• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

The thing with Fenders is...

Lorenzop

Lorenzop

Oct 23, 2012
258
5
Berlin
#1
...they "sit" really tight in a mix.
It seems like they sit in their own little niche, supporting the mix without clashing against other instruments.
And they are more "felt" than heard, but you really notice smth. is missing when it's not there, smth "fat" that really fills up the bass frequency and adds dimension to a mix.

I know its been said before but it really struck me for the first tome yesterday as i heard this YT comparison video with Warwick Streamer:



I usually find fenders pretty boring soloed out as they seem "muffled" to me, and find other tones (from modern basses) more defined and interesting, but in the end mix a bass really shouldn't be jumping out at you anyways right??

The Warwick in the vid is def. punchier on its attack and cuts through the highs better, but even on cheapy Apple earbuds it just seems to "not fill the bass role" in the mix.

Am I crazy or do you confirm? Are there modern basses that "fill up the low freq" without clashing against the other instruments??

If so tell me cos I'm not actually such a Fender fan! ( well, at least I thought!)
 
#2
Great video to watch....not at all a Fender Forever Man! which I thought it was going to be.

Personally I think that it switches from Fender to Warwick depending on the song. I probably like the Fender sound better overall, but the W certainly works for some of the song choices he demoed.

Well made video, imho.
 
#5
esa372 said:
I will never understand why people keep saying this. :confused:
Click to expand...

So you are implying that to be a real bassist one MUST be a Fender fan? That would be no different than saying "I don't understand how people could NOT be a Model T Ford fan. After all, they really got the whole car game going, so not driving one makes no sense." Hmmmmm......

By the way, I AM a Fender fan. But I'm not going to tell someone else they are wrong because they aren't.

Sorry, back on topic. The video is nice. I do think that the bassist could have gotten rid of a little of the fret buzz in the Fender with a good setup. But, then again, he wasn't being paid to make the Fender sound good, now was he? But I actually liked the Fender better for most. However, there were a couple of time when the Warwick won out for me.
 
#9
Stone Soup said:
two fingers said:
So you are implying that to be a real bassist one MUST be a Fender fan?
Click to expand...
Where in the heck did you pull that from? :confused:
Click to expand...
For real...

I'm talking about people saying, "I'm not a Fender fan, at least that's what I thought..." (which is, in fact, what I quoted).

I have seen it many times on this forum - "I don't like Fender, but I sure like the way they sound/feel/play/look!"

No one in this thread has said, "Fender started electric bass, so not playing one makes no sense."
What makes no sense is saying that you don't like something, and then saying that you like it. (Just look at post #7, above.)

:help:

Anyway, as you have said:
two fingers said:
Sorry, back on topic.
Click to expand...
 
#10
I think it's Precisions, namely traditional split single coils, that sit well in a mix, not really Fenders overall. For example, I seem to have trouble making jazz's fit in with anything other than a traditional three piece. Anything more than that (2 humbucker equipped guitars through Marshall half stacks) and I'm lost.
Never have that issue with a Precision.
 
#14
Lorenzop said:
...supporting the mix without clashing against other instruments

...they are more "felt" than heard

...a bass really shouldn't be jumping out at you anyways right??

...it just seems to "not fill the bass role" in the mix.
Click to expand...

puke.gif


Sorry, I just can't stand sayings like that. I can't stand the idea that bass is "supposed" to be a support role only, and shouldn't "stick out" or BE HEARD in the mix. I WANT people in the crowd (or listening to my music) to be able to hear what I'm playing clearly. Maybe that's why I never really got it on with any Fenders. I own a VM Jag bass because I wanted a well-made backup/practice bass for cheap. But I've struggled to make it sound how I like my basses to sound.
 
#16
Lorenzop said:
...but in the end mix a bass really shouldn't be jumping out at you anyways right??
Click to expand...

This is not right in many cases. It's like saying that bass lines shouldn't ever stray from the 1 or be melodic, or that the bass player should never be out front and part of the show. It reeks of the old "quarter notes pay the bills" adage that's as relevant as June Cleaver bringing Ward his pipe, slippers and newspaper when he arrives home from work.

Fender basses have a place, but they are no Skeleton key, jack of all trades, be all end all, panacea of electric bass correctitude. They are traditional looking and sounding instruments that don't exude enough extroverted energy to get egomaniacal guitar players panties all twisted up in a bunch.
 
#17
bigchiefbc said:
puke.gif


Sorry, I just can't stand sayings like that. I can't stand the idea that bass is "supposed" to be a support role only, and shouldn't "stick out" or BE HEARD in the mix. I WANT people in the crowd (or listening to my music) to be able to hear what I'm playing clearly. Maybe that's why I never really got it on with any Fenders. I own a VM Jag bass because I wanted a well-made backup/practice bass for cheap. But I've struggled to make it sound how I like my basses to sound.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm not quite sure what he was getting at. I prefer the bass to sound just as loud & clear as any other instrument in a band.
 
#19
I thought both basses sounded like crap. First of all, the Warwick is a rockbass, and if the fender is American, its some sort of reissue or custom shop, or something other than a plain ol standard model. So, its not really a fair comparison.

I own a nice parts jazz, and German Warwick. They both do entirely different things. I play one in one band, and the other bass in my other band. They are each suited to the bands I play them in perfectly.
 
#20
I preferred the Jazz Bass. I would like to hear a P bass in there too. Maybe he did play a P at some point, but I could only get through about 2 minutes of the video - it was way too long, and I could only take so much of that song he was playing along with.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back