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Post subject: Why did fender decide to stop making the 51ri p-bass?
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 11:21 pm
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i just dont understand why they decided 2 stop makng it. im mean its weird cus it was really popular, from what i understand it was a consistant seller, and not to mention that many people (myself and many of my friends included) actually like it more than the standard p-bass (no offense to the regular p-bass, it is awsome in its own right :D ). im not asking if u know the exact reason why they stopped making it (however if u do please post it, i would love to hear about it :D), im just asking for some suggestions and reasons why u think they stopped making it cus i would really like to hear some other opinions :)


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Post subject: Re: Why did fender decide to stop making the 51ri p-bass?
Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 12:54 am
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Lack of sales more than likely coupled with the fact the Sting artist bass is pretty much the same model,So why have two basically the same bass which has dropped off in sales when just one model can save money on production and still allow new ones to be purchased ? you should'nt!
:mrgreen:

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Post subject: Re: Why did fender decide to stop making the 51ri p-bass?
Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 1:41 pm
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There could be other reasons. Pure conjecture and speculation follows.

The '51 RI seemed like it was selling pretty good to me. I see oodles around in butterscotch and fewer in sunburst on the secondary market. All totaled I see more 51's than Stings. Maybe the people with Stings just aren't selling them, I don't have access to Fender's sales figures. But even without the figures I have trouble accepting the selling poorly theory as fact. Actually near the end of the run the '51 RI was selling for a tad MORE than the Sting at major online retailers which could have been due to a supply and demand issue. The sunburst models came even more dear near the end. Supply and demand in action.

Fender has an identity built into the Sting. The artists who participate in Fender's artist series earn money for lending their name to an artist model. Artists don't do this out of the goodness of their hearts. There are contracts involved and perhaps Sting's contract isn't up yet. If they have to keep paying him, they might as well get some benefit from it so the Sting model continues.

Maybe Fender simply wanted to keep that Sting identity. Let's face it, Sting is not just a bass icon but is in my view a music icon who happens to play bass. There are lots of artist models but I bet Sting is the most popular artist worldwide of any artist with a Fender Artist Series Bass. Most people never heard of ANY of the other artists with an artist series bass unless they play bass. Gordon Sumner (Sting's real name) became a CBE (Commander of the British Empire, which is just one step away from knighthood) in 2003. It is good for Fender to have his artist model in the lineup. It reminds people of what he did with one of Fender's early P-Basses. So, they pay him for the privilege of using his name.

Perhaps Fender wanted to boost sales of the Sting model to make the arrangement with Sir Gordon more profitable for them both. One way to do that would be to eliminate the "competition" from the '51 RI in the more affordable first generation P-Bass market, even if that competition was coming from another Fender model. The '51 RI's authentic generic appearance may even have been hurting Custom Shop sales of 51-56 P-Basses too. Perhaps with the new 60th Anniversary P-Bass model based partially on the '51 they wanted to trim the competition for first-generation styling.

Artist basses sell for more slightly more money usually so Fender can justify paying the artist for using his name, and that ups the gross bottom line, if not the net.

Another possible reason is that the US street price on the 51 RI had gone up like 45% since the model was introduced which was due to the weak US Dollar versus the Japanese Yen. Why buy a 51 RI with no case when for about 100 US Dollars more you can buy an American Standard P-Bass and get the nifty Fender logoed SKB flight case to boot. It just no longer made sense to sell the plain Jane '51 RI for about $1000 USD.

Or maybe there is a USA 51 RI coming? Or a USA Telecaster Bass Reissue coming?

End of blind speculation and the rest is my opinion.

As to the Sting and the 51 being the same, that is true electronics and hardware wise but after having played both, the '51 as it seems more resonant to me and reminds me more of a Telecaster Bass which is why I wanted one in the first place. I bought the '51 RI. The 51 has a bit more wood in it, is a tad heavier and it doesn't have that 12th fret signature inlay which is a dead giveaway to other bassists that it is a Sting. The '51 just looks better and sounds better to me.

The Sting may feel more comfortable to play over a long period of time due the contouring though. Jim Mayer of Jimmy Buffet's Coral Reefer Band is known to gig with a stock Sting, minus the pickguard. And Lord knows Jimmy Buffet never turned down a gig so that means playing a lot of dates.

With the right electronics mods and possibly a bridge upgrade, the 51 RI and the Sting are both VERY good basses and totally gig worthy. To me, the tone of a First Generation type P-Bass is unique and more "in your face" than a modern P-Bass. I like that aggressive tone. They work especially well in a small band too, like this one:

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Post subject: Re: Why did fender decide to stop making the 51ri p-bass?
Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2011 1:22 pm
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This question puzzled me, too. I own a '51 RI, and I just found a DVD of me gigging with mine in a dance hall band I was in for a long time. To me, it's a very useful alternate voice (THUMP! vs the split-coil presence in the mix) and I won't give mine up. I prefer it to the Sting -- I have never cared for having someone else's name on my instruments, including the Chet Atkins Country Gent and Les Paul Deluxe I used to own. Even though they are all fine guitarists, I don't try (or manage, for that matter) to sound like any of them, and I find that my 335 suits me better anyhow.

I suspect that the marketing people felt like it was a good time to end production, with so many out there, and then maybe return to it in the future as a special "new" model. Production capacity is probably not increasing in the current economy, and Fender fairly often will produce an instrument for a stretch and then go on to something else (Jaguar Bass and Bass 6 spring to mind). They're not going to take capacity away from the steady sellers, and this gives them the opportunity to promote something new periodically without the necessity of new tooling every time.

When I got my '51 (2006) I was ready for something different, and the retro look caught my eye. That was before the price hike, so I got a bargain. I confess that I occasionally think about selling it, but I always take it to a gig first, which naturally ends that train of thought! On the other hand, if I DO sell it, I'd rather the model were relatively thin on the ground....

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