Fenders are rubbish......But

[tauzero]

[quote name='bassjim' timestamp='1442835285' post='2869797']
ok you might want something else sound wise or feel wise but get one of these and it will be your bass for life. even if its not needed right now there will always be somewhere down the line you need one. IMO
[/quote]

I did get one. In fact, I got two. I don't have them any more. I have no desire to ever own one again. I will never need one.

[funkgod]

I had 8 fender jazz basses, of them ...
4 were mex,
2 usa, a highway, and an 80s std
1 was a jap aero
1 is a jap fotoflame, 62 reissue

i also have a fair number of other basses to compare them to,

If i can compare the jazz bass against any of them, i can say this....
its not the make of the bass that has anything at all to do with making it better.
Its the bass its self in its own right for a collection of reasons.

for example, of the 8 jazz basses by far the best one is, in my hands, the jap fotoflame 62,
for all the reasons that would make it a perfect bass,
1) it feels and plays fantastic
2) it sounds fantastic ( once the pickups were changed)
3) in its self all the notes are even volume, and even tone at bass and treb ends on all notes.
4) rear pick up slapped could cut you in half, the neck with treb down is warm and deep enough for reggae
5) Its battered so im not too precious about it getting bumped at a gig
6) is now my main recording bass as it cuts through with out it being too wooly.
7) and on top of all that it looks the bizz.

What more can i ask for,

of the other jazz basses i have/had the worst was the highway one, which was awfull
talk about dead neck and boomey i hated it, so that went, but... one of my friends has a highway one and its great, nothing like in terms of sound and playability to my old one.
the usa std was not good at all, the neck was horrid which had a bow in it that i could not get out,
and was a struggle to play, so that went also, i still have all the rest.
One of the mex jazz basses is light, feels cheap and does not project the sound very well, with a weak output,
but plays ok.
but i have a burnt tangerine mex one which you would never believe came from the same place,
everything about it is just better.

I tend now to look at basses on their own merrit after playing them and not what it says on the headstock
A good jazz bass in its basic form can be as good as anything else,
its no good having a bad sounding/playing alembic ( and there are) just because it looks good.
I have a friend who uses a cheap 70s Antoria jazz star bass, has had it since 81, its the only one i have ever seen
and it really does sounds great and he would not swap it for anything,
All in all ..some basses have it, some dont, no matter what the make is.

oowwww go on then..
meet tango and jap
best two fender basses i have ever had.
[attachment=201177:PIC_0125.JPG]
[attachment=201178:PIC_0133.JPG]
[attachment=201179:PIC_0132.JPG]

Edited September 21, 2015 by funkgod

[ubit]

So some people like Fenders, some people don't like Fenders! There ya go, what a revelation!

[bassjim]

very fair enough points all round then. im guessing it comes down to personal experience. personally it all went from super stressy "please god of bass. please please please dont make me look like a complete dick by sounding completley usless and nothing like a bass player on my 3 grand coffee table faced work of art that I have to spend the whole time twiddling and fiddling till it sounds almost like its usable" to " where would you like me to set up? over here? ok. ready when you are". fellow band and audience: "bass sounds really good".ect ect = can now get on with it. i think there could be a small but better quality on the fender deluxe that helps this along...............or maybe its just that me + the fender = what works for me?

[Skybone]

Must admit, that after reading the first few pages, I went off looking at various P & P/J basses...

[ubit]

[quote name='Skybone' timestamp='1442848303' post='2869962']
Must admit, that after reading the first few pages, I went off looking at various P & P/J basses...
[/quote]

Good on ya, you have every right to !

[Skybone]

Can't really justify one though, seeing as I have an L2000 Tribute sat in a case at home.

[Low End Bee]

[quote name='bassjim' timestamp='1442847122' post='2869951']
very fair enough points all round then. im guessing it comes down to personal experience. personally it all went from super stressy "please god of bass. please please please dont make me look like a complete dick by sounding completley usless and nothing like a bass player on my 3 grand coffee table faced work of art that I have to spend the whole time twiddling and fiddling till it sounds almost like its usable" to " where would you like me to set up? over here? ok. ready when you are". fellow band and audience: "bass sounds really good".ect ect = can now get on with it. i think there could be a small but better quality on the fender deluxe that helps this along...............or maybe its just that me + the fender = what works for me?
[/quote]

That's it. Pretty much my reason for using a Precision. One less thing to worry about so I can enjoy playing the songs.

[bassjim]

sorry (this could cause a bit of misery) but i have to throw this one in as well. ..................any time i find myself either depping or in the company of experienced musicians (you know..the others...guitarists and drummers and keys and all of them) that have never seen or heard me before they all seem to have a look of worried to now relaxed "ah....phew...good start...hes got a fender.............." as soon as I get it out of the case. im a bit the same way when i get a guitar dep turn up for a band I play in regularly, and he/she gets a fender strat out. I'm usually thinking to myself ..."ah ...good start......most likely they have done their tone seaking suffering elswhere and will now just get on with it and sound good" and I'm usually right about that one. There are some exceptions and they have proved to be great players but even they tend to have a strat somewhere. yes yes,there are rooms where it all goes out the window no matter what you have in your hands and ok you dont see Mark King (just an example!) using one (although he did once) but across the board in general if you are required to "play the bass" a fender goes a long way................................IMO

[discreet]

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1442841897' post='2869901']
So some people like Fenders, some people don't like Fenders! There ya go, what a revelation!
[/quote]

These threads always seem to get very polarised for some reason. I don't understand why people seem to get slightly irritated about the fact that other people really like Fender basses... and some don't. It's just one of those brands that seems to press that button. Like Barefaced... I don't understand the sometimes very vociferous opposition to those who prefer Alex's cabs. Oh well, stay tuned - I'm working on a very fine Behringer NAD thread at the moment, so that'll really bring the haters out of the woodwork!

Edited September 21, 2015 by discreet

[neepheid]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1442852502' post='2870012']
These threads always seem to get very polarised for some reason. I don't understand why people seem to get slightly irritated about the fact that other people really like Fender basses... and some don't. It's just one of those brands that seems to press that button.
[/quote]


It could be that people who don't care for Fenders don't like or appreciate being preached at by a vocal minority about how wrong they are. That's how it feels and comes across to me sometimes.

[discreet]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1442855461' post='2870042']It could be that people who don't care for Fenders don't like or appreciate being preached at by a vocal minority about how wrong they are. That's how it feels and comes across to me sometimes.[/quote]

Could be! But you don't get four pages of reaction when someone starts a 'Warwicks are rubbish' thread. Maybe that's because they are. Wooh! YEAH! And so on and so forth.

I went off Fenders for a while, but now I'm back. It's just so subjective... I can understand why people don't get on with them. I do... for the moment.

[tauzero]

[quote name='Low End Bee' timestamp='1442848799' post='2869968']
That's it. Pretty much my reason for using a Precision. One less thing to worry about so I can enjoy playing the songs.
[/quote]

That's my reason for playing a bass. Stick the controls in the middle (active bass) or full chat (passive bass) and it sounds like a bass. Funnily enough, all of my basses do that. They even sound quite like a bass if I move the controls around a bit. Not like keyboards, those are a right menace. Press the wrong button and all of a sudden you're playing drums.

[tauzero]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1442852502' post='2870012']
These threads always seem to get very polarised for some reason. I don't understand why people seem to get slightly irritated about the fact that other people really like Fender basses... and some don't.
[/quote]

The irritant is when the Fender fanbois start on about how no-one needs anything else, and how other musicians stop worrying when they see you've got a Fender (something I've never encountered, incidentally, all the musicians I've played with have been more concerned about whether I could play the right notes at the right time). I'm very happy for all you Fender lovers, I just wish you all understood that other people are happy with other basses and don't feel any need or desire for a Fender (or, indeed, Fender clone) and that doesn't make them bad people.

[Thunderbird]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1442852502' post='2870012']
These threads always seem to get very polarised for some reason. I don't understand why people seem to get slightly irritated about the fact that other people really like Fender basses... and some don't. It's just one of those brands that seems to press that button. Like Barefaced... I don't understand the sometimes very vociferous opposition to those who prefer Alex's cabs. Oh well, stay tuned - I'm working on a very fine Behringer NAD thread at the moment, so that'll really bring the haters out of the woodwork!
[/quote] I agree it is all down to personal taste I am in no way a Fender hater as you know but I do think IMO that there are much superior basses around for much less. Maybe I should of called the thread "some Fenders are rubbish" because as we all know you get 2 chances with a Fender you either get a good one or a dog. The best Fender I had was a MIM P by the way

[ubit]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1442852502' post='2870012']


These threads always seem to get very polarised for some reason. I don't understand why people seem to get slightly irritated about the fact that other people really like Fender basses... and some don't. It's just one of those brands that seems to press that button. Like Barefaced... I don't understand the sometimes very vociferous opposition to those who prefer Alex's cabs. Oh well, stay tuned - I'm working on a very fine Behringer NAD thread at the moment, so that'll really bring the haters out of the woodwork!
[/quote]

See me? Ahm dead lucky. Ahve got Fenders and a Barefaced super twin ! Does that make me super hated/liked?

[discreet]

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1442861810' post='2870115']
See me? Ahm dead lucky. Ahve got Fenders and a Barefaced super twin ! Does that make me super hated/liked?
[/quote]

Both.

[gareth]

I think Leo had something when he created the precision, then the Jazz, then the stingray and then g&l.

The proof must be in what people actually play.

I don't see many Just, Sandberg, Lakland, Sadowsky or Wals.

But I do see an awful lot of Fenders.

[Paul S]

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1442860866' post='2870103']
...but I do think IMO that there are much superior basses around for much less.
[/quote]

You'll be opening one up on Wednesday, Paul, hopefully...

[BigRedX]

[quote name='bassjim' timestamp='1442850039' post='2869988']
...any time i find myself either depping or in the company of experienced musicians (you know..the others...guitarists and drummers and keys and all of them) that have never seen or heard me before they all seem to have a look of worried to now relaxed "ah....phew...good start...hes got a fender.............." as soon as I get it out of the case. im a bit the same way when i get a guitar dep turn up for a band I play in regularly, and he/she gets a fender strat out. I'm usually thinking to myself ..."ah ...good start......most likely they have done their tone seaking suffering elswhere and will now just get on with it and sound good" and I'm usually right about that one.
[/quote]

Luckily for me I've never encountered the apprehension of other musicians when I pull something that isn't a Fender out of the case. A previous band used to love it when I seemed to bring a different bass to almost every rehearsal and, as others have said, remarkably they all sounded like bass guitars.

Because almost every band I've been in the visuals/image have been just as important as the music, I'm the other way around, and my heart always sinks when I see a Strat or (heaven forbid) a Tele (the world's most boring looking guitar) come out of a case. I'm sure that they sound and play perfectly well but these days when there is such a massive range of instruments available I just wish that I'd see something a bit more fabulous. Our current guitarist went out and bought a big semi-acoustic DeArmond guitar because he knew his indie-boy Tele simply wasn't going to look right in this band.

[ead]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1442855461' post='2870042']
It could be that people who don't care for Fenders don't like or appreciate being preached at by a vocal minority about how wrong they are. That's how it feels and comes across to me sometimes.
[/quote]

If you have a thick skin try criticising RICs on their forum. Particularly if you mention the bridge and third party subs

[Skybone]

It reminds me of the "Jehovah" scene in "Life of Brian".

[Conan]

[quote name='gareth' timestamp='1442864489' post='2870135']I don't see many Just, Sandberg, Lakland, Sadowsky or Wals.

But I do see an awful lot of Fenders.
[/quote]

Which becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. Lots of Fenders about, so lots of aspiring bassists see them and think they are the instruments to own. Imitation is, after all, the sincerest form of flattery.

Don't get me wrong - I like Fenders, and have owned a few (down to just two now, if you include Squier!) but sometimes I would like to see a bit more variety and recognition that there can be (and are) different solutions to the same problems...

[Hobbayne]

In all honesty, I grew up in the 70,s where a lot of Fenders were about. In all the bands I loved, they all played a Precision (Apart from Bruce Foxton who did eventually succumb).
All very different genres too. Like Horace Panter from The Specials, Bedders from Madness, Bruce Thomas and that bloke from The Pretenders all sporting P basses.
I guess its just rubbed off on me.
Yes, I,m a Fender fanboy but I have no intention of shoving it down peoples' throats.

[BassTractor]

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1442910791' post='2870354']
Yes, I,m a Fender fanboy but I have no intention of shoving it down peoples' throats.
[/quote]

You know, at this point I'm just sorry you aren't on a mobile platform that posts the same thing four or five times. It would have been more fun.