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Why is Fender so Popular?

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#101
hi,

having had the opportunity to play many basses over the years I always come back tio the fender thing......wether in a high end bass or a low end bass..... I personaly own 2 fender jazz basses, 2 modulos, and a ernie ball 5 string.... I can honestly say when playing out the fenders get the best compliments on sound....nowwwwwwwwww to get a good fender is another isue. you have to go through a lot of em sometimes. but when you do find a good fender keep it....

far as that german dude pushing warwicks...... warwick copied all of fenders designs and made "boutique basses".....if you like fenders you can't go wrong...plus they hold their resale value...not like the boutique basses!!!!

just my 3 cents worth!!!!!!!!!!
 
#106
CHILDISHGAMBINO said:
DavidRavenMoon expressed my feelings a little better. Pretty much how I feel. I wasn't trying to bash Fenders. I just said I don't get it. I do understand that time is money etc and that makes sense but, using your sundae analogy, some people don't always want chocolate in their sundaes. Another question, how hard can it be to get a good sound out of a good bass? Seriously, I'm not trying to be a smart *** I want to know. Your point was good engineers and producers plus studio time cost a lot of money so they like to use Fenders because it's easy. If they are good engineers and producers shouldn't it be easy for them to get a good sound out of pretty much any decent instrument?
Click to expand...

The chocolate sundae example was just an attempt to show something simple and easy to work with vs. something more complicated and time consuming to get good results.

Sure, a great engineer will get a good sound, but it's going to take longer to get it with something they're not familiar with.

Take any example of something your familiar with, and can do in your sleep, vs. something similar that your not familiar with. It's just plaing going to take longer to acomplish the results. It's not really that hard to understand.

I'm not saying don't bring your pre amped,custom 13 string fretless bass to the studio, just don't expect them to be able to dial the sound in withing two or three minutes, the way they will be able to with a standard passive P or J.
 
#110
After reading posts stating that people only play Fenders because they've seen SRV, Kieth, Geddy, and other big name players use them, one question comes to mind and has not been addressed here.

Who did these big name players mimic by using such inferior instruments? Or is it that they just like the sound or playability, or availability of a really good, solid axe?

I started out on a Jazz with a fretless P-bass neck over 30 years ago. Since then I've owned and played Ric's, Alembics, Spectors, Ibanez, Kramers(aluminum necks), Musicman, Warwicks, Guilds, Gibsons, and at least a dozen other brands.

I have found myself going back to Fenders lately because I really like the sound of them.
The other basses I've owned were great, and I bought them because I wanted and liked their sound or feel or both. But to suggest I am lacking some magical insight because I play Fenders is just insulting.

I only use 2 fingers to type with, but I play bass with all 10. (or 8 fingers and 2 thumbs)
Some people draw their opinions on experience...others, on mis-information...which one are you?
 
#112
ArpeggiFish said:
I'm saying that what if (not using Spector anymore) Lakland started out? Would it be more popular that Fender. Even if Fender did start it, how could Lakland not be as poplular?
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What if fish ruled the world? What if the Monkees started before the Beatles? What if Hitler was gay?

Your questions are moot, just like this thread. If your choice of bass isn't the world's most popular, does it make it a bad bass? Of course not. Fender is by far the world's most popular bass. Nothing has ever come along to change that. So get over it and go practice your wonderful Lakland bass!
 
#114
eddybomb said:
After reading posts stating that people only play Fenders because they've seen SRV, Kieth, Geddy, and other big name players use them...

But to suggest I am lacking some magical insight because I play Fenders is just insulting.
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"People" or "some people" or "millions" =/= "everyone" or "you"

There's a difference in what the words mean.

I never said or meant that EVERYONE who plays a Fender does so because someone else does.

And anyone who doesn't acknowledge that millions of Fenders (or anything else including cars, shoes and razors) have been sold because someone famous uses them is kidding himself.

I'm not an insulting kind of guy, and I'm not responsible for how people misinterpret what I've said.
 
#115
I love how people draw generalizations about bass guitars just because once they picked one up and it sucked. Fenders are good basses, and when setup with proper action and strings they sound good. They are popular because of the simple fact that they took something, made it mainstream and did it well. Call it marketing, whatever, my simple point is that not all Fenders are lemons and most of them are good and playable instruments.
 
#116
eddybomb said:
After reading posts stating that people only play Fenders because they've seen SRV, Kieth, Geddy, and other big name players use them, one question comes to mind and has not been addressed here.

Who did these big name players mimic by using such inferior instruments? Or is it that they just like the sound or playability, or availability of a really good, solid axe?
Click to expand...

Another angle: endorsers usually get custom shop instruments, not production ones. And Fender being so big they have more money muscle to entice the top players.

If these famous players were just looking for quality they could get their custom P or J from any reputable builder of their choice.:hmm:
 
#118
savit260 said:
No, you really don't get it.

Think of a Fender like Chocolate Ice Cream. EVERYONE know exaclty what it tastes like, and knows what to do with it to make a nice sundae.
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I agree with everything you said here. This is why the generic term for an electric bass guitar was "Fender Bass" for a long time.

Many producers know how to get the tone they want to hear from Fenders, so that's what they want to see walk through the door.

And it is a great classic tone... especially a P bass.

Same with the SM57 in front of a guitar amp. You can't loose.

Just not the only tone. :D
 
#119
dblbass said:
fenders suck. pretty much everything is wrong with them. yep.
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Couldn't disagree more. Firstly, Fender were the pioneers of the instrument 'bass guitar' that we took for granted. I have many great basses but I still have an old passive P Bass which I use more than any other bass in my collection as it is such a great instrument that allows me to express myself.
 
#120
Caimanson said:
Another angle: endorsers usually get custom shop instruments, not production ones. And Fender being so big they have more money muscle to entice the top players.
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True.

Caimanson said:
If these famous players were just looking for quality they could get their custom P or J from any reputable builder of their choice.:hmm:
Click to expand...

Well depending on how far back you go, there wasn't a lot of custom builders. But a lot of players had their basses customized, or better, personalized.

Look at Geddy's, Paul's, and Squire's Rics, Paul Jackson from the Head Hunters, Wil Bascomb, Jack Cassidy, Roger Glover, Mike Watt, John Entwistle, etc., for players who modded their basses in one way or another. And Geddy had a custom Ric double neck made.

For many people, an off the rack bass is perfect in every way, for others it needs "improving". :D
 
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