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Yet another Fender decision question

#63
The bottom line is to play all the basses you can and make a decision based on what feels and sounds the best to you. Personally I couldn't justify paying the typical asking price for an MIA because it's just not worth it to me. I've seen quality control with the MIAs slipping again over the years whereas the MIMs and Squiers are getting better. Although the hardware is more precise and jewel-like on the MIAs vs MIMs (Omega vs Timex?), I don't need it nor do I need carbon or graphite composites in my bass' neck... in fact that's a major reason why I won't buy an MIA. I come from an era when basses were made of good old honest wood sans high-tech novelties and had simple and functional hardware. These old vintage instruments are still being played and sold today. Cheap old Kents, Tiescos, Kays, Hondos, whatever have survived since the 60s, 70s and 80s so there's no reason an MIM or Asian made Squier couldn't last several decades as well.
 
#64
Diogenes said:
The bottom line is to play all the basses you can and make a decision based on what feels and sounds the best to you. Personally I couldn't justify paying the typical asking price for an MIA because it's just not worth it to me. I've seen quality control with the MIAs slipping again over the years whereas the MIMs and Squiers are getting better. Although the hardware is more precise and jewel-like on the MIAs vs MIMs (Omega vs Timex?), I don't need it nor do I need carbon or graphite composites in my bass' neck... in fact that's a major reason why I won't buy an MIA. I come from an era when basses were made of good old honest wood sans high-tech novelties and had simple and functional hardware. These old vintage instruments are still being played and sold today. Cheap old Kents, Tiescos, Kays, Hondos, whatever have survived since the 60s, 70s and 80s so there's no reason an MIM or Asian made Squier couldn't last several decades as well.
Click to expand...

The new 2008 (soon to be 2009) MIAs are pretty darned good compared to even recent years.

Many of those old Kays, Hondos, Tiescos, and Kents are not even playable these days, having been long since thrown out. The odd occasional gem survives, which is why they are now valued by some.
 
#66
Willicious said:
Just picked up a '60s Classic J in sunburst. My first MIM.
Fit, finish and setup were very good out of the box.
Neck feels great, rosewood is beautiful, and the rolled edges
are super comfortable. This bass is going to last a long time.

With the $600 price, I have some budget for upgrades:
Some stagger-pole Fralins, stack knobs, TI Jazz Flats
and suddenly we're taking the slow train to buttery J goodness.
Click to expand...

Awsome! I played that jazz one day at GC and sitting 20 feet away was a 70's Fender jazz vintage for $1600.00. Now i wont lie i would give alot for a vintage Fender so i tryed the classic for awhile then asked for the 70's to come down to compare. The 70's was heavier high gloss neck etc in good shape. But honestly the classic sounded as good if not better than that old vintage Fender thru 2 diffrent amps.

You have a great bass and with the mods a keeper forever. The only thing i did to my classic 50's is change strings and ad strap locks. The day i bought it i spent 2 hours in the store a Fender dealer with an open wallet ready to buy. I bought the classic 50s P over a hwy 1 and a 2000 MIA P cuz it was better than both.
 
#67
Right,

I got some time in my local store today and had a chance to play a 60's reissue (not sure on what they called it), a MIM standard and a MIA standard. I have to say I like the MIM best, and noticed little differences between the MIA and the MIM (except that the MIA appeared a little lighter). Anyway, I will probable be buying a MIM.

Tomorrow I'm heading over to another (bigger) store to find me a nice MIM and actually buy one!
 
#68
WoodyG3 said:
Pssst. Don't tell anyone, but the Japanese basses are the best deal. You get the quality control of the MIA (or even better) and a little lower on the price. All IMO and YMMV, of course.

As others have said, play basses, then play more basses, find some more to play, then pick the one you like best. :)
Click to expand...

I agree. The problem is that Fender has cracked down on their dealers exporting new basses from Japan. You will be stuck getting a used one from overseas. Given the overhead of buying a used instrument from a dealer and the shipping costs, you aren't really saving anything of buying a used MIA.
 
#69
tranceFusion said:
I agree. The problem is that Fender has cracked down on their dealers exporting new basses from Japan. You will be stuck getting a used one from overseas. Given the overhead of buying a used instrument from a dealer and the shipping costs, you aren't really saving anything of buying a used MIA.
Click to expand...

You make a great point. Don't forget about the Geddy Lee and Jaguar, though.
 
#70
If you can get it, MIA will be great. 08 models were great I heard.

But since I can't afford MIA Fenders, Ill get the next best thing, the CIJ Fenders. IMO, these CIJ Fenders are better than MIM's, and have the best value for the money.



...

Or just don't get a Fender and get a Bacchus :P handmade quality for around $1000. :p
 
#71
MIA all the way, quit wasting your time and justifying the difference in MIM's and MIA's. The MIA's are better in every aspect all the way from the wood used to build the bodies to the electronics, pups, hardward, tuning keys - you name it their better. They also hold the value and someday will go up in value. You can say that about the MIM's or the Geddy.

But in the long run the choice is yours.:smug:
 
#72
vinxbass said:
MIA all the way, quit wasting your time and justifying the difference in MIM's and MIA's. The MIA's are better in every aspect all the way from the wood used to build the bodies to the electronics, pups, hardward, tuning keys - you name it their better. They also hold the value and someday will go up in value. You can say that about the MIM's or the Geddy.

But in the long run the choice is yours.:smug:
Click to expand...

Well, my question was not whether a MIA would be better than a MIM (which should be the case, considering the price gap), but whether or not people found the quality difference to be significant to them, i.e. whether or not it was actually worth the extra cash. Maybe I'll be kicking myself in 10 years from now, but I do not appear to value a MIA to be €600 (because that's the price difference down here) better than a MIM.

I will be trying out a MIJ (CIJ?).

And resale value has at this point no meaning to me. I am buying a bass to play, not to make a profit. If I wanted to make profit there would be better investments.
 

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