you cant beat fender, They got it right.....

[Dave Vader]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1372321936' post='2124171']
Yeah thats fair enough, they can't have got where they are without some sort of top level endorsement I guess. Also, I love the look of the Jazz Deluxes.

I'm not exactly clued up on bass history though and if you were to list people out I probably wouldn't know any of them everyone keeps mentioning people I've never heard of. I only know about Jaco from this forum and I have absolutely no idea who this Geddy Lee chap people keep mentioning is...

I appreciate these people must have been forebearers for them to have become so well known. To be honest though I've no interest in stuff other people wrote in the past, Its all about creating something new for me

Anyway this is probably for another thread. I'll shut up and go back to work...

Rob
[/quote]

Just as an aside to your point of view about covers and fenders Rob, have a watch of Glastonbury over the weekend, and play the bass spotting game. You'll probably come out with about 90% fenders, and no covers bands. Not all of them will be old duffers either, and none of them will be dead.

[Dave Vader]

oh, and also why is there a fender (or fenderish clone) in your avatar?

[CamdenRob]

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1372326849' post='2124263']
oh, and also why is there a fender (or fenderish clone) in your avatar?
[/quote]

Yeah it's a Deluxe Jazz, beautiful piece of work. I'm looking to get either one of these or the Sandberg version as my next bass.

I'm not bashing Fender here, in fact I like them. I guess what it is I don't really understand is the 'Fender or Nothing' thing some people seem to have going on.

I have no doubt Glastonbury will be full of people I've never heard of playing Fenders. This will undoubtedly inspire a generation of bassists influenced by this type of music to also play Fenders.

They must be doing something right to be selling as many units as they do, I just think there is more to bass than Fender alone.

Rob

Edited June 27, 2013 by CamdenRob

[Dave Vader]

And you are right of course.
(I own no fenders, but have a few fakes)
The vicious circle of fenders will continue unabated

[Conan]

Sometimes when new members join this forum they actually take the time to do a search of old threads to acquire information about a chosen topic. Typing in a search term such as "Fender" will lead to them finding threads such as this one. They could then learn quite a lot about why some people love them, others hate them, and the majority of us happily concede that they make some great basses but there is a wide variety of other stuff to try.

I fail to see the harm in threads like this.

[Valhalalf]

I believe GreyParrot's point was that over 30 years of him playing bass and trying many different makes, models, preamps, pickups etc etc that, for him, you can't beat a Fender.

More of an insight into his personal experiences with a variety of basses and why he has now settled on a Fender bass. He states many times that it's a personal thing and just his view. But he obviously wants to share his thoughts and findings with a community of bass players and has every right to do so.

My current main gigging bass is a Squier VM Jazz V and it is a workhorse, rarely needs tuning from gig to gig, never let me down and sounds great. I've owned a handful of more expensive basses but after a few months they're usually back on the market place. I get what the OP is saying.

I personally love the Jazz body shape but when I went to try a USA Deluxe Jazz V as a possible upgrade to my Squier I much preffered the Lakland 55-60 next to it. There was nothing wrong with the Fender, I just simply preffered the feel of the Lakland and will be looking at getting one when I can afford it.

I really respect what Leo achieved all those years ago with all of his guitars and basses and how it much of an impact it has had on music over the years.

Peas

Edited June 27, 2013 by Valhalalf

[ZenBasses]

On a personal note.

My GB IV was one of the first basses I bought.. Still have 12years later.. Nothing else can touch it..

Why?

I learnt to properly (in the looses of forms heheh) play.. I honed my skills to fit that bass and develop my own sound and style.

Is this why people say.. Fenders are the best?..how many of these people learnt on a Fender.. Have fond memories on a Fender and developed their sound on a Fender?. I reckon quite a lot. Especially in the 70s..there wasn't the variety there is now.

But can one have too many choices?

Comes back to my original statement.. If you have an attachment to a certain brand... Not much will alter their view.

Like me.. I won't be swayed.... GB IV hands down the bass that defines me.... In my own little way

Edited June 27, 2013 by ZenBasses

[spongebob]

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1372326824' post='2124262']
Just as an aside to your point of view about covers and fenders Rob, have a watch of Glastonbury over the weekend, and play the bass spotting game. You'll probably come out with about 90% fenders, and no covers bands. Not all of them will be old duffers either, and none of them will be dead.

[/quote]

Very true DV.

I was watching 'Later.....' the other week and every band featured a Fender bass!

[redstriper]

[quote name='ZenBasses' timestamp='1372349208' post='2124708']

But can one have too many choices?

[/quote]

Yes...

[media]http://youtu.be/VO6XEQIsCoM[/media]

[LukeFRC]

the thing I find odd about this thread.... (apart from I'm sure we did this one a week or two ago)

Fender got it right first time... well yeah, I can understand that point of view - a good P or J will be a good bass and have a recognisable tone.

But the OP is talking about his 5 string active Fender with a fancy pickup.... which isn't, well it's a variation and copy of a set of ideas made by Leo that just happen to have his brand on them..... but anyway - you get good basses of all makes and bad ones. I've found a lot of bad fenders and a few knockout fenders, I'm glad the OP has a good one.




I was more interested in the comments the OP regarding how we quickly get into the realms of "this being better than this" and wood tops, fancy pickups and preamps - and what this does for our view of our instrument.

[Schnozzalee]

G&L.

[peteb]

FWIW, I recently worked at quite a big blues festival organised by a friend of mine. Inspired by the last ‘Why would anyone play anything else but a Fender’ thread, I did a bit of gearstalking and made a mental note of what basses were being used. Out of 20 bands or so I saw playing on the main stages, 70% were (apparently) US Fenders, 10% were Fender type basses and 20% of bassists used different makes (two playing Warwicks, one Spectre and a Cort, but surprisingly no Stingrays). The guy playing for the biggest act used a Lakland Jazz and the bass player for other main headliner played a Squier Jazz. Of the Fenders, there were 2 or 3 P basses, one old telecaster bass and the rest were jazz basses. Three quarters of the Fender type designs were sunbursts!

So what does this tell us, apart from the most popular bass for blues rock bands playing at a national blues festival is a sunburst Fender jazz bass with a rosewood neck and a tort scratchplate? Does it mean that a Fender Jazz is the ‘best bass for blues’? Actually, I think that most people just feel more comfortable seeing people playing ‘traditional’ types of music (not just blues) on a more traditional type of instrument. If you think about it, when grunge was big in the 90s most of the bass players around used more modern (or at least different) basses. Then Britpop came along, retro was in and the price of 70s Fenders went thru the roof!

When I play blues gigs I usually take my Fender Jazz, even though it is not my best bass. Band leaders and audiences just seem to like that ‘Fender made in USA’ is written on the headstock. Bear in mind that my Fender J has an active circuit & different pick-ups and doesn’t sound like a typical Fender, so it seems to be more about the image than the tone! When I do rock gigs, I generally take the Warwick…

[stingrayPete1977]

I'm bored of seeing sunburst/tort fenders on every live/mimed show, I actually mentioned in the Bruno Mars thread that the image has taken over from the music to some albeit small extent as the recorded versions are mostly on erb yet live is always a guy with a p bass, I got slated and told who the guy was and that if its good enough for him blah blah, but it wasn't good enough for the studio was it? Anyway I'm rambling and we only have two pages left to get a few more what about Jaco, Geddy and Sting? Posts in

Edited June 27, 2013 by stingrayPete1977

[discreet]

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1372370651' post='2125100']...audiences just seem to like that ‘Fender made in USA’ is written on the headstock...[/quote]

With respect, I would dispute that... audiences couldn't care less and don't know a Fender from a hole in the ground. In fact, they don't even know (or care) what the difference is between a guitar and a bass guitar. Either they like the band or they don't. That is all.

[gsgbass]

After 44 years of bass, i'm locked in on a Fender Jazz. it plays great, and has a balanced feel. The new C neck works just fine.

[51m0n]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1372376776' post='2125167']


With respect, I would dispute that... audiences couldn't care less and don't know a Fender from a hole in the ground. In fact, they don't even know (or care) what the difference is between a guitar and a bass guitar. Either they like the band or they don't. That is all.
[/quote]
But band leaders and stylsits and image consultants think they do know best.

I didn't get into a band a couple of years ago because o didn't play a Fender!

Their loss as it goes

Edited June 28, 2013 by 51m0n

[BigRedX]

I wasn't going to get involved in this anymore, but following on from peteb's post, my band played a biker rally earlier this month. I wasn't there to see the bands that played in the afternoon, but of the 5 bands who played the evening session not one was using a Fender bass! I had my Gus with the Reverend as a spare, the other bands sported basses by Gibson, Ibanez and Warwick (2).

In fact looking back over the last 2 months of gigs that we've played where we've shared the stage with 15 other bands, only one of them had a Fender style bass, and I think that was a copy.

[peteb]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1372376776' post='2125167']


With respect, I would dispute that... audiences couldn't care less and don't know a Fender from a hole in the ground. In fact, they don't even know (or care) what the difference is between a guitar and a bass guitar. Either they like the band or they don't. That is all.
[/quote]
With respect, you are wrong, DEPENDING on the audience. Some people here underestimate the level of geekiness of many fans! Many in the blues audience (and the same applies to most rock sub-genres) can certainly recognise a Fender bass, even if they won't understand the difference between a P and a jazz. Same applies to blues band leaders!
[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1372403441' post='2125225']

But band leaders and stylsits and image consultants think they do know best.

I didn't get into a band a couple of years ago because o didn't play a Fender!

[/quote]
Exactly...

I may actually get a sunburst P bass at some poin if I can find a reasonably light one at the right price! ! Of course, it will have a Bartolini, new bridge and an active circuit within a month! Not my ideal bass, but if it helps me get better gigs...

[peteb]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1372405861' post='2125264']
I wasn't going to get involved in this anymore, but following on from peteb's post, my band played a biker rally earlier this month. I wasn't there to see the bands that played in the afternoon, but of the 5 bands who played the evening session not one was using a Fender bass! I had my Gus with the Reverend as a spare, the other bands sported basses by Gibson, Ibanez and Warwick (2).

In fact looking back over the last 2 months of gigs that we've played where we've shared the stage with 15 other bands, only one of them had a Fender style bass, and I think that was a copy.
[/quote]
Different genre of music, different fashions!

[51m0n]

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1372407701' post='2125287']
Different genre of music, different [i][b]fashions[/b][/i]!
[/quote]

Oh and now we actually hit the nail on the head.

I think my extremely blonde Roscoe looks utterly awesome for a funk band IMO (or a blues band), especially if I wear dark clothes, its a woody version of Nigel's chrome monstrosity in that it floats around like a disembodied bass on a dark stage (kind of, a bit, if you squint ).

I could care less about fashion, really I dont mind what the players playing music find their inspiration on, Seasick Steve and Jack White have given guitarists a proper kicking about having to play a Fender/Gibson blah blah blah, you dont get more roots blues than Seasick Steve, and he plays a tobacco box, not a tobacco burst. Looks like the real deal rather than some fake wonk from Surrey who has to have the "in thing" and follow the crowd like all the other sheep.

My guitarist plays a Fender Stat and a Les Paul (one of the 50's reissue ones with the single coil switch, sounds lovely), could care less myself, he makes a great sound, through his Marshall all tube 212 combo, which oin the face of it is definitely not a typical funk amp, but sounds fantastic the way he sets up the channel, so why would I care?

Yes what you look like does matter on stage, no the brand of instrumetn is not that important as far as I can tell.

And no Leo Fender categorically did not get it right first time, how many of you Jazz players have even seen a Jazz with the original [i]felt[/i] mutes on? Did you knwo that those basses really do sound more like an uporight than the P bass does with those felts?

Here is a truly incredible build diary of a scarily authentic 1960 bass:-
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/169606-1960-jazzbass-build.html

Here is the bass played without the mutes:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6E7iSATY7M&feature=player_embedded

Here it is with original period mutes on:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwYoi9G67DU&feature=player_embedded

Now anyone on here claiming that the second version is what we think of when we talk about the sound of a jazz bass is deluding themselves, but that was the original intention of the jazz bass, because they were originally sold with the mutes (and tapewound strings according to Herbie Flowers), so no Leo didnt get it right first time intentionally, but he did a huge amount to get electric bass accepted and recognised and indeed ubiquitous.

Still doesnt mean you cant beat a Fender, we are all allowed our own opinion, and stylistic preferences, otherwise we would all be playing the same music too. How boring!

[White Cloud]

Cant argue at all that they got it right..unquestionable.

The statement that they cannot be beaten is however wholly subjective. That is a matter of personal preference based on taste and perception.

All basses are merely variations of the same theme.

[gsgbass]

Last month I went to Nashville to do studio cuts for an old friend. I had a Ric 4003 with me. It didn't mix as well as i thought it was going to. I used a Fender American Deluxe Jazz they had in the studio. That made up my mind quick. After getting back to my local shops, a Fender American Deluxe Jazz followed me home. The Fenders are hard to beat.

[peteb]

[quote name='iceonaboy' timestamp='1372410267' post='2125334']


Couldnt agree more mate, but I suppose its all down to taste. I just like Fenders!
[/quote]
Just to be clear, I like Fenders as well - cool iconic design and the archetype (to a large extent) of what people think that a bass guitar should sound like! A Fender P thru an Ampeg in the right hands is still very cool!

However, there are other great sounds out there that are just as good! And there are certainly many basses that are far better to play...

Edited June 28, 2013 by peteb

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1372407563' post='2125285']
I may actually get a sunburst P bass at some poin if I can find a reasonably light one at the right price! ! Of course, it will have a Bartolini, new bridge and an active circuit within a month! Not my ideal bass, but if it helps me get better gigs...
[/quote] cool... but why the need to mod? (honest question, I've had my main bass and modded quite a few things on it, but why buy a bass knowing you're going to mod it? why not just buy a different bass?

[White Cloud]

[quote name='gsgbass' timestamp='1372422273' post='2125558']
Last month I went to Nashville to do studio cuts for an old friend. I had a Ric 4003 with me. It didn't mix as well as i thought it was going to. I used a Fender American Deluxe Jazz they had in the studio. That made up my mind quick. After getting back to my local shops, a Fender American Deluxe Jazz followed me home. The Fenders are hard to beat.
[/quote]
You aren't alone - I would say that, from experience, it is much easier for a Fender to sit in the mix than your average Rickenbacker....and I do like Rick's.