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Is Fender American worth it?

cliffburtono

cliffburtono

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Oct 17, 2015
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#1
I know I'm opening up a can of worms here, but I'm just looking for your honest opinions if you were lucky enough to play or own an American and MIM/MIJ.

I'm opting to buy a fretless Fender JB and I'm willing to save up the necessary funds for the American made, the only problem is I don't want the price tag to fool me into thinking I'm getting a much better fender jazz bass compared to their Mexican and Japanese ones. Especially since it's twice the price of a Mexican/Japanese, which seems really high considering I can get a Mexican JB and a P too for that money.

Obviously I want to be playing an awesome bass but it just seems like a lot of money is going into an 'American' label. Although I have no say in this and can't judge between Am and MIM/MIJ because the only fender product I have and played is a squire jb. I'm not too keen on buying 'used' either for a fretless.

Could you give me your honest, unbiased opinion on whether it was worth it to you to pay the extra dollar for any of their American basses?
 
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#2
You are right about the can of worms. The Fender MIJs and MIAs are absolutely worth the additional cost. Buy used, you narrow the difference greatly. You will get every opinion here including the one which many here claim has never actually been said by anyone, but absolutely has, "Squires and MIMs are just as good or better than the MIAs," don't kid yourself.
 
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#4
MIMs are hit and miss. MIJ, CIJ are generally good. I played through 4 MIA jazz's before I found one I really liked. Setup probably had a lot to do with that. I found MIA Precision bass's to be superior to any and all MIMs and have yet to come across a MIJ P-bass.

With MIAs you will get much better hardware and Pickups. I have never had the desire to mod my MIA jazz. And the necks on the standards are all graphite re-enforced making them un commonly stable. Hipshot tuners and Fenders hi mass bridge are top shelve. Fit and finish of the MIAs are perfect and rugged.

Best advice is play as many as you can and find "the one" that you can't bear to put down. That's your baby.
 
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#5
I like the sound and feel of my American Fenders best. But it depends on how much more. I definitly would not buy a brand new American because i think they are overpriced. You can put together a very nice American from parts from the TB classifieds for cheap and get exactly what you want, but you have to be patient. The hunt is half the fun, though If you MUST buy new than mim or mij are nice but won't hold their value like an mia. If money is an object, than you can get a MUCH better instrument for a fraction of the cost and not lose any money if you decide to sell down the road.

But to answer your question, there is a much bigger difference between the quality of a Squier and a mim Fender than a mim and mia in my experience.
 
#7
Thank you for your responses so far.

Money isn't really an issue for me I am more than willing to buy American, unfortunately my opinion's been plagued by youtube comments on demo videos that the MIMs are 'just as good'. I know it's just youtube comments but it did have an effect on my initial decision. It just really helps if people who've owned the Americans can guarantee I won't be wasting money going for the high end.

Also one of you mentioned it's better to go MIJ/CIJ instead of MIM, I thought they were the same in terms of build quality and components. Just out of curiosity is there a notable difference making the Japanese ones better than the MIMs?

ps: The squire isn't my only bass, I'm upgrading my current axe so I'm not just looking for something better than squire.
 
#8
Awesome! Here we go!

Coffee? Check! Cigarettes? Check! Marker? Check!

I'm ready to play! :D

mim%20b_zps9aadremt.gif
 
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#10
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#11
I'm not sure there is a solid answer that everyone will agree with.

My 2001 American jazz sucked, but it was still better than the mim basses available at the time.
It's a different story these days. I now have two mim jazz basses that are clearly so much better.
The mia was used for parts, the rest of it sat on the curb as garbage.
 
#13
If Fender made a freless version of their Road Worn basses I would tell you to run to your nearest dealer to snag one because those basses are monsters and worth at least double what Fender is charging. I agree with others you just have to go to a music store and play as many as you can in a side by side comparison.
 
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#14
In general yes and that's why they can charge more and people still buy them.

You may get more bang for your buck with a Musicman, but that's a very different bass even though Leo started the company.

You may also get more bang for your buck with a G&L (another Leo company), but the resale value can be a problem if you buy new (unless it's a great sale).
 
#15
American standard are good basses, in my experience , MIM Road Worn and Classic series are as good or better than the MIA standard, I have owned a MIM standard and was an ok bass but you can tell that it was not as good as the MIA, I have owned an aerodyne, Marcus Miller and Geddy Lee that were ok just like the MIM, actually I hated thr Marcus Miller electronics. I have also owned higher Fender stuff: A select jazz that was beatiful but the pickup and preamp were completaly crap so I needed to spend fee hundred dollars to replace them, AVRI P and Jazz with the flash coat finish that to me is the worst finish ever, you could cause a ding just by looking at it.

So base on my experience: RW and classic series are the best bang for the buck but the MIA absolutely worth the price, no that they are better but neither they are worse.

Try as many models as you can and let your hands and ears decide.
 
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#19
TMARK said:
The best production Fender Fretless is the Tony Franklin. It is the best fretless bass from any brand I've played under $5k. Yeah it's $1,699. Well worth it.
Click to expand...

Wow that sounds like an awesome deal.

I think my biggest problem here is that I'm living in the UK, and because of that I'm paying a lot more for tax purposes for the government to f*k me in the ass. I don't know how much an American JB is worth in the US, but here it's equivalent to $1900 USD.

You can understand why I'm a little skeptical now about the purchase because it's a lot of money for a standard passive 4 string bass. The higher the price the more money wasted on funding the prince's whores in las vegas. If I was in the US I wouldn't even hesitate :(
 
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#20
MIM Standards since 2009 experienced a big bump in quality and consistency. I own three and gig/record with them regularly, bone stock from the factory, and mine are rock solid. 20-minute set up out of the box, and I'm ready for action. I've owned several MIM's from previous eras and they were a little hit and miss.

I prefer contemporary MIA's with the graphite support rod necks. That almost justifies the additional expense for me. Electronics are so subjective, but if you like the better electronics array they install in the MIA, and you have the extra cash, that would be a very satisfying choice.
 
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