New Fender Standard Series Basses!

[Terry M.]

20 minutes ago, kwmlondon said:

On the downside you’d end up with a bass that would be the same sort of quality as a 449 Squier, the upside would be that you can always sell it for decent money because it’s a “proper” Fender. In that light it’s not a bad purchase. 

A sub £300 Squier I would say. The ceramic pickups put it in line with the Affinity line. This "new" line of Fender are Squiers with a posher label. 

Edited Thursday at 14:54 by Terry M.

[Terry M.]

The Classic Vibe range from Squier at least use alnico magnets in their pickups. I used to have one.

[PainInTheBass]

A couple of Fender Pro II Jazz basses I tried recently either had string misalignment or bridges which were not flat to the body, as the arm carve encroached underneath a corner of the bridge (or maybe a warped bridge?) I'll stick with my Squier Affinity thanks, which due to a recent luthier setup has fantastic action, beautiful polished frets and smooth fret ends. I'm proud to have the S on my headstock.

 

Edit: in fact it looked just like this. https://www.talkbass.com/threads/bridge-separating-from-body.1450437/

Edited Thursday at 15:10 by PainInTheBass

[Terry M.]

12 minutes ago, PainInTheBass said:

A couple of Fender Pro II Jazz basses I tried recently either had string misalignment or bridges which were not flat to the body, as the arm carve encroached underneath a corner of the bridge (or maybe a warped bridge?) I'll stick with my Squier Affinity thanks, which due to a recent luthier setup has fantastic action, beautiful polished frets and smooth fret ends. I'm proud to have the S on my headstock.

 

Edit: in fact it looked just like this. https://www.talkbass.com/threads/bridge-separating-from-body.1450437/

Very sensible decision 👏 I've had a few Squiers in the past and it's never occurred to me scrub the Squier name off for a Fender one.

Edited Thursday at 15:16 by Terry M.

[lemmywinks]

1 hour ago, Terry M. said:

These are Mexican made and finished in the USA. Highway One runs between the two countries. The made in USA sticker doesn't mean all parts were made there. Just so we're all clear on that. It doesn't mean they're not good,I'm just saying not be overly seduced by the USA label 😊👍

 

There's been a few cross border instruments, the country where they are finished usually dictates what the "Made in..." part says. Highway One were Z serial numbers so even the ones without the country of origin stamped on the headstock would be classed as USA Fenders. Can't remember the name of the series but MIM Fenders assembled using MIA parts were still MIM.

 

 

Realistically the wood will most likely be sourced from the same place, hardware could be from either country on any model, CNC machines are the same etc.

[Terry M.]

12 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

 

There's been a few cross border instruments, the country where they are finished usually dictates what the "Made in..." part says. Highway One were Z serial numbers so even the ones without the country of origin stamped on the headstock would be classed as USA Fenders. Can't remember the name of the series but MIM Fenders assembled using MIA parts were still MIM.

 

 

Realistically the wood will most likely be sourced from the same place, hardware could be from either country on any model, CNC machines are the same etc.

Absolutely correct. The Mexican series I think you're referring to is the Deluxe Series from way back. I believe some of them had American preamps and pickups. Suhr era electronics I think with single pole pieces per string pickups.

[neepheid]

56 minutes ago, Terry M. said:

Very sensible decision 👏 I've had a few Squiers in the past and it's never occurred to me scrub the Squier name off for a Fender one.

 

The only time I ever scrubbed the Squier logo off a bass was for humour (well, also because the headstock had a silver finish and the body was blue and it just looked weird).

 

 

My current Squier Affinity (Jaguar H) is wearing its identity loud and proud.

Edited Thursday at 16:11 by neepheid

[PainInTheBass]

Somewhere an advanced civilization of aliens is observing us and wondering why we stamp where on our tiny planet something has been made due to billions of years of tectonic plate movement and subsequent territorial markings.

 

Perhaps we ought to start all our Fender serial numbers with PE - "Planet Earth".

[Terry M.]

21 minutes ago, PainInTheBass said:

Somewhere an advanced civilization of aliens is observing us and wondering why we stamp where on our tiny planet something has been made due to billions of years of tectonic plate movement and subsequent territorial markings.

 

Perhaps we ought to start all our Fender serial numbers with PE - "Planet Earth".

Made in country x or y really does mess with our heads doesn't it? I've played Korean built basses that can run rings around anything coming out of Corona USA.

Edited Thursday at 17:43 by Terry M.

[Geek99]

TBH I’m now quite attracted by the idea of a highway 1 jazz with a maple neck 

[Terry M.]

1 minute ago, Geek99 said:

TBH I’m now quite attracted by the idea of a highway 1 jazz with a maple neck 

It's finding one that may be the issue. 

[AndyTravis]

If it’s a good bass i enjoy playing…it can say “Dutch Rudder” on the headstock.

[Terry M.]

17 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

If it’s a good bass i enjoy playing…it can say “Dutch Rudder” on the headstock.

Damn right too 👏

[mikebass456]

34 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

If it’s a good bass i enjoy playing…it can say “Dutch Rudder” on the headstock.

Had to look that up.....😆😆😲

[Terry M.]

18 minutes ago, mikebass456 said:

Had to look that up.....😆😆😲

I just did 🤔

[AndyTravis]

23 minutes ago, mikebass456 said:

Had to look that up.....😆😆😲

Sorry

 

5 minutes ago, Terry M. said:

I just did 🤔

not sorry…

[Terry M.]

8 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

Sorry

 

not sorry…

Why not sorry for me? This joke clearly flying over my head 😁

[AndyTravis]

7 minutes ago, Terry M. said:

Why not sorry for me? This joke clearly flying over my head 😁

One had to look it up…you made it sound like you had it bookmarked…

 

 

[Terry M.]

6 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

One had to look it up…you made it sound like you had it bookmarked…

 

 

Mikebass456 said that not me 🤣

[AndyTravis]

So just to clarify…we all looked?

 

good.

[PainInTheBass]

... Kinda like helping someone with limited mobility to strum their guitar. I applaud inclusivity in music. You never know when you'll need a helping hand with your instrument.

[Terry M.]

On 04/02/2025 at 20:01, jd56hawk said:

Sad but true.

The F word is so powerful that there's a growing number of Squiers in classified ads with the narrative starting "Fender Squier" instead of 'Squier by Fender"

[merello]

They should dump the Squier brand now.

[Terry M.]

1 hour ago, merello said:

They should dump the Squier brand now.

Because?

[kwmlondon]

1 hour ago, merello said:

They should dump the Squier brand now.

It does seem odd to have such a big crossover between the high end Sqiers and the budget Fenders, but they are a very successful company. I think they’ve probably done their market research and have a plan to protect the brand.