Not just Fender. In fact I think it started with Gibson.
Like many manufacturing sectors in the US at the time (especially auto), guitar manufacturing kind of hit a quality slump in the late ‘70s-early 80s. A few Japanese manufacturers took advantage of this by producing high quality instruments that they sold for less than Fender or Gibson charged. They got more and more aggressive with their designs and in the end were producing more or less clones of Fender and Gibson products. And they were eating the US manufacturers’ lunch. So the US companies sued for infringement, hence the name.
Here’s a nice summary:
This was how a few companies we love today - Ibanez, Fernandes, etc - got their start.
Ironically, there weren’t a lot of lawsuits. And companies like Ibanez started making better quality instruments, today MIJ is a thing, and companies like Fender started making lower cost instruments, like they started the Squier line.
Yes, my fender ultra jazz and ultra precision were perfect from the factory. Been playing these two for over a year now and have made zero changes to either of them. The only things I change is the tuning pegs when I tune. That’s it!
As you’re looking for the best value, I don’t think that you’ll ever find good value or best quality in a Fender. Not even close! The quality of engineering is really high even in really low budget instruments, so with Fender most of what you’re paying for is having “Fender” written on the headstock. Of course, the resale value is likely to be higher with a Fender than most, but it depends what you want to do with it.
I think you’ll get much better value and overall quality from the likes of Ibanez(or other Cort produced brand name), Harley Benton, or Sire.
I am learning with all basses to balance what I like with resale value. Each bass I buy I think I want to keep forever, now have sold two. And although getting better at it after a lot of research, tastes change over time etc and I have no idea what I’ll want in a bass 5-10 years from now. It all fenders have high resale. Some do. Goes for many brands including Squier if the right ones. Add onto that tastes change over time and what was once not deireable may be in the future. It’s a crap shoot at best. But one thing trumps all my buying decisions…I buy what I love, and hope resale works out to some extent. To me the differential is what it cost to use that instrument over that period of time.
That does appear to be a special price though, usually it’s about $200 more. Still, $880 for that vs a MIM Fender. I would highly likely prefer it over a MIA Fender Jazz.
Here’s a nice one in a cool transparent white:
The last knob is a push/pull to split the MM pup, I think.
Talking of fenders, they just sent me an email trying to lure me in. You know, like they do all the time. And I normally just delete them straight away.
But I faltered today, and curiousity made me click it.
Oh man. Just look at that colour.
It’s got a fairly high fender spec
And fretless on an electric bass is something I really want to try. The double bass I have is fun, but hardly practical - and it’s difficult to play compared to an electric one.
So I’d LOVE to have a go on one of these.
Anyone else got a fretless bass? How does it sound, and is it still easy to get to the right position in time with the fret markers but obviously no frets?
I had a fretless Michael Kelley A/E but sold it because the body was massive and neck was as long as an oar. I loved the tones though.
I’ve been on the hunt for a regular fretless jazz bass for a while now unsure of what to get. I’d wanted to try a bunch but, hard to find anything remotely close to a bunch nearby, so, incessant googling inevitably ended up with a purchase (funny how that works). I found a NOS Squier from a few years ago with an ebonol fretboard which I’ve been wanting to check out too. I’d zeroed in on this guy due to low cost and generally great build quality on these.
It’s on its way to me now, so will have to let you know what I think.
On fret markers, I feel like I still need them, but folks say they are easy to get used to losing them. Maybe in a future upgrade to the Squier. For now, I’ll keep the training wheels.
I’ve just been looking at this which shouldn’t break the bank and would be nice too noodle around on.
I have a query about the markers though - I’d be leaving them on too while I get my head around it, but when you fret a note on a normal bass, your finger is pushed up to, but not on top of the fret itself. So, on a fretless bass, is it still in the same position? I assume so, but that thought just popped into my head.
5 is enough 
