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Why Fender?

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#41
I started on a hagstrom bass and then i bought a Rickenbacker!!!! i DIDN'T want a Fender!!! one day i bought a 1978 Fender Precision Bass at a used music store!! it cost me $400 bucks!!
i was amazed at the sound that i got from this bass!!!! today, i'm a Fender Junkie!! i can't live without Fender Basses! nothing against anyone else or any other builder!!! i'm Fender Forever!!
i love just looking at Fender Basses! they are beautiful!!
i also love when these threads are posted!! i never get tired of talking Fender!!!!!
 
#42
Neveragain55 said:
There seems to be (with many) an assertion or assumption that only Fender makes the world’s best bass guitars and/or that you are only considered a pro if you play a Fender.
Click to expand...

Really? Who are the "many" ? Seems like a generalized assertion to me. Not to argue or disagree as I have three Fenders myself, and I like their products. Not biting.
 
#43
mark beem said:
I've done recording sessions where I was told to leave my basses in their case and use the old P bass the engineer had in the studio. Why? It's easy to get a great recorded tone and easier for the engineer in general because that's what he's familiar with.
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I think Mark has pretty good posts. What stands out to me is the last part. I think being "first" has a lot to do with it. I think "familiarity" has a lot to do with it. Time is money and if the engineer doesn't have time (or maybe desire) to "deal" with a bass other than the studio's Fender P, than that's what's on all the recordings.

It's simply not true that other basses can't/won't/don't record well. For example, Jimmy Haslip's Roscoe sounds pretty darn good to me - recorded or live. What if Keith Roscoe (or any other builder) was the first guy to bring electric bass to the world? Active, extended range basses. What if that were the standard and the bass that engineers "got used to" recording?
 
#46
Neveragain55 said:
So, there has been a question I have pondered for next to 30 years about the fascination/love/obsession…….with Fender bass Guitars.

There seems to be (with many) an assertion or assumption that only Fender makes the world’s best bass guitars and/or that you are only considered a pro if you play a Fender.

I realize that there is a “HUGE” Fender following, and that to even ask these questions is to commit heresy. (I think Fenders are great, but not extra-ordinarily special)

I can see all the replies now about how great Jacko, James Jamerson, Geddy Lee and countless others all were due to their Fender bass guitars, but……………the question still stands.

Why Fender?????

Besides the few special editions or artists series’ most “garden variety” Fenders come with: 20 frets – minimal tone & mixing capabilities – average pick-ups –average bridge – average tuners, and non-exotic woods. (I'm not say exotic woods necessarily make a great bass)

Maybe that’s why people love them so much, maybe that’s what makes them so appealing, I don’t know.

I respect Fender as a guitar manufacturer and of course I respect all bass players regardless of what they play.

I’d like to hear back from those of you that have a strong loyalty to Fender, and your reasoning for paying a fair amount of money on a bass line that offers less than what many other bass manufactures offer for the same or even less money.
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Here's last week's thread on this. You can find one from each week for the past 10 years with exceptions like holidays and various celebrity death weeks. Perhaps everyone here can do their share and search for a thread and send it to him via PM?

What's the deal with Fender? | TalkBass.com
 
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#47
gjohnson441496 said:
They feel and sound fantastic. Playing my Roscoe is like being in heaven. it's BUTTER, not margarine, The Real Thing, not diet coke, it's eggs with the yoke and full of cholesterol.
Playing my Roscoe makes me feel like I'm cheating on my wife it feels so good. My dopamine levels rise, the endorphins kick in, and I leave this planet in a state of ecstasy and bliss.

These feelings only happen when you play Roscoe instruments, and your Fender was made in the USA.
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Just a couple edits and you read my mind. Just saying...this can/should apply to everyone and the instrument they have chosen.
 
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#49
I swear, every week there's another one of these threads.

I personally don't like Fenders, and that opinion is purely because I think they're weirdly shaped, and they are always used by hipster Indie bands.
But even I know why people go for them. It's because they're the industry standard, as you said, but that holds more weight than you realise it does.
Firstly, let's talk about brand names, because whatever you think of first is usually what a new player would buy into. For instance, the only pickup company I knew when I started playing was EMG, and so that's exactly what I used. They worked when I bought them, so they work for me now (at least until I try other things), so they've already cemented themselves as "good" in my mind.

Think about Boss pedals, for instance. Some people would've said they were the industry standard when they were at their prime. Nowadays, their quality is lower, and therefore, people went elsewhere.
In this same way, Fender has always been a very strong basis for the industry, and even if anything else might be better, they're the first name you think of, and it's because they just always work. They're always guaranteed to sound good and last as long as you take care of them.

So, by not being exactly unique or different in the slightest, that's exactly what has made them be so unique. Reliability and brand recognition.
 
#54
Dojix said:
I swear, every week there's another one of these threads.

I persoonlly don't like Fenders, and that opinion is purely because I think they're weirdly shaped, and they are always used by hipster Indie bands.
But even I know why people go for them. It's because they're the industry standard, as you said, but that holds more weight than you realise it does.

Weirdly shaped ? The standard that most solid body designs are derived from?
Hipster indie bands like Rush , Marcus Miller maybe please.........
Firstly, let's talk about brand names, because whatever you think of first is usually what a new player would buy into. For instance, the only pickup company I knew when I started playing was EMG, and so that's exactly what I used. They worked when I bought them, so they work for me now (at least until I try other things), so they've already cemented themselves as "good" in my mind.

Think about Boss pedals, for instance. Some people would've said they were the industry standard when they were at their prime. Nowadays, their quality is lower, and therefore, people went elsewhere.
In this same way, Fender has always been a very strong basis for the industry, and even if anything else might be better, they're the first name you think of, and it's because they just always work. They're always guaranteed to sound good and last as long as you take care of them.

So, by not being exactly unique or different in the slightest, that's exactly what has made them be so unique. Reliability and brand recognition.
Click to expand...
Dojix said:
I swear, every week there's another one of these threads.

I personally don't like Fenders, and that opinion is purely because I think they're weirdly shaped, and they are always used by hipster Indie bands.
But even I know why people go for them. It's because they're the industry standard, as you said, but that holds more weight than you realise it does.
Firstly, let's talk about brand names, because whatever you think of first is usually what a new player would buy into. For instance, the only pickup company I knew when I started playing was EMG, and so that's exactly what I used. They worked when I bought them, so they work for me now (at least until I try other things), so they've already cemented themselves as "good" in my mind.

Think about Boss pedals, for instance. Some people would've said they were the industry standard when they were at their prime. Nowadays, their quality is lower, and therefore, people went elsewhere.
In this same way, Fender has always been a very strong basis for the industry, and even if anything else might be better, they're the first name you think of, and it's because they just always work. They're always guaranteed to sound good and last as long as you take care of them.

So, by not being exactly unique or different in the slightest, that's exactly what has made them be so unique. Reliability and brand recognition.
Click to expand...
 
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