New Fender Custom Shop basses

[Misdee]

I can't believe you are all so  negative about these new offerings from Fender CS. I would draw your attention to the fact that one of these basses is genuine Himalayan Cedar, for heavens sake. I am presuming the harvested log was carried to the Fender Custom Shop by a phalanx of sherpas with Buddhist monks chanting and tinkling bells clearing the way in front of them. All those fellas are gonna want paying.

 

And then there is the meditative qualities such a bass will bring to your playing to consider. How do you put a price on that?

 

It's easy to dismiss these basses as a cynical attempt by Fender to exploit half-baked environmentalism and cultural stereotypes. But so many cheap basses end up as landfill, or even worse, as cheap basses. As of right now I am cutting back on my aromatherapy sessions and saving for one of these beauties. For me the question is not how can I afford one so much as how could anybody afford not to.

Edited August 19, 2023 by Misdee

[Jackroadkill]

11 minutes ago, Misdee said:

I can't believe you are all so  negative about these new offerings from Fender CS. I would draw your attention to the fact that one of these basses is genuine Himalayan Cedar, for heavens sake. I am presuming the harvested log was carried to the Fender Custom Shop by a phalanx of Sherpas with Buddhist monks chanting and tinkling bells clearing the way in front of them. All those fellas are gonna want paying.

 

And then there is the meditative qualities such a bass will bring to your playing to consider. How do you put a price on that?

 

It's easy to dismiss these basses as a cynical attempt by Fender to exploit half-baked environmentalism and cultural stereotypes. But so many cheap basses end up as landfill, or even worse, as cheap basses. As of right now I am cutting back on my aromatherapy sessions and saving for one of these beauties. For me the question is not how can I afford one so much as how could anybody afford not to.

 

That, sir, is prose of the highest order!

[tobiewharton]

To my mind, the F-Trap just seems to be becoming more and more conspicuous by the year. I get it - some players want to feel a part of the brand and its incredible legacy, some want to own and trade collector's pieces and some just don't know what else is out there because their local shop has such a poor range of stock. 

In my experience, Fenders are sometimes excellent, often fine and sometimes terrible; I don't think they're consistent enough and I'd certainly not buy one sight unseen. But the prices are astonishing, all for fewer options and often sketchier QC than the multitude of available equivalents. The company seems to actively avoid innovation and puts very little effort into marketing new products and yet the trap still works, possibly better than ever. The power of strong branding, eh...

[TheGreek]

Himalayan Cedar??

 

Is this super dense due to growing really slowly?

 

I'd be interested to hear if it's a noticeable difference. 

[Geek99]

42 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

Himalayan Cedar??

 

Is this super dense due to growing really slowly?

 

I'd be interested to hear if it's a noticeable difference. 

🍿

 

In the custom shop order process, is there a toggle to add “touched by pixies”?

[crazycloud]

On 18/08/2023 at 19:55, Rexel Matador said:

Isn't the point of a custom shop that you get something made to your spec and pay accordingly? How is a master-screwer-together-of-parts selecting a body and neck from a pile of bodies and necks 10 grand's worth of different to what happens in the Mexico factory?

Having tried a few FCS and GCS instruments, I wonder. I have a 150 quid, new, delivered, Tele guitar that I'd have over all of them.

On 19/08/2023 at 06:12, TeresaFR said:

if it wasn't for Leo we probably wouldn't have the world of basses as we know it today

This annoys me. I'm sure someone else would have come up with what is a very basic concept in the same period. He was just the first to mass produce and market well an acceptable product, and most of it wasn't really his in general concept. It's not like he split the atom in his garage.

[Rexel Matador]

6 hours ago, tobiewharton said:

The company seems to actively avoid innovation and puts very little effort into marketing new products

Playing devil's advocate for a second (though to be clear I agree with everything you said), when they do try something new nobody wants it. Remember the dimension bass?

[tobiewharton]

The Dimension I tried was ace! Yolanda Charles made hers sing too.

30 minutes ago, Rexel Matador said:

Playing devil's advocate for a second (though to be clear I agree with everything you said), when they do try something new nobody wants it. Remember the dimension bass?

 

[Doctor J]

1 hour ago, Rexel Matador said:

Playing devil's advocate for a second (though to be clear I agree with everything you said), when they do try something new nobody wants it. Remember the dimension bass?

Perhaps if they tried something which offered a reason to buy it, a unique selling point, something like that. What was the point of the Dimension, what did it do that hundreds of other basses don't already do?