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Mexican or American(Fender)...Your preference?

#21
1. I have not yet played a American Standard Fender bass that has justified to me that it's worth the money - at least for a new one. The electronics sound great, but the fit and finish has always come up short (particularly the fret finishing) to how I think a $1000 instrument should be built.
2. MIM Standard Fenders, although generally lacking in the electronics and hardware areas, seem to be very much on par with their MIA bretheren in terms of finish quality. If you take the time to pick a good one, and are willing to do a little upgrading, you can easily end up with an instrument that plays and sounds better than any stock Fender.
3. The MIM Classic Series may be the best deal Fender currently has. The pickups are fantastic, and they use the AVRI series hardware. For a LOT less money, you get an instrument that is VERY close in sound and build quality to...
4. The AVRI (American Vintage Reissue) Series. These are the most consistant and best quality (non-Custom Shop) instruments that Fender is producing. If you love the sound and feel of vintage Fenders, but can't afford many thousands of dollars for an original, the AVRIs are fantastic.
5. Although availability in the US is getting slimmer dues to changes in Ishibashi's (Fender Japan) exporting rules, the CIJ Fenders have a level of craftsmanship and consistancy that has been a step above the MIA Std. instruments. Their weak spot is their pots, but $25 and a little soldering takes care of that issue pretty fast. The finishing on the CIJ Fender necks never fails to stun me.
6. The Hwy 1 series used to be the sweet spot for quality vs. price when considering MIA and MIM instruments, but the recent "upgrades" (which I dislike) and resultant price increase has taken away from their earlier magic. If things like a BAII bridge and reinforced neck are important to you, then the Hwy 1 is worth a look.

What specifically to buy depends a lot on how much money you have to spend and what your needs are.

(The above is IMHO. YMMV. Not necessarily applicable to where you live.)
 
#22
I love my MIA Fenders and CIJ. I have two MIM one is good other is so-so. I'm didn't want to spend a lot on a fretless so I got a MIM. The different between MIM and MIA are very obvious, everything is thiner and cheaper. I can see if planning to upgrade everything over time they might be a nice starting point. I was planning to upgrade the bridge and pickups, but even that is a hassle since the pickups aren't standard size. So this one I'd say the old saying applies "you get what you pay for."

My other MIM is a Reggie Hamilton Standard, now that is a nice bass, but higher priced than your typical MIM. The bridge is one thing that is typical of MIM and will need to be replaced. Main gripe is the fit on the JBass pickup it so tight it won't move. Overall the Reggie is quite a deal being the electronics and PUPs are the same as the CS Reggie. Also the Reggie really gets great PBass tone with a JBass body and neck. I am very happy with my MIA JBasses and feel they warrant the extra money.

I'll finish by say Fender gear has really improved a lot in the last year, especially the MIM instruments. That with all the computer controlled tools the consistency of Fenders is very good. BUT they are mass produced and not all wood is the same so some are better than others.
 
#23
I agree that MIM series is greatly improved, however, there is still variability in my experience. I loved the 2006 MIM J that I played at a store last September...it was hard to put down and probably would have come home with me. I played another about a month ago that did nothing for me...maybe the battery was going, but it just didn't have that J tone going on. OTOH, the MIM P-bass next to it played beautifully, again, hard to put down.

I bought an MIA J Deluxe not because the MIM was bad, but the neck felt better to me and I preferred the sound of the MIA. However, I think MIM's represent an excellent value right now.
 
#25
mexican hands down!!! I'd rather throw a bridge and some knobs and a thumbrest on my $450 mexican and mod it or customize it to my specifications!

If I'm spending $1,000 or more on a Bass I aint modding crap on it! In fact, I refuse to gig with it because if anything happens to it I'll probably spazz out!

Nope, mexicans forever! They sound and function just as good as any $1,000 bass in my book! I'm not headlining any stadiums so I don't need a $1,500 bass!
 
#26
FenderBinder said:
Do you like american made or mexican made fenders. I dont hear that much of a difference. I just see the price difference. WHts your preference guys!!
Click to expand...

Japanese. :)
 

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#28
I have a MIM P-bass Special, and a MIA P-bass Special. I have to admit that the MIM has been hotrodded with SD Quarter Pounder pups in the neck and bridge positions. Tone wise it now kicks the MIA model's butt all over the place. I gotta say though the MIA's fret work is a little more superior than the MIM's frets. But that is an easy fix with a fret file. Finish wise, the MIM is just as good or IMHO better. The MIM is the one I'll be gigging with because of the awesome pups in it. :eek: :bassist:
 
#29
roger winkler said:
I have a MIM P-bass Special, and a MIA P-bass Special. I have to admit that the MIM has been hotrodded with SD Quarter Pounder pups in the neck and bridge positions. Tone wise it now kicks the MIA model's butt all over the place. I gotta say though the MIA's fret work is a little more superior than the MIM's frets. But that is an easy fix with a fret file. Finish wise, the MIM is just as good or IMHO better. The MIM is the one I'll be gigging with because of the awesome pups in it. :eek: :bassist:
Click to expand...
What does a MIA p-bass special look like? Are you talking about the 80-83 bass?
 
#30
A lot of people are talking about handpicking MIM's. What about handpicking MIA's. I do not doubt that the MIM basses are good, but better? Come on guys! Personally, I would rather pay the extra $$$ for a MIA. I never buy new. I can get an MIA bass on ebay for about the same price as a new mexican, play it for 3 years, then turn around and sell if for what I paid! MIA just feel like quality in my hands. MIM feel lighter and cheap to me.
 
#37
... lots of used both P and J MIA's in 6-750 range ... they will be worth that (or at least close, maybe more) the rest of their lifes ... also +1 on the MIM Classic Series basses, 50's P and 60's J ... excellent used values as well that I see often for sale ... no upgrades NEEDED to any of this stuff, unless by choice ... and there are used original Hwy 1's out there for under $400 bucks ... tough to go wrong there either ... kind of like money in the bank the way I see it ...
 
#38
I don't know why everyone says MIM basses are lighter. I have a 2006 Standard Jazz V and it feels every bit as heavy (or more) as my 2000 MIA Deluxe Jazz V.

Also, the hardware on MIM is decent. Tuners are Gotoh (hold tune perfectly) and the pots seem no worse than any other. Bridge does its job so I don't see replacing that. Pickups sound great, but they present my only gripe. The pole peices don't line up perfectly under the strings like they do on my MIA.

This bothers me enough that I plan on putting some Bartolini's in her. Plus I want to change from Vol/Vol/Tone to Vol/Blend/Tone.
 
#40
mine was a used 2006 60th anniversary deluxe jazz MIM and it still had all the safe plastics and it was 497 bucks with a case. It was used for a month. The guy who had it never even played it. He just found something better right after he bought this one.
 

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