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MIM Fender basses
- Thread starter KingRazor
- Start date
Doug Parent
Supporting Member
Agreed. However I have had a bit of experience with OLDER MIM's, say late 90's through mid 2000's.. The fret work was ehhh...not quite up to snuff compared to American Deluxe. American Standard up till 2008 wasen't much better. After 2009/2010, American Standard got carbon rods, better fret work. Now I'd venture to say even the Standard series are going to have better playability with a decent set-up than the current Mexican produced Fenders, unless they are doing something new with their production techniques. The MIM and American Standard series necks are all 20 fret. American Deluxe, 21.
I think the American Standard bridge saddles are chrome plated stainless steel and the Standard bridge saddles are chrome plated case-hardened stamped steel.
FWIW, I have MIA and MIM Fender basses and I like both.
Doug Parent
Supporting Member
American Standard bridges also have (I think brass base plates)
Fender did a whole number on the American Standard Series, upgrades all over the damn place.
Fender did a whole number on the American Standard Series, upgrades all over the damn place.
If you have never played bass before and have any intention of playing a five string eventually then starting off with one may be the best option. You are used to dealing with six strings and a narrow spacing already so the five may in some ways be less of a hurdle for you than a four.
Ken
Until recently, I owned an MIM Jazz bass (2004 I think?) that weighed 875lbs and had an extremely temperamental neck. I wanted and tried to like it for a very long time, but it just didn't click with me. I couldn't form a bond with it, if that makes any sense.
I finally gave up and sold it, and I am now the proud owner of a Squier CV Jazz that just blows the MIM out of the water in every way possible.
I finally gave up and sold it, and I am now the proud owner of a Squier CV Jazz that just blows the MIM out of the water in every way possible.
I agree. I started bass on a 5er and I don't feel like it "hindered" my growth as a bassist at all.
Doug Parent
Supporting Member
I didn't read the whole thread and I'm probably stating what's already been said, but I'm always scared to play a MIM Fender.
Could be awesome, but probably not... I've played a bunch of Squiers that were so much better than their MIM Fender counterparts it's kinda ridiculous and sad.
Might be weird, but I've never played a MIM Fender that's better than a MIA Fender. Just haven't... Ever. I've played a few MIJ Fenders better than their MIA counterparts, but never a MIM.
Could be awesome, but probably not... I've played a bunch of Squiers that were so much better than their MIM Fender counterparts it's kinda ridiculous and sad.
Might be weird, but I've never played a MIM Fender that's better than a MIA Fender. Just haven't... Ever. I've played a few MIJ Fenders better than their MIA counterparts, but never a MIM.
I owned an 96 MIK Squier P that was a POS,...but it got the Job Done.
I owned an 82 MIJ JV Squier J that was 100x better feeling and playing than the MIK Squier.
The only MIM Fender instruments that I've owned are guitars. A 93 Strat with upgraded Pickups and an 04 Tele Deluxe 72RI and they are both excellent instruments for this full time bassist part time guitarist.
The 72RI is currently getting setup and replacing the hex F tuners with Tone Pro Kluson Button Style Tuners. This is more for the Aesthetics. The tuning key style that Fender went with on these RIs is just a little detail I wish they would have gotten right. Whether or not they make a difference in tone is unimportant. It's getting the detail right, and adding to the functionality.
On my budget/patience level; MIM Fenders are gonna trump MIA Fenders everyday of the week. I'm not saying that MIA Fenders aren't good instruments,...I just have a hard time justifying the cost. I'd rather get a bass in my hands and start playing it and determine if and what needs to be upgraded and do that sorta thing latter on down the line.
I owned an 82 MIJ JV Squier J that was 100x better feeling and playing than the MIK Squier.
The only MIM Fender instruments that I've owned are guitars. A 93 Strat with upgraded Pickups and an 04 Tele Deluxe 72RI and they are both excellent instruments for this full time bassist part time guitarist.
The 72RI is currently getting setup and replacing the hex F tuners with Tone Pro Kluson Button Style Tuners. This is more for the Aesthetics. The tuning key style that Fender went with on these RIs is just a little detail I wish they would have gotten right. Whether or not they make a difference in tone is unimportant. It's getting the detail right, and adding to the functionality.
On my budget/patience level; MIM Fenders are gonna trump MIA Fenders everyday of the week. I'm not saying that MIA Fenders aren't good instruments,...I just have a hard time justifying the cost. I'd rather get a bass in my hands and start playing it and determine if and what needs to be upgraded and do that sorta thing latter on down the line.
I now own a 2000 Jazz V and a 2003 Standard Jazz Fretless. Neither one weighs any more than any Fender Jazz and their necks are trouble free. In fact both were bought used and have survived previous owners abuse very well. The V was probably well cared for actually, the Fretless arrived with some metal corrosion and a chunk out of the finish on the bottom edge where it apparently had been dropped.
I've yet to hold a Squier that wasn't a good sounding, solid bass. And I have yet to hold one that was better in any way than even these two old war horses from the supposed crappy years of MIM production. I looked at a lot of nice Squiers as I looked for a fretless and a five string. Yet after looking I bought these two, used, off the TB classifieds instead and I would rather have them than any of the Squiers I tried.
I also have two MIMs purchased new and I have never found a Squier that is even close to them. Squier makes nothing like a Reggie Hamilton. I've also tried some MIAs and they are indeed nicer than any MIM I have owned or played. I think it is unfair to compare an American Special to a Reggie Hamilton though. There simply isn't an American Special that is anything like a Reggie Hamilton so even though the Special is a nicer bass it cannot serve if you want the features a Reggie Hamilton offers.
Ken
I'm confused about the Squier being better than a MIM, when comparing apples to apples. My 2009 Jazz Deluxe V has the american noiseless pickups, the same as the USA model, and that is stock. The body is alder. Go look at a squier's spec sheet. "Duncan Designed" pickups? And it has a "soft maple body". I'm not even sure what that means. Where it's made means nothing, the ingredients are what matter. Now that is not to say that a Squier is a bad guitar, I've had some and they aren't bad for the money. But if you are having a discussion of what is better from A-Z on a checklist and playing, I don't think that would be a valid statement. 
I'm confused about the Squier being better than a MIM, when comparing apples to apples. My 2009 Jazz Deluxe V has the american noiseless pickups, the same as the USA model, and that is stock. The body is alder. Go look at a squier's spec sheet. "Duncan Designed" pickups? And it has a "soft maple body". I'm not even sure what that means. Where it's made means nothing, the ingredients are what matter. Now that is not to say that a Squier is a bad guitar, I've had some and they aren't bad for the money. But if you are having a discussion of what is better from A-Z on a checklist and playing, I don't think that would be a valid statement.
Who says USA made pickups are objectively better than "duncan designed" pickups? Or that alder is objectively better than "soft maple".
It's all personal preference...
Agreed. I think it's funny when people find it unbelievable and impossible that an individual finds their Squier (or whatever ) is superior to whatever more expensive instrument they are comparing it to. It's obvious to me the "in their opinion'' is implied when they say somethting like that, and in that case they are not wrong in the least. If someone says their Squier is better than any MIM/MIA they ever played, who are you to tell them they're crazy?
Why would you be "scared" to play a MIM Fender. You just play it. It either sucks or it doesn't. If it doesn't you keep it. If it does you either fix the problem or get rid of it. It's a Fender so you have to expect some variability.
My MIM Fender is awesome. Has the most stable neck I've ever seen this side of my Modulus. Plays like a dream (even though I hate the Fender V neck profile but that's me, not it). And tone? Well tone used to suck. Finally I put SCN pickups in it and now it just kills. But then SCNs was what MIA basses came with in that era!
So is it better than MIA? No. Because mine is made of a bunch of glued alder pieces I'm sure it's not quite as good. But tonewood differences are minor. (and the price difference between my MIM an MIA was NOT minor and note that my choice before I found this MIM was a used MIA at about a grand)
As for Squier, I've played a LOT of them and almost none blow away my MIM Jazz. They tended to be clanky, and badly set up and in general just not as good. I could tell they were going to be less than optimum even unplugged. Unless you hit it right. MY Squier P/J is total killer. Of course it now has new pups, and fret job. Wood is Agathis (pine) so again lesser tonewood, but we all know that this makes only a minor difference at best.
Tone is where you find it. There are LOTS of great Fenders out there. And where it was made does not guarantee anything. Try em. If you like it. Keep it. If not. Keep looking.
A couple of things - MIA Fender basses have had posiflex rods in the neck since the mid 90s, and '08 was the year Fender upped their quality standards...
- georgestrings
This thread only proves what all the other comparison threads do, it just boils down to personal preference.
Necks and other parts can be swapped, which clearly shows Fenders/Squiers are made to certain specifications, yet no two pieces of wood are the same weather they are ash, alder, or basswood. There aren't elves carefully carving neck pockets by hand, the stuff is cut out by precision machinery. Wood shrinks and expands, so neck pockets may vary, it doesn't mean there is a fault in craftsmanship.
The right strings, (there are many choices) and a setup (that feels right to the person that will be playing the bass) will make a lame bass get up and thump, or a great piece of ash clank like a latch on a barn door.
Necks and other parts can be swapped, which clearly shows Fenders/Squiers are made to certain specifications, yet no two pieces of wood are the same weather they are ash, alder, or basswood. There aren't elves carefully carving neck pockets by hand, the stuff is cut out by precision machinery. Wood shrinks and expands, so neck pockets may vary, it doesn't mean there is a fault in craftsmanship.
The right strings, (there are many choices) and a setup (that feels right to the person that will be playing the bass) will make a lame bass get up and thump, or a great piece of ash clank like a latch on a barn door.
- Oct 18, 2012
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- Endorsing Artist: Fender, Spector, Ampeg, Curt Mangan, Nordstrand Pickups, Korg , Conquest Sound
I have to be honest, I have never played any MIM Fender that played or sounded anywhere close to my MIA Fenders.
