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

#483
mongo2 said:
Actually Fender has always been that...IME, some are good, a few are great but most are average and they've produced their share of clunkers too as would be expected of any mass produced item.
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Really? I hear this all the time, proably the most commonly said statement about Fender, and I haven't experienced it. I can't see how the bridges, pots, switches, tuners, or pickups would vary on a specific model, sure the woods and finishes are all unique so they will vary a bit but that is true with any manufacturer, all wood is one of a kind. But the wood is all supposed to be the same quality and cut on the same machines with the same templates. I said before, can't remember if it was here or a different thread, that I have yet to see any bass by any manufacturer that couldn't benefit from a proper setup by a good luthier who would also clean up the fret work. So with that in mind, not taking setups into consideration because that is all adjustable and dependent on players taste and climate of where the instrument ends up, I have not for example gone into a music store and sat down and played three identical MIA Deluxe Jazz basses and had them so different that I would call one "great" and another one a "clunker" as you said. I have to think that the perception of varying quality would have to be due to the fact that many of us may have only ever played one Rickenbacker, one Modulus, one Tobias, but 15 different Fenders, ranging from 1974 MIA's, to 1997 MIM's, to 2010 MIJ's all of which have unequal ware and have been treated and stored differently.
I guess what i'm getting at is have any of you done as I said, gone into a music store, sat down and played three of the same exact bass, same model, same year, same everything and noticed a diffence in sound or quality not including what would be corrected with a good setup?
 
#485
sxaxsx said:
I have not for example gone into a music store and sat down and played three identical MIA Deluxe Jazz basses and had them so different that I would call one "great" and another one a "clunker" as you said.
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I've been doing exactly that for over 40 years, it's kind of a hobby for me to try out instruments that started from when I couldn't afford to buy them. I also worked in a shop and on my own as a tech and I've had quite a bit of experience with many types of instruments and amps doing setups and repairs so the setup issue is abrogated by that. To this day I can go to one shop that knows me and I can tweak a trussrod or adjust the saddles when I try an instrument. I even changed strings once.
 
#490
sxaxsx said:
Okay, well then (i'm just curious) what specifically do you find varries from one brand new Fender bass to another brand new Fender bass in terms of quality? How does one fall short to the other, what makes you say one is a clunker and the other is great?
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Mostly with new basses I feel I'm trying to pick the lesser of evils. I get burned out comparing them because the best still isn't stellar, just less blah than the others. It's a lot of listening with very little reward. AVRIs are a good starting point if forced to buy new. Most are decent, and a good one is acceptable. I could live with one even if it's not magic. I much prefer used basses, 20 or 30 years old. By that time, I'm hearing a distinct difference. After a little playing, I'm left wondering if I can live with the plank, or I'm switching back and forth with another one (which means neither is all that great), or I'm wearing a smile from ear to ear. But new ones, not so much difference. The best new one in one store isn't normally anything I'm wild about taking home.
 
#493
I like fender products, but their hardcore marketing turns me off. As long as the bass is good enough, I believe the tone comes from fingers, so I don't sweat over finding that special one. There are so many variables, I think it's all in the head anyway.
 
#496
To Me, Fender Is...

Bigger than life. An Icon. A Legend. An American Success story.

Like Harley-Davidson.

(There are faster bikes, sexier bikes, more expensive bikes, more modern sounding bikes, bikes with more gears, bikes with better range, bikes with higher redlines, bikes with better brakes...but, You KNOW what I'm talkin' about!)

It just feels right.
 
#498
boristhespider9 said:
the orginal, but now inferior in every way to a USA Lakland Joe Osborn or Bob Glaub (preferrably with the Osborn neck) and I'm willing to pay 2-3x the price of a USA Fender for a USA Lakland (I own both)...
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Ya know, maybe it's just me, but I usually expect an instrument that costs "2-3x" as much as another instrument to be superior in quality. I expect my Sadowsky Metro to be superior to my MIA Fender because it cost over $1000 more. Isn't it funny how that works...... ;)
 
#499
I love fenders and how balanced they are, i still like the neck even though its a bit chunky for me (i love thin neck basses i.e gibson thunderbird) but my main problem with them is that almost EVERYONE uses them, with good reason i just like having something different
 
#500
I love fenders and how balanced they are, i still like the neck even though its a bit chunky for me (i love thin neck basses i.e gibson thunderbird) but my main problem with them is that almost EVERYONE uses them, with good reason i just like having something different:bassist:
 

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