[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='412132' date='Feb 17 2009, 04:20 PM']I would have liked to have bought a non-fender, and have no allegiances to the brand. At the time of purchase though, I genuinely couldn't find another bass that played so well for the money. That's after looking at the Bass Cellar, The Gallery, GAK, Denmark Street and the American Guitar Centre - all of which have a pretty large stock of basses.[/quote]
Tis fair enough, you tried and you bought the best bass you could find at the time, regardless of what it said on the headstock.
I'd be exactly the same. Just recently a lot of the fenders I've tried, both guitars and basses have been incredibly average. However, I have a friend with a mexican fender that plays a lot better then most of the american ones I've played. I keep trying to get him to sell it to me, but he won't
If you spend long enough hanging around in a music shop though, you quickly see how brainwashed people have become towards fender and gibson, and when you try and say, hey try this, it maybe made in korea but it beats the pants of the fender, quite often you'll get the dismissive reaction simply because it doesn't say fender on the headstock. I think that's the bit I'm more stressing the point about.
[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='412132' date='Feb 17 2009, 04:20 PM']For you, they're not worth it, but I think it's unfair to suggest they purely trade off the name. If it is just clever branding, they've got a lot of top musicians fooled![/quote]
It's more that they are charging a premium for the name, which imho just isn't justified. I know it happens in most things, but it's when people equate the extra money to something extra that just isn't there, I can't fathom it!
edit - I think it's important to point out at this point, that being Yorkshire, I demand value for money goddamit