Most expensive Mexican Vs cheapest American

Which Bass?

  • Mexican Flea Jazz Bass

    Votes: 60 39.5%

  • American Performer Jazz

    Votes: 92 60.5%
  • Total voters
    152
#81
The problem with the big F is no matter where they are made, there are good ones and bad ones. I own a Nate Mendel and a P Elite and they are both great basses. To me it doesn`t matter where it`s made, if it`s good it`s good.

Personally if I was looking for a passive Jazz type bass, I would get a Sandberg. They are always superb right out the box and Thomman have a good selection if you are in Europe.
 
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#82
The MIM basses I've owned weren't as nicely finished, the tuners weren't as good quality, and the pickups weren't great, but that's MIM from around 2000 and before. Probably the new MIMs are better, but I would be surprised if the hardware was as good as the USA ones. I'm not saying they're bad basses, they can be made to play very well, just that there is a reason for the price premium of the USA basses. Upgrading a MIM with new pickups and tuners isn't cheap, and won't likely realise that much more money with resale, so best to reinstall the original parts if selling.

Edit. I was very impressed with the Flea bass and the road worn MIMs, though.
 
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#83
Mark Ambler said:
The MIM basses I've owned weren't as nicely finished, the tuners weren't as good quality, and the pickups weren't great, but that's MIM from around 2000 and before. Probably the new MIMs are better, but I would be surprised if the hardware was as good as the USA ones. I'm not saying they're bad basses, they can be made to play very well, just that there is a reason for the price premium of the USA basses. Upgrading a MIM with new pickups and tuners isn't cheap, and won't likely realise that much more money with resale, so best to reinstall the original parts if selling.

Edit. I was very impressed with the Flea bass and the road worn MIMs, though.
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Some of the MIM basses come with USA hardware.
 
#85
Basswgn said:
I'm with you... I own a bunch of basses but the Fiesta Red RW P bass that I bought years ago is one of the finest instruments I have ever owned. It is also the only bass I own that I have not modified (with the exception of adding a relic'd bridge cover).

I too will never sell it.
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Mine has both cover on it now and a tug bar. I figure if you are going to pose, be complete. Other than that, it has absorbed a bunch of battle scars. Which is only appropriate.
 
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#89
eccles77 said:
The problem with the big F is no matter where they are made, there are good ones and bad ones. I own a Nate Mendel and a P Elite and they are both great basses. To me it doesn`t matter where it`s made, if it`s good it`s good.
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This is certainly true except that the US-built instruments have greater value both at the time of purchase and at resale and the Made in USA designation has a bit more cachet. Right or wrong, people who don't know you will be more likely to assume you are a pro if you show up with a USA/MIJ instrument than not. It's a silly prejudice but it's there. I have several US-built instruments but there are lots of guys and gals with MIC/MII/MIM gear who can play circles around me, so there's that.
 
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#91
La Faro said:
How do people know where what you have turned up with, is from?(Damn that's a messy sentence)
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It used to be easier in the case of Fender because of the differences in the logo. Now we have spaghetti logos on MIM stuff, so it's a little harder. Fender is trying to blur the line between the MIM and MIA lines and they have a good reason for doing so.

When I glance at someone else’s guitar/bass, it’s not (usually) because I’m making some sort of silent judgment of that instrument’s owner but rather that I’m curious to see what they’ve got. Sometimes we chat about gear to make small talk and that’s fun.
 
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#92
selowitch said:
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.
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Perhaps not intended on your part; but, this is just a particularly and painfully inappropriate post.

Don’t know whether or not you’ve spent much time in California; but, it is an extremely diverse culture. Many varying shades of our population from all over the planet. Great place in that respect. The traffic, on the other hand, is another discussion.
 
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#93
Fender made quantum improvements in the quality of the MIM instruments around 2000, and has continued that focus. My experience is that there are some very fine MIM instruments; but, that the US factory tends to get better materials. The result is that a much higher fraction of the US instruments are a better quality finished product; which is reflected in the price.

BUT, you can find outstanding instruments and duds from both factories. With MIM, you just have to look a bit harder to find the really good ones; but, they are def out there. Conversely, the US instruments are not all winners; you still have to sort through those for the best. The good ones are just easier to find.
 
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#94
bucephylus said:
Perhaps not intended on your part; but, this is just a particularly and painfully inappropriate post.
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The only “particularly painful and inappropriate” thing is you disparaging my post (which I clearly stated was a hunch) without explaining why you found it so lacking.

Don’t know whether or not you’ve spent much time in California; but, it is an extremely diverse culture.
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I lived there for two years. But I was obviously too busy composing my particularly and painfully inappropriate posts to notice the diversity. :rolleyes:

The point of the post in question is that while it may be cute to imply that there's no difference in labor quality between the Ensenada plant and the Corona plant because they are both staffed by "Mexicans," I find that potentially problematic because while it would be safe to assume that a lot of the workers in Ensenada hold Mexican citizenship, the same is not necessarily true of the majority of the workers at Corona. My concern is that this frequently stated aphorism concerning “Mexicans” may overlook the fact that a lot of these folks are in fact U.S. citizens, which you might say makes them better identified as Americans than as Mexicans. A lot of those men and women are probably tired of being assumed to lack U.S. citizenship or a green card because they are here illegally.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but a big, high profile company like Fender does not seem like the kind of corporation that would make a lot of hires of people without the legal right to work here.

The common sentiment heard around here is that the difference between an MIM Fender and an MIA Fender is one is made by "Mexicans" in Mexico and the other is made by "Mexicans" in California, the implication being that the labor is of the same quality in both places. But another possible interpretation of that statement is potentially more hurtful and/or sinister.
 
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#95
I purchased a MIM Vintera and an American Professional Jazz Bass and returned both of them. I did not think they were worth the money for what I was getting. I ended up buying a MIM Player Jazz bass, and swapped out the pickups for a set of Seymour Duncans, strung it with DR Low Riders, and could not be happier. It's the Sunburst model and I also swapped out the pick guard with a tortoise shell for that vintage look, and saved $300 over the Vintera. I liked this bass so much that I purchased another one, and traded in my Squire Classic 60's Precision Bass to buy it. I also swapped out the pickups and have that bass strung with Labella Flats. I play it with a pick for that Carole Kaye/Joe Osborne sound or finger style for Motown/R&B. The other jazz bass with rounds is great for Rock and can handle slapping although I don't use that technique much in my repertoire. In the end I spent about as much as I would have on one American Professional and have more versatility. The only thing I did not try was a $2000 Elite or Ultra Jazz Bass with active electronics. Possibly I could have gotten all the different tonal qualities I was looking for with one of those?
 
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#97
Quite the difficult decision.
Going buy what Talkbass has taught me over the years.. the made in mexico should win, hands down. HOWEVER, I believe that's just when the MIM in question costs 1/3 the price of an American made.

Not sure if common TB rule applies though, being that these "cost" almost the same.. Does this cancel out the usual "My MiM plays way better than my American" train of thought? :nailbiting: :wacky:

My opinion (which matters the least in this decision) is to go for the American.
 
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