I hated Fenders sound for decades. It was the change in amps that made me realize it was the root problem all along. Today's amps are terrific and so prolific that anyone can get what the want in a bass sound.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
What is it about Fender?
- Thread starter Holliwood
- Start date
I just bought a MIA Jazz (Its on order)
why?
Neck... I'd probably prefer a Lakland 44-02, Reflex HH, Peavey cirrus but they hurt my hand like hell
That said my main bass is a Sterling HH, also have a G&L ASAT but I grabbed a jazz too... tone is great but wouldn't be my main bass.
why?
Neck... I'd probably prefer a Lakland 44-02, Reflex HH, Peavey cirrus but they hurt my hand like hell
That said my main bass is a Sterling HH, also have a G&L ASAT but I grabbed a jazz too... tone is great but wouldn't be my main bass.
I think its mostly knee jerk reaction. Among todays generation that got brainwashed by parents and other such into thinking only fender is it. Theres so many better imo even among imports for $350 and less. While fender has made some improvements on some models for bridges, hardware, pups, neck profile, and fret type. The old fenders of the 70's for example where mainly popular due to easy to get upgrade parts. Better bridges, tuners, and pups where made by gotoh, baddass, dimarzio, seymour. Fenders where the easiest upgrade basses since gibson and rickenbacker replacement parts and pups where slim picking in comparrison. Fender was the first popular bass for modding. Its hwy gotoh, baddass, demarzio etc became rich. Lots of folks wont think for themself nor have interest in their own bass voice. They just bow to whatever is popular among pop rock and other radio friendly music.
It never ceases to make me laugh when folks try to say how wonderful fenders of the 70's where. They where not. You had to go thru many to find a good one. But once found that good one could be modded into better bass more easilly then most other brands. Then of course other mfg came along and added those type of improvements stock. Yet church of fender stayed popular cause its heresy to think anything else is as good. Imo
It never ceases to make me laugh when folks try to say how wonderful fenders of the 70's where. They where not. You had to go thru many to find a good one. But once found that good one could be modded into better bass more easilly then most other brands. Then of course other mfg came along and added those type of improvements stock. Yet church of fender stayed popular cause its heresy to think anything else is as good. Imo
And the thread basically went 9 pages before the hate(r) came trolling in. :-(. To each his own. I'm a little surprised it went this long. Have a good day brother.
Because when you get a good one...you'll likely hang on to it for the rest of your days
That goes without saying for ANY brand, no?
What is it about Fender? Tradition, simplicity and reliability, really that's it.
They've made their products for years and people recognize them and it doesn't hurt any that their designs have changed little for their mainstays, the P & J and the Tele and Strat. You KNOW what you're getting when you buy a Fender instrument, no surprises.
It really is to impossible to separate the words Popular Music and Fender. Hell, just "MUSIC" and Fender.
Does that mean I swear by Fender? Not really. I think there are other instruments built better or with more bang for your buck. And what some see as traditional, others see as boring or old. Which is fine.
It's like fashion and food (among other things): sometimes you want to dress up and turn heads, sometimes an old pair of jeans and well-worn t-shirt or sweater will do just fine. Sometimes you want to eat something fancy and exotic, sometimes nothing but some mama's simple home cookin' will do
Good thing you said "Imo" a few times, because IMO, you don't know what you're talking about... I kinda doubt that you're even old enough to have played many 70's Fenders...
- georgestrings
I didn't get into Fender basses until the past 12 years and always read to stay away from the 3 bolt neck basses. My 77 Jazz is a bit heavy, but it currently is my favorite bass, with no problems at all. I really like it.
Full disclosure: I haven't really played a bass I didn't like. I just like some more than others.
Full disclosure: I haven't really played a bass I didn't like. I just like some more than others.
Period? I don't think so. I'm as big a Fender-hater as anybody (but do own two (MIM J & Squier P) and I totally agree with the GNL thing (own three!). BUT
Since I'm also a drumber, I get a chance to go to a lot of drumb clinics (I don't know why there don't seem to be nearly as many bass clinics?) And there you have an array of drums made by various manufacturers across the stage and you get to hear them one against the other live and in living color. Among drums DW has a rep like Fender. Expensive. Lots of marketing hype, and everybody wants them. And as much as that kind of idea sits in my craw, you can hear why right on stage. Those Darn DW drum very clearly HAVE SOMETHING that sets their tone apart from many others. And that is part of that reputation. They can do the job.
And that's what you hear here about Fender. People (me too!) recognize that there is SOMETHING about those original design Fenders that sets the tone apart. They do the job! So it's little wonder that Fender has been so reluctant to change the "magic formula" over the years. Of course the name on the headstock thing helps too. If your daddy went on and on about a Fender bass you may have a bit of the headstock thing. But if it didn't have that certain indefinable "SOMETHING", I don't think history alone is enough to do it. There are lots of basses in the dustbin of history.
Fender made some very decent instruments, for sure. But they are NOT the only basses that hold their value.
It's kind of like a Harley I would think. There are other bikes out there that are probably better in some ways but there's only one Harley and there is a stigma attached to being the top dog that draws people to you. I think Fender makes quality instruments and I own a few and in my life have probably owned 15. There are some that aren't great but overall, they are solid instruments that sound great. There are boutique basses and other manufacturers that make really nice basses as well and I even own a couple of Sadowsky basses. I love them but would put my CS jazz or my new Deluxe Jazz up against them any day of the week. For me it's not a matter of one being better, it's about which one sounds best in which situation. Sometimes I lean toward a Fender, sometimes the Sadowsky, and sometimes my Stingrays. I will have to say in full disclosure, if I could only keep one, I might actually hang on to the Stingray but that's a Leo design as well!
Well I'd love to get 100 bassists in a room to blind test the sound of a Fender Jazz against a comparable G&L JB, Sadowsky, Lakland Vintage J, etc. and tell me the 'something' of the Fender sets it apart. I don't think it does. I think Fenders are well-made basses but it's the name on the headstock that sells them.
1). Fenders are not perfect, folks are just mostly saying they like the plain old can do ability.
2). I think you may accidentaly be making the point that others have already said. Many basses today evolved from the basic Fender. Your blind test may just reveal that the others are very near descendants.
3). What's up with Folks having to hate when other folks are not being Elitist, just acknowledging they too like a plain can - do bass? If you don't like what's being said you don't have to post.:scowl:
SurferJoe46 said:
In my experience Fender is plain, standard, and expected. I've received more "hey, that looks expensive" and/or "serious" comments with other brands, including my old SX, to which people often reacted to the "custom handmade" label.
Not knocking Fender, I just think the general population doesn't know enough to care, nor would care if they did.
I did some studio work a bit ago in SoCal and although I had my Deluxe Jazz in a case, I tried to use my SR500.
No way! The studio insisted on the Fender.
No way! The studio insisted on the Fender.
SurferJoe46 said:
I don't blame them. As a former sound guy, I loved Fenders, as I knew how to EQ and compress them. I hated high tech basses, as the people who played them were more likely to fight us throughout the whole set.
Nobody in the audience really cared either way as long as they could dance.
^^^ this and they taste errrrrr... sound great to. I keep one jazz and one P bass in my tool box at all times.
There was is old adage in business, which stated nobody was ever fired for buying IBM. I think this line of thinking applies pretty well to Fender as well.
If you are attempting to position yourself as an available bassist for whatever gig or session might come your way, and your finances will only allow you to purchase a single bass, a Fender Jazz or Precision would be a solid choice and would find near universal acceptance. Aside from Fender clones and derivatives, there’s nothing else on the market with the same mass approval.
I can understand that mass approval and acceptance may well equate to conformity for some. That word alone used to make the young counter-culture punk in me bristle. In my 20’s, I played with a very talented singer-songwriter who wouldn’t let me bring my Fender P into his house. So I played my Ric and his Gibson with him. He was vehemently anti-Fender to a fault. His issue was that anyone can play a Fender, everybody seemingly does, and if you are truly an artist, you must shed ALL convention. Never mind all the hypocritical traps he routinely fell into, such as that a good portion of the music he listened to and found inspiration from probably included Fender instruments at some point in the recording process. Nevertheless, he managed to skew my thinking about Fender at that time and at one point, I considered selling the P. I landed another touring / recording gig around that time with a 90’s alt-indie band I think partly because I showed up at the audition with the Ric. However, when we got into the studio, the singer / producer couldn’t stand the noise of the Ric, and neither of us was totally satisfied with the sound. So I recorded everything on the Precision and played the Ric live. Years have gone by and I don’t have either anymore. When I was getting back into playing last year, I figured Fender was going to be the best starting point for me. I still want another Ric, but it will be quite a while before I can justify the cost.
This is all IMO and IME of course.
If you are attempting to position yourself as an available bassist for whatever gig or session might come your way, and your finances will only allow you to purchase a single bass, a Fender Jazz or Precision would be a solid choice and would find near universal acceptance. Aside from Fender clones and derivatives, there’s nothing else on the market with the same mass approval.
I can understand that mass approval and acceptance may well equate to conformity for some. That word alone used to make the young counter-culture punk in me bristle. In my 20’s, I played with a very talented singer-songwriter who wouldn’t let me bring my Fender P into his house. So I played my Ric and his Gibson with him. He was vehemently anti-Fender to a fault. His issue was that anyone can play a Fender, everybody seemingly does, and if you are truly an artist, you must shed ALL convention. Never mind all the hypocritical traps he routinely fell into, such as that a good portion of the music he listened to and found inspiration from probably included Fender instruments at some point in the recording process. Nevertheless, he managed to skew my thinking about Fender at that time and at one point, I considered selling the P. I landed another touring / recording gig around that time with a 90’s alt-indie band I think partly because I showed up at the audition with the Ric. However, when we got into the studio, the singer / producer couldn’t stand the noise of the Ric, and neither of us was totally satisfied with the sound. So I recorded everything on the Precision and played the Ric live. Years have gone by and I don’t have either anymore. When I was getting back into playing last year, I figured Fender was going to be the best starting point for me. I still want another Ric, but it will be quite a while before I can justify the cost.
This is all IMO and IME of course.
