Fender necks: Mexi vs. USA vs. Japan?

I've only played two MIJ Fenders, the Geddy Lee and the Aerodyne, and the Geddy Lee's neck was way thinner than my MIM Standard Jazz, as well as faster in general. But my MIM's neck is still incredibly fast.

 

MIM necks are made in USA, I own 3 MIM basses and they have never given me any problems what so ever. They need no more adjustment than any MIA or MIJ/CIJ bass I own. MIA and MIJ/CIJ necks are only finished better whether it's gloss or satin.

 

On the MIM I owned the neck felt a little uneven when I ran my fingers from the bottom to the top of the neck. Also, it needed regular tweaking, every season change. My USA Fender neck needs almost no tweaking ever. Both felt great and had good fretwork (though the fretwork is better on the USA one).

 

gig steadily with an MIM P special. Never needs more than seasonal tweaks...like a rock. Feels good, is good.

Mon

 

i like the feel of a MIA the best, tho i have heard that the CIJ's feel just as good. MIM are nothign special

lowsound

 

Well...I've played the MIM and the CIJ and prefered the mexican neck much more, i found the MIJ one too thin

 

i just bought a MIM fender precision special with a maple fingerboard, and in my mind, it played just as well, if not better, than the other MIA precisions i tried

 

Owning all three, I can answer a qualified "No". The neck on my MIM is wonderful. I rarely have to adjust the truss rod - it's been very solid and I've owned it for about five years now. There's nothing you can do on a MIA or MIJ bass that you CAN'T do on a MIM bass. They are all of very high quality.

Like any bass, you'll need time to tweak it after you buy it in order to get the bass where you are comfortable. The MIM's in the store are rarely well-kept in terms of setup and there are a lot of grubby little hands on them. Once they're set up, however, they are just as capabale as their domestic or foreign counterparts.

 

I have tried all three extensively and my two favs are my MIM and Geddy Lee necks. Smooth like butta!

 

I just recently traded in my MIM Jazz for a MIM P Special Edition Ash (coolest MIM model out there IMHO). Both necks are extremely comfortable. I just realized that I like the wider neck on the P better. The only flaw on the Jazz was that the skunk stripe was not totally flush on the top end. I could feel a little ridge. Nothing that a little sanding couldn't have taken care of, but it didn't bother me enough to bother. I have to say though that I do like the feel of the rolled edges on the new MIA's to be totally honest.

 

This may be all well and good with fours, but how much does this come into play with five-strings? The price difference between a new MIM and MIA Jazz V are considerable.

 

I've played a few MIM Fenders through the years (none of which were mine) and in the past few years, the level of quality has significantly improved. I had a 2004 MIM Jazz that had quite a nice neck. The MIM Fender basses I had played around '99 through 2001 (or so) all had noticably lower-quality fretwork, whereas this 2004 Jazz (and the others I've played recently at Sam Ash and GC) all have much improved fretwork. I'd still take my MIA Jazz Bass any day, but I really had no actual issues with the bass - it was perfectly fine to me. As for MIJ, I've only played the Marcus Miller Sigs, which I thought were impeccably made.

 

I have a MIM Jazz Bass V and the neck is quite a chunky piece of wood, no doubt. I think fender kept the string spacing the same so the neck grew enough to put another string on. Rather than most fivers the string spacing is narrower. But i like the chunkiness of it, still plays great. Feels good in my hands.

 

I always had this weird dislike for Mexican Fenders. My daughter had one for a while and I never liked. Then I found a MIM Jazz bass that plays as good as anything else I have tried. I love my MIM Jazz and will probably never give it up.

Played side by side with the MIA version I feel a little bit of difference in the finish and the rolled edges on the MIA version are nice. The MIA Jazz feels a little heavier over all but I can't say that it plays better. The Japanese necks of the Aerodyne and Marcus Miller basses feels very much like the Mexican neck just a different finish.