I would make a guess but I have had experience with only a couple of basses so it could be like tossing a coin.
If you read the first post, that question (the noticable differences) is what I want to know from the experienced people.
I'm not going to wade through every post and every page, but there several different MIM models with different features and capabilities, so the comparison is meaningless - not your question, I mean the dudes on other forums you mentioned who are making the comparison.
I owned an American '57 Reissue for about 7 years and during that time I also bought a Classic 50s Lacquer so I could have one with flats and one with rounds. Three years later I sold the AVRI and still have the Classic 50s. There are *very* few differences between the two, and none that are meaningful to me. When I put some high tension flats on the C50s, the neck needed no adjustment at all. Intonation is still spot on, and I've never had to adjust the truss rod. I rarely even have to tune it.
I also own two American Standards, a 2014 and a 2016. The 2014 has the same flats and I have to tune it multiple times when I play it, and I did have to adjust the truss rod and bridge for intonation when I switched it to flats. I think the tuning problems are due to stringing the flats through the body however. I hope so. I love the stock pickups in both Americans, and the ones that came in the C50s are the same ones that came in the pre-2012 American Standards.
MIM Standards and Players both do not have rolled edge fretboards, which is a feature of the American Standards and Pros that I really like a lot. The MIM Standards had ceramic pickups that some people hated and some people liked, but that's an easy thing to change. Otherwise, they're both basically 70s spec American Fenders.
In the 90s, Fender was less focused on making good instruments and more on covering the whole market, so the MIMs of the day were built cheap - plastic Strat-style knobs, multiple body pieces laminated together, less desirable lighter shade rosewood, etc. Doesn't mean they were crap, just that Fender cut corners cost-wise. Across both American and Mexican lines, Fender's QC was horribly inconsistent as well. MIJ Fenders have had a strongly positive reputation since the 80s when they began. People tend to have long memories with bad experiences, and other people tend to share those negative opinions without their own firsthand knowledge. Somewhere around 2006-2007, all that changed.
I think a big part of the reason the American Originals replaces the American Vintage Reissues is that the Classic series are so good. To me, the differences these days are more about features and price point than they are about quality. Doesn't mean you won't find a stinker at every price point on occasion, but across the board they're all great, from Squiers on up, and they're all worth the price differences.
