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To Me, Fender Is.......

#201
SolarMan said:
I hear ya' Clef...

Although a Sadowsky is basically a Custom Shop Fender. I mean, c'mon. Right?

And seriously...if you haven't already done so, go and play some 2012 MIA Standard P's and J's.

Clef...go and do that.

Promise.

:)
Click to expand...

I did play some Fender and Fender clone 3 years ago. It isn't for me. I won't play a Fender or Fender clone again. Yeah, Sadowsky is a custom shop Fender in a way but it is clearly made with better stuff.
 
#203
There has been mention of Sadowsky and Lull in this discussion which are probably the two best Fender based small builders (that I have owned) and I agree with previous comments, they make a better instrument overall, no question. Again just my two cents.

However, I have settled on an 18mm bridge spacing, 1.81 nut width, C shape neck profile (not asymmetric) and 34" scale as my primary spec for a 5 string jazz bass.

Sadowsky doesn't make this instrument standard.
Lull = special order.

The reason I have been building basses using Warmoth parts is because I can get a quality instrument for under $1200, that match the above criteria.

Fender = standard issue and they are readily available.

Brand New American made in Corona California bass shipped to me courtesy of Guitar Center, with price match, $1300.

Sadowskys and Lull start at $2600 and go to $3200 before tax. As it should be. These are hand made basses for the most part.

To me, I have concluded that Fender stays on the map because they remain viable and have been listening and making some upgrades that have been badly needed for awhile.

I think Fender is; the working mans bass.
 
#204
Doug Parent said:
There has been mention of Sadowsky and Lull in this discussion which are probably the two best Fender based small builders (that I have owned) and I agree with previous comments, they make a better instrument overall, no question. Again just my two cents.

However, I have settled on an 18mm bridge spacing, 1.81 nut width, C shape neck profile (not asymmetric) and 34" scale as my primary spec for a 5 string jazz bass.

Sadowsky doesn't make this instrument standard.
Lull = special order.

The reason I have been building basses using Warmoth parts is because I can get a quality instrument for under $1200, that match the above criteria.

Fender = standard issue and they are readily available.

Brand New American made in Corona California bass shipped to me courtesy of Guitar Center, with price match, $1300.

Sadowskys and Lull start at $2600 and go to $3200 before tax. As it should be. These are hand made basses for the most part.

To me, I have concluded that Fender stays on the map because they remain viable and have been listening and making some upgrades that have been badly needed for awhile.

I think Fender is; the working mans bass.
Click to expand...

agreed (working man).

but are sadowski's really "hand made"? i was under the impression they are really, really nice parts basses. like many things i've heard, that could be wrong.
 
#205
the yeti said:
agreed (working man).

but are sadowski's really "hand made"? i was under the impression they are really, really nice parts basses. like many things i've heard, that could be wrong.
Click to expand...

Actually you are correct. The bodies and necks are probably CNC'ed like anyone else's are but I think there is no question Sadowskys product is the result of more attention and care to the build process (compared to Fender I'm quite sure) as well as a well deserved premium for his design innovations. Nothing sounds like a Sadowsky, and it is probably the next best step up from Fender. Just wish Roger offered a standard 18mm bridge spacing.
 
#206
Some really depressing statements in this thread, along the linesaof "If you don't think Fender are the best, you're wrong".

Not even worth answering.

Fenders are not for me, and I've owned dozens of them in my time.

Another thing touched upon was a posters incredulity that leo didn't play. Thats exactly WHY he succeeded. he wasn't tied by conventions that being a player would have brought.

Very like the only other man to revolutionise the low end - Ned Steinberger.

A furniture designer who saw the flaws in a design, and rectified them, without a nod to convention.

The problem is that nowadays we are, as players, too tied to convention for it to happen again.
 
#207
number11 said:
The problem is that nowadays we are, as players, too tied to convention for it to happen again.
Click to expand...


A very interesting point indeed.
The man who depends on the tools to stay reliable and predictable so he can do his job, says "Why?" to change, and the inventor, the inspired creator say's "why not make it better" ?
 
#208
Jeremy Clarkson is the former, and once said that if were up to men like him, we'd all be in caves going " This is ok, isn't it?"

Evolve or die.

So to evangelise the Fender Bass is, in a way, to go against its very spirit.
 
#209
To Me, Fender Is.......

...A hard-working craftsman/inventor who advanced the electric bass by leaps & bounds, and made solid body basses available & affordable for the masses.
Leo changed popular music as we know it by putting the electric bass in the hands of thousands of up & coming bassists who incorporated his wonderful instruments in their new & groundbreaking musical adventures.
Leo Fender also paved the way for other creative innovators like Stuart Spector, Ned Steinberger, Ernie & Sterling Ball, and many others.
Whether you play Fender basses or not, the bass you do play has roots that go back to Leo and his innovative Precision Bass.
 
#213
Clef_de_fa said:
I know Jaco, I played some of his music, but if one day you feel like playing a 24 frets to pull out the music your hear in your head, it isn't going to happen on a Fender. If you want the extended rang of a 6 strings bass it won't happen again unless another endorsement like Steve Bailey.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry....WHAT?!? The music in my head can be played on my regular old 20 fret four string Fender just fine. Am I less of a musician because I don't play a 6 string? Is the Fender holding me back? Is my music less worthy? Is it OK if I play my guitar instead?
Just.....lol....
 
#216
Well that as a statement is patently untrue, and probably doesn't warrant justification with a reply. Plenty of non-beginners play Fenders.

However, you quoted a piece of text, and commented on that - not the earlier posts.
 
#220
Yesterday, fender was the most reliable and viable solid body electric bass guitar, set amongst a field of mostly drastically inferior product, sprinkled with a few less popular but approximately as viable options. Its position in the industry as an innovator and builder of quality produced the perception in the public eye that it's the best in the business.

Today, its just another brand among a great many that produce equally viable and reliable instruments of varying stripes. As in many other manufacturing industries, the advent of precision cnc milling has been an equalizing force in the business of mass produced electric bass guitars.
 

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