I think that’s relatively fair given the pricing on some of the upper American models in the $2000ish range, considering modern CNC methods, etc.
This is quintessential capitalism at work. Fender saw a market opportunity and went after it. Now there are companies dedicated to distressing and selling all kinds of parts, from jack plates to control knobs. You can even buy chemicals to DIY distressing various metals like aluminum and steel, etc. There’s videos on YouTube to make certain woods look that old weathered grey color of an untreated wooden fence that needs replacing. Ali Express is also rife with $200 relic’d guitars.
That said, the neck on my 1995 Strat Plus looks more authentic, imo, than Fender’s own $450 Road Worn Strat replacement neck
I think signature models are a sort of special case consideration. You (as in, the generalized “you” and not you specifically) probably want it for reasons beyond it being relic’d (pickups, finish, neck, combinations there-of, or you just like the artist, etc).
case in point, I don’t listen to Deftones much and bought a Stephen Carpenter guitar lol. I don’t listen to Cradle of Filth and want a Daniel Firth bass
I actually had a brief chat with Daniel Firth on YouTube about his bass even, so that was kinda neat. What an age to be alive.
Some people may buy them specifically because they are “road worn” or “relic’d.” Who knows. Humanity can be a fickle species…
For the Flea, it had volume/tone volume/tone which I really like more than volume/volume/tone. And the bridge pickup is set further away from the bridge than modern Jazz, like it was built in 64
My Paranormal has the same volume tone setup, and I really like to have the tone on the bridge around 30% and neck at 70%.
The Dirnt bass was a 50s tele style single coil pickup which Fender makes in a Squier but was looking at better stuff overall.
I Think we’ve all missed the most important question involving squires… Precisely what happened to billy squier? So much talent, so listenable. How is he not a bright shining star?
Since I own 6 spectors, I figured I needed at least 1 Fender. I bought a American Elite P a couple months ago. Im still wondering why, for a 2k bass, its been far more trouble than any of my Spectors. And after having it set up twice, still cant get rid of the string buzz.
Ok, cool. So super-professional session/gig/tonemasters think the fenders are the only thing thing that actually produces the tones they want. I can see that.
So, does the average Bassbuzz student who’s plunking away trying to hit Horace silver’s song for my father clean need one? Depends.
If you got plenty of available cash and you want one-get what makes you happy.
I’m still passing on the fender experience. Maybe one day I’ll change my mind. But at the moment i think of it much like chick-fil-a… I wont eat there because they are only open 6 days a week. If they don’t need all the revenue they can get, they’ve got enough money-they dont need mine.
Fender is doing fine without my money. Are they the people who started it all? Ok, they are. Have they produced the most? Yes, They have. Are they considered top-shelf gear? Certainly. What Will you see in the hands of professional players? Primarily fenders.
So, all due respect given to the legendary status of fender-I’d still rather have a bass that makes ME want to play it.
Nobody needs “brand x” of anything, certainly us bassbuzzers don’t need high end instruments but this is about taste, preference, and I can’t argue with that.
I think that video from Bully puts it really well, the sound can be appreciated also… I can’t speak of quality or any of that, I only have my entry level bass.
My question is why producers have agreed that it has to be Fender or bust? I’ve seen people say this many times, actual bassists who play something else on stage but when it comes to recording back to Fender bass, sure there’s a difference but isn’t there a difference in the hundreds of guitars also? I’m not aware of a studio favored guitar model or keyboard or whatever, why this phenomenon with the bass? Which in most cases is not the star of the track, it’s mostly on the back anyways and most people can’t identify it, why?
I love this! It’s a very good question. I’m not a good enough player to answer it. Apparently, from what I’ve found it’s about what a sound engineer wants? You know, the person with all the high end audio modification equipment?
Either way, you want a fender? Cool, go get it and beat the strings off that thing! You want to play your 200 dollar pawnshop find? Plug in and let’s make noise! Play what you want and love ( or in many cases afford ) because, baby-playing bass is cool.
