Mexican Jazz Wood
 

Search is pointless- instead of vague answers to vague questions-I want direct answers to direct questions:
I have a 95 MIM jazz the finish is either Dakota or Fiesta red.
anyone know which one was available?
My BP 1992 buyers guide lists the standards body wood as basswood. Any idea when they switched to alder?
Thanks in advance.

Dakota red is MUCH darker than Fiesta Red. Fiesta Red is closer to a salmony pink.
Shouldn't be hard to tell which you have.

As for the wood, a picture of the bare wood in the neck pocket would help. That way we can see the grain to try & help. Fender used Poplar, Alder, Ash & Basswood in the 90s. Poplar & Basswood were common for MIM production.

That being said, my luthier told me that my 96 P is Alder. It's definitely heavy enough to be.

Strip that sucker down and find out. Dig a core sample out and send it to the labs. Then, you can make it either Fiesta or Dakota Red when you are done. Let us know what you find out; I'm working on a wood/brand database.

Thanx 4 the response. It is slightly heavy making me think/hope its alder-although I do have a few basswood basses that sound great. The color I like- its probably not fiesta but maybe faded dakota or possibly torino?

They started using Alder in 2001.

I don't recall Dakota or Fiesta Red ever being a MIM Standard color. You sure it wasn't metallic red?

it was poplar in '95. Don't remember them using basswood on any '90s MIM, just the japanese ones.

1995 Mexican fenders bodies were Poplar. Fender started making alder bodies for mexicans instruments in 2001

Yea, mid-90's MIM Fender's were Poplar.

I was reading somewhere while looking for a response to your thread on the tonal range of poplar vs alder. Poplar is a cheaper alternative, but it doesn't like trans finished, due to a greenish wood hue.

What makes you think this question is meaningful?

It's scrapwood of different densities and grains with a veneer over it:

I did not sense any sarcasm there bongo. Meaningful maybe no. But useful to me, yes. :)

Its not metallic. Howabout Torino?

veneers are only applied to the transparent finishes.
Solid colour bodies do not have that.

My '04 natural FSR J is Ash.

Seriously, how? :confused:

Wood qualities sometimes matter, species in itself does not -- especially when the blank is made up of a bunch of completely random scraps with totally different densities, grain and everything else. Whether they are nominally poplar or alder has no meaning.

And to somewhat answer your question, around ten years ago, FMIC told me that they used poplar and alder interchangeably in these bodies, purely depending on what was cheaper at the time and there was no material difference between them anyway.

Thanks bro. Any idea on the color?