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Unimpressed by Fender basses

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#81
As you can see, no room here for people that have differing opinions. Fenders are overpriced and the quality is generally sub par. Good luck on your journey.
IbanezSDGR2 said:
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.
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#84
The issue of the high action has been covered and then some.

Neck shape/feel is an interesting thing and why I encourage young players to try a variety of different basses. If all you've played on is an Ibanez then a Pbass will feel like a baseball bat. Similarly, if you start on a Pbass an Ibanez will feel like a toothpick.
 
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#85
Nephilymbass said:
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
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I agreed with all of this until the last sentence. Tone is not necessarily, and in fact seldom affected by low action. A truly well adjusted bass will have excellent action and tone.
 
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#86
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#87
IbanezSDGR2 said:
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.
Click to expand...
Yes, Ibanez in general, and the SR's in particular, are exceptional basses for the bucks. My first "real" bass was a '90/'91 SR800. Took 19 years off or so, and got back into music in/around 2011/2012. Played my SR for a bit, but she received one too many dings for my liking...and after several different basses; from ESP to Ibanez to Squire to I dunno, fell in-love with EBMM Stingrays. IMO, the way they all should be.
I contracted a really bad case of GAS, and I pulled the trigger on a 2018 Fender American Elite Precision 4 string PJ (maple board) in late summer of last year...
Brand new, out-of-the-box:
Scratchy volume and treble pots, wobbly tone knobs (all), and unequal string spacing on the slotted saddles... horrible final QC for a nearly $1,900 (USD) instrument.
Some may have a differing opinion of Fender, and some may say one can be modified etc., but why? It's a $1,900 (USD) instrument for Pete's sake. General set-up I get; action, maybe a truss tweak, and simple tuning, but I mean, c'mon...$1,900??
Before buying, I went to the local music box store to try a MIM Fender for $899 (USD)…$250 minimum over-priced... (Could at least one employee wipe down/off the instruments at least once a week also? Once every two weeks??)
Yes, the American Elite Presicion Vintage MIA Antiqued 1889 Re-Issue Reliced Professional Custom (fill in the blank) was promptly returned for full refund... "Yeah, she just isn't working out for me."

For their price points, Ibanez SRs are the best bang for the bucks in so far as all the basses I have encountered, but EBMM Stingrays are the "cat's meow."
San Luis Obisbo RAH!
 
#89
bassmanrocke said:
I agreed with all of this until the last sentence. Tone is not necessarily, and in fact seldom affected by low action. A truly well adjusted bass will have excellent action and tone.
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I didn’t intend to offend anyone. I specifically meant “Super low action” as I said. Not just on the low side. There’s plenty of great players who play with lower action than I care for. And I’m not implying ridiculous upright like action on a bass guitar is good either. It’s all relative. I do run pretty low action on fretless and extended range stuff (6 and 7 string) I’m sure if you played my basses you’d dig the setups. They aren’t ridiculous but they aren’t buzz light year low either. There’s a lot of players with everything from cheap to expensive basses though that have their action so low it makes basses that I know from experience are good basses sound bad.
 
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#91
bobdabilder said:
As you can see, no room here for people that have differing opinions. Fenders are overpriced and the quality is generally sub par. Good luck on your journey.
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That’s simply not true. Cats are more than welcome to their own prefs, one way or another. The OP wasn’t about prefs. It was a conclusion based on essentially zero data. Which would also be ok, were it not misrepresented.
 
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#96
IbanezSDGR2 said:
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.
Click to expand...
Try a Fender USA Jazz. You'll like the neck much better since you're used to an Ibanez neck.
 
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