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Why are only old Fender basses considered special?

#221
I worked in a large music store in 1975/76.
Fender, and especially Gibson were making mostly inferior product while I worked there, I touched hundreds of each.
The CBS apathy problem started when Leo sold the company and after a decade it really showed.
Opened the door wide for the lawsuit stuff, and made it easy for Ibanez, Hondo, Aria, Univox, Kramer, Dean Zelinsky, Travis Bean, SD Curlee, etc.
It also created a need for Larry Dimarzio, Rob Turner (EMG), Seymour Duncan, David Schecter, and a half dozen others to make good replacement parts.
Fender before 1970 and after 1982-3 is the old stuff that I think is good....but I think Fender is making better basses than they ever have.
 
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#224
Had a conversation this morning at the barber shop with a 15 year old. He's just gotten an Ibanez. Asked what I began with and I replied Silvertone. He looked at grandpa and asked 'isn't that a Sears thing?" Why yes it is. Or was. His new Ibanez is way ahead in construction and electronics from the Silvertone, but to him it's just a beginner bass. Best of luck young dude and keep on practicing.
 
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#225
Glad to hear your 15-year-old friend got a good one. Just a few years ago I tried a then-new, short-scale Ibanez bass and it was one of the worst instruments I've ever picked up. I was extremely disappointed. Ibanez has become similar to most major instrument manufacturers these days. Some of their instruments are excellent, others decidedly not.
As to the build quality of the Silvertone Danelectro basses, well yes the 1444's were kind of cheezy (great sounding, but kind of cheezy). However, these were available for a short time and were anything but.
Silvertone World - Electric Guitars - 1960s - Model 1443 Bass
All the Danelectros shared those outstanding necks and legendary pickups. These were just built really well too. Even though Sears didn't choose to carry them for their Silvertone line, Kay and Harmony were also building topnotch basses in that same era. I have one of these and it's a fine instrument, heavy, but well-balanced and fine.
Bass H426 guitar - made by Harmony
There have been good and bad "beginner" instruments in every era since the start of mass-produced musical instruments.
Greg
 
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#226
GZboat said:
Glad to hear your 15-year-old friend got a good one. Just a few years ago I tried a then-new, short-scale Ibanez bass and it was one of the worst instruments I've ever picked up. I was extremely disappointed. Ibanez has become similar to most major instrument manufacturers these days. Some of their instruments are excellent, others decidedly not.
As to the build quality of the Silvertone Danelectro basses, well yes the 1444's were kind of cheezy (great sounding, but kind of cheezy). However, these were available for a short time and were anything but.
Silvertone World - Electric Guitars - 1960s - Model 1443 Bass
All the Danelectros shared those outstanding necks and legendary pickups. These were just built really well too. Even though Sears didn't choose to carry them for their Silvertone line, Kay and Harmony were also building topnotch basses in that same era. I have one of these and it's a fine instrument, heavy, but well-balanced and fine.
Bass H426 guitar - made by Harmony
There have been good and bad "beginner" instruments in every era since the start of mass-produced musical instruments.
Greg
Click to expand...
I have an '82 Ibanez musician in polar white color (MC 150PW) that I acquired around 1996, it's very high quality, set neck and split coil humbuckers. Set up like a Les Paul. It's quality is right up there with a modern PRS. Mine was given to me in 3 pieces by a dude after it had been used to prove a point in an argument with his GF. (yeah, no wonder they broke up, right?) He had smashed it over a steel futon frame. Well I trued it, glued it, screwed it, and it works perfectly. It's still my favorite guitar in my arsenal, and I have the mystical American strat (ha ha ha! mystical my ass) BTW, The same issue '82 Ibanez MC 150 bass is killer too. I see these guitars selling for a couple G's now...when I even see them...people who have them usually keep them. I have a metallic blue Ibanez GiO bass, it sounds and plays really nice. I have no idea how old it is. Like most brands, Ibanez has began to build cheaper so they can sell cheaper. Gone are the days of Fenders and Dano's and Silvertones being a "beginners" guitar. -Now they'll sell you a re-ish for 3 times the original cost, and 2/3 the build quality :(
 
#227
Blankandson said:
Had a conversation this morning at the barber shop with a 15 year old. He's just gotten an Ibanez. Asked what I began with and I replied Silvertone. He looked at grandpa and asked 'isn't that a Sears thing?" Why yes it is. Or was. His new Ibanez is way ahead in construction and electronics from the Silvertone, but to him it's just a beginner bass. Best of luck young dude and keep on practicing.
Click to expand...
Right now I'm restoring a red Silvertone 1435 guitar. Two single coil pickups. Made by Teisco in Japan. Full scale neck, the "sharkfin" neck too!. -As far as I can find, it was a non-catalog guitar. It doesn't need much aside from from some TLC and a bridge, I'm torn between going "modern" on that. I want to PLAY this guitar not look at it! -The body is solid mahogany and it's tiny...I'm talkin Epiphone Coronet tiny. -And since I can't afford a ridonkulously priced vintage Coronet, I wanna get this running, happy, tunable, playable. The neck is in great shape. It shows it's age, but that's ok -so do I ha ha ha. It's got a Bigsby style tremolo and came with a roller bridge...meh. I might install a suitable replacement for that, but also find an original just to have one before they cost a small fortune or they're all gone. It has the coolest striped aluminum pickguard....really cool looking guitars, and they sound fabulous. They have their flaws that need attention, ie: sharp frets that need filing, and the intonation leaves alot to be desired, the machine heads are not-so-great either. But all of these things are easily remedied to make it a daily driver -and a real head turner too- OK enough git talk on a bass channel :)
 
#229
Wait a minute! Squier Affinity basses are great basses ! Haha hope that doesn't provoke too much outrage.

Re Fender basses, it is not that they are superior. I think it's that the built quality is consistent and they are familiar and easy basses to play from an ergonomic standpoint. And all the marketing. And continuously releasing slightly tweaked versions of the same basic instrument but making buyers think they are getting something unique....
 
#231
I have no idea why old Fenders are considered "special" - other than that there are people who consider any kind of "old" thing you can imagine, to be "special". And, honestly? I really don't much care, what other people like. I like some old, "special" things, too; but they aren't Fenders - or any other brand of bass, either. This is simply the way people are. I do have an old (1978) Fender P-Bass, but only because I wanted a P-Bass at the same time that a friend wanted to sell one of his. It wasn't officially "old" when I bought it. It was just "used"... I seriously doubt that I'd pay what it would sell for now; I'd be much better off with a new one. Although, the "A" width neck on mine would be a big point in it's favor...;)
 
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#232
#233
Fenders are not the only excessively priced vintage bass guitars. Try buying a 1960s Thunderbird these days. I had the opportunity to buy one a few years ago for $1500. It had a neck repair and the serial number had been sanded off as part of the repair and refinish over the repair. That bass would be worth at least three, maybe four times that now. An unrepaired one? Probably $10K to $15K, depending on what it was and what condition it was in. So, no vintage Thunderbird for me.
 
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