Not with the features Marcus wanted in a bass, they don't.Fender doesn't make inexpensive decent instruments? News to me
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Is Marcus still with Sire?
- Thread starter diglo
- Start date
This isn't his original Fender nor the MIJ Fender Signature Jazz. Both don't have a large TV logo like the bass in the pic.
Quite right - the neck at least appears to be from an early '70s Jazz (TV logo and I think the earlier tuning machines where the cloverleaf tapers all the way into the post, without a step. Can't see if it's a bullet truss rod nut or not though)
Like JimmyM said, I read that he doesn't take his original '77 out anymore, but has almost identical ones so it can look like he's playing it. I think that 'M' between the pickups is the give away AFAIK. I doubt he's that precious about it but I imagine it's worth a small fortune with all the history associated with it, something hard to ignore when you have a family and loads of identical basses lying around! lol
I recall a recent thread on Macca and Sting still playing their #1s (the originals) live. Interesting to contrast this with MM playing copies of his Fender.
Yeah, I believe I read where the original got lost or something like that on tour one time. They found it and reality kicked in for him about retiring the bass, especially taking it overseas.
He may feel differently about the sentimental value of his main. McCartney and Sting are also magnitudes wealthier than Miller and will have different attitudes about the monetary values of their instruments.
Smooth_bass88
vaxx!
- Oct 31, 2006
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- have been on nationally released albums, charting on the Billboard 200
I agree -- Fender these days is mostly thought of as making kilobuck instruments even though they have a broad array of cheaper good instruments too. But at the same time it kind of depends on what you consider inexpensive.Fender doesn't make inexpensive decent instruments? News to me
The lowest-priced Fender Jazz is currently the Player series starting at $850. Squier has an Affinity Jazz for $270. The lowest-priced Sire Marcus Miller, the V3, starts at $400. So the Sire is half the price of an official Fender-branded Jazz, but more expensive than a base model Squier.
The Sire MM V3 has a three-band EQ, which is not available in any Squier model -- the Contemporary Active Jazz Bass HH is closest, with a two-band EQ and costs $480. So we're already pushing the price when comparing certain features. I could dig deeper to try to make a decent quantitative comparison (the "bang for the buck")... but nobody's paying me for this, I have things to do
Crazy how our stories of Marcus are so similar.
Also, FYI, contemporary jazz is my mainstay. It's almost all I play/compose. I started in rock like most other people, and just like you, in the mid to late 90s, found a really good "smooth jazz" station on those radio stations that used to come with cable TV, I heard Boney James' "Camouflage," and I was hooked. My wife lovingly calls it "elevator music," but it's been my "home" for almost 25 years and I love it. My bucket list also has a Dave Koz Cruise on it. My wife hates cruises but I'd do it just to listen to Koz and his guests for a week.
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Re: Why didn't MM do this with Fender (?)
To expand a bit, IMO, what Marcus wanted to do doesn't really line up with Fender's overall marketing strategy. Who knows if MM even discussed it with Fender (???)
MM probably wanted to keep the price point under $1k and include the pre and other features. Fender probably can't do that for $500 per unit and then put MMs name on it. IMO it would hurt their branding. IMO Fender is still an aspirational brand, so you can't give it away on the cheap. Who would buy the Ultra for $2k+.
Besides, at least in the bass world for Fender there's sort of a hierarchy for what signature instrument gets placed in what line. IMO it has to do with whose listening to who and what those listeners can afford. That's why Pino has a Custom Shop Sig and Pete Wentz from Fall out Boy had a Squier signature. Fall out Boy's listeners were at the time high schoolers with no money and Pino's listeners probably have money. MM is sort of the pinnacle of J style bassists, so MAJOR PROPS to him for doing this with Sire. It's good for the bass world. It'll make other companies step up their game.
To expand a bit, IMO, what Marcus wanted to do doesn't really line up with Fender's overall marketing strategy. Who knows if MM even discussed it with Fender (???)
MM probably wanted to keep the price point under $1k and include the pre and other features. Fender probably can't do that for $500 per unit and then put MMs name on it. IMO it would hurt their branding. IMO Fender is still an aspirational brand, so you can't give it away on the cheap. Who would buy the Ultra for $2k+.
Besides, at least in the bass world for Fender there's sort of a hierarchy for what signature instrument gets placed in what line. IMO it has to do with whose listening to who and what those listeners can afford. That's why Pino has a Custom Shop Sig and Pete Wentz from Fall out Boy had a Squier signature. Fall out Boy's listeners were at the time high schoolers with no money and Pino's listeners probably have money. MM is sort of the pinnacle of J style bassists, so MAJOR PROPS to him for doing this with Sire. It's good for the bass world. It'll make other companies step up their game.
Not true. He specifically mentioned that he was playing his '77 Jazz and that his mother bought it for him.
Exactly. It's a tool to be used.
McCartney still uses his '63 Hofner on stage and studio. He has others, but he says they don't feel or sound like his '63.
In interviews, Marcus Miller said he was approached by business people from Asia who made him an offer that he could not pass up. Marcus Miller is well off, but he does not have superstar money. Last I checked, he is worth $5 million. I am guessing Sire is giving him a nice income boost. Given that covid killed touring for about two years, Sire is probably looking like a really sweet deal. Even more important, Sire can legitimately get the Marcus Miller tone.
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