A lot of people hate successful businesses.
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THIS IS WHY FENDER IS HERE TO STAY
- Thread starter Frank Vozak
- Start date
A lot of people hate successful businesses.
Sure, if the Fender guy is the better player 90% of the time.
Leo Fender is a bass guitar guru. If I wasn't going to play a Fender then I would play a G&L or MusucMan
Yeah! Just like fax machines, VHS recorders, 8mm film projectors, british horse saddles, and Polaroid cameras!
If you are sarcastic, you are missing the basic premises entirely.
Fender might be the top name in this business, but the future for the business as a whole is definitely not carved in stone.
Of the three basses I have, two are Fenders. With that said, I wish you could get lower action on them without having to add shims. They're notorious for having higher action than other basses in the same price range.
The things I have seen are that the B string is a bit anemic and floppy, but Fender strings them with ridiculously small B strings. I found upgrading mine to a .145 solved most of the issues it had.
Even though there is a trend towards electric vehicles, and away from gasoline, I doubt they will ever get rid of fenders. They are just too important to the design of any vehicle.
Frank Vozak wrote
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"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."
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."
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Fender is here to stay because the foundations of the companies product line, created by Leo Fender with support and collaboration with a small group of very smart early employees, are brilliant works of American mid-century invention and industrial/product design. Not 100% perfect but unquestionably brilliant.
I consider Fender to be in the same league as his contemporaries, who were also based in Southern California, Charles and Ray Eames.
I consider Fender to be in the same league as his contemporaries, who were also based in Southern California, Charles and Ray Eames.
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