Fender Marcus Miller Jazz Bass

My Marcus Miller was bought from an exhibition in London in 1997 - it was the first one in the UK and when the thing was opened up, a friend of mine noticed tha the soldering and the wiring on the preamp have all been done by hand. ome kind of prototype possibly? Anyway, the usual fantastic neck and usable preamp.

sounds a tiny bit weedy for full-on rock, i need to use a line six floor pod when i'm rocking out, but then this is a bass designed to be slapped so you can't complain. could do with a bit more low end in my opinion. also, it has a real hum/buzz problem, worse than other jazzes. i had the preamp fitted into a little copper box to try to improve this, and all the internal wiring replaced with shielded cable, but it's still a buzzy old bass.

the action is awesome. the neck is a dream, the best i've ever played. lovely finish, although after 11 years mine is starting to show it's age a little!

as i said, this has been my main instrument for for over a decade and its still going strong without any major work whatsoever. built to last.

never had to get it repaired.

been playing for twenty years, i would die if this bass was stolen/lost/damaged. it's my pride and joy and has defined my playing style - i'm just not as good when i play my thunderbird (although that does sound better). this bass is my friend and i will never, ever sell it. maybe one day i'll replace the pickups with something meatier, but nothing even comes close for playability.

i love this bass.

This is an update on my "Fender Marcus Miller Jazz Bass" research. My observations, results, findings and conclusion from 12/06/2007 have not changed, but I wanted to clarify some of my statements.

I'm Tommy Thompson, The Bass Advocate. One of my main goals has been to develop a method of testing the "STOCK" "Fender Marcus Miller Signature Jazz Bass" (also commonly referred to as the "Fender Marcus Miller Jazz Bass", "Marcus Miller Jazz Bass" and the "Marcus Miller Bass") introduced in 1998. So, I tested my MM4#2 in a head to head comparison to my Fender MM4#1 which has all of the stock parts except for the installed Sadowsky preamp with Vintage Tone Control (EXCELLENT preamp).

A lot of players have told me that the STOCK "Fender FMEQ PREAMP" does not have enough output, bottom end and LOW MIDRANGE FREQUENCIES. I strongly disagree. QUESTION: How much output, bottom end, and low mids do you really need? Just think about it this way:-)

DISCLAIMER: A passive Ibanez, Peavey, Cort, Jackson, Kramer, Samick, Hondo, Electra, Ampeg, Gibson, Fender Precision, Fender Jazz bass, and etc., will all work to provide the frequencies needed to support a band in studio and/or live situations.

At least, that's what I believe. I figured I had heard enough so I decided to resolve this issue(for me) once and for all; I hope.;-) Hence, I decided to examine the "Fender FMEQ preamp" (the stock 2-band treble and bass preamp in the Fender Marcus Miller Jazz Bass) to see if I could unveil the truth(to the best of my understanding). Wish me luck :-)

NOTE: If the preamp in your bass DOES NOT function CORRECTLY, true-bypass active/passive switch and resistance of the pots don't really mean too much.:-)

I. Research of the stock Fender FMEQ preamp:
A. Preamp technology similar to preamps used in the 1980s.

OBSERVATION(S):

1. The actual FLAT SETTINGS for the TREBLE and BASS controls are about 3 O'clock (about 1/4 turn). If the treble and bass controls are set fully COUNTER-CLOCK WISE (about 12 O'clock), then the treble and bass controls are approximately -3.

A. BOOST(Clock Wise) = 3 O'clock to 10 O'clock. No center-detent.
B. CUT(Counter Clock Wise) = 3 O'clock back to 12 O'clock. No center-detent.

2. The Marcus Miller Jazz Bass Wiring Diagram:
NOTE> Lug 1 is the grounding lug for normal volume controls.

BASS CONTROL wiring:
1. Orange, 2. GREEN, and 3. N/C = no connection.
TREBLE CONTROL wiring:
1. Blue, 2. Gray, and 3. Purple

3. There are two(2) "Marcus Miller Jazz Bass Wiring Diagram(s)."
A. The "CORRECT" diagram has the "GREEN WIRE" connected to the MIDDLE LUG (#2) of the Bass Control Pot, and the "orange wire" is connected to LUG (#1). The Fender Marcus Miller Signature jazz basses arrive from the factory using this configuration.

When the Fender FMEQ preamp is installed correctly, the LOW MIDRANGE FREQUENCIES are fuller sounding with more presence and body to provide very good support for the band in live or studio situations.

B. The "WRONG" diagram has the "ORANGE WIRE" connected to the MIDDLE LUG (#2) of the Bass Control Pot, and the "green wire" connected to LUG (#1). PLEASE do not use this diagram.

CONCLUSION: I have two Fender Marcus Miller jazz basses(MM4#1 and MM4#2). MM4#1 has a Sadowsky preamp with the Vintage Tone Control that was installed in the fall of 2007, and MM4#2 is completely STOCK with original Fender jazz bass pickups and Fender FMEQ preamp. When the treble and bass controls on the Sadowsky preamp are fully Counter Clock Wise(CCW) the preamp is FLAT. When the Fender FMEQ preamp is fully Counter Clock Wise(CCW) the preamp is about -3. The Flat setting for the Fender FMEQ preamp is about 3 O'clock(about 1/4 turn). The Sadowsky 2-band preamp is an excellent preamp and considered by some as the industry standard. The Fender FMEQ preamp is very capable of producing all that is needed to support a band for live or studio gigs. ;-)

Thanks,

Tommy Thompson
The Bass Advocate

Won't bore anyone with what is easily researched by reading previous reviews or Fender's website: my MM Jazz Bass was built in 2007 in Japan, has a natural finished ash body. The bass features a pair of vintage-style Jazz Bass single-coil pickups; a two-band active EQ that has an active/passive mini-toggle switch (for active/passive selection), BadAssII bridge, reverse tuners, one-piece C-shaped maple neck with a 7.25???-radius maple fingerboard held by three-bolt neck plate, white binding on the neck, white pearl block inlays and a satin finish over natural wood. Gorgeous finish. Includes deluxe gig-bag. This bass delivers the goods AND looks hot...

The range of sounds available from this bass are amazing. When it's active, you can really make her growl or whisper. When it's passive, there isn't much you can do other than adjust the volume as the tone controls don't seem to respond.
I play through a Fender Rumble at home and the sounds are simply wonderful.

I purchased this instrument through Musican's Friend after I walked out of Guitar Center of Rockville. With the exception of one minor scratch at the lower cutaway (not preceptible at first sight and not really an issue), the bass came out of the box perfect: fit, finish, intonation and action were perfect. I let the bass settle to room temperature a day before and it's perfect. Kudos to Fender Japan.

The bass is built like a tank. I haven't had to make any adjustments to it out of the box. The only change I plan on making is changing the strings to flats as they are my preferred type.
I bought this bass knowing that Fender Jazz Basses are built to last: ask Geddy Lee or Marcus Miller if you have doubts.

Fender CS is always good at responding to my questions, most of the time anyway. Now regarding the vendor:
As I said, I purchased this instrument through Musican's Friend after I walked out of Guitar Center of Rockville. I saw the bass on sale online for about 20% less than what GC was asking and the salesperson said that although GC says they will price match, they wouldn't meet the price from their competitor. So I called Musician's Friedn and they not only met the price, they shipped the bass sooner than I expected. Thanks Musician's Friend for the excellent service and sorry Guitar Cenetr: you guys have some lackluster salespeople in the Rockville store.

I have been playing for about a year and a half again after not touching the bass since high school. I purchaed a Squier Vintage Modified '70's Jazz Bass before I bought this one and this will be my only bass for years to come. I like what Mr. Brown once said in Bass Player: there is really only ONE instrument for you, it should be like a wife or soul mate. Sounds cheesy, but the MMJB is the one instrument for me. Try it at Guitar Center but buy it through Musician;s Friend where they have knowledgable people who also keep their corporate proimise of beating competitor's prices.

Hello Again. I'm Tommy Thompson, The Bass Advocate. One of my main goals has been to develop a method of testing the "STOCK" Fender Marcus Miller Signature jazz bass (MM4#2)to see if it can truly meet my expectations. So, I tested my MM4#2 in a head to head comparison to my Fender MM4#1 with the installed Sadowsky preamp with Vintage Tone Control(excellent preamp).

A lot of players have told me that the STOCK Fender preamp doesn't have enough output, low end and mids. I strongly disagree. QUESTION: How much output, low end and mids do you really need? Think about it this way. A passive Fender Precision or Jazz bass has all of the frequencies that are needed. At least, that's what I think. I figured I had heard enough so I decided to resolve this issue once and for all; I hope.;-)Hence, I decided to examine the Fender FMEQ preamp(the stock preamp in the Fender Marcus Miller Signature Jazz Bass) to see if I could unveil the truth. Wisk me luck:-)

NOTE:
If the preamp in your bass is NOT functioning CORRECTLY, true-bypass active/passive switch and resistance of the pots don't mean too much.:-)


I. Research of the Fender FMEQ preamp:

OBSERVATION(S):
1. DRAWING DIAGRAMS: There are two(2) "Marcus Miller Jazz Bass Wiring Diagrams."

A. The "CORRECT" diagram has the "GREEN WIRE" connected to the MIDDLE LUG(#2) of the Bass Control Pot, and the "ORANGE WIRE" is connected to LUG(#1). The Fender Marcus Miller Signature jazz basses should arrive from the factory wired this way. This is the "CORRECT wiring diagram."

B. The "OLD" diagram has the "ORANGE WIRE" connected to the MIDDLE LUG(#2) of the Bass Control Pot, and the "GREEN WIRE" connected to LUG(#1). This is the "WRONG DIAGRAM."

2. PROBLEM - Fender FMEQ preamp lacked Midrange frequencies: After 7 years or more, I discovered that the "orange and green wires" on my MM4#2 were connected to the WRONG lugs of the bass control pot. Whenever the FMEQ preamp was engaged, the MIDRANGE FREQUENCIES seemed scooped.

3. The SOLUTION:
The "GREEN WIRE" should have been connected to the MIDDLE LUG(#2) of the Bass Control Pot on my STOCK Fender MM4#2. Now, the MIDRANGE FREQUENCIES are fuller sounding with more presence and body to provide very good support for the band.

The Fender FMEQ preamp CORRECT wiring: REFERENCE:(Lug #1 is the ground lug on a volume pot)

A. The Bass Control Pot has 2 wires:
1. Orange, 2. GREEN(middle lug), and 3. N/C = no connection.

NOTE: The "GREEN WIRE" is connected to the MIDDLE LUG(#2) of the Bass Control Pot, and the "orange wire" connects to lug#1.

B. The Treble Control Pot has 3 wires -
1. Blue, 2. Grey(middle lug), and 3. Purple

CONCLUSION: When the Sadowsky treble and bass controls are set at their lowest settings(FLAT)= 12 O'clock, and the Fender FMEQ Preamp treble and bass controls are set to 3 O'clock, the Sadowsky preamp and the Fender FMEQ preamp sound very similar. The Fender FMEQ preamp functions similarity to the Bartolini TCT it was designed to copy. NOTE: The original Bartolini TCT had a second gain stage for boosting your output more just in case it wasn't loud enough; burst your speakers and crack your windows!!!. :-)

Thanks,

Tommy Thompson
The Bass Advocate

Regular Marcus Miller Natural Finish 20 frets electronics standard to MM. Delux gig bag included. Everybody know the features by not hi hi.

I love the sound of warwicks bassy etc. but this one delivers on what it promises lots of mid jazzy sound with the bonus of active on/off bass cut +/- .015 db. sound is what your amp can deliver. Bass is very trebbly to begin with due to wood selection. Single pick up is noisy it's to be expected here haha. I would say if you set it right you can acheive a warm sound with a lot of slap sound if that is what you are lo0king for. I use a mark bass amp 1X12 plus 2X10 ampeg extension cab great sound..

Great setting didn't have to adjust anything.

no need to adjust in my case, I think that this bass is like any other fender product sometimes you get a lemon sometimes you don't I've been playing for over 25 years good bass solid stuff take care of it it will last a lifetime and more

N#A

I've played a lot of instruments this is definitely a good instrument depending on the style you play. Not for heavy or more aggressive type of music but will hold its own no matter what it's a fender after all. I've been playing f0r over 28 years I have one it's a beautiful instrument.

Achieving a sound SIMILAR to the Marcus Miller Sound.

See DETAILS BELOW.:-)

KEY WORDS: Marcus Miller Sound, Tommy Thompson - The Bass Advocate,
Fender FMEQ Preamp, Arrangement of POTS, Bill Bartolini, Roger Sadowsky, and The Yumpy.

DISCLAIMER: The following information worked for me, Tommy Thompson on 09/01/07, and is provided as a reference. I make " NO PROMISES " that these modifications will work for ANY OR NO other Fender Marcus Miller Signature jazz bass.

09/01/07 - LABOR DAY WEEKEND UPDATE:

For years I tried to achieve the Marcus Miller Sound utilizing the STOCK Fender Marcus Miller Signature Jazz Bass. Somehow, it always seem to elude me!!! Many times in the past I have posted information on the internet. This is another bit of information, and once again I hope it helps. Over the Labor day weekend, 09/01/07, I tweaked my MM4 once more. In conclusion, ALL of the parts on my jazz bass are STOCK, and I love the sound of this bass!!! :-)

The FACTS:

1) The STOCK Fender FMEQ preamp is very cool. The NORMAL FLAT setting is TREBLE CONTROL = 2 O'clock, and BASS CONTROL = 2 O'clock.

2) The STOCK Fender pickups sound very good and provide a full sprectrum sound.

3) In 1998 I purchased a Fender Marcus Miller Signature Jazz Bass. I found that the resistance of the POTS shaped the tone of my bass. If I would known then, what I know NOW, I would have replaced my 206 kohms neck pickup volume pot with a pot that possibly would have read in the 250-260 kohms neighborhood. The 250-260 kohms neck pickup volume pot would have matched up very well with the 275 kohms bridge pickup volume pot.


The BIG PROBLEM is:

1) The ARRANGEMENT of the POTENTIOMETERS:

A) To get a sound similar to the Marcus Miller Sound the POTS must be arranged as follows:

FOR EXAMPLE-
Neck pickup volume pot(LOW resistance) - 235 kohms
Bridge pickup volume pot(HIGH resistance) - 255 kohms
Treble Control Volume Pot(HIGH resistance) - 467 kohms
Bass Control volume pot (LOW resistance) - 435 kohms

B) To get an excellent passive '70s Jazz Bass Sound:

FOR EXAMPLE-
Neck pickup volume pot(medium resistance) - 245 kohms
Bridge pickup volume pot(low resistance) - 220 kohms
Tone Control Volume pot(HIGH resistance) - 275 kohms.

From my personal experiences, and tweaking jazz basses for a few years, the BIGGEST PROBLEM has been UNDERSTANDING the ARRANGEMENTS of the POTS.

THANKS,

TOMMY THOMPSON, Ph.D. - The Bass Advocate

Features have been well covered in past reviews. You get a lot of bells and whistles on it for the price.

Out of the box I have to admit it doesn't sound very good to me. Kind of a let down. I will talk later about the necessary mods to bring it to what you probably expected when you first heard this thing was comeing out.

not bad from the start but the electronics pots etc are cheap feeling and sounding. The body and neck etc the bass is great.

Its a jazz bass it will last if you take care of it.

OK here we go. If you realy want this bass and you want it to sound like you always dreamed it would when you heard it was comeing out then here are a few sugestions you might want to do. First look around for a good like new used one they are out there by the boat full because they just don't stack up out of the box and many poeple opt for another bass instead of investing in an instrument they are alredy dissapointed in. This will save you and get you some of the money left over to do the mods that you need. Now find a good luthier or repair shop you trust and this is what they can do to make this bass a real winner.
Get yourself some SD Antiquity Pickups, all new american standard pots, a new switchcraft jack, shield the entire cavity and replace the preamp with a Sadowsky preamp kit. Have the bass set up to your taste and style and I promisse the bass will become what you realy wanted it to be in the first place. This is a case of a great instrument with a few cut corners that realy make it dull. But the good news is it can be spectacular for just over the sore price if you buy a good used one and fix the problems. This done I would give this bass a 9 any day.

Hello I'm Tommy Thompson - The Bass Advocate.

I hope this is HELPFUL to the MillerHeads :-)!!!

If 12 O'clock is the LOWEST SETTING for the TREBLE and BASS controls on the FENDER Marcus Miller Signature Jazz Bass, then 2 O'clock for the TREBLE and 2 O'clock for the BASS controls are approximately FLAT(0,0) for EACH.

Hence, determining the FLAT MODE:

The output of the pickups in the ACTIVE MODE(2,2) = the output of the pickups in the PASSIVE MODE(0,0).

CONCLUSION:
When the Fender FMEQ preamp(STOCK PREAMP) treble and bass controls are set to 2 O'clock each, the preamp sounds really good. Please remember that (treble, bass) = (2,2) is approximately FLAT(0,0).

2002 japan made, the rest everybody knows it.

here a bit different, I did some changes, i replace the switch with push pull potentiometer. i wired so i can play active and passive mode with vintage tone control, now i can have both world; Cutting edge sound and old vintage tone (marcus sound on Rio Funk)

i give 9 on this area, because i adjust the truss rod my self. the action from factory setting is to high. the rest of the bass is perfect

I only set the trust rod once, i play on the church not rough play but this is my #1 bass, my 2nd base were yamaha fretless bbn4F. I use DR string, i've check my fret it doesnot wear so much, it almost 5 years now.

never had a chance

I buy this bass after review almost all bass (that i afford to) here at harmony-central and this is the highest comment with the highest score and most important affordable to my pocket. believe me you dont regret to own this bass. the most favorite feature is the NECK, you dont get with new fender this is the old model neck.
the draw back is the weight, its a heavy bass compare when i hang my friend 6 string Fodera it so light.

bought in 06 [guitar center] made in japan. 20 fret 4 string. solid alder body maple neck.2 volume & 2 tone controls with passive - active switch. badass II bridge you know the rest.

i really like the sound. i run it through a GK back line 600 300w head with a GK 2x10 speaker cab. it has a rich warm tone but can also be bright.a good variety of sound. i think this bass would work equally as well on stage or in a studio.

the action had to be set a little higher for me as i'm not a good player. chrome job on the bridge could be better & it would have been nice if access to the battery & electronics was through the back this would have made the pick guard look cleaner.fit & finish overall very good. this is a beautiful guitar.

i think this bass will stand up to playing live it is a solidly built[a little bit on the heavy side] guitar. the finish looks like it should last if taken care of but i haven't seen a guitar yet that won't get some wear if played alot. i changed the stap buttons to schaller & after 2 months of play haven't had to make any adjustments. perhaps different strings would be the next thing.

i have not dealt with fender & have heard only stories about customer service. its not rumored to be too good but i have had no contact myself

i've been playing off & on [mostly off] for more than 30 yrs. so never got very good as a player.i have an old yamaha & a heavy[close to 20 lbs] travis bean. i looked at epiphone,fender j & p, gibson,dean & a couple others but the look,feel & sound of the MM sold me. if it were lost or stolen i would get another for sure. my daughter found my yamaha in a closet one day & 3 yrs later she's still playing [a schecter] so thats gotten me fired up to play again. wow is this kid good. she wants a warwick but thats another story.