Unimpressed by Fender basses

[Kipp Harrington]

String height being too high is a setup issue not a brand issue. At spec fender action is just fine. Super low action is for people who don’t practice enough who are willing to sacrifice tone for playability

"Super low action is for people who don’t practice enough who are willing to sacrifice tone for playability"

I have discovered this the last couple of days as I have been tweaking the setup on one of my basses. I wanted the action to be low as possible because I have small hands/short fingers. However, every time I tweaked the bass to the action I was looking for, it was getting some "slap back" on the upper frets (above the 12th fret) when plucking the E. It was driving me nuts! So I finally raised the action (saddle height) to eliminate that annoying fret slap and I like it much better... plays nicer. And believe me, I practice enough... every day and sometimes for hours. So raising the action a bit was well justified.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

I just set mine down by the curb, and it isn't even trash day... the broke down lawnmower will probably go, before the Fenders.

Now, now...

 

[dmt]

ibanezsgdr2, if you don’t like Fenders, fine. Ibanezes and Fenders look, feel and sound noticeably different than each other, so some people prefer one, some prefer the other and some like both (or neither).

The term for "strings too far away from the fretboard" is "high action" (as in "the action was too high"). The "action" is how far the strings are from the fretboard, and action can be high, low or medium (or anywhere in between or beyond).

The action can be adjusted on any bass. If you want lower action, request with a salesman that a guitar tech at the shop lower it for you. This is a little bit of work (not too much, just a few minutes) and the shop might have purposely set the action a certain way because they think it will be better for sales, so you might have to let them know you’re quite interested and could potentially buy that particular bass (but you don’t have to promise to buy it or anything — it’s just that they’re likely not gonna go running back and forth changing the action on 10 or 20 different basses at your slightest whim).

Anyway, try some Fenders at other shops too when you get the chance, and remember that string height, like seat height in a car, is adjustable. If you’re checking out a famous car to buy and your head is brushing the ceiling even with your neck bent over, you’d of course try lowering the seat rather than permanently dismissing the car because "the seat’s too high".

In the meantime, enjoy your Ibanezes, and good luck on your bass journey!

 

[thetragichero]

LesPaulLuvr posted:
Thread Title: Unimpressed by Fender Guitars

 

[flojob]

ibanezsgdr2, if you don’t like Fenders, fine. Ibanezes and Fenders look, feel and sound noticeably different than each other, so some people prefer one, some prefer the other and some like both (or neither).

The term for "strings too far away from the fretboard" is "high action" (as in "the action was too high"). The "action" is how far the strings are from the fretboard, and action can be high, low or medium (or anywhere in between (or beyond).

The action can be adjusted on any bass. If you want lower action, request with a salesman that a guitar tech at the shop lower it for you. This is a little bit of work (not too much, just a few minutes) and the shop might have purposely set the action a certain way because they think it will be better for sales, so you might have to let them know you’re quite interested and could potentially buy that particular bass (but you don’t have to promise to buy it or anything — it’s just that they’re likely not gonna go running back and forth changing the action on 10 or 20 different basses at your slightest whim).

Anyway, try some Fenders at other shops when you get the chance, and remember that string height, like seat height in a car, is adjustable. If you’re checking out a famous car to buy and your head is brushing the ceiling even with your neck bent over, you’d of course try lowering the seat rather than permanently dismissing the car because "the seat’s too high").

In the meantime, enjoy your Ibanezes, and good luck on your bass journey!

Hey look, an adult! That's refreshing.

 

[rashrader]

Certain Guitar Centers....

Wait..... There are good ones that know what a good setup is?

 

[bobdabilder]

I anticipate this one is headed for a shadow lock.

 

[TNCreature]

You were unimpressed by ONE Fender bass.

 

[LowRick]

The awesome thing is: you're free to be unimpressed! Fender is free to be unimpressed too... and Ibanez and John the garbage man... Isn't it awesome?

*dances away in blossoming field of meadow....*



*comes running back*

it just ain't very nice to put it that way...

 

[bassliner50]

First and foremost, almost every bass will benefit from a good set up, good strings and as is the case with many Fender Precisions, replacement pickups. Very few new, off the rack basses will have had these refinements. Dont be fooled. I also suggest if you are not drawn to or happy with Fenders, there are many other choices out there. Go explore. Find your niche.

 

[I am Soma]

email fender about your concerns/issues....thinking they might be unimpressed with your general knowledge of instruments/basic setup.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

I only got serious about bass about 2 years ago so I had never actually played a Fender bass before. But today I tried out a made in Mexico Fender. Invalid Link Removed Unimpressed! Strings too far away from the fretboard. Neck too thick, but then I'm used to my Ibanez.
For $800 I would expect much better.
I tried out a $1,500 Fender. That was a little better but still the strings were too far from the fretboard.

For whatever reason, I have read some threads here on TB where that particular Fender was "not impressive". I believe some of the complaints were related to setup issues (which many basses have "out of the box"), although a good friend of mine owns one and he is delighted with it. I guess what I'm trying to say is... try a bunch of different Fenders (PJs, Jazzes, Precisions, Mustangs, Jags...). If there are particular ones that you are interested in and the playability is lacking, inquire about getting a setup done on it. That can make a huge improvement! Good luck in your journey.

 

[I am Soma]

Super low action is for people who don’t practice enough who are willing to sacrifice tone for playability

 

[pappabass]

Dude, you will get kicked off talkbass saying you don't like fender!

 

[lug]

Oh yeah? Well I bought an Ibanez and then my cat died!


note: I do not own a cat

 

[Fredrik E. Nilsen]

Super low action is for people who don’t practice enough who are willing to sacrifice tone for playability

OP's post is nonsense. This is also nonsense.

 

[Pirate Captain]

if you think the action is high on a Fender...you should try an upright

 

[craigie]

I was just at a jam in a town I used to live in. There was an epiphone EB0 type bass and a squier jazz. I knew the squier was good from last time but I thought ah, I’ll try the EB0.
It felt totally foreign to my hands. The neck was very chunky with little taper. The balance was very neck forward. The clunky bridge got in the way of my hand and would have prevented any palm muting. The sound was pretty interesting but lacked any bite. I thought “nice but not for me.”

Went to the jazz. Felt like home. Familiar feel and sound. Action was quite high but not Jamerson level and wasn’t a problem.

I have played many Ibanez basses that were nice and understand why people like them. The portamento for example. I prefer a bass that can’t get a bad sound rather than one that you have to tweak knobs to dial in a good sound. Just my personal preference.

 

[groooooove]

on a serious note, lots of comments about bridges - in my estimation this was 80% truss rod/neck relief and 20% string height.

at least, thats usually the case when something is out of wack - the neck relief can make a far greater difference than bridge height more often than not.

 

[Runnerman]

It took long enough, but someone finally blew the lid wide open on this fraud Fender has perpetrated on millions of people. I feel the most sorry for all the bass gods who have played Fender instruments; they could have been even better if they had only known they were saddled with inferior equipment. And how embarrassing that it had to be pointed out to them by that guy in the guitar center bass room? Well at least we all know now to stay away from this garbage.

pun intended?