MIM vs MIA wood bodies

mmx6 · #1 01-30-2013, 06:47 AM

I was looking around in the shops

I found a few MIA 70s jazz with 3 sections of wood grains on the back side of the body.

That mean the back is 3 pieces of wood glued together, and the front is just one solid piece

On my MIM Classic 60s jazz, the top and back side are one complete slab of wood.

Why would the MIA not use a whole piece of wood on the back (since this is a bolt on neck)

TigerInATrance · #2 01-30-2013, 06:51 AM

The two factories share the same wood pile. You may just be missing the joint(s) on your MIM.

miles'tone · #3 01-30-2013, 06:55 AM

Fender have used up to 3 piece bodies since the pre-cbs years. One piece alder bodies are very rare.

M.R. Ogle · #4 01-30-2013, 06:59 AM

Sometimes they'll make a multi-piece body, but "top" it with a solid sheet of thin wood to make it LOOK like a one-piece body. That may be the case in your MIM.

bassgod0dmw · #5 01-30-2013, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmx6

That mean the back is 3 pieces of wood glued together, and the front is just one solid piece

MIA's don't use a top, so the front is exactly the same as the back. They use 2 or 3 piece bodies usually.

landau roof · #6 01-30-2013, 07:00 AM

It's because the MIM has a veneer over a 5-7 piece body.

mmx6 · #7 01-30-2013, 06:39 PM

I never knew MIM used veneers

My 2012 Classic 60s Jazz seems to be just a whole piece wood for top and bottom. Unless they used pretty high quality veneer

I put my bass under the lights and looking at the grain, it looks like the real thing. I even know i on the body and sounds very solid.

Not sure if it is veneer or now

Why wouldn't the American model use a veneer for the bottom, the 3 pieces alder grains do not look that good on a bolted on neck

landau roof · #8 01-30-2013, 06:47 PM

It's an actual wood veneer, not contact paper.

Those are MIM body blanks.

On the MIA, you're probably missing the seams. Sometimes they're really well matched.

DiabolusInMusic · #9 01-30-2013, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M.R. Ogle

Sometimes they'll make a multi-piece body, but "top" it with a solid sheet of thin wood to make it LOOK like a one-piece body. That may be the case in your MIM.

+1

Bongolation · #10 01-30-2013, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miles'tone

One piece alder bodies are very rare.

FMIC says there has never been a one-piece body on a production instrument in Fender's entire history.

That's rare.

What's not rare is for people here to claim their Fenders have one-piece bodies.

mmx6 · #11 01-30-2013, 07:43 PM

Lol nice to see the actual wood for fender MIMs

Good to know man

Cheers

tjh · #12 01-30-2013, 09:22 PM

... Again, we need to be careful with the generic term MIM ... there are MANY models of Fender basses made in Mexico, but only certain ones will receive veneer bodies ... the Fender STANDARD basses use the veneer front and back on the 3TSB models ... the Classic Series 60's and 70's Jazzes do not use veneers on the 3TSB ... you can tell which basses use veneers for the BURST colors, by seeing how the black is painted on the upper body contour on the back ...

... take a look at the natural ash bodied FSR (FSE) Standard basses (MIM) ... the graining is often very telling that it is not a veneer body ... also, if a top is veneer on a 3TSB, the back is veneer as well ...

... veneers have no affect on the integrity of a body .. they are an aesthetic treatment ... there is absolutely no reason to 'veneer' a solid (painted) color body, and likewise you will not likely see a 'veneer' bodied bass finished natural, as the joint will show around the edges ... this is generally a treatment done on 2 and 3 tone burst applications where the body edges are painted and the center reveals woodgrain ...

boamedt · #13 01-30-2013, 09:41 PM

Why use so many pieces? Isn't that more time and effort to cut more wood and glue more together?

**cfsporn** · #14 01-30-2013, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boamedt

Why use so many pieces? Isn't that more time and effort to cut more wood and glue more together?

Easier than finding a plank of wood large enough to carve a body from.

Will Kelly · #15 01-30-2013, 10:10 PM

Leftovers.

boamedt · #16 01-31-2013, 05:03 AM

^^^makes sense

mystic38 · #17 01-31-2013, 07:04 AM

nothing is cheaper than 2"x4" planks

Quote:

Originally Posted by boamedt

Why use so many pieces? Isn't that more time and effort to cut more wood and glue more together?

P. Aaron · #18 01-31-2013, 07:11 AM

My 3tsb 2002 Precision & my 2010 Precision V are made up of 2 or 3 piece bodies.

They play great & sound awesome...I'm happy.

bassbully · #19 01-31-2013, 07:14 AM

The amount of piece of wood in the body makes no diff IMO. I have has many multi piece bodys (MIM) that sound as good as a 2-3 piece body (MIA) Its all in your head if you think theirs a diff. Look at allot of customs and neck thrus that are multi-piece and sound good.

mystic38 · #20 01-31-2013, 09:46 AM

Actually i wood say that could be plenty of good arguments that well selected multi-piece bodies are better from a sound & structural perspective than solid wood.. aesthetically (sp?) though?..not so much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassbully

The amount of piece of wood in the body makes no diff IMO. I have has many multi piece bodys (MIM) that sound as good as a 2-3 piece body (MIA) Its all in your head if you think theirs a diff. Look at allot of customs and neck thrus that are multi-piece and sound good.