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Fender MIM.... These can sound good live!

Baird6869

Baird6869

Feb 16, 2007
16,717
5,037
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
#1
I host a jam session every month or two and various musicians/bands will drop by and play throughout the course of the afternoon.

I am a gear whore and generally will play a Sadowsky through an Ampeg SVT paired with a Sadowsky SA410 cab.

Anyways, I played a set then brought up a bassist that had a brand spankin' new Fender MIA '62 RI P bass, plugged him into my rig and he sounded great. Next up was a guy with fairly new MIM Fender P and to my ears it sounded almost as good.:hmm: a $1500 bass vs. a $300 one. Also, the guitarist in the band played a MIM Fender Telecaster that was a great sounding guitar.

I have never been a big fan of how MIM basses cut through live, but now I am starting to think I am wrong. Are the newer MIMs better quality wise than the older ones from the 90's and early '00's? I know the Squier VM series are a huge step up in quality over Affinity series as an example, but is this the case with MIM Fenders?

Did my Sadowsky "cut" better than the MIM? Yup. It also cut better than the MIA. A Sadowsky is a lot more $$$ than a MIM though!

In any case, I was impressed!
 
#3
Baird6869 said:
Are the newer MIMs better quality wise than the older ones from the 90's and early '00's?
Click to expand...

Not really - I think that they have always been excellent basses to begin with. The Jazz got an electronics upgrade when they switched to "normal" sized pickups, but otherwise the MIM basses have stayed pretty much the same aside from finish options, which change year to year.
 
#4
I'm betting that thousands of MIM's are used at thousands of gigs and that 99% of the listeners are satisfied.

To say you've never been a big fan of how MIM basses cut through live is just personal subjective opinion based on what I appreciate is your solid experience.

As always though, the ultimate decision is up to each and every individual.
 
#6
My 93 mim jazz sounds great. This is before the electronic change. ie: mine still has 2 'bridge' sized pickups. I still think the amp is much more important than the bass though. I pick basses mostly on feel, not sound. Lots of basses can sound good. Once again, what sounds good to one person might not sound great to another. I love my jazz's tone because it has huge low end and top end. It is a little shy in the mids. Amazing slap tone. Cuts through like a razor. Even out slaps my musicman basses, imo. When being played fingerstyle, it sits in the mix a little more. Sounds great with a pick as well because it adds a little bite to get through the mix. Very versatile bass. I find sometimes my music man basses are just too present in the mix for some music. Feels like they work against the other instruments rather than with them.
 
#7
Well i am MIM ...a card holding member of the Fender MIM players of America (kidding) I had two jazz MIMs in my rock and classic rock band days that were stock except for the pickguards. Oh how i wanted to mod the hell out of them. I took them to two shops for Badass bridges only to be told by the shop owners.. one a well respected shop in my area as well as nationally that i they would do it but i was wasting my money.
I had pups i wanted but no! Every time i gigged them bandmates, soundguys and Joe Q public said i sounded great on a standard stock MIM jazz. So i played them just as they were.

Today i still use MIMs although both are P basses. One is a classic 50's which is really an american assembled and painted in mexico and an agave blue MIM P i bought used. The used P did have kinda weak pups so i dropped in a set of 62 reissues an american bridge and pickguard and she is a nice as any american i have ever played it up against and feels as good to. MIMs have come a long way and IMO are thee best budget bass for a P or J you can buy fo' sure. If they dont cut drop the pups, the platform is solid and now it will kill.
 
#8
DSCF0797.jpg


...is a '08 Classic 70's jazz bass MIM, only addition a Badass bridge and tortoise pickguard...is simply the best bass I ever had...feels,sounds and it's built better than my old original '69 and '75 jazz basses. It has a terrific cut-through-the-mix tone and almost infinite sustain...:hyper:
 
#9
pallino said:
DSCF0797.jpg


...is a '08 Classic 70's jazz bass MIM, only addition a Badass bridge and tortoise pickguard...is simply the best bass I ever had...feels,sounds and it's built better than my old original '69 and '75 jazz basses. It has a terrific cut-through-the-mix tone and almost infinite sustain...:hyper:
Click to expand...

The classic MIM series are unbeatable for quality, sound and price.
 
#12
My main bass is a MIM Fender Mike Dirnt P-bass and I never have had any problems cutting through. They only thing I changed on it was replace the Badass bridge with a threaded vintage style bridge and a mint green pickguard. It is literally the only bass I play live now.
 
#13
I have no doubt that the MIM sounds good. But remember, when you pay more for a bass, you are paying for quality, durability, and playability, not just sound. Is the MIM as easy to play as the sadowsky? I tired an MIM 70s jazz bass and . . . I can't describe it, but it felt lower quality. Mind you, I didn't know it was MIM when I tried it, so it wasn't any MIM prejudice.
 
#15
MIM's are MIA's without the truss rod reinforcements and the US pickups. It's all just a mexican hating thing! (j/k) :)
MIM's can still kick ass, and I've experienced a lot of them doing a GREAT job in recordings as well. It's all about the logo nowadays... :rollno:
 
#19
Lethean said:
That wasn't a bit ignorant at all.
Click to expand...

And yet, somehow more useful than a sarcastic one-liner.

I'm stating my opinion (just so you know, that's what "IMO" stands for: "In my opinion"). I could not tell the difference, tonally, between a MIA P-Bass and a MIM P-Bass. That's my observation and my opinion. It's ignorant to dismiss others' opinions in a discussion.
 
#20
I didn't dismiss anything.
But, it's a blanket statement.

A Gibson is a Gibson is a Gibson ect.

I do agree the differences in MiM and MiA can be minimal sometimes, I think I read wrong.
Between P and J, and the fretted and fretless, there are wide tonal differences.

^ was what I was thinking.
But if you meant production locations (MiA MiM MiJ) basses. Then I agree.
 

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