Fender's credibility is sinking once again

leevc5

leevc5

New member
http://shop.fender.com/en-US/electric-guitars/telecaster/classic-series-72-telecaster-deluxe/0137702392.html?utm_source=Newsletter-August-4-2016&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Classic-Series-72-Deluxe&ajs_uid=lolsenvc@yahoo.com&ajs_trait_name=leland&ajs_trait_email=lolsenvc@yahoo.com

The wide range pickups are very poor imitations of the originals made back when.
1972 WR:
"Pickups: Two Seth Lover-designed humbuckers featured two coils, each wound with 5000 turns of 42-gauge wire and a resistance of 5300 Ohms +/- 400 Ohms. Special alloy of Copper-Nickel-Ferrite (+Cunife) contributed to a concentrated flux field and keeping the inductance to a lower level (hence more trebles) than Alnico V."
If they wanted to do it, then do it right, Have the Custom shop come up with a new and better set of wide range pickups. I know the alloy used in the original for the screws is no longer being produced but custom shop should be able to find something => the falsey screws fender is now using.
 
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Re: Fender's credibility is sinking once again

These pickups haven't been made "vintage accurate" (whatever that means) in decades. In fact, the MIM series hasn't exactly been the repository of outstanding pickups in anyone's book.

Play them, and if they do what you need them to do, cool. If not, buy some from the Creamery or whomever.
 
Re: Fender's credibility is sinking once again

I think they are essentially copying a look, since apparently their research has shown that it is the only thing some of their customers care about. I don't get it, but my guess it is being sold to many people who don't know or care what the originals were made out of or how they sounded.
 
Re: Fender's credibility is sinking once again

This is not new. They've been like that since being released......perhaps 10years ago.
And there was no reputation lost.

The WRHB is an odd tone......for most guitars this is fitted in and players about the humbucker would work better, and certainly from a construction viewpoint it fits in better to the budget of an MIM or lower level.

I think it would perhaps be better for an official replica guitar to have the period correct item.
 
Re: Fender's credibility is sinking once again

Yeah, not a new guitar or phenomena. The electronics (pot values) are also different. Lucky that there are a bunch of options for replacement now, and lucky we're on a forum for a business that actually banks on us doing that.

Do you know what's even worse? Mexican Standard pickups. Those are even more of a travesty, since they're in Fender's number one "volume" guitars, and Squiers have better pickups. That said... The Tex Mex pickups and Diamondback in my Strat are not bad at all, and not coming out.
 
Re: Fender's credibility is sinking once again

$800 for a MIM "replica" (Fender says "From vintage-style body colors to chunky vintage necks and more, the Classic series captures the essence of old-school Fender, with the options of supercharged circuitry and mods of a true 21st-century instrument") then replacing the low grade electronics and phony pickups, with glued on screws, is not even funny. Fender is going down a declining road. They should put the Fender logo on USA and Custom shop guitars with all the real deal components. All the stuff they have made off shore (including Mexico) should be Squire or in the case of Mexico "Fender Mexico."
 
Re: Fender's credibility is sinking once again

Silence Kid said:
Do you know what's even worse? Mexican Standard pickups. Those are even more of a travesty, since they're in Fender's number one "volume" guitars, and Squiers have better pickups. That said... The Tex Mex pickups and Diamondback in my Strat are not bad at all, and not coming out.
Click to expand...
I thought they upgraded the MIM Strat pickups recently. I might be misremembering though.
 
Re: Fender's credibility is sinking once again

Not to be argumentative but I don't see how this is sinking Fender's credibility.

I look at what Fender is doing with new things such as reviving Charvel and new amps like the Bassbreaker and I don't see decline...
 
Re: Fender's credibility is sinking once again

Yeah I don't know? My MIM Baja Tele is a MF'er no complaints at all.
 
Re: Fender's credibility is sinking once again

The decline is in the.......lack of quality and their moronic deals...
Well seem to be the disease of today....
It is like the 80's started up again.
 
Re: Fender's credibility is sinking once again

leevc5 said:
$800 for a MIM "replica" (Fender says "From vintage-style body colors to chunky vintage necks and more, the Classic series captures the essence of old-school Fender, with the options of supercharged circuitry and mods of a true 21st-century instrument") then replacing the low grade electronics and phony pickups, with glued on screws, is not even funny. Fender is going down a declining road. They should put the Fender logo on USA and Custom shop guitars with all the real deal components. All the stuff they have made off shore (including Mexico) should be Squire or in the case of Mexico "Fender Mexico."
Click to expand...

Squier has made guitars in Mexico before. But at present, beside the decal and at nuts and bolts level, a Mexican Fender isn't defined from a Squier; there's no gulf in quality. So labeling them all Squiers makes sense, I agree. But Fender runs to the bank offering kids "the same" guitar their hero plays; not an Epiphone. Not a slash/Tribute slash/Sterling. Not a Lead I or Duo Sonic. An actual Strat with no visible caveats to the player.

That devalues the brand, but Fender created a customer, over the last thirty years, who doesn't care. For whom the existence of quality issues only provides more justification to someday lay down a grand for the "hero" guitar Fender has induced them to worship, that they wanted in the first place. Fender USA guitars are as good as they've ever been. But we're a long time since there was "one Strat good enough for all," and student guitars were just less feature-rich models, and anything else was an imposter/fake. Fender is just more brazen in doing exactly what all the other companies do by using their own branding on those lesser guitars. How long that (brilliant) strategy can be sustained, I don't know, but at present pricing and quality levels (and taking into account the Fender fervor in customers) I don't see it stopping soon.

...The above was a cynical commentary, but at the end of the day, for me? I don't care whether the "Fender" name is esteemed or not as a result of their marketing decisions. I don't want to buy an MIM anyway. I do care that I can buy an American Standard for less than even an MIJ guitar used, for some reason. Maybe even because of the brand devaluation? Who cares; those are great guitars period, regardless of the name attached to them, and they're affordable as hell (used much more than new.) So I guess Fender is still credible to me.

(Also: In any case, the US/Custom shop Deluxe reissues also use the fake "Wide Range" pickups anyway. Not just MIMs/MIJs)
 
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Re: Fender's credibility is sinking once again

treyhaislip said:
Not to be argumentative but I don't see how this is sinking Fender's credibility.

I look at what Fender is doing with new things such as reviving Charvel and new amps like the Bassbreaker and I don't see decline...
Click to expand...

Yes, the Bassbreaker is definitely a point in Fender's favor. However, all these releases of "classic" models that are clearly not what the originals were and are in fact inferior in many aspects will give new customers to Fender a bad first impression. For those who have had quality Fender equipment is is disappointing to see them release crap with their logo on it, it pollutes the gene pool so to speak.
 
Re: Fender's credibility is sinking once again

leevc5 said:
Yes, the Bassbreaker is definitely a point in Fender's favor. However, all these releases of "classic" models that are clearly not what the originals were and are in fact inferior in many aspects will give new customers to Fender a bad first impression. For those who have had quality Fender equipment is is disappointing to see them release crap with their logo on it, it pollutes the gene pool so to speak.
Click to expand...

I guess I just don't see CBS era stuff as "quality"...

I think the quality of the post 2000 MIA stuff is incredible compared to the CBS era stuff. Actually, I think guitars overall have improved in quality in a lot of ways–especially the cheap/budget stuff (my first guitar was a no-name Strat knockoff from the 70s that was a piece of junk.)

I just disagree with using the "Classic" models as a guide for Fender as a whole...
 
Re: Fender's credibility is sinking once again

The wide range pickups are obscure enough that people really don't know what they're missing. If Fender did decide to produce 100% faithful WR replicas you would still have people complaing about them because they don't sound like regular humbuckers. Fender instead decided to pursue the aesthetics of the wide range pickups and not the sound knowing people would either swap them out for aftermarket wide range replicas or swap the pickguard and mount regular humbuckers in their place.
 
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Re: Fender's credibility is sinking once again

I just picked up one of these used a month ago, I love it. Feels great, fit and finish is good. Pickups are kind of dull sounding from the factory, but swapping the 250 pots to 500k and 50's wiring helps it out alot, even if they don't sound like the original WRHBs.
 
Re: Fender's credibility is sinking once again

It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't an outright lie:

"FROM ONLINE SPECS.......

In this first-ever reproduction, the Fender '72 Telecaster Deluxe Electric Guitar duplicates every cosmetic nuance of the original introduced over 3 decades ago. Crafted with an alder body; one-piece, C-shaped, maple neck; a Strat headstock; 6-saddle string-thru bridge; dual humbuckers with alnico magnets for unique fat and gritty Tele tone; and 3-way switching. Includes deluxe Fender gig bag.


FEATURES

Exact duplicate of original
Alder body
'70s large Strat headstock
One-piece C-shaped maple neck
3-bolt neck plate with Micro-Tilt adjustment
Bullet truss rod nut
21 medium jumbo frets
6-saddle string-thru bridge
Dual humbuckers with alnico magnets for fat, gritty tone
Chrome pickup covers
3-way switching"
 
Re: Fender's credibility is sinking once again

leevc5 said:
It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't an outright lie:

"FROM ONLINE SPECS.......

In this first-ever reproduction, the Fender '72 Telecaster Deluxe Electric Guitar duplicates every cosmetic nuance of the original introduced over 3 decades ago. Crafted with an alder body; one-piece, C-shaped, maple neck; a Strat headstock; 6-saddle string-thru bridge; dual humbuckers with alnico magnets for unique fat and gritty Tele tone; and 3-way switching. Includes deluxe Fender gig bag.


FEATURES

Exact duplicate of original
Alder body
'70s large Strat headstock
One-piece C-shaped maple neck
3-bolt neck plate with Micro-Tilt adjustment
Bullet truss rod nut
21 medium jumbo frets
6-saddle string-thru bridge
Dual humbuckers with alnico magnets for fat, gritty tone
Chrome pickup covers
3-way switching"
Click to expand...



....don't see how they are lying here (emphasis mine)

I'm not trying to be argumentative I just think that holding the pickups to the original tone is not what is being advertised...just the way I'm reading it.
 
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