Difference in controls between 62 Reissue Jazz MIA and MIJ?

Concentric means "stacked" I believe; you can adjust the volume and tone are on top of eachother for each pickup.

 

Yes.

 

with the way I hear people brag about MIJ Fenders, is there a reason to spend $600 more for the MIA? I wouldn't think the tone differences would be great enough (plus modifying the MIJ to have MIA stacked knobs would probably be inexpensive).

I say go for the MIJ. More color options as well. My 2 cents...

 

Also true. But there are reasons the stacked config was dropped. Such as that even though in theory more tones are available, they aren't especially good ones. And, you have one more pot in the system, loading the pickups that much more, degrading the high frequency response....
It's a different story with active electronics, but for passive, keep it simple IMO.

 

i'm sure some people prefer stacked concentric knobs... but i don't. give me a vol/vol/tone anyday. i can find my tone in 10 seconds flat with vol/vol/tone, with concentric knobs i always end up fiddling. and fiddling. and... fiddling. i've heard that one of the problems with the vol/vol/tone/tone configuration is that the knobs end up being interactive.... meaning by turning one it has an effect on the settings of the other, and i know i've found this to be true on some of my non-fender instruments (especially my guild). either way i prefer a simple and easy setup.

 

In order to prevent the tone contorls from interacting with each other's pickups, the original stack-knob wiring Fender used from 1959 until sometime in '62 had bridging resistors in them, which also had the effect of reducing output some. The US Vintage Series doesn't have them (at least they didn't in 1983 through 1988 when I left retail), so the tone contorls interact. That means if you have the bridge PUP soloed, the tone setting on the neck PUP will affect the bridge PUP's sound.

Fender settled on calling the Vintage Series instruments "1962" because several things changed in '62 so they could go either way and still be pretty authentic to that year. The rosewood on the neck changed from the flat lamination (commonly called "slab boards") to the rounded lamination due to problems with warping necks due to the difference in the two chunks of wood. That affected all the instruments in the Vintage Series (Strat, P-bass, and J-bass), as well as the change in controls on the Jazz Bass. By calling them '62 instruments they could go to the round-lam fingerboards or the V/V/T without having to change the name of the instrument.

I find it's kind of a PIA to make quick on-the-fly adjustments with the stack knobs. I much prefer a volume/blend/tone set up for two PUP basses. That's probably because I've played mostly single-PUP basses (Precisions and StingRays) since 1976.

jte

 

I've owned several 62RI, and still own one. Believe me, there are more -better- tone options with the stack knob, than any of my 3-knobbers. And the output is plenty loud...a tad louder than my vintage basses. There's no fiddling and fiddling, they're easy to set...and you simply set it and forget it.

There's plenty reasons I'd rather have the MIA over the MIJ. The biggest one is I can't stand the nuclear proof 2-foot thick finishes japan uses. Gimme nitro.