There is a pawn shop near me in Southwest Florida that has a mim p bass from the mid 90's that I'm considering picking up for $270. Anybody who owns or knows anything about the basses from this era, is this a good buy assuming it only has normal wear and tear? If it's comfortable for me to play and there aren't any glaring reasons to pass on it, I thought it might be a good base to swap some toneriders or something into if I don't like the sound of the ceramic pickups. I called Fender to look up the serial number on the neck and it seems to be from around 1993-94. Thanks in advance for the insight!
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I bought a 1991 MIM precision in 1992 and still have it. It was my only bass for many years. The pots and jack had some issues after ~20 years, but those are easy to replace. The pickups are fine, but I have switched them out for some seymour duncans (SPB-4). I still have them and am going to use them in another project. If it plays well and is in good shape, $270 is a good price.
Edit- The body is poplar and very light.
Edit- The body is poplar and very light.
Thanks for the advice. I usually change the electronics (I seem to convince myself stock electronics are at higher risk of failure than aftermarket stuff when gigging mid priced equipment) so I always consider swapping pickups while I have it disassembled. Probably won't be needed though. It's going to go through a fender rumble 500h/410c which I found used at a good price. Although I won't pretend it competes with a high end rig, it suits me. I always seem to ask myself if the crowd cares about that stuff and it helps me talk myself out of spending more on gear and just get to practicing more lol.
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buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Decent price if in decent shape. But play it before you change out the pickups and see how it sounds.
Most likely it wouldn't be, counterfeiters usually go and try to fake a US Fender, not a MIM.
I have a 90's era MIM Jazz (I think it's a 94 ) and a MIK P Bass (Fender Squier series) The MIM Fender jazz had sloppy work on the finish and shoddy soldering work (a moot point if the OP's going to change the electronics anyway) but is a decent player nonetheless. QA was all over the board during that time from what I heard and became more consistent later on. Definitely test the bass out, check the neck - otherwise the price is decent for a 90s MIM P bass. As with any bass of that age, and one that is played a lot, check the fret wear, truss rod.
Yeah if it only needs a touch up on the frets I wouldn't mind that as I'll do my own setup with fresh strings anyway. But something with well worn frets may not be worth it. I don't mind blemishes and such, as long as full playability can be had after setup.
I owned one of those that I think was a '94. As someone else mentioned it's a poplar body so it should be a little lighter than expected for a P Bass. The neck, as I remember, was the traditional 1 3/4" at the nut, not the modern 1 5/8" from more recent Mexican Standards. Also keep in mind that back then Mexican standards were more different from American standards than they are now. You can't swap pickguards as the holes are in different places. The tuners might be some weird measurement that isn't that common either. Lastly, I don't think the body cavity was shielded. They started doing that in the 2000s so even though you wouldn't expect a P bass to be noisy, mine was, a little.
Fender MIM Standards from the '90s were poplar bodied, usual neck radius was 7.25" with jumbo fret wire vs. the current 9.50", with medium jumbo wire .. pots under the 'press on' Strat style knobs were splined-split shaft vs. solid shaft w/set screw knobs … nut width should be the current 1.625 (1 5/8") for the P and 1.50" on the Jazz) … your '93-34 should pre-date the offering of the three models of MIM Fender 'Black Label' basses, but these were often confused with and called MIM 'Standards' … post a pic if you are not sure and it can be evaluated ..
As mentioned above, one of the more common issues with a 25+ year old MIM Standard, could be maxxed truss rod with excessive relief in the neck … on something this age, it is always a good idea to remove some of the tension on the neck before attempting to turn/test it (I like to do it manually, with bass body between feet, neck against knee as I slightly press forward with one hand as I gently work truss rod with the other) … truss rod nut should be 3/16", and I always prefer to loosen slightly first (counter-clockwise), before attempting to move slightly clockwise …. don't expect a lot of movement, or try to turn excessively (especially if you do not own it), all you are after is to make sure it is free, can do its job of holding, and the nut is not stripped …
This would be considered the earliest of the four era's of MIM Standards, and like most Fender models/era's, you will likely be best suited judging each instrument on a case by case basis … consistency is probably not one of the strong suites of early MIM Standards, I have had them on the scales in the mid 8 lb range, as well as up well over 10 lbs and even 11+, just in case weight is a concern …
The 90's MIM Standard both have their fans, and those that dismiss them as junk … I am of the opinion that you will likely find both good, and then 'not as good' if you try enough for yourself, as opinions are subjective anyhow … but, other than excessive weight, most everything can be fixed .. it just depends what you can do yourself, how much money you can justify throwing at it and what you will have in the end …
JMHO's … as always
As mentioned above, one of the more common issues with a 25+ year old MIM Standard, could be maxxed truss rod with excessive relief in the neck … on something this age, it is always a good idea to remove some of the tension on the neck before attempting to turn/test it (I like to do it manually, with bass body between feet, neck against knee as I slightly press forward with one hand as I gently work truss rod with the other) … truss rod nut should be 3/16", and I always prefer to loosen slightly first (counter-clockwise), before attempting to move slightly clockwise …. don't expect a lot of movement, or try to turn excessively (especially if you do not own it), all you are after is to make sure it is free, can do its job of holding, and the nut is not stripped …
This would be considered the earliest of the four era's of MIM Standards, and like most Fender models/era's, you will likely be best suited judging each instrument on a case by case basis … consistency is probably not one of the strong suites of early MIM Standards, I have had them on the scales in the mid 8 lb range, as well as up well over 10 lbs and even 11+, just in case weight is a concern …
The 90's MIM Standard both have their fans, and those that dismiss them as junk … I am of the opinion that you will likely find both good, and then 'not as good' if you try enough for yourself, as opinions are subjective anyhow … but, other than excessive weight, most everything can be fixed .. it just depends what you can do yourself, how much money you can justify throwing at it and what you will have in the end …
JMHO's … as always
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MIM Fenders are the newer the better, but they've always been pretty good. 90's ones had ho-hum pickups, and not great pots. $270 is about what they're worth, if you like it. It's not a steal.
All advice will be applied after playing nd figuring out if I'm comfortable with it. Thanks so much. I'll post an update tomorrow after I check it out!
Some of the earlier 90's MIM had EXTREMELY bland, pale maple in the necks, but other than that I found them all to be quite serviceable...
I have a '99 and a '00 mim. The '99 has been my main gigging bass for years. It's dead stock and I have no complaints about it. Haven't looked at another bass for years now. No reason to. Playing the '00 in my new band as the old band and the new one tune differently. If it's functional , I say go for it.
Good point - had it been a "Black Label" bass, $270 would be a little high for one . Black label Fender basses (Squier series or traditional)were a notch below the standard MIM basses in terms of parts. I agree, if it's 93-94 and MIM, it isn't likely to be one of these as these as black label P basses were made in Korea in 1993. I have a 1993 Made in Korea Fender P bass Squier series (body made of plywood). Actually not a bad player, better in overall quality than the black label MIM Fender Jazz Squier series I also have.Fender MIM Standards from the '90s were poplar bodied, usual neck radius was 7.25" with jumbo fret wire vs. the current 9.50", with medium jumbo wire .. pots under the 'press on' Strat style knobs were splined-split shaft vs. solid shaft w/set screw knobs … nut width should be the current 1.625 (1 5/8") for the P and 1.50" on the Jazz) … your '93-34 should pre-date the offering of the three models of MIM Fender 'Black Label' basses, but these were often confused with and called MIM 'Standards' … post a pic if you are not sure and it can be evaluated ..
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IMO the mid 90s MIM stuff was trash, bad fretwork, poor shielding, mediocre pickups. Just get a more modern one used for a similar price.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
@Mister Boh If you can find used MIM Ps for $270 in decent shape, you have a new business opportunity.
I've seen newer (possibly better) ones for around that price. You might get it for $250 (wave some cash at them).
