I remember one person so loyal to only "Made In America" Fender guitars that he proclaimed all others bearing the Fender name but the mark of a different country to be no more than "knock-offs" regardless of quality.

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?p=427053&highlight=#427053

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You're only as strong as
the drinks you pour,
the tables you dance on,
and the friends you roll with.

I have Fender, Gretsch, Alverez, and Takamine Guitars, Fender Amps. I Mainly use Boss pedals, but I also have several others.
I seem to like these brands and they are my first pick when trying out new gear. I am not blind to other brands, and would have no problem buying them. I see nothing wrong with brand loyalty, but I would agree that there are always several other options out there.

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Hey, Boy Blue is back!

So simple its profound eh mate.
We enjoy a very high level of tolerance from Fender on this site. It is primarily a Fender site for people to talk about Fender products though.
I know thats not the sole intention of this thread, that we should expand outside Fender products. But it is a horses for courses site.

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No no and no

Seems that way to me Niki, but what do I know?

An excellent point.

Cray Computers was the only game in town for mainframe computers for many years. They didn't innovate, so the company is gone--sank without a bubble.

That being said, I've never met a Strat I didn't like, and I have almost all Fender amps, from my old Twin Reverb to my new Vintage Modified, and they've never let me down. So yes, I maintain brand loyalty insofar as the brand remains loyal to itself.

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"To Be Is To Do" --Locke
"To Do Is To Be" --Thoreau
"Do Be Do Be Do" --Sinatra

The first electric guitar I ever bought was a Strat. Next was a Tele.

That was 25 years ago.

Since then I've gone through several Gibsons and Epiphones but I always come back to Fenders.

I think for some of us it's just personal preference.

MMmmm... Guilty as charged 6 Strats, 3 Fender amps, 5 Fender shirts, 1 Fender pen, and 4 Fender posters.

I have 7 other guitars not Fender and 2 other amps but guess which ones get played the most?

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I'm not slow... and I'm not fast... just sort of halffast...

Well, this is after all the Fender site, so by definition, it has to be mainly Fender products that people are going to discuss.
Indeed, it would be silly to go into the Stratocaster lounge and want to talk ' les Pauls ' and the Telecaster lounge and talk ' SGs '.
Everything has it's correct place and should, with various technical exceptions, remain in it's natural alloted location.
However, having said that, I think the 'Lounge' by definition, is a much more free form location, where a broader view of wordly issues can be discussed with infinite parameters and that, for me, means anything goes.
A place where we can freely and comfortably review and consider anything, any brand and any reasonable subject, without fear of treading on sensitive toes.

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Hi Schnepft13,I quite agree with you about Garrison guitars they were designed by Chris Griffiths when he was in his early 20s.My daughter worked in the factory and she installed the necks and tuners it was a wonderful guitar.The plant was later sold to Gibson and they went into production of Gibson acoustic and acoustic/electric guitars using Chris's bracing formula.These guitars were called the Songwriter series if I'm not mistaken(I'll check with my daughter)and were for export only.The plant was closed down without notice or explaination.Chris came out on the workshop floor one Friday and said that the plant was closed as of quitting time that afternoon.This is not surprising since Gibson was involved.I haven't seen Chris lately and close associates don't know if he has any plans to start up again as he still owns the patent,I hope he does start up again,his guitars were exceptional.

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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.

Fender's made a lot of guitars with humbuckers, but I prefer my Fenders with single coils, because that's what they do best.

I refuse to put a humbucker in my Mustang (And have no intention of replacing the pickups with other single coils--unless the ones in it stop working--and then I would still want them wired for in and out of phase)

When I eventually get a Strat, unless it's a gift or a prize-it will be SSS. And if I receive a Strat with a humbucker I may decide to trade it for one that is SSS. (But I would give it a chance first)

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

Let's not forget the two fenders on my car (am I fanatic or what .

My amps are all Fender but then four of 6 were bought used and are tube amps. There are a lot of great boutique amps I've tried, but for basic tube sound, I think Fender overall covers the market. I've tried other amps and they may sound great, but I don't need to pay boutique prices. In other cases, they have credible modeling but I don't need all the amp/cab or specific artist models built in. So in my case, not really blind loyalty to Fender but that they make the sound I want at a price I can afford.

Same with guitars. I have an SG, a pre-Fender Guild arch top and my acoustics are an Epi Masterbilt and Breedlove. I have a Fender J-bass and a Jazz Special fretless. But I also have an SG (EB3) bass, an Epi Viola, an Ibanez 6 string, a Breedlove acoustic/electric a vintage Ibanez Ric 4001 clone and an Ocean fretless. I buy guitars based on sound, playability, quality and cost is also a factor.

Based on the many comments I've seen in the forum, I don't think there are many here who limit themselves to only considering Fender and nothing else just because of the name.

+1 Boss & Digitech Pedals,Whirlwind Cables Dunlops picks
ABS

just got my strat here

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Not me. I play a bunch of different guitars through different amps. I have a Strat and a Tele a couple Ibanez, a Yamaha, Dano, Supro and a couple of beater guitars, no Fender strings, picks, cords, straps a Twin, Egnater, SF Champ GDec, Pignose, Guild and Ampeg amps. I use George L's cords and build and mod my BYOC pedals. I gig with my Egnater and my Twin may be going on the chopping block soon. A friend of mine just made me a decent offer on it and will loan it to me if I need it. The best of both worlds.

this is a really good topic, i think. when i was a wee lad (haha, that sounds funny) ...anyways, a wee lad, the only electric guitar that stuck out in my mind was a strat, so i bought one. being fender, i bought a fender amp and cables and the whole shabang. then i got an epi, then a schecter, then 2 alvarez acoustics along the way. traded the cables for dimarzios, picks for dunlops, strings for elixir, pedals from boss to mxr, and i thought about vox and egnater and orange and Z and mesa but ya know, i just like my fender "primary instruments" (as i like to call them).

i like fender because fender has history. starting small, building amps, growing and increasing the product line. great amps, great guitars, and they keep imporving (and increasing price...but thats another topic)

i like how the strat started and then evolved into this modern rock machine. the bridge changed, string tree, tuners, trem, paint and finish even changed! but at the end of their 100 year anniversary, a 1957 strat will still be the same as a 2057 strat. it's vintage, and modern. the bandmaster was an old 60's amp, but the new one has changed, its still a bandmaster, but its been upgraded and modernized too. all fender's products sit so well with my personality and my groove.

im 23 years old and i like my stuff to be old school. i love vintage guitars and amps because they make the best modern music! (imho)

i purchase my equipment based not based on flash or fad, just rock solid sound quality, tone, and playability.

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Guitars: American Standard Strat, American Vintage 52 Tele, Gretsch Power Jet

Amps: Frontman 212R, Hot Rod DeVille 212 w/ Vintage 30's, AC30 w/ Greenbacks

Pedals: Boss Tuner, XOTiC AC-Booster, MXR Phase 90, Line 6 DL4