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this puts me off of fenders just a tad..


clashcityrocker
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So after reading lots on here about fender qc, and personally only seeming to have had 'good' ones, this worries me a little
http://www.fender.com/series/deluxe/deluxe-active-p-bass-special-maple-fingerboard-blizzard-pearl-1-ply-beveled-gold-vinyl-pickguard/

Is it just me or can everyone else see the massive gap in the top of the neck pocket? If the one bass you use for your own shots has that Qc I'm quite worried about buying one to be honest. Problem is these deluxe actives never come up second hand and no where near me stocks them, kind of don't wanna buy blind now

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I'm not trying to defend Fender's QC or anything, but I wouldn't buy a bass on the strength of this pic, whether it seems good or bad. It's obviously been so processed, airbrushed and generally Photoshopped that it could well be made up from various separate graphic elements and not be a picture of an existing bass at all! Look at it! It seems to be hovering in mid-air. In my experience Fenders are a bit heavier than that! :D
[color=#ffffff].[/color]

Edited by discreet
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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1357988006' post='1931336']
I'm not trying to defend Fender's QC or anything, but I wouldn't buy a bass on the strength of this pic, whether it seems good or bad. It's obviously been so processed, airbrushed and Photoshopped that it could well be made up from various separate graphic elements and not be a picture of an existing bass at all! Look at it! It seems to be hovering in mid-air. In my experience Fenders are a bit heavier than that! :D
[color=#ffffff].[/color]
[/quote]:)

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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1357988006' post='1931336']
I'm not trying to defend Fender's QC or anything, but I wouldn't buy a bass on the strength of this pic, whether it seems good or bad. It's obviously been so processed, airbrushed and Photoshopped that it could well be made up from various separate graphic components and not be a picture of an existing bass at all! Look at it! It seems to be hovering in mid-air. In my experience Fenders are a bit heavier than that! :D
[/quote]
That is good point well made, when buying stuff it does always look better when hovering, especially when the bottom of the body has a flat line where is was obviously laid on something. I think I could take better photos with my HTC phone while seriously drunk

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Fender has never made instruments with tight manufacturing specs.

The chop 'em out and bolt 'em together philosophy has managed to produce some nice sounding basses in the past.

Having said that, buying a Fender can be a lottery. I guess that's why the usual advice is always before buying, play them first.

Edited by chris_b
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[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1357988357' post='1931343']
...the usual advice is always before buying, play them first.[/quote]

Quite. This is true for any bass, not just Fenders. And Fender are well-known for mass-production; they make bitsas! Leo's original design had mass-production very much in mind - to be sold at a critical price point - which is why he was so successful and why Fender still are successful. If you want a bespoke Fender there is always the option of Custom Shop - at a price. As always, you get what you pay for.

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Yes, but we've all seen Fenders with that neck pocket issue. I'm just amazed that they're attention to detail is so lax that they choose that particular bass to be the basis of their catalogue picture!

I bought a s/h US Fender off someone from here, but even thru the neck pocket was good it was didn't sound right. I took it to Jon Shuker to sort out who eventually found that the factory installed bridge had been put on at an angle! Never heard of that of any other top manufacturer.....

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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1357988006' post='1931336']
I'm not trying to defend Fender's QC or anything, but I wouldn't buy a bass on the strength of this pic, whether it seems good or bad. It's obviously been so processed, airbrushed and generally Photoshopped that it could well be made up from various separate graphic elements and not be a picture of an existing bass at all! Look at it! It seems to be hovering in mid-air. In my experience Fenders are a bit heavier than that! :D
[color=#ffffff].[/color]
[/quote]

Bang on the money mate. My emails to The Fender corp. re: ideas for a new helium-filled P-Bass were completely ignored!

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[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1357988561' post='1931350']
Very true. The idea was to make them mix and match-able. Not produce the finest instruments in the world. If you want the iconic image and sound then who cares about a few gaps here and there?
[/quote]

True! My 78P has a decent gap, but it still sounds and plays great, and has never moved. Good for storing plectrums too.

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[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1357989066' post='1931361']
Yes, but we've all seen Fenders with that neck pocket issue. I'm just amazed that they're attention to detail is so lax that they choose that particular bass to be the basis of their catalogue picture!

I bought a s/h US Fender off someone from here, but even thru the neck pocket was good it was didn't sound right. I took it to Jon Shuker to sort out who eventually found that the factory installed bridge had been put on at an angle! Never heard of that of any other top manufacturer.....
[/quote]I'm afraid that this is another very very VERY common issue!

Edited by lettsguitars
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The QC at Fender is usually pretty good and has got better over the years, though I am not dismissing that a few rotten eggs do slip through once in a while. It's the same in any high production industry.

In my experience the Mexican factory is the worst culprit. I have never had a MIM bass, but I have owned guitars built there. Three in total including a modded Jimi Hendrix Tribute Strat model which I still have. All these guitars have had craftsmanship issues. The Hendrix guitar for example, does have a gap between the neck and pocket big enough to fit a 5p coin into, the nut has not been cut very well at the edges and there were a couple of blobs of lacquer (now removed) on the neck. The guitar has been heavily modded and I have been able to gloss over these issues because it now sounds and plays amazingly, but this is not the first MIM guitar I have owned with shoddy build quality. My first one had a dirty fingerprint under the lacquer on the headstock! At least I could identify the silly sod that wasn't wearing his gloves that day!

Edited by shizznit
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The bridge on my Fender was put on off centre.

QC at Fender is reported to be pretty good these days but in previous times they didn't pay much attention to consistent QC even on the US made instruments.

I'm afraid I wouldn't buy a Custom shop Fender. At those prices I'd rather get a Sadowsky, Lull, Xotic or any of a dozen other better made basses.

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[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1357991849' post='1931438']
True! My 78P has a decent gap, but it still sounds and plays great, and has never moved. Good for storing plectrums too.
[/quote]

Agree with this (apart from the storing plectrums bit!). I bought the '92 MIM P in my avatar when I was new to bass and didn't know any better and it's got the same gap as the one pointed out by the OP. It's made no difference and out of all my basses, it's the one that sounds best in the recording studio. Go figure!

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[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1357988561' post='1931350']
Very true. The idea was to make them mix and match-able. Not produce the finest instruments in the world. If you want the iconic image and sound then who cares about a few gaps here and there?
[/quote]

I thought the idea behind the bolt on neck was to be able to change the neck when the frets wore out? I'm not disputing what you are saying, in was likely both plus the fact that Fender have been since day 1 all about building instruments as cheaply as they could - cheapest woods at the time, repainting bodies to match orders etc

My MIM Fender is nigh on perfect.

Personally, the way I see it is that the main difference between MIM & MIA is that MIA Fenders are made in America by Mexicans using American parts, MIM Fenders are made in Mexico by Mexicans using American parts. :yarr:

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[quote name='Delberthot' timestamp='1357993741' post='1931486']
I thought the idea behind the bolt on neck was to be able to change the neck when the frets wore out? I'm not disputing what you are saying, in was likely both plus the fact that Fender have been since day 1 all about building instruments as cheaply as they could - cheapest woods at the time, repainting bodies to match orders etc

My MIM Fender is nigh on perfect.

Personally, the way I see it is that the main difference between MIM & MIA is that MIA Fenders are made in America by Mexicans using American parts, MIM Fenders are made in Mexico by Mexicans using American parts. :yarr:
[/quote]Definately. Why the letters u,s and a, affect price so drastically is beyond me.

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[quote name='clashcityrocker' timestamp='1357987454' post='1931325']
So after reading lots on here about fender qc, and personally only seeming to have had 'good' ones, this worries me a little
[url="http://www.fender.com/series/deluxe/deluxe-active-p-bass-special-maple-fingerboard-blizzard-pearl-1-ply-beveled-gold-vinyl-pickguard/"]http://www.fender.co...inyl-pickguard/[/url]

Is it just me or can everyone else see the massive gap in the top of the neck pocket? If the one bass you use for your own shots has that Qc I'm quite worried about buying one to be honest. Problem is these deluxe actives never come up second hand and no where near me stocks them, kind of don't wanna buy blind now
[/quote]
There are 2 used Deluxe Precisions (like this but different colours) in stock at [url="http://bassdirect.co.uk"]Bass Direct[/url] (just outside Warwick - not too far from you I guess) at the moment.

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[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1358002722' post='1931661']
There are 2 used Deluxe Precisions (like this but different colours) in stock at [url="http://bassdirect.co.uk"]Bass Direct[/url] (just outside Warwick - not too far from you I guess) at the moment.
[/quote]
cheers for that mate, unfortunatley (for me) they are USA made so abit out of my price range thanks though

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I personally can't see a gap at the top of the neck pocket ( I may need new glasses :)).

However, I'd agree with discreet that the 'photo' has been so processed and manipulated it's not even a picture of a real bass anymore. If you 'click' through all the possible models they've all got that funny silk on the A string Jack pointed out. This probably gives a clue to how much the image has been nobbled. :)

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[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1358014747' post='1931910']
...I'd agree with discreet that the 'photo' has been so processed and manipulated it's not even a picture of a real bass any more. If you 'click' through all the possible models they've all got that funny silk on the A string Jack pointed out. This probably gives a clue to how much the image has been nobbled...[/quote]

See..? And you all said I was a Lithuanian cross-dresser with commitment issues. Pah! :D

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