Fender guitafrs - myth legend and reality

BEACHBUM

Margarine Advocate
So what are they. My take is that they are all no more or less than parts guitars and that other than individual preferences, factory built or other wise there is very little difference between the two. How do you see it?
 
A company with ups and downs.

From what I've seen, bodies tend to be butcher blocks. A "Genuine Fender" body is something I actively avoid.

They deserve credit for the mid-level MIMs -- decent working instruments at reasonable prices. They also aren't creating deliberate crap at the mid-market to boost their upscale sales.

Their marketing is going down the "lifestyle accessory" route like Gibson and Harley Davidson. Their name adds an obvious premium to the price. Like Gibson, you can get much more for the same money and equal for less money from other companies.

Their upscale Custom Shop, relics, and Wine Club are truly worthy of a fuck in the collective meathead face.
 
Fender innovated 60 years ago. It's been a long time since. FMIC has been incredibly successful reviving the brand over the past 30 years. But they're still the third ownership group and have little to nothing to do with the original company.

Buy the best guitar. Maybe it's a Fender. But don't get hung up on names and "heritage".
 
I admit I used to be the ideal Fender customer-all I knew about them was the good stuff and long term brand recognition. I just knew how to play them,nothing on how they were built or made. Now I know a little something and yes-they are a "parts guitar".There are other brands who make a better mouse trap,and for less sometimes.
 
the greatest thing to ever happen was Leo Fender.

as for FMIC? they make some great guitars (51 Nocaster, 52RI, PV52, PV58 )

I think the custom shop is a a joke though.
I think the best/most interesting fenders today are coming from Fender Japan
and Squier vm and CV/C lines as well as Fender MIM

but yeah when it comes down to it there is not much to making them.
my $300 squier cvc is every bit as good as my $1500 52RI
 
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I admit I used to be the ideal Fender customer-all I knew about them was the good stuff and long term brand recognition. I just knew how to play them,nothing on how they were built or made. Now I know a little something and yes-they are a "parts guitar".There are other brands who make a better mouse trap,and for less sometimes.
I played only Fenders for at least my first decade of playing. I honestly didn't even notice other guitar makers. This was also before the internet, and before you could buy a well-made import for $300. I finally took the leap and bought a PRS about a decade ago, and it was all over. Since then, I've owned hundreds of guitars, from countless manufacturers. The last Fender I owned was stolen, and I haven't replaced it. I do have the Tele itch, but I doubt it'll be a Fender product.
 
I think Fender makes cool guitars, and the prices aren’t bad. The Squier Classic Vibe guitars have raised everybody’s expectations for Chinese guitars and I think they’re probably forcing Epiphone to do better. But the company is unfocused and seems to jump from one strategy to another because they’ve bought too many brands to manage and because they’re been cranking out Guitar Center filler to keep their hedge fund owners (who also own a chunk of GC) happy.
 
take some time read these threads, especially the first one for some myth (busting)
and legends.

what this guy does is what the fender custom shop should do
not pump out relic after relic with CNCs and goofy bridegplates made from ashtray covers messedup0

this guy even figured out what they used to paint the first esquires/teles
-not nitro lacquer but aircraft dope and a black cellulose based tint

in the meantime it took FMIC 30 years to get the 50s barrel switch-tip correct thwap0

this shit is crazy detailed and a tele nerdfest taken to the extremes

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/180456-1950-double-esquire-build.html

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/145299-1956-telecaster-build.html
 
I'm not sure how serious you are and if you're talking about one method of assembly of wood and wires being "better" than another. All guitars are parts guitars, but how the parts are put together varies. You can buy pre-made set-neck parts/kits as well. You can buy neck-thru blanks from Carvin and just glue whatever to either side and cut it into whatever shape floats your boat. Hell, there are even acoustic and carved top kits you can buy.

Building a great guitar using any method is the skill. It may be easier for any schmuck to put a bolt-on neck guitar together, but it doesn't guarantee any of them will be decent regardless of the quality of the materials (individually or collectively). As folks have discussed in other posts, Taylor and Bennedetto built guitars out of old palette wood and knotted pine (respectively). According to the folks that played them, they still sounded excellent...on par with their instruments made of high grade traditional materials (albeit differently voiced). I missed the boat on acquiring one of my favorite acoustics, the Tacoma RoadKing, dreadnaught cutaway with a two-bolt Fender style neck.

For me, Fender showed that for all of old school craftsmanship and artistry that Gibson applied to building astounding early hollowbody/semi-acoustic electric guitars, that all you need is to firmly bind a neck to body. Next, tighten some wire over a piece of metal on the body and tune it up at the top of the neck. Then jam a magnet wrapped in other wire under it and plug it into an amp. Doesn't matter what woods you use, what scale length, or whatever, they can both sound amazing (albeit different, ranging from slightly to HUGELY). Yet despite all of the inherent differences in recipe, in the hands of the best players it gets harder and (more importantly) nearly irrelevant to determine what instrument they're playing...it's about the music they are making.

I like my two Fenders. I like my G&L. I like my Takamine acoustics. I like my PRSes (one set, one bolt on). I like my electric/acoustic bass (bolt on). And I like my two other guits. Neck fixation technique isn't a factor for me, nor is the name on the headstock...I gotta like the sound. So far set-neck acoustics win the overall race (four instruments), but Fender-based stuff wins the electric race with three...if the CE-22 maple top counts as Fender based on the neck attachment, it's a tie!
 
Not bashing Fender. I've got 3 Strats and 5 Teles. The reason I brought it up is that I've read so many threads on other sites by posters touting that this era or that is better or worse than the other and that for some inexplicable reason some Fenders have magical properties that others don't . Every time I read that I ask myself why I've never experienced all of those wonderful insights about the many that I've owned. Maybe it's just me but of all the Strats and Teles I've had over the years (other than electronics and hardware) they all seemed to me to be pretty much the same stuff. Good stuff to be sure but never the less............
 
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I like Fender designs a lot. I think they came up with some great ideas. The partscaster was Leo's whole idea behind it, to make the neck and electronics easily replaceable. Now you've got all of these high end builders putting together their versions of these designs, some of them just stunningly good instruments.

Fender is cool, because they offer so many versions of these instruments at so many price points. Now FMIC, I think they've made some crappy choices with their other brands, but it's not my company.
 
If it was my company-I would have kept Fender brand Made In America only. Use their other brands for foreign made. So much brand dilution.
 
If it was my company-I would have kept Fender brand Made In America only. Use their other brands for foreign made. So much brand dilution.

People make this argument with Gibson. These are multinational corporations making and contracting for finished products in many countries. Having it say Epiphone or Squier on the headstock doesn't mean it's not a Gibson or Fender product. They're still making the vast majority of their profit from "offshore production".
 
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