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Why does everyone use Fenders?

#281
I remember when I wanted to get myself a birthday present, I was looking at getting a new bass, just something to spice things up, maybe upgrade a little bit. I was specifically avoiding Fender because I thought they looked too old fashioned. I dreamed of Ibanez and B.C. Rich XD I was in my local guitar shop, and I spotted a gorgeous walnut satin Squier Jazz. I figured it was worth a shot. I tried it there in the store, and I haven't used anything but Jazz basses since. Not that I won't. I just don't see a need to yet. They're perfect for me. :)
 
#282
I really haven't researched it, but if you go through a bunch of the prominent band YouTube clips from the mid 60's and earlier you see very few Fender guitars or basses. Plenty of Gibsons and Rics and even some Hofners and Vox but just no clear Fender domination like you have today. I don't know why but all that seemed to turn around by the late 60's.
Maybe it was CBS mass marketing, I don't know, but it would be a neat marketing case study to see how the bass and guitar market ended up pretty much adopting a single brand as its default tool of choice.
 
#283
They work. They were designed to be functional. They have a pro sound at an affordable price, are reliable, and easy to fix.

There are fancier and more expensive basses out there, but not necessarily better for the working bass player. It's like the difference between commuting to work every day in a Toyota versus a Lamborgini. If the speed limit is 55 and it's stop and go driving, the Toyota might be preferable and cheaper to drive.
 
#285
I work in Marketing and use the 1960's Fender / Gibson marketing positions as an example for clients all the time. Fender had much better mass appeal marketing in the 1960s with people doing all sorts of crazy things with their Fenders - riding motorcycles, surfing, etc., while Gibson ads were relatively boring, advertising that they were the instruments of working musicians.

End result: Fender sold a LOT more units to people just starting out in music but Gibson has been able to keep their premium pricing to a smaller audience. Both viable business strategies but if you want to get "big" the Fender strategy works a bit better. And, it took some guts to go out on a limb with their ad content the way they did.

GBassNorth said:
I really haven't researched it, but if you go through a bunch of the prominent band YouTube clips from the mid 60's and earlier you see very few Fender guitars or basses. Plenty of Gibsons and Rics and even some Hofners and Vox but just no clear Fender domination like you have today. I don't know why but all that seemed to turn around by the late 60's.
Maybe it was CBS mass marketing, I don't know, but it would be a neat marketing case study to see how the bass and guitar market ended up pretty much adopting a single brand as its default tool of choice.
Click to expand...
 
#286
Late to the party, but I started with a Kent Basin St, which was an excruciating piece of work, but clearly looked Fendery. When I got up enough $$ to get a real good bass, I got a Fender Tele Bass, which I still have. It - long scale Fender - just was what real musicians played, and what the shops charged more for. This was also the period where a 4001 was hip (by early 80s very dead) and the EB-3 was still kind of ok, but clearly sliding. The P bass was top dog, followed by the clearly less popular Jazz. In fact back when I was a kid, it was pretty hip to play a Berklee Hybrid - Jazz neck on P body. Tons of those floated around.
 
#288
whatever4 said:
They work. They were designed to be functional. They have a pro sound at an affordable price, are reliable, and easy to fix.

There are fancier and more expensive basses out there, but not necessarily better for the working bass player. It's like the difference between commuting to work every day in a Toyota versus a Lamborgini. If the speed limit is 55 and it's stop and go driving, the Toyota might be preferable and cheaper to drive.
Click to expand...

I agree with your points, but I do think the Toyota/Lamborgini comparison may be a stretch.

Maybe a "more expensive bass" could be a Lamborgini, there's a lot of similarities regarding "needs" versus "wants" around such a purchase.

But instead of a Toyota I would equate my Precision more with a Shelby Cobra: Raw, unrefined, no frills, no stability or traction control, no air conditioning or power steering. :cool:

But, and this is a BIG BUT, built for a purpose and excellent in that purpose and still badarse and worthy of respect.

I appreciate if others like more expensive basses, but I wouldn't consider them that many orders of magnitude better than a Fender! :eyebrow:
 
#289
Wagz said:
I work in Marketing and use the 1960's Fender / Gibson marketing positions as an example for clients all the time. Fender had much better mass appeal marketing in the 1960s with people doing all sorts of crazy things with their Fenders - riding motorcycles, surfing, etc., while Gibson ads were relatively boring, advertising that they were the instruments of working musicians.

End result: Fender sold a LOT more units to people just starting out in music but Gibson has been able to keep their premium pricing to a smaller audience. Both viable business strategies but if you want to get "big" the Fender strategy works a bit better. And, it took some guts to go out on a limb with their ad content the way they did.
Click to expand...

Interesting reading, thanks. Looked at some of Bob Perine's old Fender ads, very cool. I can see how the young and hip crowd would have found the ads more appealing. With all the production and sound connections Fender owner CBS had at the time I also wonder if there wasn't some back room dealings going on with band managers and players as well to "encourage" them to play fender products.
 
#292
These ads play up the surf connection, obviously… but many of the vintage Fender print ads showed people from other walks of life - construction workers, or linemen, for instance -- with a Fender strapped to their back. These adverts were very a shrewd attempt to "cross over" and reach non-musos, and as has been asserted above, the ads succeeded splendidly.
 

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#293
Strangely much of the British blues rock scene of the late 60s early 70s which stormed the world (Free, Zeppelin, Cream, Fleetwood Mac, Ten Years After) was firmly rooted in Gibson guitars (for lead) and in some cases basses even, and Marshall amps. The latter were superseded by acoustic amps as time progressed and people realised they needed more power and importantly clean sound. Fenders generally sounded thinner even in the hands of Clapton and Hendrix. Fenders were thought of as more of an R and B instrument in the Uk - even the basses at that time. Things may have been different in the States and indeed all my favourite US bassists of the time (Larry Taylor, Jerry Scheff etc) played Precisions. These days there is a vast amount of mundane plodding on bass - and there are far too many Fenders in use on such. With a number of notable exceptions you will often find the more interesting stuff (to me) is played on other makes.
 
#294
drTSTingray said:
Strangely much of the British blues rock scene of the late 60s early 70s which stormed the world (Free, Zeppelin, Cream, Fleetwood Mac, Ten Years After) was firmly rooted in Gibson guitars (for lead) and in some cases basses even, and Marshall amps. The latter were superseded by acoustic amps as time progressed and people realised they needed more power and importantly clean sound. Fenders generally sounded thinner even in the hands of Clapton and Hendrix. Fenders were thought of as more of an R and B instrument in the Uk - even the basses at that time. Things may have been different in the States and indeed all my favourite US bassists of the time (Larry Taylor, Jerry Scheff etc) played Precisions. These days there is a vast amount of mundane plodding on bass - and there are far too many Fenders in use on such. With a number of notable exceptions you will often find the more interesting stuff (to me) is played on other makes.
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The Fenders were really popular in the early 60's with all the local bands in St. Louis, guitar and bass. When the late 60's came and brought along feedback and distortion with it, Gibsons became really popular with guitar players - lots wanted them, but because they were so expensive no so many had them. When I got my Fender bass back in '69 the salesman steered me away from Gibson, saying "nobody plays them - you want a Fender". And so that is what I got. Still have it, he was right!
 
#296
I think its because every single time I go to guitar center, the bass section is at least 75% fender/squier stuff. It makes me sick sometimes. I usually check out their used section though, that's where I can find some pretty cool non fender stuff stuff.

I have played fenders, I've owned a P and a J and they were both really nice. I eventually moved onward and now I'm obsessed with my BTB. However, I do regret selling the P some times, it was just really fun to play on haha. Maybe someday an all black 5 string P will be in my possession. I've always been gassing for it.
 
#298
headband said:
When I got my Fender bass back in '69 the salesman steered me away from Gibson, saying "nobody plays them - you want a Fender". And so that is what I got. Still have it, he was right!
Click to expand...

Yeah this was my feeling at the time - strangely I saw Free about 5 times live and although I could see Andy Fraser played an EB3 and I thought his sound was phenomenal, i never thought of getting a Gibson. Same with Jack Bruce. Probably two of the best bass players of the time and possibly to have walked the planet and their sound was definitely not Fender. Much more punchy. When you look back at famous players and famous groups there are many non Fender players. But Fender was definitely my ideal bass in the early 70s.
 
#299
When I was a little kid, my uncle who lived upstairs was always in a band. This was back in the 60's and very early 70's. The bass player always had a Fender. When the bass player came over to our house, he would let me play his Fender. When I watched bands on TV back then, most of them used Fender's. So, when I wanted my own bass, what do you think I'd buy? A Fender of course. My second bass? Well, that was a Rick. Why? Because McCartney used one for a while along with Randy Meisner at times so I thought its would be cool to have one too.
 

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