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Post subject: Fender MIC Jazz Bass vs USA Made
Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 6:51 pm
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Can one of the experts here give me some info? I play guitar first, and have spent many thousands, but for whatever reason, I didn't go all out for my bass. Don't get me wrong, it's nice and it sounds great. Action is a little high. I bought this setup, brand new, for my studio, so if anybody can fill me in on the differences with an expensive USA model, please share.

My Fender Jazz bass and Fender Rumble 150 bass amp.

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Last edited by Larry Christopher on Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Fender MIM Jazz Bass vs USA Made
Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 8:51 pm
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Location: Albemarle, NC
Compared to the Mexican Standards, American Standards have:
Better quality body and neck woods.
A better truss rod system with graphite reinforcement for a more stable neck.
Better metal hardware from tuners to bridge and everything in between.
A better pickup (Alnico instead of ceramic magnets) but the other electronics are usually very similar to American Standards on the ones made for US/Canada distribution while I've seen export versions with lesser stock electronic components.
More intensive neck edge finishing for a smoother feel.
Hard Case and case candy included.

That photo appears to have some humbucker pickups installed? You say this is Mexican? Are those aftermarket pickups? Is it active?

A MIM Fender Standard Jazz has two single coil pickups. It is a good choice for a guitarist. So is a Mustang because it is shorter scale.

The audience probably can not tell much if any difference between a USA and a MIM Jazz. It makes more difference to the player. With a proper setup the player won't tell much difference either.

You should get a professional setup to correct the high action. Figure $50 to $100 for that. Ask around among bass players for a recommendation in your area. Or you can "do it yourself. Visit my "do it yourself" link page for some links to setup guides. The GARY WILLIS guide is especially good for do it yourself players. Here is the link to the setup guide link page:
http://brotherdave.com/add_maint.htm
(Note: The Mr. Gearhead page is gone now.)


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Post subject: Re: Fender MIC Jazz Bass vs USA Made
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:02 pm
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brotherdave wrote:
That photo appears to have some humbucker pickups installed? You say this is Mexican? Are those aftermarket pickups? Is it active?

A MIM Fender Standard Jazz has two single coil pickups. It is a good choice for a guitarist. So is a Mustang because it is shorter scale.


I didn't realize I put MIM, because it's made it China! lol Thanks for the reply!


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Post subject: Re: Fender MIC Jazz Bass vs USA Made
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:42 pm
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Yes, that's a Fender Modern Player Jazz Bass that is made in China. They have quite a good reputation for sound & build quality. I'll bet it sounds fabulous through that Rumble 150 combo. You most certainly have gotten the most bang for your buck!

_________________
2012 Lefty American Standard Jazz
2017 Lefty American Professional Precision
2018 Rumble Studio 40 Combo
2016 Rumble 200 Combo
One day they shall name a GREAT city after me, and they shall call it LINNINGRAD


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Post subject: Re: Fender MIC Jazz Bass vs USA Made
Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 7:17 pm
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Those Modern Player Jazz Basses feature BL-designed humbuckers and a 4-way rotary selector to cut the inner and outer coils from them. Very RB-esque, indeed. :)

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Post subject: Re: Fender MIC Jazz Bass vs USA Made
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 11:38 pm
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Joined: Thu Oct 10, 2013 10:09 pm
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brotherdave wrote:
Compared to the Mexican Standards, American Standards have:
Better quality body and neck woods.
A better truss rod system with graphite reinforcement for a more stable neck.
Better metal hardware from tuners to bridge and everything in between.
A better pickup (Alnico instead of ceramic magnets) but the other electronics are usually very similar to American Standards on the ones made for US/Canada distribution while I've seen export versions with lesser stock electronic components.
More intensive neck edge finishing for a smoother feel.
Hard Case and case candy included.

That photo appears to have some humbucker pickups installed? You say this is Mexican? Are those aftermarket pickups? Is it active?

A MIM Fender Standard Jazz has two single coil pickups. It is a good choice for a guitarist. So is a Mustang because it is shorter scale.

The audience probably can not tell much if any difference between a USA and a MIM Jazz. It makes more difference to the player. With a proper setup the player won't tell much difference either.

You should get a professional setup to correct the high action. Figure $50 to $100 for that. Ask around among bass players for a recommendation in your area. Or you can "do it yourself. Visit my "do it yourself" link page for some links to setup guides. The GARY WILLIS guide is especially good for do it yourself players. Here is the link to the setup guide link page:
http://brotherdave.com/add_maint.htm
(Note: The Mr. Gearhead page is gone now.)


Great post.
Every time I compare the MIM and U.S. models, the Ensenada's win..whether in person or on youtube. They're less detailed but I think they sound better. Is this because of the ceramic pickups?


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Post subject: Re: Fender MIC Jazz Bass vs USA Made
Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 10:04 pm
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If you are looking for a full range pickup you want Alnico. Ceramics have a more limited tonal range but do have very lush lows. The highs fall off in the lower midrange with a ceramic Jazz pickup where the highs extend into the upper mids with Alnico. For the vast majority of players ceramics will work fine, but if you want a bright clanky sound usually that is harder to find in a ceramic. The downside to Alnico is aging causes them to lose strength resulting in reduced output in 20 to 30 years. This is a very slight loss. Ceramics don't seem to fade in strength even after 30 years. Yep we are coming up on 30 years of MIM ceramic pickups in just a couple of years! Still going strong. They might last forever.


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