You think vintage Fenders are expensive?

[Retag]

Have you seen the new ones?

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com ... sku=515757

[Matt R.]

MF even raised the price of a scratch and dent Lefty MIA Jazz Bass from $1000 to $1300 the other day. Assholes

[Jeroen]

I've heard rumors about a 30% price raise during the course of February for a few months. So they turned out to be true . That's rediculous. I would NEVER pay that much for a stock factory Fender. I actually already thought the old price was pretty steep in terms of bang for the buck. Where do they get the nerve?

[Retag]

I will be very curious to see who will pull the trigger at these prices.

Lefty MIM J-Bass .... $660!

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com ... sku=501171

Lefty MIA Strat .... $1340!!! A thousand dollars was already too much. A new lefty Rickenbacker, if they were to be found, are only $500 more than a MIA Fender bass.

[AzWhoFan]

I will be very curious to see who will pull the trigger at these prices.

Lefty MIM J-Bass .... $660!

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com ... sku=501171

Lefty MIA Strat .... $1340!!! A thousand dollars was already too much. A new lefty Rickenbacker, if they were to be found, are only $500 more than a MIA Fender bass.

Ha! how do you feel about paying $1849 for a '52 RI Tele??? Fender just picked the wrong time to hike prices, that's for sure. But it's unlikely they will roll back pricing straight away. Their going to want to give their introduction of the MIM nitro-coated (road-worn??) instruments a chance to get off the ground.
However, I really doubt they will be able to hold the new price-line given the state of the economy.

[Basshappi]

Well, it comes with a HSC what more could you ask for?

You're right of course, the price increases are ridiculous especially considering the current economy.

[Yail Bloor]

Those "road worn" guitars are the dumbest looking thing I've seen in a while.

[fivebass52]

I had a MIM that I bought for $440 with case, but after playing it for awhile, I didn't like the dead spots, and inconsistent tone... Sold it on eBay at a loss for $250. As you know, buying lefties usually makes up for selling lefties....

I can't imagine paying $660 for a MIM at this point! Inexpensive basses like SX's etc. are looking better all the time....

[Jeroen]

Those "road worn" guitars are the dumbest looking thing I've seen in a while.

Indeed. They're 90% identical to the Mexican Classic Series instruments, except for their nitrocellulose finish and reliced finish and hardware, but they cost almost twice as much

[Matt R.]

I think the road worns look great but Inhear that they are reliced in the same spots. That's lame

[Yail Bloor]

I think the road worns look great but Inhear that they are reliced in the same spots. That's lame

I can only go by the one I saw at GC a couple weeks ago. It just looked....fake to me.

The best analogy I can think of is those "already broken in" ball caps that frat boys wear.

[Matt R.]

I think the road worns look great but Inhear that they are reliced in the same spots. That's lame

I can only go by the one I saw at GC a couple weeks ago. It just looked....fake to me.

The best analogy I can think of is those "already broken in" ball caps that frat boys wear.

Yeah I hear ya. I have yet to see one in person.

[Psycho Ward]

My GC had several on display and the worn part was almost exactly the same on all of them. I like new lookin' stuff myself.

[Jeroen]

Isn't it a little obvious they're all worn in the same parts? They're worn in the parts where a real 50 year old guitar would wear after 50 years of heavy use. Think bucklerash, wear from the forearm of your picking hand, worn body edges. When you look at real vintage guitars, you'll also find they all show wear in similar areas.

[leftybassatl]

I know bashing fender is sacrilege to many, but I think they're all overpriced anyway, road worn, relic'd or brand new! I've owned several and always been let down by Fender basses. Disclaimer: I've never owned a US model; Japanese, Mexican, even Indonesian (I didn't know there was such a thing until I bought one)! But as far as US Fender basses go, if I'm going to spend $1500-2k on something, I'm going to buy a Stingray, or hold out for a used Roscoe (my current strategy)!
I do however wish Fender would make a lefty 5 J bass or 'hot rod' P. I think that concept has potential. But alas, the relatively few of us lefty bassist don't represent a significant enough market I suppose.

[andrew]

I know bashing fender is sacrilege to many, but I think they're all overpriced anyway, road worn, relic'd or brand new! I've owned several and always been let down by Fender basses. Disclaimer: I've never owned a US model; Japanese, Mexican, even Indonesian (I didn't know there was such a thing until I bought one)! But as far as US Fender basses go, if I'm going to spend $1500-2k on something, I'm going to buy a Stingray, or hold out for a used Roscoe (my current strategy)!
I do however wish Fender would make a lefty 5 J bass or 'hot rod' P. I think that concept has potential. But alas, the relatively few of us lefty bassist don't represent a significant enough market I suppose.

Nothing wrong with not liking Fender basses, but the quality of the new USA basses is definitely on par with Musicman, so you aren't getting better quality for your money going with MM.

Fender did make a lefty Hot Rod P, called the Hot Rod Precision strangely enough.
They were available through the back half of the 90's/early 2000's. A few guys on here have them.

[Jeroen]

A lefty 5-string Jazz exists as well, but strictly for the Japanese market. There are ways to obtain one in the US though. They're only available in 3-tone sunburst, vintage white and black, and only with a rosewood board (but what else is new?). And those too seem a bit overpriced to me.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0369998414

[pjmuck]

Yeah I hear ya. I have yet to see one in person.

The GC near me had some Road Worns in stock. I had to do a double take especially when I saw the Tele. From a distance, I thought it was a vintage instrument. It wasn't until I was up close and realized it was a Road Worn that I started seeing some of the evidence of a mass produced worn instrument.

Personally, I love the look of a beat up old instrument, and I think fender's done a great job with these if you like that aesthetic, but these are MIM instruments commanding $1000! Not worth it, IMO.

[leftybassatl]

lefty J5!?!? whoa! Thanks for the link and the heads up! Still a bit much for my blood for a bass I haven't seen, but great to know they have one. Maybe I'll check one out next time I'm in Japan
I was referring to the lefty 5 hot rod P earlier. I have seen some of the lefty hot rods, but I stick to 5 strings. 4 was good enough for Jaco, but I'm no Jaco by a long shot!

[andrew]

If you play 5 string then that makes you one string better than Jaco.