fender jazz questions

american refers to whereit was made. 'deluxe' means it is active(meaning the bass itself has a its own power source, most likly a 9-volt or two)standard means no power just a straight bass. take a look at the gear page on fender's website fender.com

 

as far as adavantages or disadvantages of active or non active? that's all a matter of opinion. many people will say that active is better (i am always afraid that the battery will die inthe middle of a song ) some prefer to beef their sound in other ways. personally i would like the one with both

 

Me, like a number of people, would take a MIM Active Deluxe J over an American Deluxe any day.

But that is just us..

 

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can someone explain to me the differences between the:

standard: Made in Mexico (MIM)
american:Made in America (MIA)
american deluxe: Deluxe Version, MIA
reissue: Made to same specs of a paricular year MIA, Made in Japan (MIJ) & MIM
artist: Signature Model made for a Famour player i.e Geddy Lee Jazz, Roscoe Beck 5, etc. MIA, MIJ, MIM
classic: Made to similar specs to a certian era
www.fender.com

also what are the advantages or disadvantages between active and non active pick ups?
Wrong forum.

 

Hey Mike Money, Do you HAVE a MIA DLX jazz? I do have both, the MIM and the MIA. While the MIM DLX is a great bass it does not compare to the MIA at all. I waited for month's before I bought my MIA DLX because I thought the MIM DLX had those basses covered, how wrong I was. Even with the so called same electronics there was a BIG difference in sound alone. The feel is 100% better, the hardware 100% better the sound is even cleaner (don't ask me how it just is). IMHO the MIM is a afordable Entry level (active Fender) bass that will give you a great active sound.

 

played one of these today, MIM Jazz Delux, what a beautiful sound... the range is of the sound is amazing too. But then I tried MIA Standard Jazz, and you can just see what difference is there in the hardware... money, money...

 

Do the electronics or hardware on MIM Active Deluxe Jazz tend to crap out after a while? Basically, how durable are those basses are? I was very impressed by the sound, to tell you the truth. I haven't played the MIAs but they are so out of my league

 

Does the BadAss fit right in or there must be some work performed? Thanks man.

 

a BadAss II is a direct replacement bridge.

Generally the hardware on the Mexi Fenders isn't as good as what is on the Americans. The tuners feel gritty, the bridges have plain barrels that are prone to getting burrs and breaking strings. It used to be the bodies were 5 or 6 pieces of poplar, therefore heavier. The pickups were also pretty so so - earlier MIM Jazzes weren't hum canceling when full on because they used the same PUP in the neck and bridge positions (rather than bridge PUP reverse wound from the neck PUP). Newer models have that problem fixed.

The Americans have some extra work done on the nut and fingerboard, and sometimes include straplocks or a hardshell case. You might also get more control options i.e. active electronics with midrange control or something.

Reissues are just a certain year of bass made new but with the exact same specifications. For example, the Geddy Lee is more or less a reissue of a 73 Jazz. So it has a one piece maple neck with binding and inlays. The truss rod adjustment is on the body side. The tuners are tall vintage style. The PUPs are 62 re-issues. It's got the TV logo on the headstock. Plus the BA2 bridge installed. The bridge PUP is closer to the bridge than earlier or later model Jazz basses so the tone is somewhat different as well.

HTH