I'm noticing it more and more around various forums.

Here in Fenderville there seem to be a growing number of posters who:

Play Fender guitars
Strung with Fender strings
Through Fender amps
They use Fender picks
and Fender finish care products

Seems a bit "over the top" to me.

Dont get me wrong, I love Fender guitars but I also think that it's a bit crazy to assume that anything with the Fender name on it is the absolute finest example of guitar gear to be had.

Just a suggestion to you younger.newer players out there. While Fender stuff is great, so is experimentation and broadening your horizons. Try new things.

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

i do love Fender, i have 2 strats, a tele, and a blues junior and i use fender straps and cables but i also have an epiphone sg and a takamine acoustic. i dont use fender strings or picks but i have considered them before. i do love Fender guitars and i am kinda loyal to them but i do like to play other brands.

i dont have anything against people that are excessivly brand loyal but i do like to mix it up.

as William Cowper once said "Variety's the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavor”.

I agree with you mthorn00,there are some people who are obsessive about brand loyality.I have 7 Fender guitars and 2 Fender amps but I like to colour my musical palette with other brands also but you'll find that with many brands.When Gibson released the Dusk Tiger I voiced some legitimate concerns about reliability,service after the warranty expires and the nature of electronic gear becoming obsolete quickly in this day and age on their forum. I was branded as being a Gibson hater,a troll and several other less than complimentary terms. Frankly zealots and fanatics scare me.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I love Gibsons. It was only in the last five years I have really discovered Fender. Prior to that, I was an HH Gibson guy. But, having always wanted a Strat (and considering how good and cheap the MIM Std is), I finally got one. It has changed me as a guitar player. But I still play my Gibson, too ...

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Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I have a desperate plan ...

The love of Fender instruments, and their characteristic sound, is what made most of us sign on to this forum, so I wouldnt be surprised.

I feel like I would be a bad guest if I used this forum to rave about some other maker's products. Besides, since I own 3 Fender instruments, this is
where I can have interchange with others who do, too.

It would be odd to post about our love of Jimi, Eric, the other Eric, Robbie,
Danny, Jeff and so many others, if this was the Washburn or Dean forum.
I guess, because I identify the music with the instrument it came out of.

Another thing about Fender is that one can buy a top of the line instrument,
for about 1/2 of what the next competitor charges for it's upper range items. And to be honest, although Fenders often dont have edge banding
and other finishing details, the quality is not only better, it's uniform from instrument to instrument. You cant say that for Gibson. Not without cracking up.

Well I have a variety of brands for guitars-including 1 Fender.
I have a variety of amps-including 1 Fender.
I sometimes use Superbullets, but mostly I use GHS Boomers on my electrics.
I've tried other Fender strings, as well as a variety of brands and types within the brands.
At one point I used Fender Heavy picks, but mostly use Dunlop Tortex or Gator Grips.

And so on, so yeah, I like variety.

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It wasn't Willy-Nilly, it was at crows.

While I do own five Les Pauls and an Ibanez dreadnaught acoustic, my other ten guitars all say "Fender" on the headstock and all ten of my amps came from the Fullerton factory.

Call me "anal-retentive"...I'll wear that jacket with pride.

Arjay

Fender gear is pro quality, if the only gear in town is Fender then you are playing the Star Spangled Banner. Trying other gear is cool there is a lot of really good gear out there.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

I love Fender but:

Dunlop - pedals and picks
Boss - pedals and pedal board
Ernie Ball - strings
Electro-Harmonix - pedals and tubes
Mesa - tubes
JJ - tubes
Planet Waves - cables/leads

Fender - guitars, amps, strap, cases, stand


CC

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Fender Stratocaster (parts build)
Fender Telecaster 72 Custom RI
Fender Telecoustic Deluxe
Gretsch Electromatic Pro-Jet
Gibson Les Paul Standard Plus
Gibson ES-135
Zenith Type-17
Marshall 70's JMP Superbass 100w
Blackstar HT-5

That is why I find it ridicules when someone apologizes for showing of a guitar that is not Fender made. I had asked Mike Eldred if God forbid his house was on fire what guitars would he save and one was a Tele, one a Strat and believe it or not a Guild arch top, so what does that say. Yes I am a Fender lover but I do own and love other guitars and would never apologize for it. Bottom line if you want a guitar with humbuckers I believe you are going to have to venture outside the Fender family.

Excessive brand loyalty in connection with any type of product is a little silly. You're potentially missing out on something very nice.

The best acoustic guitar I've ever owned was made by a now-defunct company called Garrison Guitars (manufactured in St. Johns, Newfoundland). It wasn't overly expensive, but it feels, sounds and looks beautiful. I had never heard of the company when I tried it out it in the store -- if I was an unwavering customer of Fender or any other company I might not have given it a chance.

Recently I was very tempted to go back to a Gibson SG Bass, but really liked my Am. Std. Precision too much to switch out to the SG. Amp wise, I do think Fender missed it by not going back to the two 12" speakers in a bass cab in the now gone Bassman Series. I went with the Marshall MB Series, couldn't afford the Fender Pro Series. I do like the Marshall with a 4/10 cab. Carpet on a amp. doesn't make it either. They didn't leave any thing I could use in the middle price range for stack amps. I guess I was caught up in the USE FENDER also.

While raising a family and paying a mortgage I am bound by price much of the time. I am amazed at some of the collections that I have seen here on the Forum......I do own a Tele and a Blues Jr. but I also use Marshall, Epiphone, Washburn, LTD, and Ovation to name a few (all of my gear, with the exception of the Marshall, was in the $100 to $500 range).

Whenever I get "gear jealousy" I think of how good Robert Johnson sounded playing a beat up pawn shop acoustic, then I don't feel so bad...........


Beaubs

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I Can't Explain

Blind loyalty in anything will get you hurt.

Fender make great guitars and they more or less invented modern guitar amplification. Their not the be all end all of the guitar world though they are a huge enormous part of it.

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No no and no

I don't see it as being a brand loyalist to talk about Fender products the majority of the time on a "Fender Forum". I like other brand guitars also but if I want to discuss them I would most likely go to that brands web site. Maybe I'm missing something??

I don't see any thing wrong about talking about other brands so don't misunderstand my post but I see nothing strange or loyalist about the majority of the post being about Fender products.