Fender Mexican, good, bad or ugly?

[SteveK]

There I was, happily perusing this delightful thread, when suddenly I'm confronted with this nonsense...
[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1378459025' post='2200496']
Hmmmm. I can't help feeling that there might be a smidgeon of racial superiority in some of the comparisons made between Mex, US and Jap Fenders. Maybe some people have a rather stereotypical image of Mexicans in mind when judging an MIM bass? Not only is this view insulting and racist in some cases, but it is ignorant as how many of us actually know the make-up of the staff in Fenders US factories? How many of the staff might be Hispanic or Mexican?

Controversial maybe - but possibly a small part of the truth?
[/quote]
I mean, really!

BTW my MIM Strat looks, feels and sounds (EMG pickups added later) as good as any other Strat, regardless of origin.

[neepheid]

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1378463486' post='2200617']


But isn't that the whole point of asking this in a forum, no one person has a definitive answer, but here you can canvass the opinions of many people and form an idea based on a larger sample.
[/quote]

I'm saying it's pointless speculation. In my opinion, each instrument is a separate case and its got the square root of naff all to do with where it's made. The only person whose opinion matters is the person playing the instrument at the time as far as I'm concerned. Try it. If you like it, buy it. If not, don't. For me it really is that simple.

[discreet]

According to a post I saw on TalkBass, Mexican Fenders are made in Mexico by Mexicans...
...and American Fenders are made in America by Mexicans.

Edited September 6, 2013 by discreet

[discreet]

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1378463590' post='2200620']
Me too, did you consider asking whether the MiA range are worth a few dollars more?
[/quote]

That post will be ever Unforgiven.

[Looper]

Useful comparison might be what else can you buy new for the same price. If I was looking for a new bass at the price of a mex Fender I'd think I'd try a Sandberg Electra, just on looks alone.

[Geek99]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1378464197' post='2200632']
According to a post I saw on TalkBass, Mexican Fenders are made in Mexico by Mexicans...
...and American Fenders are made in America by Mexicans.
[/quote]

Probably

[Ziphoblat]

Owned a classic 70's Jazz. Truss rod popped out of the back of the neck in the case overnight, so that went back. Sound Control in Leeds who I bought it from replaced it with an identical model hassle-free which I was grateful of (they've gone now though, it's a PMT now). The second one was free of any issues and was a great bass. Killer lively tone and good playability, nice fit and finish etc. Great value for money; I often wish I'd kept it. I've played several standards which were alright, nothing amazing but not terrible; you could probably get better for that money (or indeed less, I've preferred most of the Squier VM's and CV's I've played).

[Conan]

[quote name='SteveK' timestamp='1378463814' post='2200626']
There I was, happily perusing this delightful thread, when suddenly I'm confronted with this nonsense... I mean, really![/quote]

Why is it nonsense? I ask purely for information...

[Conan]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1378464189' post='2200631']
I'm saying it's pointless speculation[/quote]

Of course it is! This is an internet forum, after all.

[molan]

All three!

I've seen & played quite a few and some have been great, some quite poor and all points in between. . .

Sold a tobacco sunburst one recently that was lovely - beautifully made, nicely finished, good paint job etc. etc and it sounded really nice.

Conversely I saw one that was pretty nasty, poor neck pocket, very rough fret ends, paint finish patchy and very bland sounding. As chance would have it this particular one was bought by a scam artist with a fake credit card that was, subsequently, untraceable so maybe he got what he deserved (although it probably just re-appeared for sale somewhere else).

My biggest reservation is that they can sometimes sound a little 'bland' but they can often really benefit from a simple pickup upgrade. Of course this can be true of US Fenders as well.

[Coilte]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1378463242' post='2200608']
It's the same old "opinion expressed as fact" routine that makes me mad. I'm willing to bet that not one single person on this forum has the statistical overview of the entire output of Fender Mexico necessary to be able to make cast iron statements about their overall quality relative to anything.

I'm happy with my one and only Mexican Fender, so according to how some people operate around here I'll extrapolate that out to mean that all Mexican Fenders are great.

An individual instrument is either good or bad when inspected in isolation. The usual blanket statements insult my intelligence and are little more than borderline racist hogwash.
[/quote]


In fairness, the majority of posts were merely stating their own personal experiences with MIM basses.


In that respect, IMO your post is just a little OTT.

[Guest McBass]

Iv'e had 3 MIM Jazzs and have a MIM P Bass. The first jazz (standard) i got was in 92/3, the neck was terrible, Dave Liddle (Weller's old guitar tech) got on to Fender who took it back. Unfortunately they lost it and gave me a new one, it was fantastic. I got a deluxe in 2004 which was also great, i now have a p bass which sounds the bomb.

[RockfordStone]

ive got a 50's precision which is mex made, its incredible. sounds great, the build quality is great.

[Freddy Le Cragg]

This is my MIM Jazz. It originally came with a 3 ply WBW scratcher but I swapped in the black one. I bought her off the peg about half hour into a recording session when my original bass developed a nasty buzz that no-one could get shot of. She fast became my only bass. Swift neck, lovely finish, weighs enough to know she is there but not enough to displace a vertabrae. I'm not sure what year she is but there a 60th Anni button on the back of the headstock. I also used to use a Tele Custom and a Strat from the same MIM range and had no issues with either.

[Lowender]

There are always exceptions, but in general, they are decidedly inferior.

On the other hand, the the Squier CLASSIC VIBES (not the vintage modified) are far superior, extraordinarily consistent, and about half the price. No brainer.

[xgsjx]

I played 4 fretless Jazz basses side by side. The MIA was an awesome bass for both sound & build.
The MIM was rather underwhelming & whereas it had a decent enough build, it felt poor next to the MIA & didn't pack the beef either. Very disappointing.
The Squire was equally as good as the MIM, but at 1/3 of the price, I'd happily buy this & upgrade it with flats & better electrics & still have a cheaper instrument than the MIM that sounds far better with as good as build quality.
The Jaco was a verrrry nice bass, but I wouldn't say it was worth the £500 difference between it & the MIA.
So my winner was the MIA. YMMV though.

[Fionn]

I've only played a couple of Mexican Fenders (Jazz basses), and I didn't think much of either of them. They felt, to me, like cheap basses. Even the Chinese-made modern player Jazz bass felt a lot better, sounded better, and was finished to a greater standard. The American Jazz STD that I played blew them all out of the water ... That said, the Chinese one was finished every bit as well.

[nottswarwick]

What seems to be apparent with the MIM line is that the higher priced ones are better than the lower priced ones.

Ie, the Classic Series (50s, Roadworn etc) are better than the Standard ones. Which is what you would hope/expect really.

Now for the subjective bit - my Classic 50s feels better that the Standard MIM I previously owned. Good. Both felt better than a Squire VM that I had. Good. I prefer the Classic over the one USA I have tried in a shop, but that could be done to the setup of that bass. Eth way, I don't think country of origin makes any difference these days.

[spongebob]

I've had a few, and they weren't bad. Just okay really.

Call me a snob, but I'd take a MIA any day of the week. I'm aware that you can always find a bad MIA (although I haven't), but given the better quality of the materials used, it's what I feel happier playing. The MIM's I've had always felt a bit like they were 'nearly there' - nice basses, but just lacking the overall quality and play-ability of what I would define as the real deal.

Why not buy a used MIA? I bought my Precision used, and my Jazz as new-old-stock. I've seen some of the MIM models cost more new that I paid for either of them...and they'll always have a the used currency of MIA.

Only my 2p's worth of course - not knocking MIM's at all, but as soon as I could splash the cash, I went MIA. [size=4] [/size]

[Urban Bassman]

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1378463590' post='2200620']
Me too, did you consider asking whether the MiA range are worth a few dollars more?
[/quote]

[Bikenbass]

Both Precisions and the Jazz I have, dating from 97-98, are, imo, excellent. No one who's tried them has ever said anything negative about them.

[White Cloud]

In answer to the question I would say that they cover all three of your stated categories individually...some are good, others are bad and the rest are ugly.

[icastle]

I'm not really much of a Fender player these days, but I've played and owned a number of MIA and MIM basses over the years.
Some were good, others were horrid and a couple were superb.

Interestingly, I've never found a horrid MIJ though.
I think the Japanese have a far more robust and mature QC culture and the ability to mass produce things to a set standard.

I think the USA have lost that ability and the Mexicans haven't got to grips with it yet.

My advice would always have to be, if you're looking at MIA or MIM, try before you buy but if you're looking at an MIJ then you're unlikely to be upset with a blind purchase.

[discreet]

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1378489352' post='2201140']
...you're unlikely to be upset with a blind purchase.
[/quote]

Eh? Who said that?

[White Cloud]

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1378489352' post='2201140']
I'm not really much of a Fender player these days, but I've played and owned a number of MIA and MIM basses over the years.
Some were good, others were horrid and a couple were superb.

Interestingly, I've never found a horrid MIJ though.
I think the Japanese have a far more robust and mature QC culture and the ability to mass produce things to a set standard.

I think the USA have lost that ability and the Mexicans haven't got to grips with it yet.

My advice would always have to be, if you're looking at MIA or MIM, try before you buy but if you're looking at an MIJ then you're unlikely to be upset with a blind purchase.
[/quote]
Totally agree with this!