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Vintage Old Fender - I don't get it.
- Thread starter darwin-bass
- Start date
Yes. He separated the ****** stock bridge, passive pickups, and added a preamp.
Amen reverend testify
cus we know fender had all the great ideas , like the three screws on the neck and all , so they did get it right
Fender only used 3 bolt necks in the 70s. 50s ans 60s Fenders have 4 bolts necks.
At least try to get your facts straight before attacking them.
+1. MIJ Fenders are nice, but it's so trendy to say they're better than the MIAs. I haven't found it to be true.
Amen reverend testify
cus we know fender had all the great ideas , like the three screws on the neck and all , so they did get it right
Fender only used 3 bolt necks in the 70s. 50s ans 60s Fenders have 4 bolts necks.
At least try to get your facts straight before attacking them.
And most of the 3 bolt necks are fine, just like the one on my '86 G&L bass. Tight as any 4 bolt neck. The 3 bolt neck is not as bad as some would lead you to believe. Another one of the many internet bass myths (Gibson basses all sound muddy!!!!!!!, etc.) that are repeated as gospel by people that have never even owned one.
In '83 I bought a Fender Strat, made in Japan. When I tried to sell it in the 90s I got a lot of disparaging remarks about it being Japanese. Only MIA Fenders were considered good then, imports were considered junk. Now that same guitar (if I still had it) would be desirable. Odd how things work, huh?
You missed the point I was making: New is not always better that the last model.It may be a better bass, but it may not be a better Precision of Jazz. That was my point.
Personally, I judge basses on their own. I don't rate something highly because it was from a certain era, therefore it must be better. If I bass feels good and sounds good unplugged, I'll gravitate towards it. I don't have any hangups about where a bass was made.
IMO the whole vintage thing is more about esthetics and vibe than the sound. Some modern basses can definitely cop the vintage tone. It's not like we're playing through crappy 50 year old amps and cabs anyway.
I haven't seen a new MIJ Fender hanging in a shop for some time now. If what you say is true, then MIJ Fenders must be sprinkled with magic goober dust, because the US-made Fenders I've seen over the last few years have been uniformly excellent. Outside of the lackluster colors, they've been pretty much flawless.
What's a new Sadowsky cost? $4grand? Right. You can keep that extra "quality". I'll take a Fender American Standard for $1,200 and buy myself and my girlfriend a nice trip to Europe with the money left over.
I have a P bass and a J bass, both MIJ.
I also have 2 active 5 strings, also MIJ.
All are 85 or earlier, so not exactly vintage...
But, in my guise as a recording studio minion, I got to play many, many interesting basses.
Pre CBS, celeb owned, rare, desirable, famous, new, cheap- it all came in to be played, and, owner willing, I played em all. Plus, trade shows and store crawling in towns across the US.
I have played basses better built, and allegedly better designed, etc., but the basses that feel most comfortable and familiar, welcoming even, have been Fender/Squier basses.
The older ones just exemplify more of the same attributes, more broken in, more of the same qualities.
Now, I still covet a Dingwall, I still get the $4000 J bass crowd, I still have GAS...
But, my MIJ P and J do what I need, do what the gig requires, and still demand more of me as a player whenever I play them.
Their familiarity make me comfortable.
Their simplicity makes me more creative.
Their commonality makes me a "better fit" in more spaces.
Their playability makes me relax and have fun.
The above is mostly true for all the F-type basses I have played.
But, and here's the thing- the older, nicer ones have all of that, plus, a broken in comfy feel that practically begs to be played and enjoyed.
It's like your favorite thing ever. Plus, it's a bass.
Not so bad, really.
FWIW, I didn't have an F-type bass until I'd been playing for 2 decades.
You never know...
I also have 2 active 5 strings, also MIJ.
All are 85 or earlier, so not exactly vintage...
But, in my guise as a recording studio minion, I got to play many, many interesting basses.
Pre CBS, celeb owned, rare, desirable, famous, new, cheap- it all came in to be played, and, owner willing, I played em all. Plus, trade shows and store crawling in towns across the US.
I have played basses better built, and allegedly better designed, etc., but the basses that feel most comfortable and familiar, welcoming even, have been Fender/Squier basses.
The older ones just exemplify more of the same attributes, more broken in, more of the same qualities.
Now, I still covet a Dingwall, I still get the $4000 J bass crowd, I still have GAS...
But, my MIJ P and J do what I need, do what the gig requires, and still demand more of me as a player whenever I play them.
Their familiarity make me comfortable.
Their simplicity makes me more creative.
Their commonality makes me a "better fit" in more spaces.
Their playability makes me relax and have fun.
The above is mostly true for all the F-type basses I have played.
But, and here's the thing- the older, nicer ones have all of that, plus, a broken in comfy feel that practically begs to be played and enjoyed.
It's like your favorite thing ever. Plus, it's a bass.
Not so bad, really.
FWIW, I didn't have an F-type bass until I'd been playing for 2 decades.
You never know...
Ahh, I remember when a vintage Fender was something you might dig out of the garage and sell for $200. I started playing when everything was going electronic and MIDI and pretty soon, dude, we wouldn't even need to sing in tune because it would all be done for us.
Now, the amount of fetish around old instruments is a little frightening. There's a guitar store in Madison, IN, called Crawdaddy's, that I refer to as The Driftwood Shop. It is almost entirely stocked with vintage guitars, including a 1936 Rickenbacker lap steel, the "original" frying pan guitar that has the actual patent for electrifying a guitar. He was selling it for $1500.
However, looking out across the sea of vintage necks and bodies, I had the impression I was looking at a room full of exotic driftwood. Almost all of the instruments were worn, old, and needed some kind of care and feeding. Many of them had been crudely refinished with a spray can.
I figure eventually the whatever it is will wear off, and people will stop buying musical instruments as an investment and start buying them as an instrument again. I can't see myself spending tons of money gathering up vintage gear because the price is so subjective. What one guy thinks is irreplaceable, another will just see as cracked driftwood.
I have a vintage Rickenbacker myself, and I love it but it is cantankerous as all old machines are. I enjoy my new Squier VMJs because they have the sound and feel but they are recently put together, not rusted in many spots, not worn, and sound just great.
Now, the amount of fetish around old instruments is a little frightening. There's a guitar store in Madison, IN, called Crawdaddy's, that I refer to as The Driftwood Shop. It is almost entirely stocked with vintage guitars, including a 1936 Rickenbacker lap steel, the "original" frying pan guitar that has the actual patent for electrifying a guitar. He was selling it for $1500.
However, looking out across the sea of vintage necks and bodies, I had the impression I was looking at a room full of exotic driftwood. Almost all of the instruments were worn, old, and needed some kind of care and feeding. Many of them had been crudely refinished with a spray can.
I figure eventually the whatever it is will wear off, and people will stop buying musical instruments as an investment and start buying them as an instrument again. I can't see myself spending tons of money gathering up vintage gear because the price is so subjective. What one guy thinks is irreplaceable, another will just see as cracked driftwood.
I have a vintage Rickenbacker myself, and I love it but it is cantankerous as all old machines are. I enjoy my new Squier VMJs because they have the sound and feel but they are recently put together, not rusted in many spots, not worn, and sound just great.
I like vintage stuff. Or old, depending on your point of view. Mostly I like that those old items all have a history to them that I will never know fully. I've got books from my grandparents that were old when they had them, from the 1700's in a couple cases. To me they are touchstones to humanity from another era. A great old vintage bass is kind of like that, and you can play it too. That said, I'm going to spend the weekend putting together a bass from new(ish) parts. Maybe in 40 years someone will start a thread about it asking what the heck it is and admire the wear pattern and gripe about the mods that will happen 20 years from now.
Crappy 50 year old amps?
I play a 2011, Fender Am Dlx P, and a 2012 Fender Am Dlx J through a 50 year old amp.
I have modern amps as well, but none can sound like my 1963 B-15.
I'm with the OP....I don't get it. I would rather spend my $$ on modern equipment I know will be reliable and sound as good, if not better. Nowadays, with amps and cabs making leap and bounds in regards to efficiency and power/weight-ratio, I have no desire for vintage amplification. Basses, I guess if I found the right one. But most vintage basses start around $1.5k and up from there. For that kind of money, I'll buy modern-used all day long. Fit, finish, playability, and reliability will more than likely be as good, but prob better, than most vintage basses. I will buy a used-modern all day long sight in-seen....but never vintage. Heck, my last purchase was a 00' Lakland 4-94 from the TB classifieds. Street price was about $1700. That bass is steps above any vintage Fender I've ever played. My 99' Albey, valued around $1200, is steps ahead of any vintage bass I've encountered. Not dogging vintage....but too risky for me, for little to no gain.
I would be willing to bet that they've never played one, let alone owned one.
I don't get why they think there is something to get. It's simple - if you don't like them, don't buy them.
that's absolutely the case for some of them. A good ftriend of mine has a '52 tele that looks nearly new, far better than the relic ones Fender sells, and is it a canoe paddle - an absolutely terrible machine. However, it has a serial number under 3K so it's still worth (likely) tens of thousands.
