• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

P bass question

I absolutely love this MIM and MIA argument....especially the people that say there is no difference in a regular players hands. I would class myself as a regular player. I've been playing for 24 years now. I generally use my MIA in all my practices since it's also the one I use when I'm playing somewhere. One practice I showed up with a MIM(same model, different country) that I was trying out. I was standing facing my amp playing basic scales and walking lines when the guitar player walked in the side door. He couldn't see what I was playing at all and didn't know I even had another bass with me, but, without seeing what I was playing he said "can you please plug your Fender in so we can get practice started. The tone on that one isn't as good." Keep in mind this was said by a guy that hadn't even seen what I was playing but he could tell by the sound/tone....and he's not even a bass player.
I'm not biased in the least against MIM's at all. I played one for 14 years before getting my MIA and I loved it, but I can say that if you can't tell the difference between a MIM and a MIA(that have been set up properly) you probably should have your hearing tested. :)
Just to reinforce the truth of my unbiased-ness(LOL), my second bass is a Squier Jazz Deluxe V which I absolutely love and sometimes choose to play regardless of having a MIA Fender Precision Deluxe.

EDIT: For those wondering, IMO the Squier sounds and feels better then the MIM as well as is better in build quality.
 
I absolutely love this MIM and MIA argument....especially the people that say there is no difference in a regular players hands. I would class myself as a regular player. I've been playing for 24 years now. I generally use my MIA in all my practices since it's also the one I use when I'm playing somewhere. One practice I showed up with a MIM(same model, different country) that I was trying out. I was standing facing my amp playing basic scales and walking lines when the guitar player walked in the side door. He couldn't see what I was playing at all and didn't know I even had another bass with me, but, without seeing what I was playing he said "can you please plug your Fender in so we can get practice started. The tone on that one isn't as good." Keep in mind this was said by a guy that hadn't even seen what I was playing but he could tell by the sound/tone....and he's not even a bass player.
I'm not biased in the least against MIM's at all. I played one for 14 years before getting my MIA and I loved it, but I can say that if you can't tell the difference between a MIM and a MIA(that have been set up properly) you probably should have your hearing tested. :)
Just to reinforce the truth of my unbiased-ness(LOL), my second bass is a Squier Jazz Deluxe V which I absolutely love and sometimes choose to play regardless of having a MIA Fender Precision Deluxe.

But you can still change out the pickups and be in for less money than a MIA. Once you do that there may not be much of a difference.
 
I saved up, and recently got a MIA Precision. I knew I would have to choose wisely, because I couldn't afford more than one new bass. I tried dozens, over a period of weeks, and I found that consistancy is best with the MIJ Fenders. I played at least 5 different Geddy Lee Jazz basses, they were built very solidly, and felt, and sounded great. I decided on getting a Precision, but if I was buying a Jazz, it would be the MIJ Gedy Lee Jazz. To sum up. in my opinion try as many as you can get your hands on, and if one is in your price range and it feels right, buy it no matter where Fender had it made.
 
So fourstringdrums, your MIA p is a deluxe? Active pre-amp? I see.

Well of course not if you're talking about a model like that, and of course they won't be EXACTLY the same, but I've got $500 into my Squier CV 50's P and with the exception of the neck finish, for sound and playability I'd put it against the MIA's I've personally played as far as being worth it. They might not be 100% on par, but should be worth at least 3 times when they cost new.
 
My two favorite P Basses are a 2005 MIM Deluxe P Bass Special and a 2005 Highway 1. The MIM has the best and most easily fine tuned action of any bass I've owned. Super low and sleek with Roto 77's. It feels like a '60's Franken P to me and I love it. The Highway 1 is flat out my rockin' bass. It beats any other US P I've touched. The pickup wasn't for me but I didn't want vintage tone from this one.
 
Sir, forget MIM, forget Higway one. Those are glorified MIM's anyways IMHO (here come the flames). Crappy tone circuit too. Crappy pickups.
No flames. You're just totally, abjectly wrong.

The old H1s were very MIM, but they haven't been for a while. Additionally, FMIC has apparently decided to streamline production by eliminating some of the unspeced incremental differences between models.

The only differences between the 2011 Highway One Precision and the 2011 American Series are the finish, machines and bridge.

Identical grade 2- or 3-piece alder body, identical neck dimensions, w/Posiflex & graphite, identical pickguard, identical 61276/7 pickup set and electronics (the February '11 build I took apart on the bench did not have the "Greasebucket" nonsense but I don't know if that indicates they've dropped it or not).
 
No flames. You're just totally, abjectly wrong.

The old H1s were very MIM, but they haven't been for a while. Additionally, FMIC has apparently decided to streamline production by eliminating some of the unspeced incremental differences between models.

The only differences between the 2011 Highway One Precision and the 2011 American Series are the finish, machines and bridge.

Identical grade 2- or 3-piece alder body, identical neck dimensions, w/Posiflex & graphite, identical pickguard, identical 61276/7 pickup set and electronics (the February '11 build I took apart on the bench did not have the "Greasebucket" nonsense but I don't know if that indicates they've dropped it or not).

According to Fender's site they still have the Greasebucket circuit.
 
According to Fender's site they still have the Greasebucket circuit.
Fender's site is pretty useless for getting current info and typically six months to a year out of date. Or more. :(

The "greasebucket" idiocy was not in the fresh production I saw, which had 100% straight American Standard guts, but was in one that was made a few weeks earlier in January.

In any case, it's nothing but two cents (literally) worth of passives added to the American Standard loom, so if you don't like it, it's bone simple to remove. It's such an unpopular "feature" I thought perhaps they may have phased it out. In any case it was not on the most recent Highway One Precision I've benched.

"Specifications are subject to change without notice." :rolleyes:
 
My MIM classic 50's p bass is as good as any bass I've played. Totally stock and defines what a p bass is and should be. Buy one used for around $500. You won't regret it.

I have to agree with my Tennessee brother here. I currently have 4 P's: 2 MIA's ('75 & '08); 1 MIJ ('84-'87 E-Series); and an '06 MIM Classic '50s P. They are all 4 very nice; but I don't think the Classic '50s takes a back seat to any of them. In fact, over the past year or two, it has probably gotten more playing time than any of my basses.

Are all MIM's that good? No, but every Classic '50s I've played (about 6 of them) has been consistently impressive. Definitely worth checking out to see if you like them.
 
I was dead set on a HWY1 Precision, until when the time came that I could shop and buy, there were no 3tsb to be found anywhere. Even MF was out of stock for a few months. Then I read about the AM SPCL series and was very interested in the sb/rw P, but again, nobody close by had one in my color choice.

I soon decided if I was gonna pay a grand for the Special anyway, may as well go for the AM ST, and get the difference's worth in the case alone. I played many of the basses I listed above, but held out until I found my 2011 American Standard Precision in my preferred color. A local dealer just got it in the day I called them, and they held it til I got there.
 
I hate to drop the cliche "try a bunch until you find one you like", but it's exactly how I feel with Fender basses. Even in the same series/make/model, I have found some I love and some I hate.

Can't really explain what it is.