Serious Problem with my MIM Jazz?

Change strings. Some strings are dead out of the box. Try changing and get back to us, although it could also be a problem with the bridge and setting the right string angle over the saddle. Either way, try restringing first.

 

FWIW:

couple other recent posts have had an MIM with an E string that wasn't dead but definetly out of balance and have gone to consideable length to correct it without success.

Something must be going on with those basses.

 

Badly cut nut, perhaps?

 

I had a similar problem with one..turned out to be the pickups..replaced them and BAM!! No more problems.

 

We hear all the time that Fender basses ,particularly the MIM, are so much better than they were or are a decent bass. That may be true if compared to what they use to be like but how do they compare to the over all market. Doesn't anyone at Fender test these MIM's to see if each string even put out sound. That seems like such a basic factory quality check and even thats not being done.

 

if the fretted notes sound good and it's just the open note....that sounds like the nut slot is too tight and choking that string. Take a good look at that nut slot.. and I would try a different string as well.

good luck!

 

Yup.

 

you don't need an "i told you so" so i wont say it................
but
goes to show ya, buying a bass blind is one of the riskier things you can do - i'll buy all kinds of amplification gear blind before i'd buy a bass w/o trying it
especially one from a company as variable as fender. No offense to any fender-o-philes, but play 20 j basses from the same series (i.e., all mim, all mia, all deluxe, all geddy lee), and you usually play 20 very different quality basses.
Ive played some mim's that were awesome, and i've played some mia's that were best used as kindling -
but enought fender bashing, fwiw, i've played some 3000 dollar basses that were ripe for the fireplace too

 

FWIW:

In general, the mass produced basses are much better than what they used to be. In terms of crafsmanship, the quality is much better per dollar - especially on the low end stuff. The wood is not the quality it once was.

From a mass produced sense, the snug nut thing sounds something worth looking into. That's fairly inocuous, easily overlooked, and a probable source. I'm guessing this is something minor that's at the source.

Could be wrong, but at any rate, it seems people are not doing searches or reading current related threads before posting - otherwise there wouldn't be 3 of the same kind of threads posted within a few days - and I think they're all in this forum. Reminds me of government work. Not that repetitive posts aren't useful but being on the same page would likely get the problem resolved quicker, cheaper, with less grief and frustration.

 

That's all it really can be.

Easy fix.

 

Concur in that the nut as a source would only apply to an open string. Easy to forget sometimes.

 

I'll commit a dealdly TB sin and say that I believe Fender hardware is prety much garbage. It is more than possible that bridge saddles can move in shipping. After all, I've known most Fender saddles to sink over time due to the vibrations from playing. Just thought of an acronym - Common Recurring Action Problems. LOL!

Having said that, I still dig my MIM Jazz. Go figure!

 

Thats exactly what happened to the bridge on my 2002 MIM jazz fretless.

Put a Gotoh 201 on in it's place. $23.00 from Warmoth. Problem solved.

I picked up a MIM 5 string jazz recently, and noticed the bridge was a Gotoh.

Still, after a couple upgrades, I'm digging mine too!