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I guess I'm going to sound off here now.
Fender is definitely not what it used to be...it's
still a business, and the point of any business is to
make money. Comparatively you pay as much money for a
MIA Fender now as you did back in the 60's, only now
you're not quite getting what you paid for as opposed
to back then. I think that has more to do with the
direction business, manufacturing, and more
specifically marketing has taken America than anything
else. You could say the same thing about ANY consumer
product in this country, from waffle-makers right up
to automobiles, and people do so on a regular basis.
As for how much Fender charges for its instruments,
I'll say (being the owner of two Fender instruments)
they're definitely kind of kicking back on their
laurels and the fact that they're "Fender"...but
they're not the only guitar company you can say that
about either.
I own an American '62 Precision bass reissue, and I
paid quite a chunk of change for it even after getting
it at about $400 below retail price. People will
always argue that for the money brand X is better, but
after cruising around, asking around and trying
everything I could lay my hands on, I can honestly say
that I don't feel my own Fender to be anything at all
less than anything else you'd pay the same money for
quality-wise, and I don't experience the envy when
picking up other new bass' after owning it the way I
did when I was playing my $100 pawn shop special
(which there's nothing wrong with.)
The lower-end Fenders, the Mexican and especially the
Japanese made ones, are, I think, a real good deal for
the money you pay.
But you can play anything with any guitar. A lot of
the reason people pay more money for anything is
image, but that's not to necessarily mean it's soley
for the purpose of image. It got that way for a
reason, right? But you don't have to have anything.
I'd say maybe half the great surf albums I listen to
are Fenders...the other half are a multitude of other
brands that sounded just as good and that the people
could afford at the time.
~R
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