Why is Fender so Popular?

[msquared]

Why is Fender so popular?

Why is this question so popular? Who cares? Buy what feels and sounds good to you. Make the best music you can using it. Repeat step 2 ad infinitum.

 

[Mon Rominee]

People who feel the need to say things like "Fenders are only popular because some people can't think for themselves" or "because it was the first" and then they trumpet their choice of bass like they're a genius are stupid and insecure and need to prop themselves up at someone else's expense. One of these days, every single person who said something stupid like that will be humbled by someone playing a Fender, or even a cheaper and crappier bass. Then and only them will they grasp the ridiculousness of their lack of knowledge.

The genius (or lack of it) is in your playing, not your equipment. I suggest you pipe down, go practice until you get good enough to not be so insecure, and quit busting our stones.

Rob, that is pretty much what I was saying with my prior comment that you took as an attack at you (but wasn't)...I'm in total agreement here. This thread is just painfully stupid.

 

[RBrownBass]

What difference does it make? And who are you to question other people's motives?

It makes no difference other than that I'd like an answer.

I'm the one asking the question, and I don't need to be anyone else to ask it or anything else that comes to mind. The question is here, and it will remain here regardless of whether you think it should or not.

 

[Mon Rominee]

It makes no difference other than that I'd like an answer.

Well then you better start polling each and every person whose bought a Fender to get the answers that will nail down your query, as no one person can give you a definitive answer to that one....but I'll start:

My Fenders I bought because they achieved a feel and sound I was looking for / felt comfortable playing. Isn't that enough reason for buying any bass? Oh, I also like the look and don't feel like overspending to get it. Next?

 

[BuffaloBass]

The OP's answer is, of course they were the first, then I;m reading about the German bass, and after maybe a month of German I dont rememer what " damit man" means, but I know it sint what it sounds like. Cool bass.

Fender P and Fender J still knock it out. Ageless design. Hard to improve upon. Uh, well, unless you DIG Lakland 35" necks, which I do as a 5 string player, and AERO Alnico 5 pickups, which I do as a 5 string player ( low end- ah, to die for ), but the general body countour of the Fender is jsut right, enough of an upper horn to hang from, enough of a lower horn and curve to set it in your lap easy.

In teh 70's I bought my dream J. mustve been a 71-73, bought in 77. First I didnt dig the bridge. Put a BA on. And then the sound bothered me. I picked up a new Peavey t40 at teh local music store, and whammo, off the J went. Assume it was 17 yr old inexperience/gas, but usually my ears dont lie, and the Peavey sounded better. Still got the T40. ( gigged the tar out of the Peavey $$$ and shouldve kept the J around!)

The Lakland JoBo 5 destroys it.

And there is nothing like a P bass sound. I have one in the mix as well.

Am watching the Fender vs. Lakland 5 string P bass offerings coming up with interest. I sill like the cut of the jazz ( esp now with older less sensitive ears), but I've always wanted to bang out rock and funk on a P. Would be a GREAT country bass as well.

 

[RBrownBass]

Well then you better start polling each and every person whose bought a Fender to get the answers that will nail down your query, as no one person can give you a definitive answer to that one

Of course there will be several answers, as there are several people. But I asked one person- I don't have enough interest to start a poll. Glad for your input, tho.

My Fenders I bought because they achieved a feel and sound I was looking for / felt comfortable playing. Isn't that enough reason for this?

It is indeed.

Now... my question dealt with the fact that you cannot get that feel and sound in the price range I listed unless you build it yourself. If you could, you'd have more choices than Fender. Now whether you'd choose even then to go with Fender or not, the fact remains that there IS an availability issue here, whether people want to dismiss it or not.

Next?

Let's hope there's a next- you're not the person I asked, so it's still open.

 

[Rob Mancini]

It makes no difference other than that I'd like an answer.

I'm the one asking the question, and I don't need to be anyone else to ask it or anything else that comes to mind. The question is here, and it will remain here regardless of whether you think it should or not.

Suit yourself. But the way you phrased your question made it sound like those were the only two possible reasons you could have for buying a Fender, so I consider it deliberately antagonistic and not worthy of an answer.

 

[RBrownBass]

Suit yourself.

I do.

But the way you phrased your question made it sound like those were the only two possible reasons you could have for buying a Fender, so I consider it deliberately antagonistic and not worthy of an answer.

You consider it antagonistic and not worthy of an answer, but you felt it worthy of a response via post?

It may be taken as antagonistic -I don't care- but it's a valid question without amendment, and that's all it needs to be.

 

[FunkyFlashFive]

I must say that the "fender" sound isn't the sound for everyone. personally, I'm an active electronics, 5 string player who likes a thin neck, and a headstock that doesn't look silly with 5 tuners instead of 4. I'm also a fan of the natural wood being seen and not a fan of pick guards. that is why I'm not going to get a fender until I've already got several other options in my possession.

 

[Turock]

im probbolly gonna get flamed for this cause fender has a new line with a bigger bridge and new paint or some BS, but yea, lakland uses the same body types. ANd they are modeled after fenders... but thats not really the point the original poster made. Why is it lakland can so easily improve on fender by making them more similar to fenders old basses... when fenders previous to the instruments were so minimal and clearly inferior to thier old product. I just cant help but feel like you are in fact paying for the name... the always seem 10 steps behind which is sad because they were the original inovators. Active basses come out and hit big... they add a S1 switch with minimal tone minipulation, 5 strings become popular... a year or two later start offering models with some weak B string and very limited selection. Bridges get more mass, fender throws on a door braket lol. Like the sheer fact that like 90% of you who buy fenders mod somthing says somthing IMO.

How could you possibly have the information that you are presenting as a "sheer fact"? Get real.

Here's a real fact:
Fender's Heartfield line had everything you mentioned, including one of the strongest, tightest B strings I've encountered, active? check. high mass bridge? check. Selection? four string, five string, six string; bolt on, neck thru, graphite, fretted, fretless. check.
They were doing this 20 years ago.

Evidently most people didn't want that. They want Precisions and Jazzes.

 

[mongo2]

The OP's answer is, of course they were the first, then I;m reading about the German bass, and after maybe a month of German I dont rememer what " damit man" means, but I know it sint what it sounds like. Cool bass.

It's not a "German" bass they were made in Seattle, Washington USA.

It's just that particular website is in German.

 

[Rob Mancini]

It may be taken as antagonistic -I don't care- but it's a valid question without amendment, and that's all it needs to be.

I sure could use a "shoot myself in the head" emoticon.

 

[Brad Johnson]

But do people like them because they're Fenders or do they like them because that's what's available in that style at the price?

I can honestly say I've NEVER had anyone relay to me that they like something, ANYTHING for that matter, because of it's name. That would hold true for Fenders too. If they like it for the normal reasons (tone, playability, looks, etc.) they usually say that. If they don't they say that too.

OTOH affordability can be a factor. Yet I don't hear people saying they like it because that's all they could afford, for an obvious reason... there are tons of other instruments available in the same price range you mentioned

OTOOH there are people dumb enough not to like things simply because of a name. Funny how that works.

I'm referring to the fact that FMIC's pretty much cornered the market on instruments of that style in the price range of about $300 (including Squier here) to about $1200. Yamaha doesn't make a bass in that style, nor does Peavey, Cort, Samick, you get the pic.

Not even close to being true. If you're honestly saying you haven't seen Fender P and J clones galore, maybe it's where you live that the issue. And I've seen Cort Jazz basses... they're nice for the money.

They all have oddly-shaped basses with the same pickup configs, but not the same body shape, and not necessarily with the same pickup placement. So if you're looking for the combination of all those things in a new instrument within that range and you have no building skills (Allparts/Musikraft/USACG/Warmoth), Fender's your best bet.

Also not true. You've never seen SX? Or any of the other affordable Fender clones?

 

[Rob Mancini]

How could you possibly have the information that you are presenting as a "sheer fact"? Get real.

Here's a real fact:
Fender's Heartfield line had everything you mentioned, including one of the strongest, tightest B strings I've encountered, active? check. high mass bridge? check. Selection? four string, five string, six string; bolt on, neck thru, graphite, fretted, fretless. check.
They were doing this 20 years ago.

Evidently most people didn't want that. They want Precisions and Jazzes.

The Jaguar is the only "newer" Fender design that has caught on with the public. Everything else has gone by the wayside, except when they do special "nostalgia" runs of disco'ed models. People who hate Fenders always try to point to the endless Jazz and Precision basses as evidence that Fender never does anything new. Meanwhile, it takes about 3 minutes of research to prove that's an idiotic thing to say. They're trying to do new stuff...people just aren't buying it.

 

[Turock]

I'm referring to the fact that FMIC's pretty much cornered the market on instruments of that style in the price range of about $300 (including Squier here) to about $1200. Yamaha doesn't make a bass in that style, nor does Peavey, Cort, Samick, you get the pic. .

I suspect that Cort and Samick make the majority of basses in that style.

 

[GregC]

Yep, lots of sequels.

And each sequel is progressively worse.

 

[RBrownBass]

OTOH affordability can be a factor. Yet I don't hear people saying they like it because that's all they could afford, for an obvious reason... there are tons of other instruments available in the same price range you mentioned

I mentioned at least three different things about a typical Fender P or J that no one is currently offering in the price range I specified (which is a pretty wide range). Those three things were body shape, pickup configuration and pickup placement. I didn't mean "close" when referring to body shape, BTW.

Not even close to being true. If you're honestly saying you haven't seen Fender P and J clones galore, maybe it's where you live that the issue. And I've seen Cort Jazz basses... they're nice for the money.

I've seen plenty of Fender-style basses in my area. All of them were cheaper than $300 or more expensive than $1200. And the Cort has a different shape. Don't know offhand about the pickup placement.

Also not true. You've never seen SX? Or any of the other affordable Fender clones?

Not in the range I specifically specified for the purpose of being specific. You show me the guy who paid $300 or more for an SX. I'll take the money I get from selling him MY Fender and use it to go buy a Sadowsky AND a rig.

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

I began playing bass in 1976, and at that time at least 95% of my favorite players, and the bassists that I saw on TV were using Fenders. My first bass was a J-copy, and I probably owned my first real Fender by 1977. For the most part I feel that Fender basses, and Fender-style basses have a tone that's suited very well for live playing, and their tone also obviously records very well. Because I've been mainly a Fender player for so many years, they feel very comfortable to me. I also like that there are so many high quality aftermarket parts available. When the need for a different sound arises, I can simply buy a new set of direct replacement pickups.

 

[king_biscuit]

People who hate Fenders always try to point to the endless Jazz and Precision basses as evidence that Fender never does anything new. Meanwhile, it takes about 3 minutes of research to prove that's an idiotic thing to say. They're trying to do new stuff...people just aren't buying it.

+1

 

[Rob Mancini]

Rob, that is pretty much what I was saying with my prior comment that you took as an attack at you (but wasn't)...I'm in total agreement here. This thread is just painfully stupid.

Yeah, but for some reason they draw me in every time.

Anyway, I mistook your message because it had my previous message quoted. Honest mistake.