Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I bought a fender the other day just a Japanese sting signature model needed something cheap to knock around with,not a bad little bass ,feels pretty good, doesn't sound bad, had to set it up the action was way high ,cost me around $450..

No hate here. I have a 92 MIJ fretless J that's a pretty solid bass. Could use better pu's...they make a click when I tap them, but overall a solid BU bass.

the sting model plays nicely. for playability i miss my 75 reissue and geddy lee (same neck) and for tone I miss my 99 MIA Jazz.

I like p-basses and jazz basses a lot ... I don't like the Fender signature series ... they are inferior to their mim basses ... especially the Geddy basses ... they look beautiful but they are not players ... the american fenders are nice instruments ... my biggest problem with fender basses is that they do not make good 5 string basses ... their necks are obscenely fat and the b string is usually floppy and unresponsive ...

I've played a Sting P, they're not bad... Totally agree about them not being real players. The build isn't exactly brilliant.

I love Fenders though.

My '76 Fender Precision is my main bass after a Ric.

I have a Fender MIM Precision. You can't have collection of basses and not have a P bass of some sort. I changed out the cheesey pots and out put jack.
I like this MIM Precision more than the '76 made in America Precision that I had.

I think Japan-made Fenders are better than MIM in all respects: finish, sound, looks. I play a MIJ -51 precision a lot. With Daddario Chromes you get that dry vintage p-bass sound. As far away from the Rick sound as you can get. I play mainly C&W and old R`n`R so it suits me nicely.

What about the Jaco bass? That's MIA right? I want a fretless and that looks like a good'un.

Or... I could save (for three years) and get one of these.

I'd want a right handed one though.

I have been a long time Fender player - and find nice Ric talk on the Fender forums - It seems that many keep to both sides of the fence. My main gigging basses have been an upright and a 51 re-issue.
Fenders have never been consistant. The older ones were even more so. You find one you like - you keep it.Different ones appeal to different people.
Rickenbacker have not had these issues.

Can't complain about my 75 re-issue American J bass.
Lovely tone and great neck.

Morrow ... you are right ... the one consistant thing about Fenders is EVERY single Geddy bass I have played was a dissapointment ... I love the look but they are in no way a players bass ...

I build my own p-basses and jazz basses from warmoth, mighty mite, seymour duncan, allparts, and schaller parts ... they all come out a little different but the p-bass and jazz bass are both good designs ...

I like the pre-CBS P basses with A necks (same width as a Jazz neck) which are not real easy to find.

jeff, the one i had seemed like a player to me. the neck was smooth as silk, nice and thin...but the pups were horrible. same with the 75 reissue i had.

Fenders are blue collar tools.Leo was a repair man and his creations were easy to set up and easy to fix. Slab bodies, bolt on necks, .....nothing fancy.They were priced so working musicians could afford them.
They also recorded very well.
I am partial to tv logo Pbasses. Some are trash and some rival the early sixties basses in sound and feel.They are all different and that is what I love about them.
I think they should be priced at around the thousand dollar mark and I think that the vintage stuff is really worth no more than that.Unfortunately the demand has far exceeded the supply .
The modern Fenders are more consistant than the older ones and I have found nice instruments from Japan and Mexico.I don't see an innate superiority in the American made instruments.I have played dogs that were made in each factory.
I had been a Fender user for many years and only picked up my first Ric recently.I had wanted one for a long time. I was surprised at the design of the 4001 bridge. It is elegant but it is far more persnickety to set up.The Ric is clearly made to a different standard than Fender instruments were (are) and yet there is a lot to be said for Leo's simplicity. I like the view from each side of the fence.