THIS IS WHY FENDER IS HERE TO STAY

[Gilmourisgod]

G&L basses just plain work too, just better than Fenders

 

[40Hz]

Huh??? Is Fender here to stay?

Was that ever seriously in question?

 

[Ric5]

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

hmmm ... white, tort, and 5 strings ... yes!

 

[Ric5]

modified p-bass

 

[40Hz]

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.

Agree.

And I think the overall drop in the quality of much of the current popular music reflects that change.

I have no quarrel with solo "artists" who are true artists. But many of our so-called "armies of one" aren't really all that brilliant. The bulk are pretty formulaic when you get right down to it. One or sometimes two good ideas that get recycled endlessly. And it's a shame that the creative synergies that can result from band level collaborative efforts have fallen out of vogue.

But what do I know?

 

[Savage_Dreams]

I couldn't read it all. I like Fender, but I tend to like obvious things, such as paragraph breaks, so what do I know?

 

[Geri O]

"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."

================================================

"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 simple 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."

Yep...It's Monday at Talkbass.....

 

[marchone]

The big 3 basses for Fender are the Precision (b1952), the Jazz Bass, and the Mustang {born in the middle 60's)

The Mustang is in the Big Three? Really? And the Precision from 1951 on is one model?

After that bit of revisionist history I couldn't waddle through the rest of this tripe.

 

[A9X]

After the drinking game thread, these Fender threads are murderous. I have to work today, people!

I'll call the local Police then and have them come around and take away the person holding the gun to your head, making you read them and comment.
Glad to help.

 

[SgtHulka]

Why?

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

 

[Geri O]

If you took away the the Strat, Tele, P and J, Fender wouldn't even be a pimple on the music scene. THAT'S why they are the leaders.

I'd love to see some documentation that points to this specific fact other than some simple conjecture. I realize how many early artists were using Teles and Strats, but playing behind those artists were bassists with (very nearly) all Fender basses. Bassists took notice. Yes, that's conjecture, too. But at least I'm being honest about it.

 

[96tbird]

Why?

Because guitarists are feeble and Fender on the headstock deflects their ridiculous comments and opinions where they belong: onto the drummer.

 

[drumvsbass]

Fender survives on ubiquity and nostalgia.

 

[A9X]

Because guitarists are feeble and Fender on the headstock deflects their ridiculous comments and opinions where they belong: onto the drummer.

I laughed.

 

[Texaspandj]

You want your thread to last pages? Just add the name Fender anywhere in the title.

 

[SgtHulka]

Because guitarists are feeble and Fender on the headstock deflects their ridiculous comments and opinions where they belong: onto the drummer.

Thank you for your honesty. It is a revelation.

 

[31HZ]

Why?

If I don't pull up to the audition in an F250 King Ranch Super Duty crew cab, all bets are off!

[this is sarcasm, meant to highlight what consumer-brand loyalty blindness looks like from a different perspective, and also to point out that one's preferred brand of instrument has as much to do with what one knows about playing bass as does one's preferred brand of vehicle.]

 

[SgtHulka]

Because guitarists are feeble and Fender on the headstock deflects their ridiculous comments and opinions where they belong: onto the drummer.

If I don't pull up to the audition in an F250 King Ranch Super Duty crew cab, all bets are off!

[this is sarcasm, meant to highlight what consumer-brand loyalty blindness looks like from a different perspective]

Also, even though it's NOT a fender, I put a waterslide decal on the headstock just to avoid questions also LOL. My wedding and bar mitzvah bass.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I know there was a Paul Tutman thing years before, but Fender defined what it is means to be an electric bass. Fender will stop dominating the electric bass market when the electric bass goes away.

 

[GretschWretch]

That choice was often dictated by studio producers. I chalk it up to laziness. It was just easier to tell a bass player to bring a Fender Precision that it was to actually learn how to mix a bass the player might have preferred.

This. Along with, thanks to Don Randall, Fender's aggressive marketing strategies in the fifties. A decent and affordable product, much more readily available than offerings by the competition, made Fender the "house bass," and then recording engineers were reluctant to leave their comfort zones.