Fender Geddy Lee basses - where are they made now?

[kerley]

[quote name='geofio' timestamp='1357746135' post='1927717']
I hear all this talk that fender basses made in mexico are crap!! utter nonsense, i have one of the fender special precisions made in mexico, and i have owned american made models , this mexican bass is as good as if not better than some american basses i have played , i wonder who started all this nonsense that mexican fender are built less than usa models they are not!!! they all use the same components made in the same factory, just assembled in different locations. its like saying the mexican workers cant put four screws into a piece of wood utter nonsense its time to get real, the mexican instruments are like the usa and jap models there is good and bad. i think a lot of people are brainwashed about mexican basses. time to wise up.
[/quote]

There are a number of reasons.
- The price is lower so people assume the product is inferior.
- They are not made in the US so casual racism (especially from US buyers) assumes they will be inferior
- Interestingly people who think Mexcans cannot build a guitar think the Japanese can.

It is largely based on ignorance and the differences between basses from different countries are down to the budget the bass it set to along with any processes used in that country to keep within that budget.
If you put tighter control processes in place, used better hardware, allocated more time to build and finish and QC in a Chinese factory and sold the bass for the same price as a US made bass with poorer processes, less time etc,. the Chinese bass would clearly be superior.

[Musicman20]

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1357782297' post='1928484']
Are we talking Skyline?

The Skyline's i've played have never really lived up to any of the adulation i've read about; And i've played plenty as at one point I worked for a dealership.

But that's simply it - The ones I played didn't do it for me, the customers who bought them really liked them.

The fact is, if you've paid over Fender money for a Fender inspired bass, you really feel the need to reassure yourself with your decision to do so - you've made the right choice for you, and that's good enough, surely?

Not to pick at your post at all, but I'm just wondering where the entire 'X Country/X Company makes a 'Better' Fender than Fender' thinking has come from.



I owned a MIJ Marcus Miller for many years and sold it on owing to a few frustrations I had with it. Recently started taking delivery of MIM Marcus Miller models, and it felt just as well put together, similar weight f not a bit lighter than my 'minds eye' recollection of the more recent models we'd had from Japan - But for the same price more or less it has a much improved preamp, true active/passive and a more steady supply from the factory.

I've owned early 80's Japanese Squiers, Mexican Classic series, CIJ/MIJ, American Standard, American Vintage, Custom Shop and in recent times a late 70's US Fender (Eww I know, late 70's - they're all utter garbage, heavy and useless - Right?)

All of them were purchased because I liked/wanted them - If eventually Fender started using a factory on the moon, would there be the debate that MIM or MOM Fenders were better?

If in doubt, play a bass you fancy, and if it doesn't work out - At least you tried it, although in my experience, three basses of the same model, all delivered on the same day can be very different.

I have played great Japanese Fenders, and some I wouldn't have paid half the price for personally, same goes with US/Mexican/Korean/Chinese Fenders, I've played a hell of a lot more i'd be happy with.

I have had similar experiences with Celinders (One I would have killed for, one I wasn't struck with at all) Sadowsky's, and many others - It all boils down to the player in question and what they need and expect from a bass whether new/used/American/Dutch/Welsh made.

I'm off to play my Hewn from goat's bone made in Australia 19 string fretless now...
[/quote]

Wise words here. A lot of the 'wow its MIJ' or 'Lakland Skyline is the biz' is to do with internet myth to be honest. The MIJ Fender's ARE good, but there will be some rough ones, the same with the MIA's.

I've never played a Lakland Skyline that sounded as good as a Fender Jazz. Not only that, the weight and their attention to detail for a bass made in the Cort factory is questionable. Cort's are good value, Skylines are expensive for what they are.

[Musicman20]

[quote name='kerley' timestamp='1357811864' post='1928644']
There are a number of reasons.
- The price is lower so people assume the product is inferior.
- They are not made in the US so casual racism (especially from US buyers) assumes they will be inferior
- Interestingly people who think Mexcans cannot build a guitar think the Japanese can.

It is largely based on ignorance and the differences between basses from different countries are down to the budget the bass it set to along with any processes used in that country to keep within that budget.
If you put tighter control processes in place, used better hardware, allocated more time to build and finish and QC in a Chinese factory and sold the bass for the same price as a US made bass with poorer processes, less time etc,. the Chinese bass would clearly be superior.
[/quote]

Agreed. Didn't the MIJ Fender's take a while to 'take off' in the US market? Eg, they though, 'bleurgh, a foreign Fender!!!'.

As with everything mass produced, it takes a while to find a decent one IMO.