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The Real Thing -or- Not So Real
- Thread starter girlonbass
- Start date
I am a musician, not a collector, and I do not care if a new bass has a poor setup any more than I expect a new car to be delivered to me with the lights, mirrors, and visors adjusted to my preferences. And that last comparison is one I have shamelessly stolen from someone else here on TB. So to me the definition of "the real thing" comes down to whether or not the company is still making products for real musicians. All the Fender and Squier basses I have tried lately show clear evidence that they are made by a company that does care about musicians. They aren't all perfect and since I have not tried every single available model there may be exceptions. Yet the ones I have tried are honest efforts to satisfy some musician or another. I don't know of any real reasons why I would prefer to play a 1960's Fender over the ones I have. I have no desire to own a pre-CBS Fender. As it happens I only own Fenders at the moment but I am sure that many other storied brands that have gone through their own corporate twists and turns over the years are also as genuine today as when their founders first picked up a piece of wood with the intent to make an instrument. No Fender ever was a Stradivarius and I don't think any boutique bass of today, however finely crafted, is either despite the claims of their builders and fans. They are electronic instruments, they don't need to be Strads to sound great!
Collectors are another breed. They collect what they collect, they value what they value, simply because they do. They can't always explain why they do what they do and I probably don't want to know!!
Ken
Collectors are another breed. They collect what they collect, they value what they value, simply because they do. They can't always explain why they do what they do and I probably don't want to know!!
Ken
Collectors are really only after the pre CBS fenders. Purists will say that only MIA Fenders are real.
Players really don't give a ****.
Players do give a ****. They're the ones who are sanding the Squier decals off headstocks and replacing them with Fender decals.
Hey bro
Yours was sweet and even a few years older than mine - you stole that thing. If I hadn't been streched for $$ I would have picked it up from you - but then again I'm trying to keep my herd minimized these days.
If it's a foreign-made copy, it's not the real deal. The key word here being "copy". It is a "copy" of the real thing.
In every circumstance I can think of, companies outsource production because manufacturing costs are cheaper. No one says "I'm going to outsource production of Fender basses to Switzerland because they do a better job producing basses there". That has never happend.
EBMM is the real deal. They bought out MM, saving the company, and made what most people believe is a better product. A San Luis Obispo EBMM is the real deal. An Indonesian SBMM is not. Simply put, if a product line is moved overseas for the sole purpose of making the product cheaper, it is NOT the real deal.
Asking if your Ric is the real deal because it has a changed pickguard is being fatuous.
I get it now... So by my reckoning, with Japanese factory made basses being BETTER than US factory made basses...
Japanese basses are
BETTER THAN THE REAL THING!
(insert image of me rolling on the floor laughing)...
Japanese basses are
BETTER THAN THE REAL THING!
(insert image of me rolling on the floor laughing)...
Who told you Japanese factory made basses were better than US factory made basses?
Maybe he's referring to certain years. IMHO certain years of Japanese jazz basses are better then any American I have ever played. I'm no saying my 80's jazz that's amazing for sure is better then the bass of doom or anything but most American Fenders don't do t for me like the 80's Japanese (not including anything actually vintage).
Ah. Well, certain years of MIJ Fenders are better than many eras of MIA Fenders, that is true. But as a blanket statement, it is patently false.
- Oct 18, 2012
- 6,683
- 5,538
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Fender, Spector, Ampeg, Curt Mangan, Nordstrand Pickups, Korg , Conquest Sound
I admit that I am a gear snob so for me, MIA Fenders are the real thing, MIM and Squiers are not. I'm not saying that they are bad basses but the quality is not the same and Fender uses different components in them. I feel the same way about Epiphone. It's not a real Gibson.
I have played some great MIJ Fenders but have never bought one. I consider them to be better than MIM and Squiers but not as good as most MIA. I know many people who disagree and tell me that I am crazy for spending money on MIA Fenders when, in their opinion, the foreign made basses are just as good.
I have owned several Korean made Ibanez basses that played and sounded great.
I owned a Carvin that was terrible.
I own 2 Alembics which are great.
I am more concerned about the fact that most amps are now made in China or Mexico.
I believe that every manufacturer wants to produce quality products. The bottom line is that they all occasionally have a bad run. Find something you like and don't let anyone tell you that you are wrong.
I have played some great MIJ Fenders but have never bought one. I consider them to be better than MIM and Squiers but not as good as most MIA. I know many people who disagree and tell me that I am crazy for spending money on MIA Fenders when, in their opinion, the foreign made basses are just as good.
I have owned several Korean made Ibanez basses that played and sounded great.
I owned a Carvin that was terrible.
I own 2 Alembics which are great.
I am more concerned about the fact that most amps are now made in China or Mexico.
I believe that every manufacturer wants to produce quality products. The bottom line is that they all occasionally have a bad run. Find something you like and don't let anyone tell you that you are wrong.
What players? Seriously? Here is a bass player rocking a Squier
If you are refering to children who are prone to manipulation of the general consensus of the non bass playing population that if it doesn't specifically say "Fender" on the headstock, it is not a "bass" then sure. "players" are doing that...
Nnnnnopppe. Put that story between 2 pieces of bread and you have a baloney sandwich.
Sorry dude. I called Fender, not you. I had more questions about why my MIM felt so much more superior than any other lower level Fender/Squier. The factory was in transition in 96 (MIJ production to MIM). While this was happening, Fender California sent USA necks and bodies to be finished at the Mexico factory.
Why would Fender lie to me about this when I called them? They could have just said, "nope you got a good mim bass. keep it".
Now here is something that will really blow your mind, my bass says Squier on the headstock.
The only Jazz bass I know of, that has the gold flake squier logo and made in mexico. There has to be others because obviosuly they wouldn't have made one bass. They also made a handful of strats, but I haven't heard of anyone else, in the 7 years I've been on this forum who even knows anyone with this bass. I should call Fender to see just how many may have been produced during the transition. I may have a rarer bird then I thought.
The only Jazz bass I know of, that has the gold flake squier logo and made in mexico. There has to be others because obviosuly they wouldn't have made one bass. They also made a handful of strats, but I haven't heard of anyone else, in the 7 years I've been on this forum who even knows anyone with this bass. I should call Fender to see just how many may have been produced during the transition. I may have a rarer bird then I thought.
