if you have an alder fender jazz bass body. i know that MIM is going to be maybe 3 or 4 pieces rather than an MIA being 2 pieces....but other than that can there really be that much difference? can it really affect the overall sound/performance enough to really matter? an alder jazz body is an alder jazz body at some point right? is it all just placebo effect?
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i mean really, can there be that big of a difference?
- Thread starter biff malibu
- Start date
I say its bunk......some on here will say the brand of tuners you use will affect your tone 
Some people view things like this with a wide open mind mind and eyes the others a head stuffed with foam and blinders 
...no disrespect all IMO.
Some people view things like this with a wide open mind mind and eyes the others a head stuffed with foam and blinders ...no disrespect all IMO.
My $3k custom j-bass and $800 MIK one both have ash bodies of quality respective to their price, and sound quite different acoustically. The single piece custom is full sounding and truly sings, the Korean non-matching mutli-piece one sounds a little dull.
Plugged in, they sound pretty identical.
Plugged in, they sound pretty identical.
I say its bunk......some on here will say the brand of tuners you use will affect your tone
The thing is, no one can ever agree on who's being open minded and who's got the blinders on.
If you are too open minded, your brains fall out. ;^)
At first comparison, you may not notice much difference. After hours and days of practicing and especially on the gig, some will start to notice little things, then the little things become big things. Thats when some will spend the extra bread for the better bridges,pickups etc.
For others, the 3 piece body, budget bass will always sound fine.
For others, the 3 piece body, budget bass will always sound fine.
It can very well make a difference. The biggest difference will be in the fit and finish, along with the fretwork, shielding, etc. A nice finish on a bass accounts for a good percentage of it's cost, since labor is typically one of the most expensive variables in building anything.
The MIAs generally have better fit and finish, electronics, and hardware (and as was mentioned, no two pieces of wood are identical, though I don't know that the USA ones get consistently better wood). I really haven't seen anything on an MIM that couldn't be corrected either through some labor or a parts replacement, but when you start doing that, you lose the price advantage. If you are looking for a bass, I'd play every one you can get your hands on and see what speaks to you. I've seen MIMs that were every bit as nice as some of the MIAs, and MIMs that were pretty lame. Play used basses too. You can get some pretty good deals on late model MIAs.
i have a deluxe active mim thats sounds as good as anything. it really does sound pretty excellent. but the neck is def not usa quality. im thinking i may replace the neck.
Alot of basses have 3-piece bodies that aren't "budget basses". Some MIAs have 3 piece bodies and MIMs will often have 4 (natural) or more (opaque finish). Both of my Lakland Sklyines have 3-piece ash bodies. Rarely will you find 1-piece bodies. 2-piece bodies are usually reserved for higher end. Most would agree that the multiple bodies are stronger than singles.
I think there are some differences (having owned several MIM and MIA Fenders). My current MIA has a nice ash body with translucent orange finish - it is a 1 piece body and looks perfect. I've not seen a body or finish that nice on a MIM (or frankly on other MIAs). The neck feels better to me, with overall nicer fretwork and rolled fingerboard edges - feels broken in right out of the box. I find the stock electronics to be slightly better in the MIAs, though I swapped out the PUPs anyway, so that didn't matter. I do like the S-1 switch (though I don't use it much). The hardware looks\feels much sturdier, but honestly doesn't seem to make the bass sound\play any different or hold a setup better (but you think it would...) I don't know if I've ever tried a Fender in the store that had a great set-up job and that holds true equally for MIA and MIM.
So, is it worth the cost? I guess it depends on how much stuff like this matters to you. At the end of the day, they're pretty darn close in real world situations.
So, is it worth the cost? I guess it depends on how much stuff like this matters to you. At the end of the day, they're pretty darn close in real world situations.
i have a deluxe active mim thats sounds as good as anything. it really does sound pretty excellent. but the neck is def not usa quality. im thinking i may replace the neck.
Go for the allparts neck! My MIM deluxe/allparts is the best sounding bass I've played. Biff, does yours have the pickups with the 4 large polepieces also?
The problem with those 3, 4, or 5 MIMs is not that the amount of pieces, but the quality of the wood.
I believe that in general, cheaper instruments have lesser quality wood, meaning wood that has not been dried properly.
Wood needs to be properly dried to resonante better, which translates to better sound.
I believe that in general, cheaper instruments have lesser quality wood, meaning wood that has not been dried properly.
Wood needs to be properly dried to resonante better, which translates to better sound.
I didn't mean that all 3 piece bodies were budget basses. I was specifically referring to the MIM and MIA Fenders. I agree that glue joints in multiple wood bodies are stronger than the actual wood. Some would argue that they are not as resonant. Me? I'm not sure. I will tell you that in natural finishes, I hate the look of a 3 piece body. In an opaque finish it won't make a difference to me.
It all has to do with how the bass is built, the precision in which it's done and the care that's placed on the details. Iv'e taken at least a dozen basses apart this year. You wouldn't beleive what's found between the neck and the body on some basses. The look as if they were drilled and screwed together without ever taking the neck out of the pocket to clean the wood chips and deburr the holes. The neck is basically sitting on a thin layer of chips and dust instead of the neck pocket. Without going into all the details there are many other quality points that are often missed or rushed through. The best wood in the world can be used but if it's not assembled with care and attention to the details it wont make much difference.
I could be waaaayyyy off, but I always figured that some of the budget basses use more peices because they cut the usable wood from a bad board, hence, more cuts=more peices. Anyone know if there is any truth to this?
Either way, I don't think alot of this is as noticable on 4 strings. It seems that there are alot of great budget 4's that sound and feel wonderful for the price. However, I think that reproducing the 'b' string is a lot harder and requires more meticulous construction.
I can, however, tell the difference between quarter sawn and flat saw maple necks. (I think I can, anyway.)
Ehh? Take Fender all the wood is cut and assembled in U.S. necks also its on a website somewhere on TB. So are you saying they keep all the wet wood/poor quality in a pile and save it for MIM's and the good quality dry wood for MIAs?
I might buy the lesser quality woods go in the MIM's but it is all dryed the same IMO. Most people on this board dont knock MIM's for the sound ...some do for pups but for sustain etc i dont see one bit of diff over a MIA. Most dont like the hardware.tuners,bridges necks etc as much so they pay for a MIA. They are the same wood IMO wet or dry just MIM is more pieces....and it sounds the same. No blinders
Go for the allparts neck! My MIM deluxe/allparts is the best sounding bass I've played. Biff, does yours have the pickups with the 4 large polepieces also?
nope. mine have 8 pole pieces and have "noiseless" written in gold on them. ive heard conflicting reports of whther mine has usa electronics, or usa pickups, or usa electronics AND pickups...eh i dont know, im really not a tweaker about these kinds of things.
