Why does everyone use Fenders?

[RandalPinkFloyd]

Shhh, no one tell that dude that Roger Waters has a sig. Fender. Or...David Gilmour....

Psssst, not a Pink Floyd fan. Just a nickname.

 

[ggvicviper]

So glad my opinion got you all worked up. Might want to grow thicker skin, because *Spoiler alert* we don't all like the same things.
I for one don't care what anyone thinks of the basses I play, but you, apparently a Fender Fanboy can't accept that. Always amuses me. No other group gets more bent out of shape for someone not worshipping said brand, than the Fender Bass Club. Go find your Fender support group and talk about how everyone who doesn't play a Fender is an idiot. It'll make you feel better I'm sure.

I think most play them because their idols played them (mainly due to lack of available options) or because they heard they were popular when they first got into Bass.

I think this 2nd quote is what got some people here annoyed. I don't think Sting still plays a '57 Fender because of "lack of available options", it's just a bass that he dearly loves. James Jamerson (one of the pioneering players of electric bass) could have bought himself an Alembic in the 70s, but he stuck with a P with flats. Entwistle owned a slew of custom Alembics, Statuses and Warwicks, but his favorite was a Fender made from spare parts of basses they smashed. John Deacon's favorite was always a Fender. Freddy Washington recorded Forget Me Nots on a P in 1982, and by then you had lots of options available. Many people just like the Fender.

While some may do what you said (it's partially, though not majorly true), many people do like them simply because of how they feel and sound. I love the Beatles, but I would never own a Hofner (or a Rick). I'm not that crazy about Ricks, and I flat out dislike Hofners. I don't play Fender due to lack of options either. I could spend a ton on a custom bass, but I like what a P gives me.

 

[RandalPinkFloyd]

I think this 2nd quote is what got some people here annoyed. I don't think Sting still plays a '57 Fender because of "lack of available options", it's just a bass that he dearly loves. James Jamerson (one of the pioneering players of electric bass) could have bought himself an Alembic in the 70s, but he stuck with a P with flats. Entwistle owned a slew of custom Alembics, Statuses and Warwicks, but his favorite was a Fender made from spare parts of basses they smashed. John Deacon's favorite was always a Fender. Freddy Washington recorded Forget Me Nots on a P in 1982, and by then you had lots of options available. Many people just like the Fender.

While some may do what you said (it's partially, though not majorly true), many people do like them simply because of how they feel and sound. I love the Beatles, but I would never own a Hofner (or a Rick). I'm not that crazy about Ricks, and I flat out dislike Hofners. I don't play Fender due to lack of options either. I could spend a ton on a custom bass, but I like what a P gives me.

I probably should have clarified what I meant. Obviously, these days, there are a plethora of options, but back in the 50's and 60's, not so much. I mean, we all know McCartney played a Hofner because in Europe, that was, from everything I read, about the only one you could get without paying a fortune and most didn't have it. In the US it was Fender.

 

[honeyiscool]

Not to hate on Fenders at all, I love the way they look and sound and would definitely love to have one...

But in the world of indie rock/alternative rock/shoegaze/etc, it seems like every single bassist uses some kind of a Fender (and almost always uses a pick).

I'm going to be starting a shoegaze/dreampop band with some friends and I play a 5 string Warwick Corvette, and I can't help but feel somewhat out of place, not that it will bother me much, but I just don't understand the fascination. I also can't use a pick to save my life, so that's another thing.

Is it actually a specific tone these guys want or more of a fashion statement?

For you, particularly, the real issue is that with that kind of music, guitars take up so much space and a P-Bass with a pick is the way to have the right sound that will sit in a mix and still be heard.

 

[Kragnorak]

Psssst, not a Pink Floyd fan. Just a nickname.

Huh? Next thing you'll be saying that you're also nicknamed after Randall from clerks but that you don't have a sense of humor!

So glad my opinion got you all worked up. Might want to grow thicker skin, because *Spoiler alert* we don't all like the same things.
I for one don't care what anyone thinks of the basses I play, but you, apparently a Fender Fanboy can't accept that. Always amuses me. No other group gets more bent out of shape for someone not worshipping said brand, than the Fender Bass Club. Go find your Fender support group and talk about how everyone who doesn't play a Fender is an idiot. It'll make you feel better I'm sure.

When people react negatively to you talking only about what you DON'T like, why do you assume that it's because they are Fender fans? Also, didn't you go searching for an anti-Fender support group so that you could talk about how everyone who plays Fender is an idiot? *pot/kettle alert*

 

[scotch]

Searching for old threads & posting... you know, because you just don't care. Lol

 

[RandalPinkFloyd]

Huh? Next thing you'll be saying that you're also nicknamed after Randall from clerks but that you don't have a sense of humor!



When people react negatively to you talking only about what you DON'T like, why do you assume that it's because they are Fender fans? Also, didn't you go searching for an anti-Fender support group so that you could talk about how everyone who plays Fender is an idiot? *pot/kettle alert*

I was replying to the topic subject at hand. He attacked my opinion because he didn't like it, naturally, I'm going to defend myself.

My original post was misinterpreted by him and he assumed I was calling people idiots, when I did no such thing. But I was more than happy to escalate the argument after he fired across my bow. He got hostile, I reciprocated.

 

[buldog5151bass]

1. It is the gold standard. If you do jazz or many standards, and show up with something different, you get the stink eye.
2. You know what you are going to get.
3. Great sound, easy to play/mod/maintain.

 

[steamthief]

Huh? Next thing you'll be saying that you're also nicknamed after Randall from clerks but that you don't have a sense of humor!

You haven't seen Dazed and Confused?

 

[Kragnorak]

You haven't seen Dazed and Confused?

Ahh thanks, haven't seen that in years. My apologies to RPF!

 

[OldDirtyBassist]

Fender basses are imo as standard as the common cello or 3/4 size string bass.

 

[bassbenj]

Not to hate on Fenders at all, I love the way they look and sound and would definitely love to have one...

But in the world of indie rock/alternative rock/shoegaze/etc, it seems like every single bassist uses some kind of a Fender (and almost always uses a pick).

I'm going to be starting a shoegaze/dreampop band with some friends and I play a 5 string Warwick Corvette, and I can't help but feel somewhat out of place, not that it will bother me much, but I just don't understand the fascination. I also can't use a pick to save my life, so that's another thing.

Is it actually a specific tone these guys want or more of a fashion statement?

Well, there is always a fashion statement and tradition in music, but generally speaking you pick a bass that gives you the sound you want for the music. If that sound is a Fender sound then those basses are popular. Same thing goes for using a pick. If you want that pick attack and sound, then you use one. You really should be able to use both a pick and fingers so you can call on that range of tone if you need it.

If you drift way from what is standard in your music then you need to either develop your technique to make your fingerstyle sound "pickish" or vice versa And if you use a different bass, then you start either having to EQ it to get it sounding right for the music or you have to start pushing the music to go in a direction away from the standard old school Fender tone. Either approach is valid.

It's MUSIC! There are no rules! It just has to "work"!

 

[okcrum]

I thought everyone played Squires now, or SX, from reading here.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Calm down, fellas.

 

[jthisdell]

Instead of worrying about what others use, just find what works for you.

A Fender P Bass has worked for me since 1976 (before such a thing as "indie rock"). It plays great (although some play better), sounds great (although there are others that may sound better) but importantly it has held up well, never needs adjusting (even if it gets some road abuse), stays in tune fabulously (as long as my strings are not old) and has always been very consistant. That is, there are never surprises on a gig, I know how I am going to play it and I know what it will sound like. I can worry about everything else but never about my instrument. That is worth something.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Templar and RandallPinkFloyd- drop it now. I'm not warning you again.

 

[cnltb]

Why does everyone use Fenders?
I am not the only one I know that doesn't.

 

[Fat Steve]

I thought everyone played Squires now, or SX, from reading here.

Guilty as charged.

 

[Killens84]

A Precision bass and a Jazz bass are classic, iconic tones. To me, a P bass with flats is my favorite bass tone in the world. That's why I play "Fender inspired" basses.

 

[I am Soma]

fender threads are the best!