Nobody said it was the ultimate tool that covers every situation. However it does cover most including jazz and fusion and whatever style you want to mention, and that's a fact like it or not.
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Why does everyone use Fenders?
- Thread starter batmilk
- Start date
I am glad I do not count myself among them. 
I would if it was all I could afford, and there's a dude like Uriah Duffy whose main bass is a modded Mexican Jazz, but probably not the way to put your best foot forward
I would get the best passive Precision and Jazz I could afford, though (yes, back in the 60's it was OK to have one or the other...nowadays you need both to survive doing sessions). I figure you either want the gig or you don't, and nobody has time to listen to your protests when the jobs have been drying up and there are 100 bassists within a 3 mile radius who would kill to be in that situation. So you either give them what they want without complaint or you sit at home jackin'. It's a very simple mathematical formula for me...Producer + cooperative musician = callbacks. Producer + righteously indignant musician = losing your phone number.OK, so go into a session with producers and engineers who are well-ensconced in the studio world and are paying you to lay down a track and tell them that when they ask you to play a Fender. They'll have someone else within a half hour, maybe less.
I would if it was all I could afford, and there's a dude like Uriah Duffy whose main bass is a modded Mexican Jazz, but probably not the way to put your best foot forward
OK, so go into a session with producers and engineers who are well-ensconced in the studio world and are paying you to lay down a track and tell them that when they ask you to play a Fender. They'll have someone else within a half hour, maybe less.
Well duh. If they ask for a Fender, of course you're going to play a Fender. You cater to the director's demands. Always. But that just doesn't happen. Like I can imagine if you're playing for someone like John Mayer like Sean does because John is a huge lover of Fenders. If I was going to audition for John Mayer, I'd use a P Bass as well because I know how much he adores Fender. But most people don't think about it that.
But they don't ask for a P Bass line. They just ask for a "Blues" line or a "Funk" line or a "Hard" tone. For me if they ask for something bluesy, I just switch to the front pick up, dial in the bass, mid and treble settings appropriately and I've never gotten any complaints about my tone, or how I'm sitting in the mix or requests to pick up my fender, which I used to bring with me as back up but stopped because it didn't get used. And I always get call backs. It isn't about being indignant like you have repeatedly used to insult me, twice now. I use what I use because of how well it allows to me nail the tone asked of me. Not because I have some rebellious desire to put my own finger print on the song.
Insulted you twice? I wasn't even talking to you in the message you quoted. But feel free to focus on what you consider the negative rather than me saying how it's very possible to never need a Fender if you're not in a people-pleasing job hunt like a studio musician or hired gun for touring.
I would if it was all I could afford, and there's a dude like Uriah Duffy whose main bass is a modded Mexican Jazz, but probably not the way to put your best foot forward
m.
I know Uriah (His brother's also a sick player and plays MIM) That dude would play a broom stick with a wire and rock it. Besides his playing, his setup and mod is sick (a few years ago I played a couple of notes in it at Namm) and I doubt anybody would even care what he's playing if they hear him.
- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,587
- 221,959
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- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
game over! To me, this sez' less about if it's a Fender or not and more about the player!
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Just because you aren't quoting me doesn't mean you aren't insulting me. I mean when I say "I am a professional studio musician and have been for the better part of a decade and I've never had any problems or complaints with not using fender" and you keep posting "If you aren't using a Fender in the studio your just being indignant and don't get gigs" what am I supposed to think?
What can I tell you? I've had showing up with a boutique 5-string and not having a Fender back then cost me a couple slots in working bands that I nailed the auditions, and I live in central Florida, which is certainly no hotbed of high demand musical activity and was even less of one in the 90's. And even now, there are bands I work with on occasion that I know will freak out if I don't bring one of my Precisions. And even the singer in my regular band hates it if I don't bring one of them. I don't have to listen to him because I've been there a lot longer than he has
but he's right that they just plain work the best for our band.If you've gone 10 years without getting hammered about not using a Fender, that's cool, though. I never once said it couldn't happen. But I can't tell you how many times I've seen advice from those in the studio scene where they'd say, "If you can afford only one bass, make it a Fender P or J." And not just in LA, either. There are definitely less uptight scenes than others, though, so maybe you got into a scene where they're not as into it. That's good for you, but I don't see it invalidating all the experiences of those in musical scenes where Fenders are expected of the bassist, especially those of us who have had direct experience with it.
I believe there are people who expect this. I've come across it myself. I know guitarists find the same think so I asked a band colleague who's a sax player whether the same thing applies to him. He said there is musical snobbery but generally any well respected professional standard instrument type is acceptable.
So my view is the fixed views on guitars and basses are often based on musical snobbery.
I was interested to see the John Mayer comments above - as well as loving Fenders, which I don't doubt, and he is one of my favourite artists, is he not linked to them financially in some way? This may also have a bearing on who uses what sometimes!
I would if it was all I could afford, and there's a dude like Uriah Duffy whose main bass is a modded Mexican Jazz, but probably not the way to put your best foot forward
OK, so go into a session with producers and engineers who are well-ensconced in the studio world and are paying you to lay down a track and tell them that when they ask you to play a Fender. They'll have someone else within a half hour, maybe less.
Well no one would be so daft - but I'd privately think they were idiots and possibly take their money gladly. But I would use a Mexican instrument to keep my overheads down. Strung with flats of course ;-)
By inference you're suggesting they're not competent to record an appropriate bass sound unless a Fender is played. Pity the rest of the band then - there are far more difficult elements to record than the bass.
Can you imagine them recording vocals - 'oh you've got the wrong vocal range' - 'oh you're over emphasising your s and ps'.
I don't doubt that studios churning out jingles and pop music often want vanilla bass sound, which Fender P and J fit well in my opinion, but I've never had a problem getting this with other instruments. My difficulty arises trying to get other flavours with these basses!!
Yes, I overstated it a bit.
No, you can't make a P bass sound like every other bass out there. Sure you can cover every genre, in some respects you can play any music on any instrument, but maybe just not with the sound you are looking for.
That's your take. Maybe I'm suggesting they are either lazy or simply money efficient rather than incompetent; they may know exactly what they want - e.g a plain P bass sound - and they know the quickest way there is to request that very bass be used rather than trying to dial in that sound using another bass.
That's what I would do if I was recording anyway; I want a P bass with flats sound for this song - call someone with a Fodera? Nah.
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Generic...vanilla...LOL! Good stuff!
What separates "generic vanilla" bass sound from "amazingly unique" bass sound is never the bass.
What separates "generic vanilla" bass sound from "amazingly unique" bass sound is never the bass.
But they sometimes have to spend ages on other instruments and vocals ........... Why would they be bothered if they get a great bass sound and accurate playing from the player how it's being achieved - surely it's the player not the instrument? Otherwise it would be cheaper to simply use a sample of a P bass with flats through an Ampeg? And a Fodera with flats would probably sound fine.
I know there are people with pre conceived ideas of what instrument other people should use and if you choose to work with them you either have to accept their irrationality or fight them. I'm afraid in a band situation, I wouldn't work with them unless a lot of money was involved as I know this character trait would extend to me being required to do a lot of other things which I would consider irrational and sooner or later there would be an explosion of some sort.
I do quite a lot of things in my IT day job that's slightly against my better judgement or experience. I try to give my customer my best advice but if they still insist on their way then my need for food on the table overrides my personal opinion. I choose to do the work and get paid. I would assume the same goes for studio musicians, unless they are hired for their very unique sound and are given freedom to add their own thing.
In my music hobby band on the other hand I can afford to have principles.
But hey, I'm not a session player so I could be totally wrong.
In my music hobby band on the other hand I can afford to have principles.
But hey, I'm not a session player so I could be totally wrong.
A p or J will cover such a broad variety of genres in a reasonable manner without too much post production work. From a recording standpoint. Rock, Country, Jazz, indy, etc etc. Most other basses are pretty niche specific and may not be able to be made to sit in the mix as well without additional post production work. Its far easier today, but back when everything was going to tape, budgets didnt including dicking around with the bass tone because some guy wanted to use a boutique axe. Sure, to us as bassists, we think the bass tone is the most important thing there, but to a tracking engineer or producer, its just one peice of the puzzle, and a small one at that.
The real big white elephant is that we judge by appearance. If you see some cat walk into the studio with an 8 string monster fancy looking bass and he looks like a dirtbag, the first thing in your mind is "dismissed - metal head or jazz nut", same thing with some cat shows up with a retro tele bass, wearing a flannel with a beard - dismissed as some indy/folk type. We all do it. I dont play metal, but I show up to a gig with my dean or my spector and its just assumed metal bassed upon appearance. You show up to a studio with a respectable looking p or j and you look professional...your going to be judged as so until you start to play. Is what it is. human nature.
The real big white elephant is that we judge by appearance. If you see some cat walk into the studio with an 8 string monster fancy looking bass and he looks like a dirtbag, the first thing in your mind is "dismissed - metal head or jazz nut", same thing with some cat shows up with a retro tele bass, wearing a flannel with a beard - dismissed as some indy/folk type. We all do it. I dont play metal, but I show up to a gig with my dean or my spector and its just assumed metal bassed upon appearance. You show up to a studio with a respectable looking p or j and you look professional...your going to be judged as so until you start to play. Is what it is. human nature.
