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Fender colours - why so few?


Linus27
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Anyone else struggle with the standard Fender colours for their American standard Jazz and Precisions? I mean, for what is really the top of the line before going into the re-issue and specials, the choice is so limited and not very exciting. Black, Olympic White, Candy Cola, Blizzard Pearl, Charcoal Frost and Sunburst. Most are just block colours and pretty uninspiring to. They could at least have a natural option.

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It's just not cost effective to have a wide range of interesting colour options available on instruments that are aimed at people with incredibly conservative/traditional tastes.

The large majority of Fenders sold are probably sunburst ones. It's a real shame because some of the Fender custom colours
are fantastic.

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[quote name='BigRedX' post='1351589' date='Aug 25 2011, 05:58 PM']I'm all for a return to the great late 70s colours:
sh*t Brown
I Can't Be Bothered To Spray Any More Coats White

Classy...[/quote]

Or combine the two in a sunburst,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,ANTIGUA.Yuk.
More colours from Fender ? are you some kind of whacko hippy ? is'nt the abundance of parts bin specials...............er...i mean signature models enough for you ? :)

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[quote name='Mykesbass' post='1351560' date='Aug 25 2011, 05:28 PM']Yep, sure there would be a big market for all those lovely old colours but perhaps this may reduce their custom shop sales.[/quote]

+1 to this. I've always found the range of colours a limited. With the exception of white and sunburst I'm not too keen on any of them. Even the sunburst seems very dull compared to the CS sunbursts.

I'm sure the range of colours hasn't happened by accident though. Fender have a lot of very highly paid marketing bods figuring these things out.

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[quote name='DirkThrust' post='1352561' date='Aug 26 2011, 03:19 PM']....Fender have a lot of very highly paid marketing bods figuring these things out....[/quote]
Really? Since Leo left it looks like Fender have favoured the dart board method for figuring everything out!

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[quote name='chris_b' post='1352618' date='Aug 26 2011, 03:43 PM']Really? Since Leo left it looks like Fender have favoured the dart board method for figuring everything out![/quote]


Yes, but it's highly paid marketing bods chucking the darts...

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[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='1351596' date='Aug 25 2011, 06:07 PM']The "Bring back Graffiti Yellow" campaign starts here![/quote]

I'm entirely with you on this one, vastly underrated finish!

As for the OP, I completely agree, Fender lacks a lot of thinking in terms of what they offer as options nowadays. More of a choice of colours would be wonderful.

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The reds on the aerodynes and some others are sexual IMHO.

They had that range of really bright coloured ones they've literally just brought out was on a thread in this forum not too long ago, though they were hideous and the price was a rip off.

As for not giving more colour choice in the hope more people will buy CS models, I can't really see that as true - surely if you want a custom colour on an off the shelf fender you get it resprayed for up to £250 rather than spending £1000s more on a CS version?

I love the sparkly orange that MM do on the bongos, and those Big Als come in some interesting colours too. I love the deep blue and green Warwick do, no reason why fender couldn't do any of these!

That fotoflame P sold on here recently was interesting, I liked the look of that one.

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They cover a lot of my favourites but I agree. Lake Placid and Sonic Blues are awesome as are seafoam green. If I found the right bass in these colours would definitely take the plunge.

Also, it's not like you are paying peanuts for Standards anymore. They are bloody expensive and should never be a compromise.

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[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='1353071' date='Aug 26 2011, 09:36 PM']Makes me like my MIA Jazz all the more (Translucent Sunset Orange over Ash)

[/quote]


That is gorgeous. See why dont Fender do more translucent colours, they look stunning.

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[quote name='chris_b' post='1352618' date='Aug 26 2011, 03:43 PM']Really? Since Leo left it looks like Fender have favoured the dart board method for figuring everything out![/quote]

Yes really. They still offer all the colours on guitars so they haven't forgotten they exist. If they don't offer them on basses then there's a good reason for it. These things don't happen by chance.

For instance they used to offer LPB in the 1990s on the US Standard but discontinued it and it's now only available on the Mexican range. Multi million dollar corporations like Fender exist to make a profit and if they were making money on it it wouldn't have been discontinued.

Colours like Shell Pink and Seafoam Green might be desirable to a few people on BC but I doubt there is enough mass appeal to justify producing them. One of Fender's main USPs has been their link with the past. You can look at footage from the 1960s and 70s and see classic bands with the same instruments you can buy today, so that means black, white or sunburst. Custom colours were rare. That kind of endorsement keeps Fenders selling, especially to people of a certain age

Edited by DirkThrust
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[quote name='dc2009' post='1352930' date='Aug 26 2011, 07:45 PM']As for not giving more colour choice in the hope more people will buy CS models, I can't really see that as true - surely if you want a custom colour on an off the shelf fender you get it resprayed for up to £250 rather than spending £1000s more on a CS version?

I love the sparkly orange that MM do on the bongos, and those Big Als come in some interesting colours too. I love the deep blue and green Warwick do, no reason why fender couldn't do any of these![/quote]

Do people really spend £1000 on a bass and then another £250 to get it sprayed a different colour. Not a chance. For that sort of money you are getting close to Boutique builder territory.

Fender are never going to offer the J or P in sparkly orange, because Fender are all about tradition and I would bet that sunburst is still their best seller. If James Jamerson played a sparkly orange Precision then it'd be in their catalogue.

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[quote name='DirkThrust' post='1353286' date='Aug 27 2011, 07:19 AM']Do people really spend £1000 on a bass and then another £250 to get it sprayed a different colour. Not a chance. For that sort of money you are getting close to Boutique builder territory.

Fender are never going to offer the J or P in sparkly orange, because Fender are all about tradition and I would bet that sunburst is still their best seller. If James Jamerson played a sparkly orange Precision then it'd be in their catalogue.[/quote]

Well quite, only a mug buys a new fender nowadays anyway, or someone with more money than they know what to do with.

As for the tradition, I think it limits them sales. I'd never buy a bass only based on colour, but personally I find sunburst and plain black fairly boring (I'm aware I own two sunburst basses and a trans-black bass), I'd definitely rather splash £800 on a S/H bongo 5 in sweeeeeeeeet sparkly orange than a black mia fender...

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