Gibson Artist Posted August 15, 2016 Posted August 15, 2016 So ive seen a few people commenting on how many fenders they tried lately and were complete garbage. Wasnt sure if they were being overly picky, i tried a few teles in store, some good others did not sound good at all and im not sure why?? well i finally saw a great deal on a FSR tele, i pounced. Big mistake, buyers remorse instantly. First off the frets were uneven, it sounded like crap, the pickups were loose and there was something rattling inside. What the heck???? I spent 700 dollars on this piece of junk, meanwhile ive heard others here whine about Gibson's quality control. Well, the past 3 new purchases i made of Gibsons were all flawless, no problems whatsoever. Not going to say ive never play a Gibson dud, i have. But they seem to have improved their Quality control of late. Fender by contrast just doesnt seem to care. Not even going to post pics of my new tele, its going back, if i ever buy a Fender again ill probably buy used. Maybe im expecting too much of a mim? But the mims i played in the past 15 years were all much better, heck, even the Squiers were. I can remember a time when every Fender i pulled off the shelves at GC were awesome, those days sadly arent here any longer.
capmaster Posted August 15, 2016 Posted August 15, 2016 Quality control is of no help. One can't control quality into a product, quality must be manufactured into it. Every QC employee can accept or reject, nothing else. In case the average product quality is going downhill, bending the rules is the QC motto, or they will replace the QC workers with some more clueless or more prone to turning a blind eye or deaf ear to obvious issues. The problem is widely spread in economy. Food, medicines, cars and airplanes are affected as well as computers, cameras or guitars. Greed for profit makes persons responsible for business playing tricks in all areas. Even pharmaceutical quality control systems including applicable laws are circumvented easily without causing anyone a bad conscience. Anyway, I lost my job due to lack of compliance to this sort of fraud, and they wrote my job reference in a manner that I will never find another job again.
cookieman15061 Posted August 16, 2016 Posted August 16, 2016 I currently own 4 Fenders, two Strats and two Teles and haven't experienced any of the issues you have. I can't imagine playing a guitar in a store and not noticing uneven frets, loose pups and something rattling inside. But that's just me.
rct Posted August 16, 2016 Posted August 16, 2016 It's 1975 again! I mean 1983! Wait, no, 1996! 2003, that's it! rct
glp2012 Posted August 16, 2016 Posted August 16, 2016 I only buy used MIM's...the older, the better IMHO. Plus, the older MIM's don't cost $700 or more. I've actually played a few Indonesian Squier's that I thought were good quality. Specifically, the Vintage Modified and Classic Vibe versions.
10K-DB Posted August 16, 2016 Posted August 16, 2016 OOhh,,I dont know,,,this one sounds pretty decent for only 150$ new,,Squire Bass All Gtr trks are 2011 Gibson SG Standard
stein Posted August 16, 2016 Posted August 16, 2016 I don't think these are good days for Fender, certainly not a golden era. Last I heard, if I have this right, Fender is highly leveraged, or has debt. In the business world, you buy a company, build the company, then sell the company when it is at a high mark. Last Fender sold, it was at a high mark, and sold for every penny it was worth. Now it is just about trying to keep profits where they were. I don't think they have much wiggle room to have profits go down too much. The thing I have noticed in the past 5 years or so, is the models are cheaper across the product line. They used to make a lot of "classic" types with the same specs as the original, and they weren't that much money. And really, how much does a Fender have to cost? (I mean, REALLY). The cheaper ones used to use the same hardware as the classic and better ones, but they changed that to make the mid-range stuff more expensive and desirable, while making the standard stuff and the cheaper lines cheaper in parts and specs. Might add as well, there was a time when the custom shop stuff, the reissues were getting closer and closer to the originals it took a real expert to tell, and for a while there, they could build a better guitar than they used to because they had amassed so much knowledge. But I have seen stuff lately that was laughable, reissues so different in build Epiphone China could give the Fender custom shop a run for it's money. I am sure if one was to shop, could easily find great Fenders, just have to play them. They aren't making anything new though, and not making anything better than they used to.
rct Posted August 16, 2016 Posted August 16, 2016 I am the luckiest human alive. I have five of thee absolute finest guitars I've ever played that happen to be Fenders. Apparently, my Fenders would make most of all yalls cry, and I should rent myself out as a Fender picker. rct
StRanger7032 Posted August 16, 2016 Posted August 16, 2016 So ive seen a few people commenting on how many fenders they tried lately and were complete garbage. Wasnt sure if they were being overly picky, i tried a few teles in store, some good others did not sound good at all and im not sure why?? well i finally saw a great deal on a FSR tele, i pounced. Big mistake, buyers remorse instantly. First off the frets were uneven, it sounded like crap, the pickups were loose and there was something rattling inside. What the heck???? I spent 700 dollars on this piece of junk, meanwhile ive heard others here whine about Gibson's quality control. Well, the past 3 new purchases i made of Gibsons were all flawless, no problems whatsoever. Not going to say ive never play a Gibson dud, i have. But they seem to have improved their Quality control of late. Fender by contrast just doesnt seem to care. Not even going to post pics of my new tele, its going back, if i ever buy a Fender again ill probably buy used. Maybe im expecting too much of a mim? But the mims i played in the past 15 years were all much better, heck, even the Squiers were. I can remember a time when every Fender i pulled off the shelves at GC were awesome, those days sadly arent here any longer. I'm one of those who's posted about my terrible experiences with American Strats. I've had three recently that could not be set up without severe string buzz, even when using Fender's exact setup specs. All of my Gibsons I've owned in the last few years have played flawlessly. The only good Fenders I've had are my 2013 American Standard Tele and 2013 Japanese 1966 Jazz Bass reissue. I got so upset at Fender that I gave up on my search for a Strat and bought an American G&L Legacy instead. The G&L is amazing compared to the Strats. If you're looking for a Tele, check out a G&L ASAT. I know some people have had good luck with Fenders, but three bad ones in a row seems to be more than a coincidence, and I'm through with them for now.
10K-DB Posted August 16, 2016 Posted August 16, 2016 It's 1975 again! I mean 1983! Wait, no, 1996! 2003, that's it! rct lol,,thats funny
10K-DB Posted August 16, 2016 Posted August 16, 2016 Both co's{Fender/Gibson} make great stuff and some not so great,,just have to find ones that work for what you need,,and walk from the ones that dont. Sortof like car shopping,,or anything else for that matter.
10K-DB Posted August 16, 2016 Posted August 16, 2016 I currently own 4 Fenders, two Strats and two Teles and haven't experienced any of the issues you have. I can't imagine playing a guitar in a store and not noticing uneven frets, loose pups and something rattling inside. But that's just me. +1
MrNylon Posted August 16, 2016 Posted August 16, 2016 Let's compare a 2016, Fender USA Geddy Lee Jazz Bass, to a 2016, Gibson Thunderbird Bass. NEVERMIND!
Retired Posted August 16, 2016 Posted August 16, 2016 Does anyone here ever shop at pawn shops? I'd imagine you would find some great deals once in awhile on older guitars. I never do but I should start.
LarryUK Posted August 16, 2016 Posted August 16, 2016 I've got a Fender Modern Player Stratocaster and I can honestly say it's perfect. Made in China! No faults anywhere. It only cost me £190 used, but as new. I got a Squire 51 last night for £130. That's great too.
kelly campbell Posted August 16, 2016 Posted August 16, 2016 Quality control is of no help. One can't control quality into a product, quality must be manufactured into it. Every QC employee can accept or reject, nothing else. In case the average product quality is going downhill, bending the rules is the QC motto, or they will replace the QC workers with some more clueless or more prone to turning a blind eye or deaf ear to obvious issues. The problem is widely spread in economy. Food, medicines, cars and airplanes are affected as well as computers, cameras or guitars. Greed for profit makes persons responsible for business playing tricks in all areas. Even pharmaceutical quality control systems including applicable laws are circumvented easily without causing anyone a bad conscience. Anyway, I lost my job due to lack of compliance to this sort of fraud, and they wrote my job reference in a manner that I will never find another job again. Sorry to hear that you lost what sounds like a good job...keep your head up something will come along. I agree wholeheartedly you can not inspect in quality it has to be inherent and the process has to stop when one comes in that is not right.
Tman Posted August 16, 2016 Posted August 16, 2016 I absolutely love my brand new Fender American Standard Offset Tele. Wait, have I talked about that before? Anyway, outstanding in every way. Sorry you've had a bad experience.
quapman Posted August 16, 2016 Posted August 16, 2016 I can't imagine playing a guitar in a store and not noticing uneven frets, loose pups and something rattling inside. Exactly what first came to my mind as well. No disrespect to the OP but that guitar would be back on the rack so fast.
Gibson Artist Posted August 17, 2016 Author Posted August 17, 2016 Exactly what first came to my mind as well. No disrespect to the OP but that guitar would be back on the rack so fast. I didnt buy off the rack, bought from musiciansfriend.
cookieman15061 Posted August 17, 2016 Posted August 17, 2016 I didnt buy off the rack, bought from musiciansfriend. But you do say that you can't remember when you played a decent Fender in store and yet you'd take a chance and throw your money at a Fender off the Internet?!! Oki doki
btoth76 Posted August 17, 2016 Posted August 17, 2016 The golden are of industry is behind us. If You want to buy a premium quality product, You have to dig deep into Your wallet. Oh, wasn't it always like that? Bence.
btoth76 Posted August 17, 2016 Posted August 17, 2016 By the way, I own two Fenders. A Mexican FSR Tele from 2010. It was love at first sight. Saw it in the shop, played it, and took it home. Lovely guitar. I have a AM Special Strat too. I bought it online(!) as a blow-out item, and it's fantastic quality-wise, plays and sounds great. Also, I have to say, I can't see, feel or hear any difference between the U.S.-made guitar and the Mexican one. Both are perfect. Bence.
Gibson Artist Posted August 20, 2016 Author Posted August 20, 2016 But you do say that you can't remember when you played a decent Fender in store and yet you'd take a chance and throw your money at a Fender off the Internet?!! Oki doki At a totally different store, and one that i never had a problem with. Guitar center, i dont buy much from if ever. i just like to see what they have in stock every couple months on the used end.
Dub-T-123 Posted August 20, 2016 Posted August 20, 2016 At a totally different store, and one that i never had a problem with. Guitar center, i dont buy much from if ever. i just like to see what they have in stock every couple months on the used end. Musiciansfriend is owned by Guitar Center
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