Fender jazz bass American vs MIM vs MIJ (video)

[guitarbank]

[b][color=#333333][font=arial, sans-serif][size=3]Here is "Fender jazzbass test American vs MIM vs MIJ"[/size][/font][/color][/b]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGyrGTuMhzo

[gjones]

You'd have to have the ears of a bat to tell the difference.

But I can tell the difference in this video for some reason?


[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=w0SbaT0UbPM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=w0SbaT0UbPM[/url]


Maybe somebody with a physchology degree can explain.

[hamfist]

WIth good headphones I can tell the difference relatively easily, and I don't have particularly special ears. I suspect the decent headphones makes the difference. The USA basses in the vid have a lot more character going on in the upper mids and treble, with the associated more bite that comes with it.

[Lozz196]

Well the theory has always been that CIJ/MIJ pickups/electrics are the weak link in these otherwise excellent basses. And not that they`re bad, just not as good.

[Conan]

There were definitely differences.... but I couldn't really say which ones I preferred! To be trulu objective you would have to listen without looking at which bass it was - and judge purely from the tone.

Just out of interest, is the pickup positioning identical on all those basses? Maybe its down to the body colours and neck woods - but some of them looked to be more like 70s spacing, with the bridge pickup closer to the bridge...

[Ziphoblat]

Definitely all look like the 60's pickup spacing to me.

[Green Alsatian]

Nice vid - I thought the 2000 MIA sounded the best out of the four basses on all pickup/tone settings. There wasn't much between the other three for me in terms of preference from a sound perspective.

[ikme]

Thank you for comments!

[guitarbank]

More video's come soon!

[badboy1984]

If the same 3 bass wired up with the same pickup and same electronic or preamp, will it sound different or the same? This could lead up to wood? or neck material?

[yepmop]

To me very slight differences but my vote goes to the MIM as to me I liked the tone of it.

I think all this will come down to the tone that you prefer be it the CIJ, MIM or USA.

Was there a difference in playability between each one i.e. action, fret-ware, pickup hight, neck width.......that could change the tone?

[badboy1984]

in that video that CIJ sound bass to me but i've own a MIM Fender Classic 60 Jazz and that definite play very nicely compare to some CIJ and MIA model.

[Musicman20]

The black MIA sounds fantastic..the MIM is weak, but then again so is the MIJ. In fact, the MIJ sounds the same or worse as the MIM. The MIJ basses have great build quality but the elecs always need an upgrade...and in this market, may as well just get the MIA.

[CHRISDABASS]

Great video!

i closed my eyes on the first run through.

it turns out i like the black 2000 USA Jazz great tone!

[Wilco]

That's an excellent video - nice one.

Interesting to read the subsequent posts about what people preferred.

To my ears the CIJ was the least pleasing (that surprised me) & the 2007 ash bodied / maple necked US model definitely sounded the best.

[voxpop]

For me the order is..

USA maple neck
Japan
USA
MIM

Great video.

[xroads]

There is a difference for sure when listening with headphones - however, in the context of a band, it would be minor indeed. In this AB comparison, it's quite obvious though. For me, the order would be:

USA
Japan
USA maple neck
MIM

I liked the CIJ quite a bit finger style, but slapped and with a pick it sounded a bit dull. The maple neck was too bright for me, however with a slight roll off of the tone pot it might be a great sounding bass.

[Alph]

I have a Fender jazz bass frettless USA 2012 (p.u. castom shop)

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]For me the order is:[/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Japan[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]USA [/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]USA maple neck[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]MIM[/font][/color]
....................................
Ciao!

[guitarbank]

Fretboard comparison
Maple VS rosewood

[url="https://youtu.be/cYhzjrRxAFU"]https://youtu.be/cYhzjrRxAFU[/url]

[HowieBass]

Love these bass comparison videos - quite a bit of difference to my ears listening through headphones and I found it hard to choose my favourite, but I'd put the MIM at the end of the list. Nice playing too!

[simonlittle]

[quote name='guitarbank' timestamp='1426163983' post='2715074']
Fretboard comparison
Maple VS rosewood

[url="https://youtu.be/cYhzjrRxAFU"]https://youtu.be/cYhzjrRxAFU[/url]
[/quote]

These videos are fantastic! Great job guys
The rosewood sounds so much better in this video but for some reason it's the opposite when I play myself. Got 3 Fenders, all with maple boards!

[randymussel]

Really useful videos and honestly there was no standout winner for me - I own a Japanese jazz so was rooting for that one but the others each had their own character that worked better in some styles.

One complaint though - I almost never want to use my Jazz with the tone control all the way off. Especially for slap, it takes all the zing right out. I can understand rolling it back a little when slapping or picking. If you want a sub/dub-type sound then maybe, but you're probably not using a Jazz for that anyway, are you?