Fender Standards now Made in Indonesia

[Offshore Angler]

I guess they have placed the "Standard" Fenders below the Player's and above the Squier.

So if I got this right:

Squier - batch build by lowest bidder anywhere, usually China
Standard - Indonesia
Player's - Mexico
Custom Shop - USA

From the reviews I've seen the quality on the Standards is pretty low and about the same as Squire - ceramic bar pickups, cheap knockoff Ping tuners, circuit board switches, etc. Other than they say "Fender" on the headstock pretty much the same as Squier but maybe not as inconsistent. Others have said they are overpriced for the build quality.

[OldStrummer]

I am certainly no industry insider, but it seems to me the market now for Fender guitars are those who want the name "Fender" on the headstock. Given that there are so many better (imo) guitars available at similar price points suggests that Fender (Gibson, too) have lost interest in innovating and building quality products. When a company gets into the business of creating "re-issues," that's a sure sign they've lost their edge.

"Hey, we're building the latest Windows 7 computers, because, you know, Windows 7."

[Laker]

I started playing Fender basses in 1961 and you never had to worry where they were being produced. In the late ‘90s I started playing Lakland and you never had to worry about where they were being produced. I just have never gotten the whole “cheap offshoot” thing in musical instruments.

[S. Cane]

That's why I love the fact that mine is a 12 year-old American Standard with a Rosewood fretboard.

Btw the guitar I have been playing the most is my Rickenbacker. Those are all made in Santa Ana, CA. you don't have and never had to worry about where Ricks are produced.

[OldStrummer]

I'm a dilettante when it comes to basses, but my first impression is that they're not as "complicated" as six-string guitars. By that, I mean I'm not aware of switches and multi-pickup configurations that make a guitar like a Strat more flexible, but requiring more focus in order to use them. And forgive me my opinion here, but electric guitars don't rely as much on wood as they do on electronics. A bass then, is a slab of wood, strings, a pickup system and a set of volume/tone knobs.

Mind you, I'm coming from the perspective of an acoustic player, where the first consideration in a guitar or bass is the wood. The cork-sniffers turn their noses up at laminated woods and get religious about spruce, mahogany, walnut, rosewood and all the combinations.

Which is why I think the same issue I mentioned above afflicts the acoustic world as well. I recently read a post (not the first and certainly not the last) about someone wanting to buy a Martin guitar. Why? There wasn't a real answer to the question other than Martin is "THE" guitar company. In other words, it's what's on the headstock that matters, not the sound coming from the body. I get it; I too, once had to have a Martin. OK. But it's just a guitar. Many Martins are made in Mexico and in dark and remote places. But the logo on the headstock is the first consideration for many.

Sigh.

[Offshore Angler]

I am certainly no industry insider, but it seems to me the market now for Fender guitars are those who want the name "Fender" on the headstock. Given that there are so many better (imo) guitars available at similar price points suggests that Fender (Gibson, too) have lost interest in innovating and building quality products. When a company gets into the business of creating "re-issues," that's a sure sign they've lost their edge.

"Hey, we're building the latest Windows 7 computers, because, you know, Windows 7."

OS, I'm not sure what motivated you to say that. Fender is releasing new models like the Meteora, not just Strats and Teles.

Gibson, I don't know how to begine to respond to your comment. The Les Paul continues to evolve all the time. The moderns with the Access carve are a far cry from the originals. Weight relief, maple necks, belly carve, bridge design headstock volute, it just keeps on going. Yes, you can by a historic if you want a Burst, but that's not what most of the sales are. And guitars like the Gibson Victory, which is a modernized version of their super Strat are available now too.

What makes you think they only do reissues?

Chuck

[Offshore Angler]

... And forgive me my opinion here, but electric guitars don't rely as much on wood as they do on electronics. A bass then, is a slab of wood, strings, a pickup system and a set of volume/tone knobs.

Sorry buddy, but you may want to rethink that one. The wood, not the electronics makes an electric. When you pick up a dozen new ones, maybe only two with have that "zing" we all crave.

[Laker]

Sorry buddy, but you may want to rethink that one. The wood, not the electronics makes an electric. When you pick up a dozen new ones, maybe only two with have that "zing" we all crave.

I’m a bass player and not a guitar player by profession, but I do have a guitar preference.

The first electric guitar I ever picked up that felt comfortable in my hands was my friend’s 1959 Gibson ES345 (in 1963) and he soon traded it for a new ‘63 ES345. I hunted for a guitar that felt like that in my hands for many years (and several 335 Gibsons) until I managed to finally purchase my friend’s original 1959 ES345 around 1989 or so. I honestly do not think there is a Korean, Japanese, or Chinese copy that comes close to this guitar..

[OldStrummer]

OS, I'm not sure what motivated you to say that. Fender is releasing new models like the Meteora, not just Strats and Teles.

Gibson, I don't know how to begine to respond to your comment. The Les Paul continues to evolve all the time. The moderns with the Access carve are a far cry from the originals. Weight relief, maple necks, belly carve, bridge design headstock volute, it just keeps on going. Yes, you can by a historic if you want a Burst, but that's not what most of the sales are. And guitars like the Gibson Victory, which is a modernized version of their super Strat are available now too.

What makes you think they only do reissues?

Chuck

Sorry if I ruffled some feathers. I feared I might. In truth, I've pretty much taken a pass on electric guitars these days, and also pretty much ignore the acoustic "big brands." I suspect it's me who's gone down a different trail. I now have a custom made electric and my new Lowden acoustic, so I'm not paying much attention to the assembly-line makes these days (cars and guitars have so much in common from a philosophical standpoint, I think).

Yes, I know a C8 Corvette and a C2 Corvette pretty much share only the name. Chevy, Fender, Martin, Ford -- they all have to come out with "new" models every year. The difference, I think, is that a guitar ages like wine, where a car ages like rust. These days, I'm not in the market for a new guitar OR a new car.

(That could change, of course. I've bought a ticket to the Artisan Guitar Show in April. A lot of custom luthiers will be showing their goods. . . )