Are the USA fenders worth the money

[martinbass7750]

I bought a usa highway standard jazz - really pleased with it, and great value at £560 methinks!

Edited September 2, 2008 by martinbass7750

[MB1]

MB1.
The japanese Fenders seem to be a hard act, for the U.S Basses to follow these days (both quality and price wise)....Which is Nice!

[Tee]

Yeah, Highways are good value. I've owned two Japanese Fender basses and i'm a lot happier with my US Fender bass.

Fender's current new range are pretty good. I would say it [i]is[/i] worth the cash (obviously look around for the best price) if it's going to be your [u]main[/u] or [u]only bass[/u]. If you are then going to buy another bass and then another, so that your US Fender gets ignored, then no, it's not worth it, because you won't be getting your moneys worth.

Edited September 2, 2008 by Tee

[spinynorman]

I have a "cheaper" basswood MIJ P, apparently. From what I have been able to find out, there is nothing wrong with basswood, providing you don't want a natural finish and don't intend to use it in a fight. Tone is warm, sustain is good and it is relatively light in weight. Fit and finish on the bass is excellent, hardware looks to be of decent quality, frets are substantial. Nobody ever says anything nice about my playing, but lots of people have said nice things about the sound of my bass.

Objectively, it is way, way better than my daughter's ex-boyfriend's Squier P and quite bit better than my MIM Jazz. I have no idea how in compares with anything MIA, but you would have to offer me something very special to get it off me in a trade.

[Musky]

[quote name='Deep Thought' post='274976' date='Sep 1 2008, 09:38 PM']It was about a month out of warranty-however I think I might have a crack at this-certainly won't hurt, and you never know what may result. Ta for the advice.[/quote]

It doesn't matter that it's out of warranty. Under the sale of goods act it needs to be 'fit for purpose'. I don't think that anyone would consider a years light use of a pro quality bass (with matching price tag) fit for purpose. Except maybe Fender.

I think the dealer you bought from should be your first port of call.

[King Tut]

[quote name='spinynorman' post='275710' date='Sep 2 2008, 07:00 PM']I have a "cheaper" basswood MIJ P, apparently. From what I have been able to find out, there is nothing wrong with basswood, providing you don't want a natural finish and don't intend to use it in a fight. Tone is warm, sustain is good and it is relatively light in weight. Fit and finish on the bass is excellent, hardware looks to be of decent quality, frets are substantial. Nobody ever says anything nice about my playing, but lots of people have said nice things about the sound of my bass.

Objectively, it is way, way better than my daughter's ex-boyfriend's Squier P and quite bit better than my MIM Jazz. I have no idea how in compares with anything MIA, but you would have to offer me something very special to get it off me in a trade.[/quote]

Agreed - absolutely nothing wrong with basswood - it's not ALWAYS light though! I've got a CIJ basswood jazz which is just lovely to play and listen to. Ironically , the (sunburst) body is quite plain, but the neck is one of the most beautiful I've seen!

[7string]

IMHO I wouldn't buy a USA Fender P or J.

Fender just seem happy to rest on their laurels and roll out the same stuff with 'improvements' maybe a new bridge or a new colour. I think they're vastly over-rated and you could get better value for money from other manufacturers. Add to that QC problems which make getting a new bass a hit-or-miss affair. Why not just buy a MIJ and save a few quid?

I'm not anti-Fender in anyway, but I do think that Fender could do more with regards to hardware, pickups and QC. The Fender Urge is just an excellent, versatile bass and the MIJ '51 P I had had a great feel and tone. Unfortunately, I sold mine to go towards another bass but really was so impressed with it, more so with a SD pickup in it.

Edited September 2, 2008 by 7string

[tempo]

Don't buy into the hype. get something easier on the pocket and better quality, IE. Cort, Ibanez, etc, if resale value is that much of an issue, take up another hobby. I prefer tone and build to a f&%* label on a $150 piece of driftwood ;-/

[RayFW]

My 08 American Standard P wasn't great when I first received it - high action, intonation out, uneven neck pocket gap. However, after a pro set up it is undoubtedly the best [i]playing[/i] bass I own (and I own a few!). Tonally it's a bit of a one trick pony (it's a P after all and I can always add a J pup at the bridge) but it just feels [i]right[/i].

Edited September 3, 2008 by rayfw

[Doctor J]

[quote name='Clive Thorne' post='275462' date='Sep 2 2008, 02:38 PM']You can't really (IMHO) slag off Fender (or anyone else) for the quality of a route that is covered by the scratch plate, which, after all, is a standard part of the instrument.[/quote]
I disagree. They made basses without the ugly and cheap routing for many, many years, even through the much maligned 70's. Now that the routes are CNC'd (and bodies should be cheaper to make) it strikes me as a very poor move to have such an ugly blemish on the face of every bass, considering it is a move purely designed to save money. A lot of players like to play their J bass with the scratchplate removed. Could you imagine Jaco's 62 with that? It may not make a difference to the sound but I don't think that's the point.

It's misguided penny pinching, and basses that expensive shouldn't have such blatant penny pinching. If they've cut corners there, what else are they skimping and compromising on?

[Count Bassy]

[quote name='Doctor J' post='276003' date='Sep 3 2008, 08:26 AM']A lot of players like to play their J bass with the scratchplate removed. Could you imagine Jaco's 62 with that? It may not make a difference to the sound but I don't think that's the point.

It's misguided penny pinching, and basses that expensive shouldn't have such blatant penny pinching. If they've cut corners there, what else are they skimping and compromising on?[/quote]

On point 1: Then why not buy a Jazz copy that isn't factory fitted with a scratch plate?

On point 2: Hopefully they've saved money here because it doesn't make any difference!

I've heard a rumour that if you take the truss rod out of an Alembic, and then put a tiny camera down the hole, it looks terrible, not sanded or varnished or anything! Disgraceful I call it.

[Doctor J]

Shocking stuff

The point is, they used not to do it, now they do it, purely to save a few cents. Did they not learn from what happened in the 70's? One would expect Fender to be continually trying to improve on their old processes, like their competition does, not to go backwards.

And, yes, I do buy the competition's Jazz copy and am all the happier for it

Edited September 3, 2008 by Doctor J

[Raslee]

I have a 75 Re-issue USA Jazz, a 98' Japan Precision bass and a lakland JO5 and they're all brilliant and have their own personalities when playing....i have to say though i am blown away with Lakland JO5, i can really recommend those Lindon Frailin (or something like that...can't remember exactly what they're called) pickups - for me passive basses all the way ! I did try a Fender USA Jazz 5 the other week....and well lets just say there's something in the Lak....a monster?

[martthebass]

[quote name='Doctor J' post='276025' date='Sep 3 2008, 09:12 AM']Shocking stuff

The point is, they used not to do it, now they do it, purely to save a few cents. Did they not learn from what happened in the 70's? One would expect Fender to be continually trying to improve on their old processes, like their competition does, not to go backwards.[/quote]

Think there's competition at work here.
I bought my first 2nd hand Fender Jazz back in 1987 for the princely sum of £400. I bought a 2nd hand Jazz earlier this year for £475.
If CNC and other cost saving initiatives hadn't been brought in over the last 20 years then I guess a new Fender US Jazz std would be +£2000 and I suppose they would quite likely be either out of business (completely out of touch with SE Asian production) or scaled down to a 'specialist' provider like Lakland (US). In the long run if bassists don't think they are as good as or cost effective against Chinese/Indonesian/Jap Fender they will cease production. However, I don't think we always look at 'cost effectiveness' when we buy basses - we're buying musical instruments that hopefully give us a warm fuzzy feeling when we play them.
It's easy to knock Fender but they produce the bass equivalent of the Ford Mondeo - it does it's job. If you want perfection go custom.

[Doctor J]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the use of CNC or automated building techniques. The cheaper CIJ basses don't have the route, they still have the proper routing as found on the old Fenders. They are CNC'd too. There are a huge selection of J clones, many of them CNC'd which don't have that routing either. The bridge pickup is routed in the old fashioned way too, so why make such an abhorration of the front of the bass when it really isn't necessary? There are a lot of mass-produced US made instruments which don't have that routing either. Is the cost of running a wire 2 inches under wood really going to drive Fender out of business? I think not.

Fender are facing more competition than ever, the availability of instruments to the average player worldwide has never been greater. It mystifies me why they would take such a blatantly shoddy move in the face of this competition.

[CHRISDABASS]

[quote name='rjb' post='275203' date='Sep 2 2008, 09:26 AM']I think they're generally rubbish. For the money they usually have a terrible set up and a crap bridge that is it hard get a nice action out of.

Give me a Lakland or a Sadowsky any day of the week.[/quote]


+1 on the sadowsky idea!!

stop messing about and get a proper bass!!!

[rjb]

[quote]It's easy to knock Fender but they produce the bass equivalent of the Ford Mondeo - it does it's job. If you want perfection go custom.[/quote]

The least I want for a bass priced around £800 is the ability to get a nice action and a decent bridge. Too many US Fender models fail to provide even this. I simply can't understand why anyone would waste their cash on a US when for the same price they can get a Lak Skyline that will kick it around the block.

Edited September 3, 2008 by rjb

[bassbloke]

[quote name='ironside1966' post='274818' date='Sep 1 2008, 06:14 PM']Are the USA fenders worth the money, are the Jap ones just as good?

I always wanted a USA fender Jazz but after seeing this post, Found an interesting 'finish' quirk on my jazz bass,
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=26434&st=0"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=26434&st=0[/url]

this has really put me off fenders, such lazy workmanship in the routing send the wrong signals when they are selling a bass on American craftsmanship, so looking for other alternatives. I know you need to try a load of basses to find the right one this is just a hypothetical question at the moment

Lakland skyline, G&L Tribute, Cort GB94 are they on par quality wise as a USA Fender?
Also Geedy Lee jazz bass and other Jap fenders how do they compair with a USA Fender.[/quote]

Depends what you pay for it. I got mine in the states for the equivalent of £660. It sh*ts over any bass I'd owned before and any bass since owned and, IMHO, sounds and plays better than any Musicman, G&L, Ibanez, ESP, Dean, Cort, Lakland that I've ever used. It pretty much cured my GAS for basses, apart from a few upgrades, such as a new onboard preamp.

[martthebass]

[quote name='Doctor J' post='276087' date='Sep 3 2008, 10:44 AM']Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the use of CNC or automated building techniques. The cheaper CIJ basses don't have the route, they still have the proper routing as found on the old Fenders. They are CNC'd too. There are a huge selection of J clones, many of them CNC'd which don't have that routing either. The bridge pickup is routed in the old fashioned way too, so why make such an abhorration of the front of the bass when it really isn't necessary? There are a lot of mass-produced US made instruments which don't have that routing either. Is the cost of running a wire 2 inches under wood really going to drive Fender out of business? I think not.

Fender are facing more competition than ever, the availability of instruments to the average player worldwide has never been greater. It mystifies me why they would take such a blatantly shoddy move in the face of this competition.[/quote]

Depends who's running the business......the artisans or the accountants.
If the cost saving per route is $10 and they make 100000 basses per year - voila an extra $1M profit per annum.
Sad really but you have to consider are they there to make basses or money?

Personally I don't care if it has a route or not - I'm not taking the plate off, IMHO it looks a bit crap to leave it off.

CDB - I'd love to buy a NYC Sadowsky. If I ever derive a sensible 'income' from this hobby and gain a higher level of talent I'll consider it - I don't posess sufficient of either presently and I don't want to be a 'gear snob'. I guess the MM and Fenders will suffice in the interim.

[bassicinstinct]

[b]Are the USA fenders worth the money? [/b]

The good ones (of which there are relatively few) are and the bad ones (of which there are many) aren't.

Never played a single "bad" Japanese Fender though.

Edited September 3, 2008 by bassicinstinct

[martthebass]

[quote name='rjb' post='276216' date='Sep 3 2008, 01:05 PM']I simply can't understand why anyone would waste their cash on a US when for the same price they can get a Lak Skyline that will kick it around the block.[/quote]

Don't try to understand - we're all different in our preferences, expectations and requirements.

Regarding set ups - I've had 2 warwicks, I could set both of them up better than any Fender (or Lakky for that matter) - didn't make me want to play them on +2hr gigs

[Stylon Pilson]

[quote name='Doctor J' post='276087' date='Sep 3 2008, 10:44 AM']Fender are facing more competition than ever, the availability of instruments to the average player worldwide has never been greater. It mystifies me why they would take such a blatantly shoddy move in the face of this competition.[/quote]

Presumably they are expecting that people who want the "no scratchplate" look will just buy one of the relevant artist series instruments.

S.P.

[Doctor J]

[quote name='stylonpilson' post='276250' date='Sep 3 2008, 01:55 PM']Presumably they are expecting that people who want the "no scratchplate" look will just buy one of the relevant artist series instruments.

S.P.[/quote]
But a lot of people aren't going to know about it until they remove the scratchplate, that's the thing.

Meh, I won't be buying one anyway, but I know I'd be pissed off if I spent a grand on one and took off the scratchplate to see that.

[Kev]

fenders are poo

[Prosebass]

[quote name='ironside1966' post='274818' date='Sep 1 2008, 06:14 PM']Are the USA fenders worth the money, are the Jap ones just as good?

I always wanted a USA fender Jazz but after seeing this post, Found an interesting 'finish' quirk on my jazz bass,
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=26434&st=0"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=26434&st=0[/url]

this has really put me off fenders, such lazy workmanship in the routing send the wrong signals when they are selling a bass on American craftsmanship, so looking for other alternatives. I know you need to try a load of basses to find the right one this is just a hypothetical question at the moment

Lakland skyline, G&L Tribute, Cort GB94 are they on par quality wise as a USA Fender?
Also Geedy Lee jazz bass and other Jap fenders how do they compair with a USA Fender.[/quote]

In a word "NO" unless you want one and then it doesn't matter what the price is.
One review commented on sawdust still in cavities which is well poor for a £750.00 bass.
I have played CIJ's that sounded better and worse than American made ones so you cannot generalise on that !
A Sadowski is better built with more attention to detail and I would personally rather have one secondhand than a new Fender.
Just try loads of basses with an open mind and you may well find something completely different that suits your style of playing better and with a better sound.
And remember its not just the bass that gives you your sound.......its you !