MIM basses in 90’s???

[Creeper]

I have the opportunity to pick up a Mexican jazz from the mid 90s for a good price, but no good it being a good price if it’s rubbish!, I know that MIM are generally considered to be pretty good these days but what were they like back then?

[AndyTravis]

Workhorse basses, sub £350 you’re laughing 

[Reggaebass]

I’ve had many mim jazzes from the 90s , all were fine and they are dead easy to upgrade if something isn’t to your liking. 

[Creeper]

This is the model with the single pickguard / control plate, I’m still trying to decide whether or not I like it.....

[Reggaebass]

Is it this type 

[Creeper]

13 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Is it this type 

Yep, that’s the type, these any good?

[Skybone]

Had an early 2000's MIM Jazz that was very good indeed. Separate scratchplate & control plate though.

[Reggaebass]

13 minutes ago, Creeper said:

Yep, that’s the type, these any good?

Sorry creeper, I’ve never had one with the controls on the pickguard as I always preferred them separate , but I’ve never heard any bad reports, I think some of them look quite cool 

[hooky_lowdown]

Before 2014 MIM quality control was a bit hit and miss. It may be a great bass, it may be a good bass, it may be a bad bass. You won't know without trying it.

[uk_lefty]

I had one that had been beaten to sh!t, won't bore you with all the details but despite it being a bit heavy it was my main gigging bass, the one I kept coming back to even though I had other more expensive basses. I traded it in for my Stingray and later, listening back to old gigs, realised I'd traded in the wrong jazz against the new Ray. 

Take a punt, you won't lose money and you could get a winner. Do some wast mods like stick in some bartolinis and you can have an absolutely fantastic bass that you won't mind a chunk coming off when the drummer kicks it over again. 

[Beedster]

I forget the name of the series (American Classic perhaps?), but they are very nice basses and a major step up from standard MIM at that time. IIRC they were US parts assembled in Mexico. I paid £400 for one about 15 years ago, so anything less than £600 and I'd consider it a decent deal. 

[Burns-bass]

On 31/10/2020 at 18:28, hooky_lowdown said:

Before 2014 MIM quality control was a bit hit and miss. It may be a great bass, it may be a good bass, it may be a bad bass. You won't know without trying it.

This isnt true. The Mexican Roadworn a and reissues from 2010 onwards have been exceptional instruments.

[Burns-bass]

2 minutes ago, Beedster said:

I forget the name of the series (American Classic perhaps?), but they are very nice basses and a major step up from standard MIM at that time. IIRC they were US parts assembled in Mexico. I paid £400 for one about 15 years ago, so anything less than £600 and I'd consider it a decent deal. 

Player Series basses are £450 new from Richtone every December and the last one I bought was phenomenal.

[Beedster]

Memory just kicked in! It's an American Traditional Jazz Bass, plenty online about them (and on BC), but a nice bass assuming it's structurally fine. 

[Reggaebass]

I remember them well and I’ve heard them referred to as the slab pickguard jazz , but I wasn’t sure what the actual model was 

[Beedster]

They were also the precursor to the Highway One series. 

[von Braun]

I've got a sunburst/rosewood 2006 MIM Jazz with a cracking paint job.  I stuck a Badass 2 bridge, a pair of Lindy Fralins, a Fender tort plate for that 60s look, a Kiogon Volume/Blend/Tone loom on it and kept it strung with DR Hi-Beams 40-100s and it's been as good as gold.  I got it ex-demo from Fret in Southampton for £600 in 2007 and the mods were about £250, including a set up by a local luthier.  It was my main bass for about 9 years until I picked up a USA Sterling on here (the Jazz is now my back-up) and it never put a foot  wrong. It has a very playable neck, the Badass helped with the intonation and the combination of the Lindys, Hi-beams and Kiogon controls gives it plenty of flexibility.

[Reggaebass]

6 minutes ago, von Braun said:

 

I've got a sunburst/rosewood 2006 MIM Jazz

 

Any pics VB,it sounds cool 🙂

[von Braun]

On 08/02/2021 at 12:57, Reggaebass said:

Any pics VB,it sounds cool 🙂

I do somewhere.  I'll dig them out.

 

[von Braun]

26 minutes ago, von Braun said:

I do somewhere.  I'll dig them out.

I had it strung with a set of Rotosound flats in these, as we were supporting an acoustic gig and the Hi-Beams were a bit lively for the sound.

 

 

[Reggaebass]

1 hour ago, von Braun said:

 

Very nice von Braun ☝️

[GAPendragon]

I think mine is 2001 ish, so possibly a little out, but I love it. Candy cola and maple, picked it up on Gumtree for £350. Well worth it.

Edited February 11, 2021 by GAPendragon
Adding images.

[von Braun]

18 hours ago, GAPendragon said:

I think mine is 2001 ish, so possibly a little out, but I love it. Candy cola and maple, picked it up on Gumtree for £350. Well worth it.

Great colour.  They are good value for money and so easy to modify if you want to beef them up.  Most people find the stock pick-ups a bit weak but there are plenty of good after market options out there.

[martthebass]

I had one the same with the single piece scratch plate no control plate, bought it new in '97 for about £200.  It was a good workhorse bass, used in on gigs for about 7/8 years without any problems.  A bit heavy but generally ok.

[SteveXFR]

On 31/10/2020 at 17:35, Reggaebass said:

Is it this type 

I had one of those. Early 90's. Its not a Squier but is called squire series. They're quite unusual these days. 

Mine was ok but not great quality. The pick guard is single ply, brittle and impossible to find replacements. Frets weren't well finished. It sounded nice. For £350 max it's a good buy.