Sorry to hear that. It’s always a roll of the dice with instruments these days. I’m not a big Fender fan & don’t want to own one since I’m good with my Ibanez, Yamaha & Epiphone. But their Rumble amps & combos seem to be really good.
Hope it all works out for you.
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That’s a bummer to spend that much on a brand new instrument and it be so screwy. I agree with everyone who says this is definitely not “normal” for Fender and the retailer is full of it.
Regarding Fender/brand loyalty, I started out thinking Fender was lame/overpriced and was more into modern active basses, but about a year ago ordered a new Fender MiM P to try something different and loved it, still zero issues and I’ve played it a lot. For comparison, the new Sire V5 I ordered recently has had multiple electronics issues in less than 2 months – The input jack was soldered so poorly that it disconnected after a week or so, and there now seems to be a grounding issue that I need to fix. Was pretty disappointing for a $550 purchase, but I do love the bass otherwise.
The funny thing is I’ve heard nothing but good things about Sire’s QC, so who knows. All of this is anecdotal, only real takeaway is it’s a risk to buy a new instrument online regardless of the brand.
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Really, it’s often the retailer that makes all the difference, particularly in two areas: knowledge of the products they sell and standing by those products in terms of service. Any producer can make a dud, but it takes a real customer-service artist to make that customer want to come back and buy that brand again.
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My only dud so far was the Italia bass that had an unfixable piezo issue that, due to the design of the bass, made it basically impossible to fix. I suppose if Italia was more local in the US other than a distributor, they could have serviced it (there were no more to swap it with, still aren’t).
I do have a tuner issue on the Traveller bass and am awaiting a replacement as well.
So far no issues on Fender products (or Gretsch, or LTD or MM). In our current mass market age there will be issues, to me, what’s also important is service after the sale. My CS Fender is warranted for life. I like that. For the price it should be.
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I disagree slightly.
When I got my Ibanez I was waiting on after all those months, the EQ failed out of the box. My rep didn’t try and sell me another Ibanez, he didn’t even push repair or warranty, he said if you close you eyes and pick whatever you want, what would that be.
Which to me is good service, maintaining the relationship
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I didn’t mean that. All I meant was that a good retail service rep can help make good the dud situation in a way that doesn’t turn the customer off the brand, or retailer for that matter.
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That’s fair.
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The good stores over here allegedly do a x number of points check before shipping a bass out. If everyone followed this and actually did it surely that would nullify all such issues?
Customer service seems so hit and miss nowadays where the end goal really seems just to relieve the buyer of their hard earned cash and stuff the consequences. With many of the larger retailers having such a massive turnover a couldn’t care less attitude for some is in danger of creeping in
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I tend to agree. I bought the fender American pro II Fretless bass which was about $2300 CAD and I wasn’t impressed with the sound. I actually liked the fretless I rented back in March much more and it was half the price. I find the Mexican basses sound better than the American made ones.
Couldn’t agree more although talk is cheap and some stores say this but do not follow through.
When I purchased my Yamaha TRBX504 I talked to the dealer, whom I had never dealt with before, and told him what I expected.
My main points were a straight neck, no sharp fret ends, working truss rod, and factory spec nut and pick up heights. Plus of course smooth and fully functional electronics. I told him not to really worry about neck relief or action height as I could adjust them myself.
The dealer was more than happy to comply and even upgraded the shipping to next day service for free, and included a heavily padded gig bag.
As if that wasn’t enough the store owner even phoned me, the day after he shipped it, to make sure I had received my order and then called me a week later to make sure I was happy with the Bass and gave me a non expiring 10% discount coupon on my next purchase.
How’s that for customer service?
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That’s excellent and realistically how things should be especially if you’re buying something halfway decent from a proper music store. Unfortunately it seems to be the exception rather than the rule after reading peoples experiences
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Unfortunately he is not local and it would cost me about $60 in gas to visit his store but, maybe that is a good thing.
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I just got a MIM Mustang PJ and am absolutely thrilled with it. The J pickup is weak- just like all the online posters were saying prior to my purchase decision, but the P pickup is wonderful. From what I am researching, it is the same pickup Fender uses in the 50s P bass. Other issue I read about is the pickup switch is a bit weak, and some people have replaced it.
I put flats on mine and paid for a setup, but it feels like a pro instrument and sounds perfect for what I was hoping for. I already had a hipshot bridge sitting around so I had it swapped out in the Mustang.
The absolute only problem I have with it is some neck dive- which can be very common for short scales since they are so light. Because I’m in love with all other aspects, I opted to get the ultralite tuners- just had them installed today and picked up my baby at lunch, so I cannot test until later when I get home.
I still have my Sterling Stingray SS and love it as well- very solid instrument, right out of the box… but only use for specific songs since the tone is really different from the P bass. I’ve also owned a Gretsch Jr Jet and a Squire Jag SS. This Mustang was the most money ($600 plus the modifications) but it just provides me with the look, feel and sound I was dreaming of. Really gives me confidence since I just put together a new band and now have the tool to move forward.
I know a lot of all this is personal preference, prior experiences of what feels or sounds “right” as compared to what doesn’t. I certainly understand tech issues or the lack of QC when you just spent good money!
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Looks great.
How does she sound?
I am waiting on a Squier Jaguar bass with 32" neck, have a hipshot bridge for it and will change out the tuners too.
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Thanks- IMO it sounds awesome. Great sustain and love the P tone. Sounds ok recording through headphones, but really seems to shine in live setting with amp and playing within a band environment.
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No sound from the P pickup, 2 weeks after the refund period ended…
If I ever buy anything from Fender again then someone please remember to punch me in the face.
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What about warranty?
We did start a QC thread to document all QC issues across brands which you might want to post on. I think right now there is so much iffy quality due to covid ripple effect that everything is suspect.
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Ugh. Sorry man.
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Since it’s quite hard for a pickup to fail it might just be a wiring connection that has a failed solder point.
On less of course the winding wire broke, which is another issue altogether.
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Yes that’s what I told the retailer as well, but they told me to return it for servicing.
But even if it would have been an easy fix, a 1400 EUR bass should not be a DIY project straight out of the box.
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