches that feature them prominently typically has a waiting list of musicians in their own congregation who'd be overjoyed to be called up to play any given Sunday. That gives the worship leader a lot of power to dictate terms, because if you won't accept them, he has a list of people who will, very enthusiastically.
That said, I must reiterate I've never been a part of a team where much attention if any was paid to brands or models of gear, as long as it worked and you knew how to play them. If I were to find myself in a situation where someone in the band or staff took issue with my instrument, other than because I was playing a Warlock or had a pentagram decal on it, I would probably tell them that if they had a problem with the gear I played, they had a problem with me.
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My church isn’t small, about 1,500 in attendees a week, after playing a Fender there for 20 years, nobody batted an eye when I showed up with a Warwick.
People in my church don’t know any better, so I bring what want. They’re just glad I’m willing to play.
JeezyMcNuggles
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- Feb 23, 2018
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It does have frets. Seems like a "Precision Bass" to me.
I've never been to a church that cared about what the bass player was playing...
Thanks, I'm not overly religious, but whenever I've been to some kind of P&W, I would agree that a 5 string (with a low B) seems to be pretty standard. In all honesty, most P&W bands are likely to have very good sound systems, and they play in the same room, with the same sound gut, so their sound is likely very good and able to get the most out of a B string.
If there's one fault I've seen in most P&W bands (and all bands in general), it's usually the leader being turned up too loud compared to everyone else. Like lots of band leaders, they tend to think that more of themselves is always better.
Playing across 4 states (Texas, PA, Utah, Colorado), not a single band, venue, etc has ever brought up my lack of a fender, other than 1 guitar player thanking me for not playing a "boring" fender. During that time I've been primarily a Spector or Schector player, with the occasional Ibanez. The spectors usually get a lot of praise from new bandmates.
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Like I always say, be thankful that Alembic didn't become as desired as Fender. I couldn't afford to be a bassist if that was the case.
I’ve played 500 plus church services in the last 5 years, without ever bringing a Fender, or having anyone suggest I should get one. The last 4 years, it’s been all my builds. I get plenty of unsolicited compliments on my tone, and I keep getting called back.
I have had people hire me to make their Fenders (and a few Laklands, but I digress) sound more like my basses. One of them was a brand new Ultra Jazz.
Stigma for not playing a Fender? I’ve never seen it in 40 plus years of playing bass.
I have had people hire me to make their Fenders (and a few Laklands, but I digress) sound more like my basses. One of them was a brand new Ultra Jazz.
Stigma for not playing a Fender? I’ve never seen it in 40 plus years of playing bass.
I think the stigma is actually traditional vs. modern.
Some genres just argue for a more traditional bass guitar. It’s both functional and visual. Other genres are more accepting of modern equipment.
A Fender P Bass works in almost all contexts.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Some genres just argue for a more traditional bass guitar. It’s both functional and visual. Other genres are more accepting of modern equipment.
A Fender P Bass works in almost all contexts.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum. I'll show up to a hard rock / Southern metal try out with a fretless Jazz bass and voice my disdain toward stainless steel strings and Ampeg and be looked at like I insulted someones mother. That normally ends once we go through a couple Pantera or Cliff era Metallica covers.
There are a lot of fine basses out there, but I wanted to make only one more bass purchase, so I went with classic... Fender Precision.... done.
I had a P bass in my first band, and when I brought my five string ESP to show them something I wanted to do with the low B on the album we were recording they unanimously decided that I should only play that one because it looked cooler.
