Fender Basses made in Mexico

[Grinderman]

In his own words, “I believe”. And those same mills cut thousands of the same bodies without the hole.
A NC mill or CNC mill does not require that hole. There are millions of wood products produced across the globe on NC mills and this only occurs on a few Fender bodies. Show me that hole on your dresser or kitchen table and then we can have a rational conversation about automated milling or DFM.

It isn't required and that's why those indexing holes are there aren't mutually exclusive. That's simply due to the equipment and method that particular factory uses and has used for decades. Fender in Fullerton in 1982 wasn't required to use much of the same tooling Fender used in the '60s but they did.

There are degrees of automation. I wouldn't assume exactly how automated the methods Fender uses in Mexico are, but I suspect it's nowhere near state-of-the-art. Maybe someday they'll further modernize their machines and methods in Ensenada.

 

[Michael Eisenman]

Embiggen the hole and drop an AirTag into it.

 

[Pilgrim]

My read is that some CNC machines use the hole to mill accurately, sone don't. And don't forget that the same factory can easily have more than one generation or type of machine; alternatively, bodies designed for no pickguard can be shipped in from another factory that doesn't use holes for their CNC machines.

And agreed, this has been discussed at near-OCD length in many threads.

 

[CletusMarley]

I took off the pickguard and mine does have it. My daughter put a Hello Kitty in there!

 

[Grinderman]

My read is that some CNC machines use the hole to mill accurately, sone don't. And don't forget that the same factory can easily have more than one generation or type of machine; alternatively, bodies designed for no pickguard can be shipped in from another factory that doesn't use holes for their CNC machines.

And agreed, this has been discussed at near-OCD length in many threads.

To add just one more wafer-thin piece of super-specific detail to the OCD... Not so much directly about CNC machines themselves, those mechanical registration holes are to work with custom purpose-made fixtures to hold and accurately locate the parts/bodies in concert with their routing or milling machine station/s, for example, to add pickup and control cavities, and pilot holes for the bridge, exactly where they need to be positioned, and do that all while loading and unloading parts from the setup efficiently.

The holes ain't pretty but they do help get the job done right and quicker which equals lower cost and possibly lower retail price.

Haas for example doesn't make specific fixtures of this sort to go with the CNC machines they make and sell.

 

[Killing Floor]

It isn't required and that's why those indexing holes are there aren't mutually exclusive. That's simply due to the equipment and method that particular factory uses and has used for decades. Fender in Fullerton in 1982 wasn't required to use much of the same tooling Fender used in the '60s but they did.

There are degrees of automation. I wouldn't assume exactly how automated the methods Fender uses in Mexico are, but I suspect it's nowhere near state-of-the-art. Maybe someday they'll further modernize their machines and methods in Ensenada.

…AND…
The same employees use the same tools/machines to make Charvel bodies. And not just very Fender MiM even in the same cost point has that. It’s a notch that could easily be removed from the code. But it doesn’t do any harm so there is no pressing reason for Fender too pay for a program change.

 

[Killing Floor]

To add just one more wafer-thin piece of super-specific detail to the OCD... Not so much directly about CNC machines themselves, those mechanical registration holes are to work with custom purpose-made fixtures to hold and accurately locate the parts/bodies in concert with their routing or milling machine station/s, for example, to add pickup and control cavities, and pilot holes for the bridge, exactly where they need to be positioned, and do that all while loading and unloading parts from the setup efficiently.

Effe off I’m full.

 

[Grinderman]

I took off the pickguard and mine does have it. My daughter put a Hello Kitty in there!
View attachment 5105109

I bet some crafty person somewhere out there has a MIM Fender like this and they put some kind of trinket/memento inside the hole then poured clear resin over it to top off; leaving off the pickguard.

 

[Thegreatzambini]

Because the USA and Japan built guitars are made using CNC routers, yet they do not have the same hole.
It's a bit brutal doing that to a musical instrument.

I don’t think this is 100% correct as I remember my 2010 USA American standard Jazz had that exact hole under the pickguard as well

 

[kev451]

What funny is calling a small home maybe inch deep which isn’t seen or affect playability “brutal” the bass will play, it will sound good and THAT is all that matters. If an unseen hole bothers you this much then either return it or sell it.

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

Schrodinger's hole...

The Bar Band Bassman

 

[gazzatriumph]

I didnt realise they made Fenders in Mexico

 

[Geri O]

That actually was a lot of words for nearly no contribution.

Oh, it was a contribution, all right.

Just a contribution that a lot of folks don’t want to hear….

 

[pbass2]

As someone who thinks Jazzes sans pickguards look cool, that would bum me out!

 

[Spectre Gunner]

My bass didn't have a hole so I drilled one.

 

[Chrisk-K]

Just when I thought I had seen at TB every anal complaint humans could come up with……

 

[frankie5string]

In his own words, “I believe”. And those same mills cut thousands of the same bodies without the hole.
A NC mill or CNC mill does not require that hole. There are millions of wood products produced across the globe on NC mills and this only occurs on a few Fender bodies. Show me that hole on your dresser or kitchen table and then we can have a rational conversation about automated milling or DFM.

20 years ago I installed a kitchen counter top that had 9 pin-router-register holes in the underside that were used to hold it in place while the edges were cut. We all figured they needed so many because the device couldn't work the entire length of the countertop, so they had to put register holes at intervals where they lifted out the router from one end and reinserted it in the next section.

No big deal.

 

[Rnr..........4]

The answer is yes that is normal for MIM.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

That's where your blow goes

 

[Rnr..........4]

I didnt realise they made Fenders in Mexico

Seriously? I sometimes find the Made in Mexico better than the US versions.