NBD - Fender Japan Marcus Mill sig Jazz..

[VTypeV4]

Because I clearly needed another Jazz Bass.. 😬

 

 

 

 

 

This lovely thing arrived from the folks over in Leamington Spa, BassBros this morning - it's an '04 and is is near perfect condition. They'd done a lovely job setting it up although I've done a few minor tweaks to get it just where I want it. It feels great, it sounds great and looks fantastic. ❤️

[Reggaebass]

Very nice VType, I’ve always liked those , congrats 

[HeadlessBassist]

1 hour ago, VTypeV4 said:

Because I clearly needed another Jazz Bass.. 😬

 

 

One can never have enough Jazz Basses. They just sorta get under your skin.

 

I had one of these Japanese Millers - really loved the sound, but it weighed more than a cruise liner's anchor, so sadly it had to go.

[LeftyJ]

I'm not a fan of Marcus Miller - I will always associate the Miller signature with Martin Mendez of Opeth . When I first started listening to them in 1999-2000 I didn't even know who Marcus Miller was - but when I first saw Opeth live I was struck by that beautiful Jazz Bass and its interesting control plate. Martin has since moved to Sandberg and has a signature bass with them based on the California VT shape but with two Jazz pickups moved closer to the bridge - but to me the Miller is still the Opeth bass and I still think they look (and sound) incredible!

[Terry M.]

9 hours ago, LeftyJ said:

I'm not a fan of Marcus Miller - I will always associate the Miller signature with Martin Mendez of Opeth . When I first started listening to them in 1999-2000 I didn't even know who Marcus Miller was - but when I first saw Opeth live I was struck by that beautiful Jazz Bass and its interesting control plate. Martin has since moved to Sandberg and has a signature bass with them based on the California VT shape but with two Jazz pickups moved closer to the bridge - but to me the Miller is still the Opeth bass and I still think they look (and sound) incredible!

I've never heard of Martin Mendez or the band Opeth. So he was playing a signature Fender Marcus Miller jazz bass back then? 

[Geek99]

What do the controls do?

[LeftyJ]

1 hour ago, Terry M. said:

I've never heard of Martin Mendez or the band Opeth. So he was playing a signature Fender Marcus Miller jazz bass back then? 

 

He played a Fender MIJ/CIJ Marcus Miller Jazz Bass back then, but it obviously wasn't his signature bass. It was just my first time seeing one, and without knowing about Marcus Miller, I associated it with Mendez. And I guess I always will 

 

 

There's some slapping from 9:04 on, so I guess still a little bit in Marcus' vein? 

Edited Tuesday at 19:32 by LeftyJ

[VTypeV4]

23 hours ago, HeadlessBassist said:

One can never have enough Jazz Basses. They just sorta get under your skin.

 

I had one of these Japanese Millers - really loved the sound, but it weighed more than a cruise liner's anchor, so sadly it had to go.

 

@HeadlessBassist Agreed - I've almost forgotten how many I've owned! ❤️ And yes, it's a bit of a beast on the weight department but the sound makes up for it.

 

2 hours ago, Geek99 said:

What do the controls do?

 

@Geek99 The two silver knobs are pickup volumes and the bottom black ones are the active bass and treble controls..

 

I've put it through the V4 / SWR setup with the NE-1 and Ampeg Optocomp today and it was glorious - I even A/B'd it against some of the MM tracks and my version of that particular sound was reasonably convincing, My own tastes are tiny bit more low mid and and a bit more 'ping' really high up but that super-smooth attenuated upper mid plays right into my wheel house. 🥰

[Terry M.]

2 hours ago, LeftyJ said:

 I associated it with Mendez. And I guess I always will 

 

Hypnotherapy might help to correct that? 😂 I'm just joking obviously.

[BassAgent]

On 04/03/2025 at 20:22, LeftyJ said:

 

He played a Fender MIJ/CIJ Marcus Miller Jazz Bass back then, but it obviously wasn't his signature bass. It was just my first time seeing one, and without knowing about Marcus Miller, I associated it with Mendez. And I guess I always will 

 

 

There's some slapping from 9:04 on, so I guess still a little bit in Marcus' vein? 

Slightly off topic: I saw Opeth live last week and they're really one of the greatest live groups I've ever seen. What a band.

 

But that Miller sig the OP has is a beauty! I already saw it on the Bassbros IG feed and it's one of the better looking grains on those basses. And as somebody else already mentioned: no such thing as too many Jazzes.