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New Fender series: MODERN PLAYER

#262
Hi-this new Tele Bass will be phenomenal, as it's made in the same factory in China as the Squier Classic Vibe 50s Precision Bass. I haven't played it yet, but it looksreally great and has the same neck and bridge as the SCV P.
The quality, playability and sound of these basses are really great.I know, I have the Squier, and love it, and don't perceive any major loss of quality compared to MIAs...... The Squier could have easily been rebadged as a Fender-wonder why they didn't do this? Goes to show that country of manufacture is now irrelevant in a globalised marketplace.........
 
#264
Yesterday I had a chance to play the modern player jazz for a few minutes. My quick impression: this is a high quality bass. The neck and fretwork were outstanding, and I love the glossy tint in the back of the neck. The pickups sounded pretty good, though kind of generic for my tastes. The hardware was solid. I would pick one of these up over a mim standard any day of the week. I'm starting to think that the mim standards are not very good instruments compared to any of the other series' that the Mexican factory produces, which I think are OUTSTANDING instruments and an incredible value. These Chinese squires and fenders are on par with those series as far as I'm concerned.
 
#265
MrRobert said:
Yesterday I had a chance to play the modern player jazz for a few minutes. My quick impression: this is a high quality bass. The neck and fretwork were outstanding, and I love the glossy tint in the back of the neck. The pickups sounded pretty good, though kind of generic for my tastes. The hardware was solid. I would pick one of these up over a mim standard any day of the week. I'm starting to think that the mim standards are not very good instruments compared to any of the other series' that the Mexican factory produces, which I think are OUTSTANDING instruments and an incredible value. These Chinese squires and fenders are on par with those series as far as I'm concerned.
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Played the modern player with the jazz PU's yesterday. I definitely concur with your points. It wasn't the jazziest of J basses but it was very nice. The neck, playability, and fretwork were excellent and it wasn't all that heavy. I'd pick one up at those prices in a heartbeat if I needed one.
 
#267
steveinohio said:
Ive got the Tele. Ive played it. I have a crappy cell phone pic that is not uploading for proof.

I bought the model in Butterscotch Yellow. It weighs 10 pounds on a digital scale. The bass has a nice fit and finish. The Butterscotch paint job is definitely Fenders modern interpretation of that color.

The body is a bit smaller than a normal Fender P. Pretty much the same size of the Squier Tele bass.

The neck has a gloss finish, vintage tint, with a skunk stripe on back. Truss rod access at the top. The fret work is solid. No sharp edges. The nut is just a standard cheap plastic nut.

The pickups are without a doubt the same pickup they have been using in the Squier Vintage Modified TB. It seems like the mounting is a bit different though. The sound is the same.

The tuners, bridge, and electronics are pretty cheap. Nothing high end about them.

The sound is comparable to the Squier Tele. The neck p/u solo sounds spot on to it. A little of the bridge mixed in gives it some clarity. Both full on is a little much for my taste. Probably the best sound is found with the bridge p/u full on and the neck at about 1/3.

Overall the bass feels like a high end Squier. Not really up to the quality of the MIM line. Nice but still feels a bit cheap. Great sounding and fun to play. If you like the Squier line this will not let you down! Worth $600? For me probably not. Since I already have a Vintage Modified TB it will probably be returned or traded.
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It's been awhile, does this review still hold up? Seriously considering this bass.
 
#268
The Modern J has a fantastic glossy C neck. One of the better Jazz necks I've tried. The output of the humbuckers are loudest among the passive models I compared it to--G. Lee, American Special, Squier 77, J Standard, Vintage Mod Squier J.
I didn't prefer the pickups isolated with tone 100% however they did sound nice isolated with the tone turned down which was an unpleasant surprise. They sounded solid with all knobs at 100% however if I bought one I'd shop around for good humbuckers. Which reminds me--are these the same footprint as MM, Bartolini, et al good humbuckers? Anyone?
FYI: I played all through a MB102 combo all at 12:00 with VLE & VPF at 2:00, Master Vol low but louder than let's say a public speaking volume, for about one hour. And I didn't get kicked out of the store.

Note: they're listed as Squier Modern Player on ebay for $420. A little better than Guitar Center.

My current ranking of affordable/ within my purchasing-reach Fender Jazz Basses that I've tried, in terms of sound & playability:
1. Miller (that is, a used one but highly unlikely I'll own one)
2. Lee (used)
3. Modern Player
4. American Special (used)
5. USA Standard (used)
6. MIM Standard
7. Squier '77
8. Squier Vintage Modified. I should say that I think this is a fantastic bass. Just because it's at #8 doesn't mean it's least likely the one for me to purchase. More like #2 after the Modern in true likelihood.

I only rank the Modern above the US Special & US Standard for its affordability & high output humbuckers--which are a dream come true for me on a jazz body after seeing the release of the Blacktop Jazz with P/P configuration.

Realistic ranking of Jazz Basses I would/could actually afford:
1. Modern
2. Squier '77
3. Squier VM
4. The list above in reverse order basically.
 
#269
I played a MP Tele bass today...it was the best sounding bass in the store. If it hadn't been dinged up or if they'd whittled the price down a hundred bucks in honor of the dings I'd have bought it. But I'm still on the fence about getting one. Good quality, great sounding, good playing, inexpensive bass. Huge bottom end.
 
#271
MrRobert said:
Yesterday I had a chance to play the modern player jazz for a few minutes. My quick impression: this is a high quality bass. The neck and fretwork were outstanding, and I love the glossy tint in the back of the neck. The pickups sounded pretty good, though kind of generic for my tastes. The hardware was solid. I would pick one of these up over a mim standard any day of the week. I'm starting to think that the mim standards are not very good instruments compared to any of the other series' that the Mexican factory produces, which I think are OUTSTANDING instruments and an incredible value. These Chinese squires and fenders are on par with those series as far as I'm concerned.
Click to expand...

Totally agree with you on that. My first experience with a Fender was buying a MIM standard only because I thought I'd try it out and since it was older stock new instrument at a $200 price drop, I picked it up. Boy what a mistake that was, it was ok but no where near what MIM stuff usually is outside their standard and standard deluxe which I both hate, they suck in every aspect, fretwork is sloppy, a few times I found the truss to be weak and not hold up the neck tension, sloppy screw alighnment at bridge and tuning peg mounts, it's as if the guys working there get a phone call, ok we have **** ton of standard series basses to make, lets all get polluted and get to work. Meanwhile I tried out the Roger Waters signature P bass and it was a fantastic instrument, played so smooth and had a nice warm tone, I almost bought it, too bad I didn't have the cash. Their roadworn series, although kinda fake looking, sounds and feels superb. Even the new blacktop series sound and feel nice, not much like a traditional P neck or sound but they have the quality at least. But the standards just don't cut it. All the Squier Classic Vibe and Vintage modified series are aeons better than the Fender standards MIM models. And to be honest the USA standard series isn't too far off from being bland as well. They place and feel nice, but sound? Not much different from any well made Squiers or MIM fenders. I just recently got one of the 70s classic series Fender P basses in Olympic white, and holy **** that thing rips an american standard to pieces, it's just a gorgeous instrument and has a nice muffy warm sound, with that unreal P bass tone that mainly vintage P's could only capture, and it's Japan made, probably one of the most beautiful P basses I've come across, you really have to check it out in person as it doesn't look as good in stock pics. It just has that aging character to its sound, nothing that any or at least most of the P's I've tried can match right out of the box. And this new Tele must be tested out, it'll definitely be my next instrument of interest. I bet it is as good as most of you say. Just stay away from MIM standards unless you want to get ripped off for a crappy output, they sound weak, I don't even know why they're still in production.
 
#272
One paragraph? Let me help, as I've got nothing to do this morning for a few minutes.

syndrome666 said:
Totally agree with you on that.

¶My first experience with a Fender was buying a MIM standard only because I thought I'd try it out and since it was older stock new instrument at a $200 price drop, I picked it up.

¶Boy what a mistake that was, it was ok (sic) but no where near what MIM stuff usually is outside their standard and standard deluxe which I both hate, they suck in every aspect, fretwork is sloppy, a few times I found the truss to be weak and not hold up the neck tension, sloppy screw alighnment (sic) at bridge and tuning peg mounts, it's as if the guys working there get a phone call, ok (sic) we have **** ton of standard series basses to make, lets all get polluted and get to work. (that's ONE SENTENCE - 94 words)

¶Meanwhile I tried out the Roger Waters signature P bass and it was a fantastic instrument, played so smooth and had a nice warm tone, I almost bought it, too bad I didn't have the cash.

¶Their roadworn series, although kinda fake looking, sounds and feels superb. Even the new blacktop series sound and feel nice, not much like a traditional P neck or sound but they have the quality at least. But (misplaced conjunction) the standards just don't cut it.

¶All the Squier Classic Vibe and Vintage modified series are aeons better than the Fender standards MIM models. And (misplaced conjunction) to be honest the USA standard series isn't too far off from being bland as well. They place and feel nice, but sound? Not much different from any well made Squiers or MIM fenders.

¶I just recently got one of the 70s classic series Fender P basses in Olympic white, and holy **** that thing rips an american (sic) standard to pieces, it's just a gorgeous instrument and has a nice muffy warm sound, with that unreal P bass tone that mainly vintage P's could only capture, and it's Japan made, probably one of the most beautiful P basses I've come across, you really have to check it out in person as it doesn't look as good in stock pics. (only 86 words in this sentence)

¶It just has that aging character to its sound, nothing that any or at least most of the P's I've tried can match right out of the box. And (misplaced conjunction) this new Tele must be tested out, it'll definitely be my next instrument of interest.

¶I bet it is as good as most of you say. Just stay away from MIM standards unless you want to get ripped off for a crappy output, they sound weak, (semi-colon needed here) I don't even know why they're still in production.
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:hiding:

.
 
#279
So, I've just sold my MIM 70's Jazz reissue and decided to buy a Modern Player Jaguar bass. I've managed to get a new one on eBay for $290, plus $90 shipping to Australia. So let's call it $380 even. The Modern Player series retail starting at $999 in Australia, with the cheapest in-store special I've seen being $689. So it's working out at $309 cheaper including postage from the US, than buying a new one here, which is just insane.

I feel pretty damn stupid for buying that 70's Jazz for $1,299 in January. Considering that I find the MP Jaguar bass to be a better playing bass, and that I paid $1,299 for it.

Fender wonders why they struggle to sell new guitars in Australia. Maybe it's got something to do with them charging up to double the US price for instruments over here. I've been buying old MIJ guitars from Ishibashi for $500-$600 including postage, and my current Telecaster (84-87 A Series 62 Custom reissue) is constantly listed by people as the best Fender they've ever played.

This post isn't Fender bashing, I love my Fender guitars and basses, especially my MIJ ones. It's just pointing out the shite we have to go through in Australia. I mean, I could understand a small markup to cover postage, but the markup we get is insane.
 
#280
Toshi Chaos said:
So, I've just sold my MIM 70's Jazz reissue and decided to buy a Modern Player Jaguar bass. I've managed to get a new one on eBay for $290, plus $90 shipping to Australia. So let's call it $380 even. The Modern Player series retail starting at $999 in Australia, with the cheapest in-store special I've seen being $689. So it's working out at $309 cheaper including postage from the US, than buying a new one here, which is just insane.

I feel pretty damn stupid for buying that 70's Jazz for $1,299 in January. Considering that I find the MP Jaguar bass to be a better playing bass, and that I paid $1,299 for it.

Fender wonders why they struggle to sell new guitars in Australia. Maybe it's got something to do with them charging up to double the US price for instruments over here. I've been buying old MIJ guitars from Ishibashi for $500-$600 including postage, and my current Telecaster (84-87 A Series 62 Custom reissue) is constantly listed by people as the best Fender they've ever played.

This post isn't Fender bashing, I love my Fender guitars and basses, especially my MIJ ones. It's just pointing out the shite we have to go through in Australia. I mean, I could understand a small markup to cover postage, but the markup we get is insane.
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Isn't a lot of the price difference from taxes and import evaluations too? I don't know much about VAT - but I hear it a deal killer.

I know the Aussie $ is somewhat different from the US $ too, but that ma be factored in by you and of little consequence.
 

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