New Fender Standard Series Basses!

[tauzero]

9 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

That's why they own the likes of Charvel/Jackson etc.?  No?

 

Charvel are full-on FSO makers. Jackson may be rather too linked with droopy headstocks. Start again without legacy baggage.

[neepheid]

7 minutes ago, tauzero said:

 

Charvel are full-on FSO makers. Jackson may be rather too linked with droopy headstocks. Start again without legacy baggage.

 

Eh, just a suggestion.  Ruin some poor sod of a brand that you've acquired with your fever dream instruments without derailing the gravy train...

[lemmywinks]

The recent Charvel basses were just Mexican Fenders with loud colours and atrocious premps weren't they?

 

Jackson also seemed to have turned their Concert line into pointy headstock Fender clones and the Spectra line is just a wonky Soundgear copy. Shame as the old Concert shape was a neat diversion from the usual Jackson aesthetic:

[kwmlondon]

4 hours ago, lemmywinks said:

There's still gaps in the Fender/Squier range though such as the lack of a proper active Jazz in between the Squier Affinity and MiM Player Plus ranges. Think the Contemporary J bazz (not with humbuckers) is discontinued.

 

It's like they just saw Sire gobble up that part of the market and thought "yeah that's fine, we'll just make weird stuff nobody wants"

I just wonder if Sire have a manufacturing system better suited to smaller runs - they're getting more and more niche with their instruments they must have a setup where they don't need to sell such huge numbers but can still turn a profit. I'm not an expert, but it'd be interesting to see how the whole supply chain works for the different companies.

[lemmywinks]

1 hour ago, kwmlondon said:

I just wonder if Sire have a manufacturing system better suited to smaller runs - they're getting more and more niche with their instruments they must have a setup where they don't need to sell such huge numbers but can still turn a profit. I'm not an expert, but it'd be interesting to see how the whole supply chain works for the different companies.

 

I don't know if anybody has ever found any information about the mysterious Sire factory, they claim it's their own facility in Indonesia (and now also China) with their parent brand Dame being produced in Korea and that they don't use OEMs.

 

I would imagine they do shift decent numbers, I regularly see them on the gigging circuit here and have a few mates who own them. They'll have probably done a small run of the new Godin clones and even less singlecuts but gone big on the Z series, the singlecuts are targeting the boutique on a budget market really and I imagine they'll be able to be heavily discounted and still not make a loss. Hopefully the Godins were a huge flop and I can pick up a GB5-FL when they're at clearance prices!

 

 

EDIT: Looking at Andertons they may just be doing batches of the F series based on preorders.

Edited Monday at 15:57 by lemmywinks

[LeftyJ]

50 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

The recent Charvel basses were just Mexican Fenders with loud colours and atrocious premps weren't they?

 

Jackson also seemed to have turned their Concert line into pointy headstock Fender clones and the Spectra line is just a wonky Soundgear copy. Shame as the old Concert shape was a neat diversion from the usual Jackson aesthetic:

 

I think I may still have a physical copy of that catalog. The cover and the first few pages feature some absolutely WILD custom guitars - like the one top left on this page, which is a 7-string copy of an Ibanez 540PII. 

[okusman]

Headed to Guitar Guitar Birmingham today. First thing to say is they had a really good stock/selection and I was totally looked after/put up with. It’s the same chap each time I go in, and he’s a gent.

A/B’d Squier CV/New Standard/New Player II and US Pro Precision basses.

 

The Indonesian made Standard bore the spaghetti Fender logo, and played fine but….they were NOT ‘better’ than the Squier. The neck was anaemic and the ceramic p/us were rather lacking in character. I played a 3TSB and the Poplar was rather ugly under the laquer. 
At £549, it’s the logo you crave at a price you can afford, but the Squier (possibly made in the same factory) was a much nicer looking and playing instrument. Same Poplar/Laurel combo and more pleasing Alnico p/u. £369.

The New Mexican made Player Ii at £749 was an improvement on the previous iteration. They had a glorious Alder-bodied Aquatone blue example I played and it was a much more appealing neck with rolled edges to the fretboard. It just played and felt £200 better!  Model I played had a maple board, so not an exact. A/B…but the quality jump was obvious.

The USA pro was £1000 more. 
It had the best wood under the laquer, fretwork was 10/10 and the neck just sat right. The tuners, the bridge, the neck joint…it’s a better quality of parts.

It’s sound was impressively round and full…yes there is a difference from the Squier CV 😘.

There were Ultras and US Performer PJ version available, but I stuck with the single pickup instruments for sake of reference.

 

My conclusions..

The Standard is a marketing ploy…I wasn’t disappointed, just felt it was a triumph of brand over substance.

The Squier CV remains a very gig-worthy bass

The Player II was impressive; it felt and looked like it was worth playing and equally paying £749.

The Pro is what it should be.

 

Anyway, my two pennies worth.

 

PS I don’t, or ever have owned, a Precision bass. I want to add one to my arsenal. Today made realise I really should dip my hand in my (bass) pocket.

 

[Geek99]

I’d get the squier

[Terry M.]

52 minutes ago, okusman said:

 

 

 

My conclusions..

The Standard is a marketing ploy

 

This 100%

[lemmywinks]

1 hour ago, okusman said:

Headed to Guitar Guitar Birmingham today. First thing to say is they had a really good stock/selection and I was totally looked after/put up with. It’s the same chap each time I go in, and he’s a gent.

A/B’d Squier CV/New Standard/New Player II and US Pro Precision basses.

 

The Indonesian made Standard bore the spaghetti Fender logo, and played fine but….they were NOT ‘better’ than the Squier. The neck was anaemic and the ceramic p/us were rather lacking in character. I played a 3TSB and the Poplar was rather ugly under the laquer. 
At £549, it’s the logo you crave at a price you can afford, but the Squier (possibly made in the same factory) was a much nicer looking and playing instrument. Same Poplar/Laurel combo and more pleasing Alnico p/u. £369.

The New Mexican made Player Ii at £749 was an improvement on the previous iteration. They had a glorious Alder-bodied Aquatone blue example I played and it was a much more appealing neck with rolled edges to the fretboard. It just played and felt £200 better!  Model I played had a maple board, so not an exact. A/B…but the quality jump was obvious.

The USA pro was £1000 more. 
It had the best wood under the laquer, fretwork was 10/10 and the neck just sat right. The tuners, the bridge, the neck joint…it’s a better quality of parts.

It’s sound was impressively round and full…yes there is a difference from the Squier CV 😘.

There were Ultras and US Performer PJ version available, but I stuck with the single pickup instruments for sake of reference.

 

My conclusions..

The Standard is a marketing ploy…I wasn’t disappointed, just felt it was a triumph of brand over substance.

The Squier CV remains a very gig-worthy bass

The Player II was impressive; it felt and looked like it was worth playing and equally paying £749.

The Pro is what it should be.

 

Anyway, my two pennies worth.

 

PS I don’t, or ever have owned, a Precision bass. I want to add one to my arsenal. Today made realise I really should dip my hand in my (bass) pocket.

 

 

 

To throw a spanner in the works - the new price of the Player II is in used MiJ territory.

[Terry M.]

If the guy you refer to in Birmingham Guitar Guitar is their resident bassist his name is Oz and indeed is an absolute gentleman. To be fair they all are. 

[HeadlessBassist]

Having watched a few of the reviews, they seem to be quite different from the Classic Vibes and the Player 2 ranges, in that they have ceramic pickups, so the tone is going to be generally brighter and punchier than the aforementioned two ranges.

 

I looked at the close-up pictures on one dealer site and they do look very well made. Looking forward to trying one or two.

[Stub Mandrel]

22 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

I think people did buy them (which is why you can get them second-hand) but because they didn't instantly sell in huge numbers like the extremely established Ps and Js then Fender just ditched them.

 

Not many people, best estimate I've seen is 250-300 made.

[Terry M.]

12 hours ago, lemmywinks said:

 

 

To throw a spanner in the works - the new price of the Player II is in used MiJ territory.

https://fenderfever.com/products/2375?_pos=49&_fid=ab9285fa2&_ss=c

 

Case in point. Albeit a Jazz. 

Edited Tuesday at 06:51 by Terry M.

[lemmywinks]

2 hours ago, Terry M. said:

https://fenderfever.com/products/2375?_pos=49&_fid=ab9285fa2&_ss=c

 

Case in point. Albeit a Jazz. 

 

 

Great price that, pretty much what you'd excpect to pay in a private sale.

[Terry M.]

13 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

 

 

Great price that, pretty much what you'd excpect to pay in a private sale.

This is true. If I was a 4 string Fender kind of guy I'd go and give it a test run. I don't live too far from this shop. The owner has a decent bass inventory and invites offers. I hope he gains more traction in the marketplace going forward. 

[lemmywinks]

1 minute ago, Terry M. said:

This is true. If I was a 4 string Fender kind of guy I'd go and give it a test run. I don't live too far from this shop. The owner has a decent bass inventory and invites offers. I hope he gains more traction in the marketplace going forward. 

 

I did wonder if that was a real store tbh, the owner has done a great job of making it look almost exactly like one of those scam pop-up web stores that steal your credit card details! Good to know it's legit

[Terry M.]

8 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

 

I did wonder if that was a real store tbh, the owner has done a great job of making it look almost exactly like one of those scam pop-up web stores that steal your credit card details! Good to know it's legit

Oh believe me he's legit. I nearly bought a used SR5 off him a couple of years ago. I've visited his store at least two times 👍

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, Terry M. said:

This is true. If I was a 4 string Fender kind of guy I'd go and give it a test run. I don't live too far from this shop. The owner has a decent bass inventory and invites offers. I hope he gains more traction in the marketplace going forward. 

 

Is it a walk in shop, and if so where is it? I would be interested to visit (but my wallet would be scared...)

[Geek99]

London n13

[Terry M.]

38 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Is it a walk in shop, and if so where is it? I would be interested to visit (but my wallet would be scared...)

It's not a walk in shop. There's no visible "store" front on the street. I made appointments each time I visited. Passers-by would never know it's there. 

Edited Tuesday at 11:07 by Terry M.

[Cato]

This interesting, it's skinny stringers again, but even Andertons are sayng that Squier Classic Vibe is superior to the Fender Standard.

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 17:20 by Cato

[Terry M.]

1 hour ago, Cato said:

This interesting, it's skinny stringers again, but even Andertons are sayng that Squier Classic Vibe is superior to the Fender Standard.

 

 

I haven't watched this but it's not sounding too good so far if even Andertons feel this way.

[tegs07]

7 minutes ago, Terry M. said:

I haven't watched this but it's not sounding too good so far if even Andertons feel this way.

The thing is though the CV is a really good instrument. My CV P bass is the only bass I regret selling. It took a few basses and finally a Nate Mendel to match/better it.

[Terry M.]

46 minutes ago, tegs07 said:

The thing is though the CV is a really good instrument. My CV P bass is the only bass I regret selling. It took a few basses and finally a Nate Mendel to match/better it.

Just curious if you tried any non Fender P type basses in your quest before settling on the Nate Mendel?