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Post subject: Re: Will Mexican basses last as long as USA made
Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2011 3:16 pm
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Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2011 2:54 pm
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Hi all, just joined. Not hijacking the thread, just thought this was a good first post to respond to! The quality of the MIM instruments has gotten very good. I have two new MIM basses, a P and a J, both arctic white (my favorite). The P is my fave, as I'm much more of a Precision guy than Jazz, but I love the neck on Js. Anyway, many improvements in quality have been made recently, such as the maple fretboards being a glossy, buffed finish not unlike what's on the AM standard. Also, the pickups seem to be a bit hotter than MIMs of a couple of years ago, and the fit and finish just seems better (both of my basses were made in 2011). The MIM P bass totally blew away a new candy cola AM standard P bass in the guitar shop. I love these basses.


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Post subject: Re: Will Mexican basses last as long as USA made
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 4:36 pm
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Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2011 2:52 pm
Posts: 119
Although I keep reading how bad MIMs were before recently, I have a 99 MIM P-bass and I gigged with it for years. I leave my MIAs at home.

The bass has served me well for gigging and recording for many years.

And Garf is right about his choice of strings.
I use Rotos, Chromes and GHS depending on which bass.

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Bass is the bottom line! :)


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Post subject: Re: Will Mexican basses last as long as USA made
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 9:40 pm
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Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2011 8:01 am
Posts: 2842
rob0978 wrote:
many thanks guy's It was something that was holding me back but i think im worrying about nothing.....there probably build better than stuff from the 70's anyway which still last oday dont they?

all the best




I think a guitar can last hundreds of years if taken care of the right way. Some 70's basses weren't built as good as todays are- They( whoever) build guitars much better overall these days. But back when... there were more hands envolved in the process-- now it's alot of computor controlled machines.


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Post subject: Re: Will Mexican basses last as long as USA made
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 4:16 am
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Joined: Fri May 06, 2011 5:12 am
Posts: 10
Your right, Fender in the 70's s were inconsistant, corners cut, heavy laminated bodies etc just to name but a few. My friend has a 79 p bass natural (weigh's a bomb) but he loves it - would never let it go!. The best P basses are made npw I believe. The only thing thing I would change on the latest US p or J would be the tuners, I liked the schallers although made the neck a bit heavy!! :D I also like the posiflex necks - if looked after these should last indefinately :wink:


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Post subject: Re: Will Mexican basses last as long as USA made
Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2011 7:29 am
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Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:12 pm
Posts: 6355
Location: Albemarle, NC
rob0978 wrote:
thanks guy's I already have a 2008 USA s/b p bass but am frighted to take it out the case so it stays in an immaculate state (stupid hey?).

I love it, neck is straight, action perfect, has that tapper wound E which I have broken on previouse USA p's. Ive seen on some of them now they look like standard 45's with no taper wound. If I were to change the strings on my P. I dont want to screw about with the neck but i dont want a taper wound E. I would also like the strings to contniue being through the body. Is this possible? if so what strings to get?

I have been away from gigging for about 5 years now but wouldnt mind playing again.

Thanks

Rob


Rob, So far as I know, all the MIM's are top loading.

Any major truss rod adjustments will usually be due to string tension changes when you switch to a different tension string set. Minor truss rod adjustments may be required thereafter for normal seasonal changes. You can minimize neck adjustments by perpetually sticking to the exact same string set of the same gauge and keeping the instrument stored in a controlled environment, but even then you will find a playing benefit from minor truss rod adjustments about twice per year on some instruments and less often on others. I have one instrument that has been stable for about 5 years with no adjustment at all but also have others that likes about 2 minor truss rod tweaks per year, basically in late fall and late spring. Yet another instrument needed a pretty major tweak this summer after being stored in a studio closet that got pretty warm.

If you are looking to get out of adjusting the truss rod altogether you will almost certainly endure a less that ideal setup eventually. Truss rod adjustments are just part of life for a bass owner.

If you are not comfortable doing the adjustment yourself, you are not alone. I cringe every time I do even a minor adjustment. Do what I did, find the best tech in your area experienced in bass setups. Mine happens to be at the local Fender dealer called Music Mart. The guy there now is pretty good but not as slick as the guy doing setups there before him. The previous tech was Tim Galloway who is now one of the busiest studio and touring guitarists in Nashville. I'm honored to have two basses Tim Galloway setup. He charged way more than the current tech there, but it was worth it. I just make very minor adjustments and will probably never change the string sets on them as I don't want to mess up Tim's setup.

A pro-setup makes an instrument play and usually even sound better. It is almost always worth the cost. They setup instruments all the time so they are really good at it. After a pro setup, I only make very minor truss rod adjustments myself and leave major adjustments, like changing to a different tension string set, to a skilled tech. Once the tech has it setup for a particular string set, I can maintain it indefinitely myself including string changes of the exact same set, so long as I change just one string at a time to avoid major tension changes on the neck. There is no substitute for a good pro setup nor is there any shortcut to getting one.

A good pro setup involves more than you might think. Cleaning fretboards, polishing frets, polishing the body, addressing any fret issues, pickup height adjustment, intonation, string height from frets as measured with feeler gauges at multiple locations, truss rod adjustments and more are usually done. It takes about an hour to do it right even if you know exactly what you are doing. $50 to $75 is not an unreasonable fee for a pro setup. Once setup it is easy to maintain indefinitely unless you change string sets. I generally use the same string set on an instrument until I find a reason to try another set.

What string set to try for body through stringing? Any set you like, EXCEPT Labella Flatwounds! String choice depends on musical style, your playing style, what tones you like or don't like, feel, tension and the COOLNESS factor of the set. Stick to medium gauge or you can go lighter, but if you go heavier you'll need to file the nut slots. Any medium or medium light 34" scale set will work for you EXCEPT the Labella Flatwounds which are NOT advised for body through stringing because Labella Flats are prone to break in body through setups. You can ask 100 bassists about string selection and get 100 different answers. Right now I use four different sets on four different basses. Each set I use has strong points. If I had to pick a favorite set of the four sets it would be the Thomastik-Infeld EB344 PowerBass set. But your mileage will vary on that.


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