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Cheap model Fender P Basses

#22
I would get a Squire Classic Vibe or Vintage Modified bass before I ever spent money on a Fender MIM or MIJ bass.

I've tried and listened to a lot of them and the only Fender bass that I consider to be clearly better than the Squire CV and VM series basses are the MIA Fenders.
 
#27
Don't knock off post-2008 Mexican Fenders. They really stepped up with their quality control. My Classic 70s Jazz is the best jazz I've ever played. It would be a 10/10 if it weren't for the non-hum canceling pickups. with them it's about a...9.7/10 :)
 
#28
i own a dirnt, a classic 70's jazz both mim , both great , the classic 50s p and roadworn p's ive played are excellent , i dont have much experience with the standard mims though, but if you could find a used 50's p , or dirnt i think that you would be happy
 
#29
There are some really nice new Mexican P's out there but I find most chain retailers don't take the time to set them up properly so they can be quite difficult to judge in the store.

I think a used MIM can be the best deal overall if you take your time and get a good one.

As others have said repeatedly, the Squier CV series are the real deal and I would recommend these also.
 
#30
tangentmusic said:
Look at The various Fender P models on their website. Then go to Musicians Friend's site and / or Guitar centers to compare pricing. Mostly what you will find are MIA's & MIM's. The price differences are obvious. There can be quite a difference between quality on both, but sometimes you come across a real good Mexican or Japanese that can rival the quality of an American made P.
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I have no problem with the fact that you can find a MIM or whatever model that's a great player and/or sounds great. But regarding the quality of the sum total of the parts, how is it that, say, a MIM can equal a MIA? You would think that overall you're getting higher quality materials with the MIA, or else we're really getting duped by Fender.
 
#31
major10th said:
I have no problem with the fact that you can find a MIM or whatever model that's a great player and/or sounds great. But regarding the quality of the sum total of the parts, how is it that, say, a MIM can equal a MIA? You would think that overall you're getting higher quality materials with the MIA, or else we're really getting duped by Fender.
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Don't you think, rather, that it's simply the fact that materials and labour just cost more in the U.S.A. than they do in Mexico? It may be that American Fender employees have more experience and produce better quality instruments - but you can't conclude that simply from the fact that they are paid more.
 
#32
It's true that basically the inidvidual components and materials are of generally higher quality on an MIA, But IMO, how well the components are put together is just as important. A poorly assembled MIA is not as nice a bass as a well put together MIM, even if the materials in the MIA are superior. And make no mistake, there are gems and lemons in both lines.
.
 
#33
onosson said:
I have a beautiful MIJ early 80s Squier Jazz that I picked up used 2 years ago for $500 and it's one of the best basses I've owned in 25 years of playing. Seriously, don't knock it till you've tried it. That should be the rule of thumb for all gear, but *especially* instruments - they are all unique.
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I have one of these as well. It's the bass I'd never get rid of.
I also have an Aerodyne P (MIJ). It's not as nice as the jazz but I like it as well.
 
#34
The best value for your money Precision that everyone always seems to forget to mention in these threads is actually also MIM: The Classic Series 50's Precision Bass. Same exact neck specs as the US 57RI, alder body, vintage bridge and cool finish choices (fiesta red, blonde, black and sunburst). Got mine 2 years ago and still have never had to touch the truss rod. The stock pups were ok (if you can find an older model, I think the earliest had US pickups) but I swapped them for Fralins which are amazing. Add a set of TI Jazz flats and you are in heaven. The wide neck might take getting used to coming from playing a 70's style jazz (the 50's has...50's dimensions!) but you get used to it. It is my number one bass out of three. I am seriously considering a Classic Series 60's Jazz Bass as my next purchase because of the high quality I experienced with the Precision.
 
#35
I have a p-neck from a 2003 hwy 1 the tuners are horrible both my mims have the fender stamped vintage style tuners , and the rw's and 50's p have what appear to be the same tuners as the '62 avri series , i also have the avri 62 p those reverse tuners are great, the hardware on the american standards is way better than the mexis im sure, ive really never played a mexi standard but im assuming the hardware is the same as the early hwy 1s but the hardware on the classic/roadworn series is great as far as the wood quality who knows they may be 20 piece bodies for all we know, the mexican screwing the parts together in mexico prolly makes less in a week thank the mexican screwing them together in cali makes in a day though. thats really the only thing wrong with the classic/roadworn series
 
#36
I gave the inexpensive P bass niche a go and picked up a natural/maple VM today. It was the best playing non MIA Precision they had at the store beating out two MIMs and two CVs. I was pretty stoked and really pleased with the apparent price to playability bargain I scored.

Unfortunately my happiness was shortlived. The bass literally died while I was playing it at home. Slapping or really digging in brought the sound back which IMO suggests a mechanical issue which is no doubt easy to remedy but I thought "Why should I fix a new bass?". Took it back to get a replacement but the store had no more in stock and so knowing better than to purchase Fenders/Squiers sight unseen, I opted to get a refund instead.
 
#37
Ah, you gave up way too easy.
I assure you, whatever was wrong is not typical for Squiers. I bought mine online sight unseen, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. If you had a little more patience, I'm sure you could have gotten the store to get it fixed for nothing and you would have gotten yourself an excellent bass.
 
#39
Dub56 said:
A lot of the MIJ basses are up there in quality with the MIA basses. They are definitely worth checking out.

And Squire is a lower-cost branch of Fender, in a nutshell. The Classic Vibe and Vintage Modified series could be something to look into. I had a good experience with an early Vintage Modified P-bass, but I haven't been as impressed with the rest of the models. Lots of people rave about them, though.

With ANY Fender or Squire, PLAY IT FIRST! There are a lot of good ones, and a lot of bad ones. Hard to tell until you get your hands on it.
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+1 The Squier (Lower cost Fender line) Classic Vibe Series P and J basses are really nice guitars that beat many Fender MIM's I have played. Also the MIJ are very good (as decent as the MIA's in many respects).
 

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