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ANY love out there for MIM's?

#21
petrus61 said:
Again, for the record, the new

er


For the record, the newer MIM J's have the traditional routes for the pups, meaning the longer bridge pickup.
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yup... that would be what I referred to the 'mid '01 and newer' ... being a transition period, I tell people to look for '02 model year to current to be safe ... the Strat style knobs are a give away to the transition, but they can easily changed if buying online and unable to check pup length first hand ... ;)
 
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#23
Love this 2003 MIM P. My singer said, "Wow but that thing is punchy." $200 used on CL. Don't even plan to change the strings.

01111_gDAQzilRsLn_600x450.jpg
 
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#25
petrus61 said:
MIM Standards seem to carry the pre '08 stigma, even though quality was defintiely upped since then. To be completely honest, aside from the Classic series basses (that handily rival any US Fender, IMO) I hadn't even touched a MIM since '05. I was recently in the market for a budget 5 string and stumbled across this used beauty:
View attachment 541477
It was already a great player. I simply dropped in some Fralins, and now it's a monster. The newer MIM's have normal Jazz pup dimensions. If this bass is any indication of the recent MIM's, then they're certainly great basses. Of course, you have to find one that has "the goods", but you have to do that with the U.S. models too. Fwiw, I would pick this over the Squier VM5 any day of the week, and I've owned (and liked) two of them.
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Nearly the same story for mine. Was looking for Fender-shaped headstock 5er. Tried them all. Squier, MIM, MIA. Found a couple MIA that were good (but $$$) then found my 2002 MIM. Deluxe Jazz V. Quality on pre-2008 is a bit lower so it needed some setup tweaks to get the B string singing. Neck was amazingly stable and nice. Pickups were poor. So a bit of a setup and some new SCN pickups and it's a monster.

The deal is that main difference between a MIM and MIA in terms of things that matter to tone and playability are the MIA has graphite bars in the neck for stability. (But mine had a neck that was already extremely stable without the bars so didn't matter) And the MIM is made of like 12 pieces of alder instead of 2 or 3, (but this makes like zero difference in tone and they cover top with veneer so it looks like one piece) And lastly I hated the "Noiseless" pickups that came with it. Hence a quick swap with SCNs and the bass is a keeper.
 
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#28
Not a damn thing wrong with the Mexican Fenders, particularly the recent ones. I've had a lot of basses come and go, and still fondly remember the 09 black MIM p bass I bought a couple years back. Great neck, good fretwork, tight fit and finish. No apologies for the quality of that bass.

I have a MIM classic 70's strat that rivals any strat I've ever played.
 
#29
I bought a used 2003-2004 MIM P bass late last year and am really digging it. I think they are really solid basses for gigging in bars and clubs. I would take a MIM over a Squier every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

The Rig Rundown with Soundgarden shows Ben Sheppard's basses and his main player on the last 3 Soundgarden tours was a MIM P bass. His tech said the strings haven't been changed in all that time.
 
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#30
Have had some good MIMs. Overall they play and sound pretty good but the MIM pups can be so-so. I fell out with MIMs when the CV and VM Squiers hit the market.
I feel the New Squier's are as good as the standard MIM and have better colors and options so I go there.
As for the MIM Roadworns and Classic series they are another breed and are right there with MIA IMO.
 
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#32
I have 2 MIMs, a 2006 Jazz and 2013 P, love them both. Played them before I bought them, both played superbly,had great necks.
I mostly play my MIA P, but it is three times the price of my MIMs. It's not three times better hehe

There are bad MIA Fenders and there are great MIM Fenders. Our job is to find the good ones hehe
 
#38
j.kernodle said:
Not a damn thing wrong with the Mexican Fenders, particularly the recent ones. I've had a lot of basses come and go, and still fondly remember the 09 black MIM p bass I bought a couple years back. Great neck, good fretwork, tight fit and finish. No apologies for the quality of that bass.

I have a MIM classic 70's strat that rivals any strat I've ever played.
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I think after 2008 was the return of good Fenders, both Squier and regular Fenders, from MIM to MIA. I have only played one bad MIM and five bad MIAs since 2010.

bassbully said:
Have had some good MIMs. Overall they play and sound pretty good but the MIM pups can be so-so. I feel out with MIMs when the CV and VM Squiers hit. The market. I feel they are as good as the standard MIM, and have better colors and options so I go there.
As for the MIM Roadworns and Classic series they are another breed and are right there with MIA IMO.
Click to expand...

MIMs, especially the Standards, are made to be upgraded into the user's preference, both soundwise, hardware, and cosmetically.

I like to keep my basses in good condition but I won't cry or go nut-crazy if I badly damage it.
 

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