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Will Fender lose popularity?

#261
I'd bet Fender is selling more basses at more price points today than they were in their "heyday". I disagree with the idea that the brand is eroding or that Fender is falling off. They are doing what they do and what their customers want. The thought that they have less market just because there are more instrument makers out there is not taking into account that there are also more players and more people owning multiple instruments. Maybe at some point the bass market will become completely saturated AND more of their lower-end competition will get stiffer. Then they could see a shift. As it stands right now, they have a perfectly fine corner on the "Fender-style" market. Squier competes very well in the lower priced bass market, as many TB threads will attest.

Most of the people who don't want to own a Fender aren't going to change their minds if Fender suddenly gets "innovative".
 
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#262
I've played Fender since 78. I currently own a 2013 Fender AD V and a 99 Jaco Fretless and a 2000 Jaco Fretted. These basses have The John East preamp. No matter what other Bass I play (Ibanez Prestige), there is something undeniable about these basses that make them excellent in sound and the build quality. As much as I want to abandon my Fenders for other basses, the incredible sound and feel will always bring me back home to Fender.
 
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#263
AcridSaint said:
I'd bet Fender is selling more basses at more price points today than they were in their "heyday". I disagree with the idea that the brand is eroding or that Fender is falling off. They are doing what they do and what their customers want. The thought that they have less market just because there are more instrument makers out there is not taking into account that there are also more players and more people owning multiple instruments. Maybe at some point the bass market will become completely saturated AND more of their lower-end competition will get stiffer. Then they could see a shift. As it stands right now, they have a perfectly fine corner on the "Fender-style" market. Squier competes very well in the lower priced bass market, as many TB threads will attest.

Most of the people who don't want to own a Fender aren't going to change their minds if Fender suddenly gets "innovative".
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Exactly right. Of course they are. To think otherwise is "wishful thinking" by the usual Fender bashers on this site. For whatever reason, they never miss an opportunity to wage their personal jihad against the Great Satan, Fender. They'd love nothing more than to see their object of hate meet its "well deserved demise". It must be frustrating to have an unattainable obsession. That might explain the delusional disconnect from reality. Fascinating and somehow always entertaining.....in a weird way, like watching a Saint Vitus dance in a crowded subway station.
 
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#270
Dallaspezz said:
May seem like a silly in question. But it seems like everywhere I play, I'm the only guy with a Fender. Everyone else has Ibanez, Cort, Washburn etc. Is there something I'm missing with these instruments? Whenever I'm talking to the other bassists they're always saying how these new Ibanez basses are much better than a Fender.
Any thoughts?
*edit*
Obviously Fender is still popular. The point was kind of missed, I notice even my local music stores are carrying less Fenders and leaning towards Ibanez and other basses of that nature. The point is that, are these Japanese made basses better? And will fender still be king
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If the length of time it's taking for me to get my Mustang P/J from Sweetwater (i.e. Fender can't keep up with demand), I doubt it.
 
#271
Lefty Duke 2.JPG Just because you might see me playing this, it doesn't mean I don't have a Fender, too. In the 4-string world, I think they're as popular as they ever were in the last couple of decades. But, as someone else pointed out; in the 5/more string world? Probably not so much. They would be more popular with me if they would acknowledge that there actually are lefties in their 4-string world, and that we actually might like to have something besides a Standard P-Bass or a Standard Jazz once in a while. 2 basses (in 2, count 'em, 2 colors), compared to the 34 or so (last time I looked) that rightys get to pick from is... well, a lot of things, but never mind. Still, that's why, much as I like my P-Bass, it's my only Fender. And I think it will stay my only one, too...:)
 
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#272
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#278
Minirehak 212 said:
The double bass and electric bass are two totally different things. There isn't much more you can improve on an acoustic instrument besides the shape. You pretty much just got the wood and strings to worry about. But when you're talking about the electric I think of it like cell phones. The first cell phones were huge bricks with buttons. All you could do is call. Now phones are just a few centimeters thick. You can still call but you also have countless other things it can do as well. As time goes on we get more efficient ways of building instruments and today the entry level stuff you buy is sometimes better than the vintage stuff some people praise. Things change, it's all part of living.
You bring up the whole "Simpler is better" thing so let me ask you this, are you still walking around with that brick or do you have a shiny new smartphone in your pocket?
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Can your bass make phone calls?
 

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