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why does everyone use fender?

#41
I think Fender's are popular for many reasons:

  1. History
  2. Availability: You can find them in almost every music store, in almost any price range
  3. Quality
  4. Tone: I've never heard a sound guy or recording engineer complain about the tone of a Fender.
  5. Resale: Fenders are very much in demand, both new and used. They tend to retain their value better than many other basses.
  6. Style: A Fender can fit into the look of almost any band, from punk to jazz.
  7. Maintenance: parts are easy to find, as are repair shops.

I have owned a number of basses, but I keep coming back to my Fenders. They just work for me.
 
#43
I'm not trashing any other brand. There are plenty of other good quality basses out there. What I'm saying is, that if you don't have at least one good Fender in your arsenal, then you are most likely not a pro.

A good friend of mine is a recording engineer who has worked with a lot of people. He told me a funny joke a few years ago I'll never forget.
Some guy came in to do a session with some exotic wood fancy boutique bass and the producer looked at him and said "That's cute, where's your Fender?".


As for this guy:

Rick_no7
Quote:
Bottom line, if you don't own a Fender, you're not a real player. Period.

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.

/end quote

First, learn to spell. Second, I didn't trash any brand. And you're just another guy who tries a little too hard to be a "non conformist".
I don't care about billboards, magazines, or any of that crap. I go for tone first, playability second, and looks third. And FYI my next bass is going to be a Stingray, so there goes your theory about not giving other brands a chance. You don't know me, so don't make assumptions.

There are plenty of good basses out there. However, there is a damn good reason most of the top great players play Fenders. But no, we don't want to be like any of them. We need to get something to be different, tone be damned right?

:eyebrow:
 
#44
I've been a bassplayer for the past 40 yrs. When I turned pro back in the early 70's I switched to Fender basses. And I used them for quite a number of years, but then I switched back to what I had originally been using in the late 60's.

Many of you have seen that bass pictured on this website. That bass has provided me with alot of good years. But every now and then, i'd get a hankerin' to look at a Fender again. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one that was of interest to me until I found a early 90's MIJ 3 Tone Sunburst Precision which was a re-issue of a 62. This was a great sounding bass, but the neck was wider than I was use to so I sold it.

Fast forward a few years and I buy a couple of Custom Shop MIA Jazz basses but sold them, cause, I just couldn't find the tone I was looking for. In my opinion, Fender basses had become commodities. They were everywhere and in every music store that I went in to. They were being mass produced in the USA, Mexico, Korea, and Japan in dozens of models all based around the Precision and Jazz. There seemed to be nothing special or unique about them. That was up until 2005 I read about the new CIJ Jaguar Bass. It caught my attention and my interest. Finally here was a NEW Fender bass design with a cool vintage vibe, equipped with passive and active electronics.

So I took a chance and ordered a Hot Rod Red Jaguar in December 05. I had no set expectations about it but I did have hope that it was going to be something different from what we were use to getting from Fender. It arrived in late January 06. I was impressed away by it's easy of playability, flexible tone and overall quality for a non custom shop produced bass. So much so that i've since bought two more Jaguar basses for a total of three.

This bass has brought me back to the Fender fold after having been away for so many years. Todate i've spent many hours in the studio and at gigs with it. I'm constently approached by other musicians and soundmen complementing me on the sound of this bass. Too me, that says and means something.

So all I have to say is, hello Fender, i'm baaaaaack!

TD
 
#45
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.
Click to expand...

JBass1 said:
+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
Click to expand...
Says it well enough for me.
 
#48
First, learn to spell. Second, I didn't trash any brand. And you're just another guy who tries a little too hard to be a "non conformist".
I don't care about billboards, magazines, or any of that crap. I go for tone first, playability second, and looks third. And FYI my next bass is going to be a Stingray, so there goes your theory about not giving other brands a chance. You don't know me, so don't make assumptions.

There are plenty of good basses out there. However, there is a damn good reason most of the top great players play Fenders. But no, we don't want to be like any of them. We need to get something to be different, tone be damned right?
Click to expand...

Ha.
 
#49
If I were the bass player in Yes, I'd probably play a Rickenbacker, because Yes' music requires that tone, thanks Chris Squire.

But the fact is, I'm an "all-purpose" bass played, hired for many projects, and like most pros (at least in France) who work in the same way as mine, my bass world turns around Fender and Musicman, because no matter what the music is, the all-purpose will do the job with no fuss, and the style and colour will come from the player's fingers.
 
#52
You can bash Fender Basses all you want to. Makes no difference. Bottom line is, Fender Bass players are generally PREFERRED by guitarists, working bands and the recording guys over all the others.

When you want that gig, remember that one little fact. The guy that came in with the old P Bass and the SVT are going to eat your lunch in tone at the next audition you're trying out for, with that "I've-been-had" wanna-be bass and your little 2x12 "POD" combo amp. You may think you initially have a good tone and all, but you're going to probably get handed your hat, at the end of the night......

I've played basses that Solo'ed better than Fenders, but their tone just doesn't sit in the mix that well, live as the P & J's ........
 
#53
D-Bone said:
When you want that gig, remember that one little fact. The guy that came in with the old P Bass and the SVT are going to eat your lunch in tone at the next audition you're trying out for, with that "I've-been-had" wanna-be bass and your little 2x12 "POD" combo amp. You may think you initially have a good tone and all, but you're going to probably get handed your hat, at the end of the night......
Click to expand...
Stupid, but funny.
 
#58
Well you got both the joke and the point.

There will always be better made/playing basses than the original Fender's. But most Mfgrs basses are still based on Fender's original concepts. If nothing else, Fender's have a recognizable tone and feel the crowds understand.

Sorry if you thought I was slamming the Conklins, Laklands, or Ken Smiths of the world. They all make exellent instruments. But I still think bass players should start on the standard Fenders before they go on to other basses, just for the perspective. If they can learn the right-hand dynamics to "cut tones" out of a Precision or a Jazz, the others will only re-inforce what the bassist's already learned, to a higher level. Once the player exceeds the instrument, THEN they should go on to better (botique) basses. But few players follow this mind-set. And I know only a few bassists that can actually out-play a Fender P or J bass to the point where they need a better bass to move forward in their craft............
 
#59
Man, some of the people around here be guzzling the Hatorade. :p :hiding:


I don't understand all the bashing, but I guess some folks need to do it to feel superior or something. If I had my druthers I'd keep my '73 P and pick up a Smith, a Sadowsky J-style, a Stingray (if I could find one that felt as good as the one I used to have), another Spector, a Dingwall (just to see what the funky frets are really like to play), a Pedulla of some sort, a...... You get the picture. Money is the only thing keeping me from having a whole arsenal of beautiful, tonegasmic exotica.

My P bass wasn't cheap per se, but it was a whole lot less expensive than a lot of basses I'd love to have. And I can dial in a tone that works for pretty much any situation I'm in. It isn't the greatest thing since they first came up with amplification, it's just a great looking, great sounding workhorse of an instrument for me. :D
 

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