Fender Marcus Miller Jazz - MKII Made In Mexico

[Fat Rich]

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1371400765' post='2113386']
Ouch...it was all good until the weight was revealed - that is way too heavy for me.

Beautiful looking bass though. Glad Mex Fender are now producing high quality instruments with good QC.
[/quote]

In my experience a heavier swamp ash body seems to sound more "Marcus" than a lightweight one if that's what you're after. It gives a bit more of that mid honk that's then compensated by scooping with the preamp bass and treble boosted.

Not so good if you've got a bad back though.

Edited June 22, 2013 by Fat Rich

[White Cloud]

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1371920368' post='2119639']
In my experience a heavier swamp ash body seems to sound more "Marcus" than a lightweight one if that's what you're after. It gives a bit more of that mid honk that's then compensated by scooping with the preamp bass and treble boosted.

Not so good if you've got a bad back though.
[/quote]
I know that it is wholly subjective - but I always feel that heavier basses sound/resonate better. I had a killer Lakland that weighed 12 lbs....seriously wore me down over a 3 hr gig, but the bass just felt & sounded so right.

[geofio]

That are my thoughts too White Cloud, i prefer a bass with a bit of weight, any heavy bass i have owned sounded great!!!

[Fat Rich]

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1371920823' post='2119650']
I know that it is wholly subjective - but I always feel that heavier basses sound/resonate better. I had a killer Lakland that weighed 12 lbs....seriously wore me down over a 3 hr gig, but the bass just felt & sounded so right.
[/quote]

Yup, wholly subjective. Based on the 6 Jazzes I've got here at the moment I've come to the opposite conclusion Ah well.

[Enzo]

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1371920823' post='2119650']
I know that it is wholly subjective - but I always feel that heavier basses sound/resonate better. I had a killer Lakland that weighed 12 lbs....seriously wore me down over a 3 hr gig, but the bass just felt & sounded so right.
[/quote]
Hmmm, tell this to Roger Sadowsky, who built about 6000 basses until now and he's chambering the bodies to make it resonate better.
There might have been other factors that made your heavy bass sound good......still a subjective matter though, I agree.

[Enzo]

[quote name='such' timestamp='1371914841' post='2119558']
can one order it with the decal already in place?
[/quote]
Possible if they have them available and willing to apply them, mine was kindly offered for free by the seller, it's exactly the one I wanted.

[Dingus]

[quote name='Enzo' timestamp='1372008464' post='2120595']
Hmmm, tell this to Roger Sadowsky, who built about 6000 basses until now and he's chambering the bodies to make it resonate better.
There might have been other factors that made your heavy bass sound good......still a subjective matter though, I agree.
[/quote]

If I understand correctly , it is the density and hardness of the wood that adds to the tone rather than the inherent weight those kind of woods tend to have , so if you hollow out a heavy piece of dense and hard wood you still get the positive tonal characteristics of heavier wood without the excessive weight . That's why Sadowsky basses still sound great despite being light . For what it's worth , my own opinion is that weight does affect the sound , but only in so much as very light basses ( say less than 8 pounds for a Fender - style 4 string ) can lack punch and definition , but anything over 8 pounds will usually sound fine . I think the benefits in sound of an of ash or alder bass weighing ten pounds or more over one weighing 8 or 9 pounds are at best very small at best , or , at worst , largely imaginary .

Edited June 23, 2013 by Dingus

[Enzo]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1372009693' post='2120614']
If I understand correctly , it is the density and hardness of the wood that adds to the tone rather than the inherent weight those kind of woods tend to have , so if you hollow out a heavy piece of dense and hard wood you still get the positive tonal characteristics of heavier wood without the excessive weight . That's why Sadowsky basses still sound great despite being light . For what it's worth , my own opinion is that weight does affect the sound , but only in so much as very light basses ( say less than 8 pounds for a Fender - style 4 string ) can lack punch and definition , but anything over 8 pounds will usually sound fine . I think the benefits in sound of an of ash or alder bass weighing ten pounds or more over one weighing 8 or 9 pounds are at best very small at best , or , at worst , largely imaginary .
[/quote]
It kind of makes sense what you're saying, if you ask me. Your own experience make you decide one way or the other, but how many basses can you try to make a meaningful statistic?
At the end, every opinion is good, I guess, BUT listen to this nice interview, it's one hour long but at around 15 min. he comments on the weight issue [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBSg1_CRfWY[/media]

Edited June 24, 2013 by Enzo

[White Cloud]

[quote name='Enzo' timestamp='1372008464' post='2120595']
Hmmm, tell this to Roger Sadowsky, who built about 6000 basses until now and he's chambering the bodies to make it resonate better.
There might have been other factors that made your heavy bass sound good......still a subjective matter though, I agree.
[/quote]
Yes, Rogers basses are superb lightweight instruments. No argument here!

Funnily enough, despite usually avoiding any bass over 9lbs like the plague I recently acquired a Yamaha BB that weighs 10.5lbs - it has a wonderful unplugged tone and resonance!

I suppose if an instrument is good....then it's good - heavy or not.

Edited June 24, 2013 by White Cloud

[Dingus]

[quote name='Enzo' timestamp='1372028179' post='2120905']
It kind of makes sense what you're saying, if you ask me. Your own experience make you decide one way or the other, but how many basses can you try to make a meaningful statistic?
At the end, every opinion is good, I guess, BUT listen to this nice interview, it's one hour long but at around 15 min. he comments on the weight issue [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBSg1_CRfWY[/media]
[/quote]

Roger knows what he is talking about when it comes to making basses , that's for sure , so I respect his opinion over most others . Like I have said , I personally like lighter basses and it's only when they are unusually light that the sound can suffer a bit in certain cases . Roger's basses are light , but the fact that he takes heavier wood and lightens it by chambering means that the sound doesn't suffer because the remaining wood still has the sound characteristics of a hard and dense piece of wood .

[geofio]

the Marcus still sounds good no doubt about it.

[Enzo]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1372091313' post='2121456']
Roger knows what he is talking about when it comes to making basses , that's for sure , so I respect his opinion over most others . Like I have said , I personally like lighter basses and it's only when they are unusually light that the sound can suffer a bit in certain cases . Roger's basses are light , but the fact that he takes heavier wood and lightens it by chambering means that the sound doesn't suffer because the remaining wood still has the sound characteristics of a hard and dense piece of wood .
[/quote]
BTW, enjoying your avatars. I'm almost compelled to check this thread to see if you have a new one

[Dingus]

[quote name='Enzo' timestamp='1372643989' post='2128091']
BTW, enjoying your avatars. I'm almost compelled to check this thread to see if you have a new one
[/quote]

I expect you won't recognise any my carefully chosen minor celebrities from the British media . It would take some explaining to someone in the States such as yourself who they are and their special significance , but sexy women of a certain age transcend most cultural boundries . The current one is an English newsreader with an interesting social life . I like to think she and I could be special friends if we met .

[Enzo]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1372655072' post='2128101']
I expect you won't recognise any my carefully chosen minor celebrities from the British media . It would take some explaining to someone in the States such as yourself who they are and their special significance , but sexy women of a certain age transcend most cultural boundries . The current one is an English newsreader with an interesting social life . I like to think she and I could be special friends if we met .
[/quote]
I, indeed, don't know them but I understand they are carefully chosen and now I know why. You tasty old man

[funkle]

Anyone know who has stock of these? I've checked the usual suspects (Dawsons, Guitar Guitar, Google!) but not a lot of MIM models are coming up...

[DanEly]

[quote name='funkle' timestamp='1379451450' post='2212947']
Anyone know who has stock of these? I've checked the usual suspects (Dawsons, Guitar Guitar, Google!) but not a lot of MIM models are coming up...
[/quote]

Have you tried good old GAK? I tried a MIM out a week ago in the shop. Mind you I wasn't [i]that [/i]impressed

[funkle]

[quote name='DanEly' timestamp='1379507752' post='2213464']
Have you tried good old GAK? I tried a MIM out a week ago in the shop. Mind you I wasn't [i]that [/i]impressed
[/quote]

Thanks man. I think from the website the GAK ones may be MIJ? Or at least the photo is MIJ; perhaps the specs refer to the newer MIM? ([url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/fender-marcus-miller-jazz-bass-natural-maple/15834"]http://www.gak.co.uk/en/fender-marcus-miller-jazz-bass-natural-maple/15834[/url])

Whilst searching for the Marcus MIller, I tried an ash/maple Fender USA Deluxe today. A very well made and crispy sounding bass. Fender have really upped their game in the last few years. Another USA Precision I tried sounded really great too, very resonant. Both had great feeling necks.

What didn't you like about the Marcus Miller, Dan?

Pete

[DanEly]

[quote name='funkle' timestamp='1379526695' post='2213760']


Thanks man. I think from the website the GAK ones may be MIJ? Or at least the photo is MIJ; perhaps the specs refer to the newer MIM? ([url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/fender-marcus-miller-jazz-bass-natural-maple/15834"]http://www.gak.co.uk/en/fender-marcus-miller-jazz-bass-natural-maple/15834[/url])

Whilst searching for the Marcus MIller, I tried an ash/maple Fender USA Deluxe today. A very well made and crispy sounding bass. Fender have really upped their game in the last few years. Another USA Precision I tried sounded really great too, very resonant. Both had great feeling necks.

What didn't you like about the Marcus Miller, Dan?

Pete
[/quote]

I tried the 4 Stringer MIM in GAK, they had a new different models of the 5er. I'm not really so hot on the Marcus basses but one of them had some lovely gold/brass frets and the one I tried out was diffidently a MIM - 1 peice pick guard etc

I wasn't sure about it because it just felt a bit bland. Nothing was jumping out at me. In passive I wasn't a fan at all. It might have been the amp I was going in to. Not a huge fan of orange. It just didn't seem the same as the jap one on tried a few moths before. The build quality was nice though. Tried out the fender Japan JB66j and that blew it out of the water!

[funkle]

[quote name='DanEly' timestamp='1379529765' post='2213834']
I tried the 4 Stringer MIM in GAK, they had a new different models of the 5er. I'm not really so hot on the Marcus basses but one of them had some lovely gold/brass frets and the one I tried out was diffidently a MIM - 1 peice pick guard etc

I wasn't sure about it because it just felt a bit bland. Nothing was jumping out at me. In passive I wasn't a fan at all. It might have been the amp I was going in to. Not a huge fan of orange. It just didn't seem the same as the jap one on tried a few moths before. The build quality was nice though. Tried out the fender Japan JB66j and that blew it out of the water!
[/quote]

Good to get feedback. Negative is as useful as positive! If I have to order over t'internet I'll make sure I have plenty of time to return it...

[Biaeothanata-Bassist]

[quote name='geofio' timestamp='1371249761' post='2111870'] Here is a quick video, to you guys an idea of the tone from this bass. i love it!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSoL5AS1OGY [/quote]

Woah dude that sounds amazing! what is your signal chain for this video?

[afterimage]

nice tone indeed quite toppy too