Fender, the orange guy of guitarbrands?
- Thread starter Einzeln
- Start date
Yes
Guardians of the analog
Papi Fuego
sticky1138
Well-known member
Guitar is the orange guy of musical instruments
Betty Wont
Well-known member
Mentaltossflycoon
Well-known member
If Fender was making the best Fenders I might see some shred of credibility in their argument. Fender makes at best ok Fenders that cost more than superior non-Fender mass produced Fenders.
I wish that I could say "I'll never buy another Fender product" but they've already been dead to me for many many years. Thankfully I don't associate the contemporary iteration with the company that made my P bass back in the early 70's.
I wish that I could say "I'll never buy another Fender product" but they've already been dead to me for many many years. Thankfully I don't associate the contemporary iteration with the company that made my P bass back in the early 70's.
falco_femoralis
Well-known member
Curious that the first case they won was in Germany, where thomann is located.
Also, they won by default when the other party didn't show up to court. But what if the other party was a shell corporation set up by Fender themselves?
Do German court rulings have jurisdiction over other European countries?
Also, they won by default when the other party didn't show up to court. But what if the other party was a shell corporation set up by Fender themselves?
Do German court rulings have jurisdiction over other European countries?
Guardians of the analog
Papi Fuego
I think fender lost their way a while ago and are out of touch with guitar players. For all the innovation they claim with guitars, they are moving towards virtual amps and effects
. Their amps have terrible quality and I would never buy another reissue amp of theirs. The product line has been bloated with way too many series, variations and a ridiculous amount of artist signature guitars. They didn't learn from Gibson and tried to become a lifestyle brand and started aquiring other brands and then ruining them (RIP Studio One
).
I really feel like they cheapened the brand with the Indonesian fenders which are nothing more than squires with a two hundred dollar price hike to say fender in the headstock. They offer a strat and tele line in 50-100 dollar increments between 200-2000 dollars. The custom shop is a total joke, I can get a much better equivalent guitar from another maker like suhr for less money. Their influencer social media marketing is terrible. People talk about Gibson quality but fender sucks too. Sloppy neck pockets, sharp fret ends and lots of finish issues on many guitars in the 800+ range. Constant renaming of guitar lines.
But the final nail in the coffin for me was the G&L thing. Dirty. They bought them out in their time of need and then shut them down laying off all those workers, just so they could "bring Leo home"
. They gutted that company just to aquire the licensing to the leo fender image and rights, I'm assuming for more dumb shit like this. I don't even like G&L guitars but that was gross and left a bad taste in my mouth.
. Their amps have terrible quality and I would never buy another reissue amp of theirs. The product line has been bloated with way too many series, variations and a ridiculous amount of artist signature guitars. They didn't learn from Gibson and tried to become a lifestyle brand and started aquiring other brands and then ruining them (RIP Studio One). I really feel like they cheapened the brand with the Indonesian fenders which are nothing more than squires with a two hundred dollar price hike to say fender in the headstock. They offer a strat and tele line in 50-100 dollar increments between 200-2000 dollars. The custom shop is a total joke, I can get a much better equivalent guitar from another maker like suhr for less money. Their influencer social media marketing is terrible. People talk about Gibson quality but fender sucks too. Sloppy neck pockets, sharp fret ends and lots of finish issues on many guitars in the 800+ range. Constant renaming of guitar lines.
But the final nail in the coffin for me was the G&L thing. Dirty. They bought them out in their time of need and then shut them down laying off all those workers, just so they could "bring Leo home"
. They gutted that company just to aquire the licensing to the leo fender image and rights, I'm assuming for more dumb shit like this. I don't even like G&L guitars but that was gross and left a bad taste in my mouth.
Mentaltossflycoon
Well-known member
I forgot all about this...But the final nail in the coffin for me was the G&L thing. Dirty. They bought them out in their time of need and then shut them down laying off all those workers, just so they could "bring Leo home"
Guardians of the analog
Papi Fuego
Wait just a minute... Are you trying to tell me that businesses are in it.... for... for... the money?
I remember last year reading how they were struggling after the pandemic boom of everyone bored at home. They got stupid. Obviously all of them are in it for the money, but they are on the Henry J bullshit.
Aentons
Well-known member
Yep, Capitalism only works if everything always goes up. I heard someone one time seriously use the term "conscientious capitalism", and nearly shit myself laughing.
I remember last year reading how they were struggling after the pandemic boom of everyone bored at home. They got stupid. Obviously all of them are in it for the money, but they are on the Henry J bullshit.
There’s just too many good alternatives. I picked up my first tele over the weekend. It’s a Jet 300 series. The fretwork was impeccable. I wasn’t planning on buying it. I was just that impressed by it, and it was like $230.
I also have a custom build that’s close to done, that would have probably been thousands more if it had the name Fender on it.
I also have a custom build that’s close to done, that would have probably been thousands more if it had the name Fender on it.
falco_femoralis
Well-known member
I have an SX Strat and a Fender American Strat and I prefer the SX because the fretboard radius is flatter. Nice one Fender. I'd love to trade the Fender in for a black SG Special
I rarely try guitars out in a store but did that last week, playing a Fender Tele through a Fender DRRI. I was shocked at how bad the amp sounded. People rave about the Deluxe Reverb RI and it's a staple but this one sounded awful. Papery highs, flabby, fuzzy lows - Where was the sparkling Fender sound?
The Tele was ok but not inspiring. I have much better luck with Gibson! I bought a Gibson ES-330 earlier in the year at a great price and it has become a real favourite of mine. The neck is as good as I have played in 45 years(!) of playing, the action is lower than I can normally tolerate and the pickups are outstanding. Amazingly the finish is gorgeous. I also have a 335 and a CS Les Paul which I love but this 330 gets a lot of playing.
The biggest issue I have with Fender is that there are hardly any with the specs I like. And the new colours tend to be hideous. IMO the guitars they were making 30 years ago were better.
The Tele was ok but not inspiring. I have much better luck with Gibson! I bought a Gibson ES-330 earlier in the year at a great price and it has become a real favourite of mine. The neck is as good as I have played in 45 years(!) of playing, the action is lower than I can normally tolerate and the pickups are outstanding. Amazingly the finish is gorgeous. I also have a 335 and a CS Les Paul which I love but this 330 gets a lot of playing.
The biggest issue I have with Fender is that there are hardly any with the specs I like. And the new colours tend to be hideous. IMO the guitars they were making 30 years ago were better.
Band of Dans
Well-known member
Nailed it. The management consultant vultures and MBA types* just don't seem capable of running a business that just...sells a product people love. There's always an acquisition to make, a new market to expand into, bonuses to dole out to the c-suite, etc. And when every exec is just a slight variation on the same finance/tech-pilled doofus in a vest, every company turns into the same cynical value-extraction machine. It's practically sacrilege to value things like "quality" or "reputation" or "not succumbing to the insatiable howling maw of shareholder hunger as you trade your very flesh for a shot at an invite to billionaire island." It's a hard time to be someone who cares about doing shit well or doing right by oyur fellow hairless apes.They didn't learn from Gibson and tried to become a lifestyle brand and started aquiring other brands and then ruining them (RIP Studio One
What were we talking about?
Oh yeah, I bought a brand new mustang bass last year. Only the second brand new instrument I've ever owned and it's an absolute embarrassment that I would've sent back if it hadn't come to me via a lovely friends and family discount. The nut was cut in the wrongest way possible and installed backwards, *multiple* wires were left un-soldered, a pickguard screw was missing, a screw hole near the jack was completely stripped out, a couple of the strings were cut too short and barely made one full wrap around the tuning post, aaand the neck screws were loose. I was gonna do a bunch of mods and a thorough setup anyway, but what about people who can't or don't want to do that stuff? I bet some just give up after wrestling with their garbage Fender that couldn't possibly be this bad if it was so expensive and had such impressive HeRitAgE.
To add insult to injury, Fender's out there threatening the shops and retailers who have been dealing with setups, repairs, RMAs, etc that're required just to get these shitty instruments into playing order. It's on those little guys for not having enough lawyers on the payroll I guess.
* with apologies to any MBA-holding forum members. But also c'mon.
Joben Magooch
Well-known member
So is this gonna make it harder for me to buy a bootleg “Chender” or what (we calling em that? Idk)
