stingrayPete1977 Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Lol, the harp player at a jam I used to frequent used a large tweed covered bassman combo, it was the biggest amp on the stage, bloody racket! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1420391978' post='2648751'] Lol, the harp player at a jam I used to frequent [/quote] Where was this jam session? Heaven? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonky2 Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Hahaha that's funny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 [quote name='Sean' timestamp='1420410234' post='2649178'] Where was this jam session? Heaven? [/quote] 'twas but a mouth harp and if heaven sounds like that I am glad I will be heading downhill rather than up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Rivera era Fender valve guitar amps are pretty amazing for rhythm work - mainly due to the sag and fendery chime. I still have a hankering for a Concert or Princeton combo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1420391978' post='2648751'] Lol, the harp player at a jam I used to frequent used a large tweed covered bassman combo, it was the biggest amp on the stage, bloody racket! [/quote] My band's harp man has one of these too, far too bloody loud with the master volume at 1. Just last week I was told some people (one of them another harp player) walked out of one of our gigs as the harp was painful to listen to (and too bloody loud as well!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 I can believe that mate, I never did a try bass through it, did you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 No, his has been hot-rodded by some local harp guru. I played through a standard one a few times in Finland, as a bass amp it was nothing special really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fingerz Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Sad if Fender are indeed in trouble. I understand all the feelings towards the company mentioned in this thread. Though there has been good and bad gear roll out of every factory/luthiers door at some point. The only company I've not seen questionable work or a dodgy set up from is Yamaha! Set up issues etc don't bother me, you can look at an instrument in the shop and gauge how far you can go with the action and tension in the neck when you try it. It's all subjective and can be made to work well for you. In my experience a good Fender can be the most bad ass sound there is. When I hear a good strat or telly it's a sound that can't be matched at any price point, or at least, rarely improved upon IMO. They are relatively cheap when you compare them to custom type instruments based on those designs. For me, they represent solid, working tools that are reliable as hell, and sound great. You just have to play a lot of them. But that goes for most instruments, again, IME, to find the one for you. We can sit and slag them off all we like, but they have shaped what we do over the years, and their instruments have been a leveller across classes and genres. Maybe they have taken the p*** in recent years on the balance books, or manufacturing process. But if that's the case I'm sure they can turn it around. I would be very sad if they weren't around any more. I remember a student of mine who had a new Squire Jazz bass, it was a GREAT sounding and playing jazz... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twincam Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 [quote name='fingerz' timestamp='1420476945' post='2649762'] Sad if Fender are indeed in trouble. I understand all the feelings towards the company mentioned in this thread. Though there has been good and bad gear roll out of every factory/luthiers door at some point. The only company I've not seen questionable work or a dodgy set up from is Yamaha! Set up issues etc don't bother me, you can look at an instrument in the shop and gauge how far you can go with the action and tension in the neck when you try it. It's all subjective and can be made to work well for you. In my experience a good Fender can be the most bad ass sound there is. When I hear a good strat or telly it's a sound that can't be matched at any price point, or at least, rarely improved upon IMO. They are relatively cheap when you compare them to custom type instruments based on those designs. For me, they represent solid, working tools that are reliable as hell, and sound great. You just have to play a lot of them. But that goes for most instruments, again, IME, to find the one for you. We can sit and slag them off all we like, but they have shaped what we do over the years, and their instruments have been a leveller across classes and genres. Maybe they have taken the p*** in recent years on the balance books, or manufacturing process. But if that's the case I'm sure they can turn it around. I would be very sad if they weren't around any more. I remember a student of mine who had a new Squire Jazz bass, it was a GREAT sounding and playing jazz... [/quote] I agree with the point about Yamaha all the ones ive seen have been great from low end to the higher priced range. I think some of there range are rather bland though. But i would buy a new one online and be very confident more so than many brands it would be good one. Which i think is possibly why some people expect more of Fender, Yamaha make all sorts of stuff Fender are supposed to be just an instrument company. But the quality for price ratio is all over the place, If it was linear i could get that. But you should simply not get a bad guitar that says Fender on it you pay enough for that not to happen. I read somewhere Yamaha has exactly the same quality control procedures for all the guitars regardless of price. Also Hofner with there Chinese production are pretty strict so i have heard and they spent time there so that there reputation (which is questionable maybe) would not be besmirched (now there's an old school word). As someone said above mex,jap chinese fenders should carry the Squire name. But i will add The US ones would have to go up in quality consistency and get rid of those daft pre reliced things. Its almost like buying a pre stressed and aged new car with fake rust and dirt sprayed onto it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTypeV4 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 [quote name='icastle' timestamp='1420384369' post='2648615'] To me, that only makes sense if the company you are taking over are competitors. Fender bass amps have been mostly the big valve jobbies or bog standard 'budget' transistor stuff for years now. If I was in the market for a GB type setup then I'd certainly check out other brands while I was at it, but I wouldn't even look at Fender as their product range seems to fall well outside that. IMO, they'd have been better off buying[i][b] Peavey [/b][/i]or Ampeg if they wanted to divert market share. [/quote] That'd shake the tree! Fender buying Peavey would be something else.. Can't see it happening tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 [quote name='VTypeV4' timestamp='1420594905' post='2651202'] That'd shake the tree! Fender buying Peavey would be something else.. Can't see it happening tho. [/quote] Not in the next few months that's for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 [quote name='fingerz' timestamp='1420476945' post='2649762'] But if that's the case I'm sure they can turn it around. I would be very sad if they weren't around any more. [/quote] Oh in my doom and gloom how to fix a company I did say, Fender will still be around, in the way it is now. The company running it would just get bought out cheap by someone else, or sold off or something. The Brand Fender is too valueable and iconic to lose, it is still worth something, and lets face it to us, it no longer matters who actually owns it any more, its not like when it was run by Leo, they dont particulalry care about guitars any more than sideboards or TVs, it is just a commodity to be sold, we just have to hope that the actual division running the guitar part do actually care that their guitars / sideboards / TVs are better than anyone elses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clauster Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I've just seen that Fender are selling off the KMC percusion brands and Ovation guitars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 [quote name='clauster' timestamp='1420790174' post='2653357'] I've just seen that Fender are selling off the KMC percusion brands and Ovation guitars. [/quote] IMO, those were always odd brands for Fender to have bought. Few, if any, people would associate Fender with percussion and I can't actually recall having seen anyone using an Ovation for quite a while now. It sounds more like someone's gone manic with a cheque book than a business strategy to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funky Dunky Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 (edited) John Mayer took to twitter the other day to announce his partnership with Fender is over, saying he will still play Fenders, but is no longer a Fender artist. He went on to say that Fender are not the company today they were when he began working with them. I would love him to elaborate on that. He performed on The Late Show last week, supporting Ed Sheeran on 'Don't' and was playing a Jackson. EDIT - massive apologies guys, upon further research I learned he announced his split with Fender in October. Old news. Sorry. Edited February 10, 2015 by Funky Dunky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoo Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Maybe more to this story than first seems - I also saw mention that he's now on the PRS artists list on their webpage - no idea if that's a new thing or not though http://prsguitars.com/artists/#artistlist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funky Dunky Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Stoo - Mayer's sound is quintessentially Fender, and I believe he will still play them, but I half-expect a PRS endorsement and sig model before long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 How can Fender possibly be in trouble now that Bono and The Edge are on the board? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicko Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Just a few observations on this topic: 1.I think people compltely misunderstand Fender's heritage. Leo's origial concept was not high end. What he did was take a product that was very time consuming to build and invent a more efficient way to do it. The "premium" image basically came about because of the sound and playability. Those things remain in some way. 2.I have a mexican Telecaster (mid 90s) which was OK, but is now fantastic since I changed the pickus for some aftermarket jobs. I also have a US special PB which I am still in love with. The fact these have F logos matters not one jot to me. But when I tell non musicians that I play they always ask "is it a Fender". I say yes, but my main guitar is a Patrick Eggle and they're eyes glaze over. The brand has value outside of its market, not inside the market. 3. I totally agree that the range is far too complex, but the idea of different manufacturing plants for differrent price points is good business sense. Its gone too far and is now totally confusing. If you have a guitar built in the US it shoud be more expensive, because labour in the US is more expensive. It doesn't make it better though. 4. They do use different components depending on manufacturing location, and speaking from experience quality control in China is something that hasn't fully caught on. What we saw in the 90s with the Jap Squires was completely the opposite. Japan was where quality control mattered, and in the US they didin't give the proverbial s*** about what went out of the door. Ultimately I think you need to view Fender more like Volkwagen. They're good and reliable, but they aren't Bentley. Oh, sorry, dont VW own Bentley? Yes, and thats wherre the custom shop comes in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoo Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 [quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1423592339' post='2686793'] Stoo - Mayer's sound is quintessentially Fender, and I believe he will still play them, but I half-expect a PRS endorsement and sig model before long. [/quote] Fair enough - I'm not familiar with the guy - just stumbled upon mention of the PRS thing while googling to find out who he was and figured it might be worth mentioning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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