MrTelelife
Tele-Meister
Glad you’re not. I absolutely love the CV’s they are building now. Play and feel much better than the Player series.
New fender standard series, made in Indonesia.
- Thread starter Kmaxbrady
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MrTelelife
Tele-Meister
Maybe I received from Fender the only good CV on the planet, however, this is as good or better than any Fender I played in the 70’s.
Attachments
Indonesia has gotten much better at making things look good. And the guitars play well too. Is it possible that American instruments with their slight, handmade imperfections, just feel better to some because of that?
I own all kinds of guitars and find the imports just have "that feel" like it's hot off the CNC with no hand shaping, smoothing, form blending, or personality you get with an American made guitar.
I'm not saying we're all going to notice this, but I think many do.
It's a smart marketing ploy and will likely sell some guitars. I mean, hey, it has got to be extremely difficult to keep re-marketing two guitar shapes for 75 years and actually make it seem like there's something new about them. In this case, it might just be the price.
I own all kinds of guitars and find the imports just have "that feel" like it's hot off the CNC with no hand shaping, smoothing, form blending, or personality you get with an American made guitar.
I'm not saying we're all going to notice this, but I think many do.
It's a smart marketing ploy and will likely sell some guitars. I mean, hey, it has got to be extremely difficult to keep re-marketing two guitar shapes for 75 years and actually make it seem like there's something new about them. In this case, it might just be the price.
Brent Hutto
Friend of Leo's
Yours is also a pretty cool model, regardless of its name. So you got that going for you too!
notmyusualuserid
Poster Extraordinaire
Ah, the skunk stripe. It's not a proper fender without the skunk stripe.
Or is it?
https://www.fender.com/articles/behind-the-scenes/what-is-a-skunk-stripe
notmyusualuserid
Poster Extraordinaire
So, sitting here pondering the differing thoughts on this topic and, you know what? I’ve decided that, in the big scheme of things, it doesn’t actually matter to me
Yebbut, we're damn furriners so our opinion don't matter.
Highway 49
Friend of Leo's
I haven’t read the following four pages of comments so forgive me if people have already said this but, surely the ‘ONLY thing that makes a real Fender a Fender is’ that it’s made by Fender… whether it’s made by Fender in one of their factories or outsourced to another company to make in one of their factories
MrTelelife
Tele-Meister
Familiar with the manufacturing process history. It’s purely nostalgic for me. The memories of the Fender brochures and catalogue when I was a teenager will always be Fender to me.
jdl57
Tele-Holic
PRS Core≥Prs SE, Gibson≥Epiphone, Fender≥fender≥Squier. They all do it. I have three guitars with the word "Fender" on the headstock: a 1989 D'Aquisto archtop-a wonderful guitar made in Japan, a 2020 Broadcaster-a very nice guitar made in Corona California, and a 2024 Squier Jazzmaster XII paranormal made in China. The Squier looks as good as the Broadcaster, at first glance. And it is a perfectly serviceable guitar if you don't mind turning the tuning keys 180° before the pitch changes (admittedly, not all of the tuners were like this, only 25%), didn't mind a little fret buzz from the four high frets, and didn't mind the fret ends digging into your hands. Oh, and didn't mind the physically noisy pots and a jack that barely held onto the cable. This is how you make an otherwise expensive guitar affordable, cheap hardware and no attention to detail. If just moving all construction to another country due to labor costs was enough, then they could move ALL assembly to Indonesia and cut all of their prices. If Fender puts the extra $200 into hardware and frets, I wish them all the luck.
fender4life
Poster Extraordinaire
Another thing to consider is that the MIM standard series that was discontinued a few years back to be succeeded by the players, were some of (IMO) worse guitars fender have made. it was all over the web with factory pics showing the bodies were SEVEN piece bodies. They were solid colors to hide that and if they did sunbursts they would use a veneer on the front and back to hide it with the edge being black so you couldn't tell. Not sure how that affects tone, but i did own a MIM standard strat once and it was one of the worse sounding i ever owned and i sold it soon after once i tried different pickups and realized nothing would help it. I know the trems sound bad too because i bought one for a CV (because they fit) because the CV trem block was tiny. But the full size block of thee MIM did not sound better, it sounded worse. The point being that these new Indo fenders could well be the same. I'v always felt the worse guitars ever made with the fender logo were the MIM standards. Not sure whether they hare any of that bad mojo with the new line of the player/player II but i do know the player series got a lot of bad reviews. Now the MIM classic series is a completely different story. Some of my fav fenders ever, probably THE best for me. The early ones even used USA AVRI bodies and necks because all they made in mexico for a long tie were the 7 piece bodies.
2HBStrat
Poster Extraordinaire
How would they "step up Squier?" Just make them more expensive? Squier Custom Shop?
So the 1960's Fenders with rosewood fingerboard and no skunk stripe are not real Fenders?
notmyusualuserid
Poster Extraordinaire
MrTelelife seems to think so.
msalama
Poster Extraordinaire
Better attention to detail, better hardware including fretwire, better electronics, better timber for the bodies and a fancier paintjob. And oh, just call 'em Fenders when you're finished, too
The-AC-Rider
TDPRI Member
Yep, that's basically what I was saying.I haven’t read the following four pages of comments so forgive me if people have already said this but, surely the ‘ONLY thing that makes a real Fender a Fender is’ that it’s made by Fender… whether it’s made by Fender in one of their factories or outsourced to another company to make in one of their factories
Paulie_Boy
Tele-Afflicted
The new Harley Davidson X500...Built in China...Is it a 'real' HD?...says so on the decal, so it must be.
Alaska Mike
Tele-Afflicted
Fender is very careful to limit Squier. However, there is room for improvement without upsetting the apple cart.
Frets are mentioned a few times in this thread. While they are better now than the overworked solder ones of the MIC era, they are still a bit soft. Polish the frets on a MIM/MIA and a MII and you can see the difference. Obviously, they won’t put stainless on them because they haven’t done that on Fenders- can’t show up the premium brand. A better grade of steel would be nice.
Speaking of metal, the hardware could be improved. The heavily-chromed pot metal bridges and plates are just plain inferior. The tuners are hit-or-miss.
The electronics are junk. I’m not saying you need to spec CRL/CTS, but full-sized Alphas coupled with a decent switch and output jack would be huge.
The wood (Species/selection/curing) on the better models could be improved. By the way Nyatoh and Nato are not the same- “Nato wood comes from Mora trees, while nyatoh comes from hardwood species in the Palaquium and Payena genera.”
Both my last two Classic Vibe ‘60s Custom bodies were over 6lbs, stripped. The burst’s wood grain was not particularly attractive. I know there are lighter/prettier examples out there, but greater consistency would be wonderful.
I don’t mind Laurel on Squiers. It’s more sustainable than rosewood, even if it isn’t quite the same in looks. I would love a Squier neck that was more stable. Out of my 10 Telecasters (currently), the Squier necks move the most seasonally- by far. Fret sprout has to be dealt with when I get them. Nuts are often cut poorly. Nothing that can’t be corrected with a little work, and I balance this with the price of admission.
Of the Squier lines, the CV line has been the most neglected. Even a color refresh would be welcome.
None of this would infringe on Fender territory, be beyond the capabilities of CorTek, or increase the cost significantly. It would just “level up” the Squier line.
notmyusualuserid
Poster Extraordinaire
Were AMF Harley's real Harley's?
loudboy
Friend of Leo's
More appropriately, if Fender sells it, it's a Fender.I haven’t read the following four pages of comments so forgive me if people have already said this but, surely the ‘ONLY thing that makes a real Fender a Fender is’ that it’s made by Fender… whether it’s made by Fender in one of their factories or outsourced to another company to make in one of their factories
Paulie_Boy
Tele-Afflicted
AMF was the new owner that saved the company. The traditional line were USA built by the same workers, sans the quality control. They were real. (Bad.)
Over in Italy, they slapped Harley Davidson decals on Aermacci made bikes. Huge fail.
Does a Cort become a Fender when the decal dries?
