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why does everyone use fender?

#21
I've been playing bass for the better part of 15 years. I've owned quite a variety of basses since i started, Ibanez, Alvarez, Dean, Ernie ball, Hohner...etc. I was pretty happy with the performance of all those basses. I'm not sure why but I sort of ignored Fender basses for quite a while. Until a few years ago a friend of mine who plays bass for a fairly succesfull band invited me to a rehearsal. He was playing an MIA jazz 5. I just couldnt get over the "fatness" of the sound. He told me here man check it out. The first few runs a played on that bass made me feel like well....I guess the only word i can think of is mojo. And like previous posters have stated... "it just feels right". Since then i played every fender i could get my hands on and EVERY single one i played was like buttah. I finally broke down and got my own. All my basses serve a purpose and have their own specialties but the Fender is just good at everything.
 
#22
Here's the deal:

Fender's been around long enough to get all the "kinks" out of their "Basic Production" P & J instruments to the point where you can pick one up and PLAY. No matter the year, you basicaly KNOW what to expect from it. (So does any band with members over 18 in it.) There's an understood tone to expect from them, so anything extra is only added "Gravy" to your tone.

Granted, the tone/feel will be different between one instrument to another, BUT there's a consistantcy that has always been there. Sound guys ALL KNOW how to blend a Precision or a Jazz into your mix on stage. (This is a BIG issue on the road.)

Parts for Standard Fender P and J basses are redilly available, virtually anywhere in the world. They CONSISTANTLY hold their value aganst ANY OTHER BRAND of basses, (Bar None.)
When I play Fenders, I'm not yelling at the world; "Look at me, I gotta $3500 Boutique Bass". Unless you just happen to KNOW exactly what (rare or common) Fender I'm playing, it's only a Fender bass. I get to show off my craft with my sound, NOT what Choice of brand of bass I'm playing on. Just how I sound. Of all the basses I've traded over the years, I've never lost a DIME on a Fender I had.

* What else (besides a Harley Davidson) can you buy, use the hell out of , and still sell for more than you bought it for, a few years later on?


Personally, I wouldn't be asking "WHY they are so popular" as much as "Why don't I have them in my stable too"?
 
#23
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Fender is
the most copied line of guitars. They're built well, sound
great and hold their value.

When I play live I usually play an LB70 Carvin as it
sounds good and weighs about 2/3 of my P-Bass.

When I record however, nothing sounds like my
'78 P-Bass. I bought it new as a kid and it has turned out
to a lifelong friend.
 
#24
doctorjazz said:
I think I'm the only person alive who can't use a Fender. When I strap one on, it just feels like a dead, mass-produced, clunky tool to me, not an extension of my body. My Ibanez, on the other hand, feels perfectly natural.
Click to expand...


+1...i just cant get into them. every time i walk into a music store i give a few fenders a run just to see if i'll change my mind...i figure if 95% of the bass world plays fender there's got to be something i'm missing..but i really just can't find anything special about them...it's not that i think they're bad (ugly on the other hand...:hiding: ) it's just that i dont see whats so good about them
 
#25
I love my MIA Jazz. One of the most solid basses I've played, and as others have said, it just has that feel. I can't help but smile when I strap that thing on :hiding:

It also helps me chase "that tone" in my head. Lastly, it also looks really sexy--I think Fender Jazz basses really are the best looking basses out there, yes even including boutique basses!

Whats not to like? ;)

-Dash
 
#26
After reading this thread there isn't much I can contribute...so I'll just add I picked up my first bass in 1965, naturally it was a fender P bass which was pretty common then, there were a few other basses around then but the Fender was the most common. I have tried most of the available basses over the years, and own several non Fender instruments. That said it always seems like unless I'm looking for a particular sound, my go to bass is my MIA Fender Jazz
 
#27
The Fender Jazz and Precision basses are THE classic basses of all time.

If you own one of each, you can pretty much nail any sound, and play in any situation. They also have simple, classic lines. They are truly beautiful. Some guy said he thought they were "ugly". Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Then again, these guys usually play basses that are abstract picasso like copies of the Jazz and P. Yuck.

Recently I asked my girl to point out pics of basses she thought looked good from pics posted on this site. Without exception, she liked Fenders most, and Stingrays second. She liked the Jazz and P Sunburst with tort PG, and the standard black with white PG. I pretty much have to agree.

Bottom line, if you don't own a Fender, you're not a real player. Period.

:bassist:
 
#33
Bottom line, if you don't own a Fender, you're not a real player. Period.
Click to expand...

Most rediculous thing I've ever read on this board. Period.

I won't resort to trashing Fender in this thread, but this dude right here just isn't helping your pro-Fender causes. He makes it look like the sheep flock to Fender. I doubt anyone like him would even give another brand a chance. People like that play Fender because you see Fenders on billboards, in Magazines, and because someone else told them that Fender is the best out there.

I for one like to actually get experience with whatever brands I see, and make my choice myself.
 
#34
Because everyone wants to be like me.

When I started playing, I was Anti-Fender. Saw them as a faceless corporate giant. Thought the basses were ugly, etc.

Then it was my days with Ibanez. Good basses, but not the best. Sounded a little dead to me. Made my way to playing Stingrays. Then fell in love with a '77 Precision on the wall. Beat to hell, it played amazingly. A little while down the road, I bought my first Fender, and I've been buying nothing but ever since.

I realized it was the sound I was looking for in my head the whole time. It was the feel I was looking for in my hands the whole time. And now, my ribs are bent ever so slightly to cradle a Jazz bass body.
 
#39
Im my short 4 years of a bass player I have owened 4 bass, squire started with, out grew in a year and wanted something else. Fell in a love with my MIM Jazz,(only bass I still have). Than I figured well Ill try a 5 string bought an ibanez SRX505 great sounding bass just couldnt get use to the 5 string, and never used the B in a band situation so it got traded in for a Mike Dirnt Pbass. Liked the tone, the the neck felt huge compared to my jazz and the body was just to square not rounded like my jazz. So that got sold, now I have my trusty MIM jazz and love it. Anytime I go to a music store pretty much the only basses I will seriously look it are jazz's. Tried playing warwicks spent like 4 hrs of straight playing. sounded alright but to heavey and the necks are just to thick. Now my next bass is going to be a Geddy Lee. I love that bass.
 
#40
Rick_no7 said:
Some of us just happen to like more than standard :hyper:
Click to expand...


Sure, that may be true, but doesn't address the O.P.'s question.

It's the same reason you see so many Strats, Les Pauls, Marshall's, Martins, SVT's etc.

All well established industry standards.

No guess work on what any of those are going to sound like.

Makes a soundguys life pretty easy when you show up with any of those too, and that's always a good thing. :D
 

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