THIS IS WHY FENDER IS HERE TO STAY

[Jeff Scott]

A thread that recently ended talked about the reason why the initiator thought Fender was a dinosaur, I would like to start a thread on why Fender is here to stay.
The big 3 basses for Fender are the Precision (b1952), the Jazz Bass, and the Mustang {born in the middle 60's)There are people who don't like the Fender Bass appearance, how it sits with a strap on their shoulder or the total weight. My counterpoint is that Fender has developed a number of basses after Leo Fender left the company that add alot to the line: the Jaguar, Precision Mini, Musicmaker, Coronado, etc. The entire Fender line is replicated at a lower price level in the Indonesian made Squier line. And Fender uses Squier to introduce new basses or modification of Fender designs into the family. The latest include the Squier Precision Mini, Stratocaster Mini, Affinity Jaguar with humbucking pickup and maple fretboard. In terms of amps Fender offer a full li9ne up of bass amps to match to an individual bassist's needs. And I will say as someone whose first bass was a brand new 67 Fender Mustang Bass (sold many years ago) the first brand I thought of when I started playing again at age 67 was Fender. Squier allowed me to re enter the field at a retiree's pension and a small Fender bass amp met my needs. And when I began to look for an acoustic bass guitar to join the local farmer's market weekly jam there was the new Fender CB-60 Acoustic and a series of other acoustics along with the top of the line which has a shortened Jazz Bass neck. Fender works with large music stores doing special runs including Chicago Music Exchange's series of pink guitars and basses as well as the special finishes offered by Sweetwater. And if you like a sub 34 inch neck Fender offers some of the best options on the market: 28.6 in, 30 in and 32 inch. And the Mustang in either Fender or Squier colors offers either Precision pickups (with the addition of a J pickup) or traditional Leo-designed Mustang pickups. Consider that Fender has multiple price points based on level of sophistication and country of manufacture: Squier and Fender basses built in Indonesia, Fender basses built in Mexico, Fender basses built in the US and Custom Shop. The same goes for amplifiers starting with15 watt/8" speaker going up in steps to a piggyback amp with 2 15 inch speakers and 800 watts. The Fender I describe now is so much more versatile and varied than the Fender I knew in 1967 when I had to buy an AMPEG amp because the Bassman Cabinet was larger than I could manage. Granted, Fe3nder has not gone into new and unique shapes or vastly different types of electronic to give the bassist more "sonic" choices but Fender has built a line of basses and amps that gives the bassist who likes the Fender Sound alot of alternatives. (and yes my P Bass is a Fender clone)I but I like having a Precision Mini, a Jaguar and an Acoustic with the Fender name on the headstock

This man need to learn how to use paragraphs. Seriously!!!

 

[yakmastermax]

Fender seriously needs to work on the 5 string offerings.

 

[elgranluis]

Nobody actually took the "is fender a dinosaur " thread seriously.

Hell, look at Gibson. Bankruptcy and all , there is absolutely no way in hell that production of Gibson guitars will ever cease , unless guitar making itself ceases. Same thing with fender - unless something displaces the bass , they'll be in business.

 

[Gothic]

Fender seriously needs to work on the 5 string offerings.

"Work" as in "start making some".

 

[DJ Bebop]

They day Fender is gone is the day humans no longer play electric guitars or basses

That will truly be, the day the music died.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Nobody actually took the "is fender a dinosaur " thread seriously.

Hell, look at Gibson. Bankruptcy and all , there is absolutely no way in hell that production of Gibson guitars will ever cease , unless guitar making itself ceases. Same thing with fender - unless something displaces the bass , they'll be in business.

I hope Gibson keeps going. They have Mesa in their portfolio now.

 

[AlexanderB]

People tend to forget Fender was almost gone in the early 80s, and not only due to bad management, but also as an effect of being less relevant in the market. If you sold heavy and inconsistent Fender instruments and unmodern amps in 1982, the pointy headstocks, the post punk music (played on cheap guitars or beat up old instruments), the expansion of the synth genre, and so on, did not bode well for the future. Fender barely made it through.

The trends might change again, and I say they already are. Boomers and gen X buying their 5:th or 10:th Fender might keep the sales up, but younger generations seem pretty indifferent to the Brand, and to traditional rock/pop/blues/jazz. Most hits nowadays are performed by solo artists. The band as a concept and the roles of the musicians and instruments have become irrelevant to most people born in the last 30 years.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

They're just a company. Every single company closes/goes out of business. They will too. How long it will be until then is just complete guesswork. There have been plenty of businesses that were thriving and then a year or two later are completely gone- it doesn't take much. Hopefully they'll be around for a while for all the folks that love them.

 

[xn34]

Carrot juice, anyone?

 

[Joybass]

 

[jamro217]

I think they'll be around for a long time. The instruments they make are iconic. Even when the CBS suits almost tanked them they rebounded. If the music styles briefly make guitars go out of style, wait a few years and they'll come back again. Musical trends are cyclical. They'll survive, even though they cause cancer within the California border.

 

[logdrum]

Dinosaur or here for-evar! Doesn't make a difference to me. I do like those Acoustasonic guitars. I may break my 1K rule* one more time. Nah don't really need it.

* No used instrument for more than $1K for a bass or electric guitar

 

[bench]

They will stay ´cause a lot of people like their stuff...

 

[TrevorG]

It says a lot that the bass guitar was referred to as the Fender Bass for several decades; and those same designs remain mainstream models. And, then, there is the overwhelming number of popular music standards recorded with Fender basses. In short, there really is no discussion.

At the same time, the current version of the company derives most of its income from non-bass instruments and gear; and has struggled with maintaining quality and consistency in their bass designs. Their 5 string basses have been through so many designs, that it is difficult to keep track of what's out there. Hot mess generally summarizes their 5 string bass products, whatever they happen to be at the moment. It's almost like they don't really care about the bass guitar or bass players. And really, why should they, when they are selling more than an order of magnitude more guitars?

It is what it is; and I can understand why many bass players look elsewhere. But, I will tell you this: when I go to auditions, I have Fender on the headstock.
View attachment 4346336

Fender have just made record profits from selling guitars during the pandemic and to retired people looking to relive their youth. I think they deserve derision for their quality control but any other company receiving such criticism would have closed up long ago.

 

[Clank Plank]

A company slowly but steadily losing market share is "here to stay"? Hhmmm.

I don't think they'll ever disappear, but their days of massive domininance of the 'quality' market are already long past. Squier, their own sub-brand, are already starting to steal their lunch at the lower edge, and I can't see Fender doing anything to reassert the market dominance they held up until 3 decades ago.

They prattle about record profits due to covid, but thats sikple happenstance and all their rivals have benefitted from the same market conditions.

They won't vanish any time soon, but they can't be here to stay when they left 30 years ago.

 

[clockworkcorpse]

I may regret asking this, but what is it about fender five strings that people dislike?

 

[Gothic]

I may regret asking this, but what is it about fender five strings that people dislike?

Their lack thereof.

 

[AlexanderB]

"THIS IS WHY FENDER IS HERE TO STAY"

Just like these below (much bigger) and rock solid companies:

Kodak
Pan Am
Xerox
Compaq
Polaroid
Block buster
General Motors

So, yes, I am sure Fender is 100% immune to whatever changes might come in the future!

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Fender has made an intermittently great instrument, but they became the Standard because there wasnt much in the way of competition, and they were better than the alternatives. The trope about how they appeared on so many recordings is kind of silly, people played what they had, or what they could afford, and Fenders were decently playable and affordable. Most basses are still more or less technically identical to 1950's production standards, add CNC to the manufacturing process, and any reasonably proficient second-world economy can build a decent bass, it just isnt that hard. Compared to whatever device you are reading this Thread on, a bass is about as advanced as a hunk of chipped flint by comparison. Anybody out there still rocking a Tandy computer by Radioshack? Nope, technology improves, and now the average Indonesian bass is far better built, and more consistently high quality than anything Fender was able to produce in the 50's or 60's, which makes the obsession with vintage instruments inexplicable to me. Ive played a few high-dollar vintage Fenders, nice old bass, like a well worn shoe, but theres no magical fairy dust there. You can only coast on past sucess and buyer nostalgia so long, Fender will have to suck it up and innovate eventually.

 

[AlexanderB]

I think they'll be around for a long time. The instruments they make are iconic. Even when the CBS suits almost tanked them they rebounded. If the music styles briefly make guitars go out of style, wait a few years and they'll come back again. Musical trends are cyclical...

Sorry, but no, musical trends are not really cyclical.
Polka, dixieland, roots blues, bebop, Dylan-ish singer songwriter, surf pop etc etc are nowadays very or fairly niche genres, from a general awareness as well as economical perspective. They were once huge, but have faded, not to really pick up again.

Even the biggest musical geniouses from the past, Mozart, Beethoven, Händel and so on are niche music today.

If anything, the current, "guitar free" (mainly solo artist) pop originating in the 80s seem to be very robust and much more long lived than guitar based genres!!!
From Stock, Aitken and Waterman, with Bananarama, Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley, via 90s Aqua, Ace of base, MC Hammer, to Max Martin artists, like Britney Spears, then JLo, Katy Perry, Sophie Ellis Baxter, KYGO, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and so on. Not much blues/rock roots there, and no need for any guitars or basses. It is THIS that is the current pop music, since decades, and I see no rejuvenation in guitar basses genres. Metal is there, but the complexity and dark themes will keep it an acquired taste.