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Fender American Jazz Std. vs. Fender Marcus Miller

crispygoat

crispygoat

Aug 22, 2006
1,172
3
London, Ontario
#1
There are probably various threads out there regarding this, hell, most were probably even created by me, but the time to choose one has come.

A little background first.

For years, I've been looking to buy a deep-tone Jazz bass. I've never exactly fancied buying a Precision because of its caved-in (for the lack of a better word) slapping tone. So, I went through three Jazzes: a Valenti (55), a Sadowsky Metro, and a Fender Road Worn. Out of the three, the most appealing tone-wise was the Road Worn with flats, but it still wasn't a precision. Eventually, I gave up and bought a Precision. Now, it's time to get a Jazz bass.

My priority is on quality. I don't want a bass that will need to be tuned after every song, that will need to be set-up every month, you get the idea.

Tone wise, I don't need an active bass. I have a pretty good EQ on my amp (Eden WT800), and I also have a Tech 21 VT Bass deluxe. I'm looking for the one that will cut through the most.

If I had to put a song to the tone I'm looking for, it would be Marcus Miller's State of Mind live at Monte-Carlo.

This said, which one would you choose?

Thank you.
 
#3
The post 2008 American Standards are really great basses. I would definitely go with one over the Marcus Miller. Not a knock on the Miller signature model, but I'm not a fan, and wouldn't want his name on my bass. The neck on the American std also felt better to me, and if you ever decided to go active, there are a few preamps to choose from.
 
#4
First off....that's a great song!! Never heard that and I really enjoyed it!

I'm probably not of much help, but for what it's worth I bought an AM STD 5 string Jazz bass this past December. Your results may vary, but offhand I see no reason why that tone couldn't be gotten with the mentioned bass. You did however mention quality, a bass that stays in tune and one that doesn't need to be setup every month. So far so good with mine. Fact is, it didn't need to be set up when I bought it because it was that good and it still hasn't been set up. But then I did a lot of looking around off and on since last summer before I bought because more than anything there was a specific feel that I was after and I wasn't going to buy until I found it. I love it and am nothing but happy with my purchase. I bought the Candy Cola red model with a maple fretboard. It's a very well built, great sounding bass. Blows the MIM 5'er I had right out of the water and beyond.

Speaking of feel, I did try a Marcus Miller model....well, kind of. Whenever I try a bass for the first time I don't plug it into an amp because I just want to see how it plays. If it doesn't feel right why plug it in? I think I lasted a whole 5 minutes with it because the neck felt HUGE on that bass. Way too big for me to the point of being uncomfortable. But then, that's just me and I'm not knocking the bass at all because of that. Hell, that may be the exact feel that works for you!

Hope you find the one that works for you. Good luck!
 
#6
crispygoat said:
Thank you for your insights. Anybody else?
Click to expand...

I don't know enough about the two to compare them. But I have been very happy with my '62 RI Jazz. Helps to use a preamp with it, though.

attachment-2ashx.jpg
 
#8
RaginRog said:
The post 2008 American Standards are really great basses. I would definitely go with one over the Marcus Miller. Not a knock on the Miller signature model, but I'm not a fan, and wouldn't want his name on my bass. The neck on the American std also felt better to me, and if you ever decided to go active, there are a few preamps to choose from.
Click to expand...

+1

My 2008 Am Standard with Maple neck is amazing an is one of my main slappers. For me it has the perfect neck and balance. Only to be rivaled by my Music Man HH.

Now I'm just waiting to see if we get in some of those new 2012s.
 
#9
The quality of the American Standards is spotty and generally wildly overrated by fanboys here who only play instruments, not work on them. I do.

American Standards also have numerous features I simply dislike. Mine hasn't had an hour's use since I bought it new a few years ago. It keeps appreciating, so I hang onto it.

The FJs are better built, even the Dyna exports, so I'd give the MM the nod there, but they're gawdawful heavy and have a lot of dubious electronics nobody needs.

It's not a great choice. If I had a gun to my head, I guess I'd go to a carefully cherrypicked American Standard. In that FMIC has just jacked the price up on the new "upgraded" 2012 versions, you'll have two interesting possibilities:

1: Look for long discounts on the remaining stocks of the previous version, or...

2: Spring for the extra money on the 2012 and count on the very temporary QC bump FMIC gives new models to make the price increases seem less painful.

Good luck!
 
#11
I have a MM version Jazz. I pulled ALL the electronics and went with a different active system and pickups. I dont like the stock stuff in the MM. That said, mine plays better than most other guitars on the market. It created a unique sound for me that works really well with my band.
 

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