Ever since I made the mistake of selling my lovely Fender FSR 70's Natural Jazz bass I'm looking at getting another Jazz bass in a similar price bracket. I have my eye on two basses but I can't decide. A Flea signature jazz bass for £950 ($1200) or an American performer jazz bass £1050 ($1300). The flea bass is a little more special but the American performer is probably higher quality plus is made in 'murica! Anyone have any experience with either bass and can vouch for either?
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
Welcome to TalkBass! Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
I’ve played a Flea Jazz bass and a 1966 Jazz bass in the same store, preferred the Flea bass. That thing is a tone monster. The neck is great, and the 64 pickups have a great tone.
Check out the Mexican made Vintera series Jazzes. Both are great. The Sixties Vintera is $999 and the Seventies Vintera Jazz is $1,099. I am partial to the Seventies Jazz, but both are amazing basses in my opinion.
I have and American Performer PJ and a Mexican Classic 60’s J. I like the Mexican J, it sounds killer, but the only original parts are the neck and the body. I got it in a trade for a bass I didn’t want. Probably would not have bought it new if I played it in the store. The American PJ on the other hand is completely stock, sounds killer and plays great. Not even a contest between the two. I have not played a Vintera, but the cheese man’s positive review is a great endorsement.
Sweet playing! The 70's is very similar to my FSR one I had and they are absolute beasts! Want a bit of a change so I'm definitely going to look more into the 60's vintera.
I would try to find the "right" MIM (non Flea- you are paying premium for an Artist's name) that is probably $300-400 less than the MIA. Of course that is not really an option.
At only $100 price difference, would probably go with the MIA model.
At only $100 price difference, would probably go with the MIA model.
Ok so I know this is not true across the board, but the neck on my American P is significantly nicer than my Mexican J. Lots of other variables at play there, but it certainly makes a difference for me.
That being said, watching Anthony Muthurajah tear it up on his SQUIER J makes me forget about any of this comparison stuff, and quietly retreat into my lair to continue practicing!
That being said, watching Anthony Muthurajah tear it up on his SQUIER J makes me forget about any of this comparison stuff, and quietly retreat into my lair to continue practicing!
I've never played either of those you are looking at. But I'm loving my MiM "70s" jb, for what it's worth. There were a bunch of these on the used market in Portland recently, so I grabbed one in the 500 zone.
I can't vouch for the American but I have a Roadworn 60s Jazz in sunburst and it is amazing quality for MIM, I would think the Flea is just as good and it's a cooler bass than the American IMHO..look around they come up used for good prices, sometimes under 700.00 US dollars!
bassfreakah
Supporting Member
- Mar 26, 2011
- 2,264
- 886
- 4,866
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist Ernie ball strings
I would go with the one that plays and sounds the best. Imho where it is made is not as important. I have a 50's P bass, it is a wonderful made and sounding bass that is MIM.
BIG plus 1 !!!!!
Also, at one time I'd have said the American was the better instrument, then I played a MIM Roadworn Jazz, simply WOW!
The Roadworn's are Fender's best kept secret!
Glad I saved $800 and went with a MIM P.
I agree I think the flea has something that a standard American just doesn't have
I'd be willing to bet the majority of workers at the Corona factory are actually Americans (i.e., U.S. citizens) of Mexican descent. The ones that are not ciitzens are most likely holders of Green Cards.
It's the only way I buy. It can be dicey, but, for example, the 70s J I just picked up for $500 is basically brand new, and has the same basic spec as the Vintera with its street price of $1050.
Your mileage may vary, depending on where you live. Portland has a pretty good used market (Craig's List/FB Marketplace). I've also had good luck with GC used, shipped free to my local GC. If you don't like it, they take it back for the price of shipping (~$25 in my case).
Actually everyone in North, Central, and South America are Americans. There might even be some Gringo's working at the Ensanada Fender plant.
I've played both. Honestly they were both fine. I have a Squier Jazz and neither of those played were measurably better than the Squier for me to want to buy them. Pickups were better but one day I'll upgrade mine to something I like better than Fender stocks. MIM quality is very close to MIA. Its the finishing (fret ends, fret leveling, paint, etc.) where the main difference is found but I've seen issues on the MIA, just not as common or substantial. Either way if you can play the particular one you are buying, you know what you are getting & prefer. Otherwise ordering online can be a crapshoot. I've tried two Flea basses and the necks felt a little different. Like one was sanded a bit more than the other.
as always YNMV
I owned the Performer PJ and recently sold it because I wanted it to stay stock instead of putting a Performer Jazz neck on it. I've played the Performer Jazz in the store as well as the Flea and I much preferred the Performer. I love the pickups they're putting into the Performer series basses. Great open tone that can get very aggressive if you want and the satin finish neck is fast and fun to play on. YMMV