Fender Marcus Miller Jazz Bass

The bass is made in Japan, but the way it feels and plays, who cares? I dig the sound that I get and that all there is to say. This is my first 4 string im a really long time, so I'm getting use to the narrow neck again, but it's a hip bass, so i'm happy with coping with the minor changes.

We have a 3 piece ensemble at my church: keyboards/organ, drums, and myself. My Marcus Miller fits right in with our sound. Since all my other basses are active, it's cool to have a active/passive selector when a more traditional bass sound is required. A "full, bottom end" is that traditional Fender sound. The only thing that bothered me was that it was very noisy. I took out the origional pickups, and put in some EMG's. Man, it's TOTALLY slammin!!! (that means it's really nice!)

The setup was a little high for my taste. I don't know if that was from the previous owner, or from the factory, but it was fixed. The reverse tuning pegs kinda threw me off, but that's just a little getting use to with a new axe. The other owner took very good care of it. It looked like he/she didn't have for very long. Tuning pegs were still shiny, not tarnished, knobs were still tight, no dents or dings on the body or neck. I just lowered the action, changed the strings (I like Smiths!) and I was ready to go!

I play at my church, and we totally rock the house. This makes my 6th bass, and I love it. I haven't played a 4 string in such a long time it took a little getting use to. But it's all about the tone, Jack! My first "real" bass was a Fender, back in 1975, so I'm familar with the Fender style. I got the action lowered when I got the pickups changed out, so I'm very happy.

I didn't have to call Fender for anything. When I lived in San Diego, I did a little R&D for Fender's string division. That was sooooo cool! You guy's know how expensive strings are? I was gettin 'em free! There was no warranty from Guitar Center, but those guys are really good to deal with, so I wasn't woried about it.

I've been playing for over 30 years. My MM Jazz is a keeper in my "family of basses" (this one makes a total of 6). If this bass was stolen, yes, I'd get another one. My circle of bassist friends here in Indy all play 5, 6, and 7 strings, so I like to be different, that's why I busted out with a 4 string. What I like about it is what every bassist should dig about his/her bass "THE TONE" baby!. With the new EMG's, it still has the Fender bottom, and the "punch" of the EMG's. Very cool! When I worked at Guitar Center here,(Indianapolis, IN) I wanted to get one, but I copped a Schecter (another hip bass). So I was there about a few weeks ago, saw a used one, and the rest is history. Totally a great bass for any player to get.

This one is a 2000 japanese 77 jazz bass reissue.
I had it a couple of days,and rewired it per Tommy's instructions.
This is how it should have been wired from the factory!
Now this thing is a funk machine!
Nice,true mid 70's jazz bass passive sound now.
I've always liked the vintage reverse tuners.Nice thin 1 1/2" 70's jazz bass nut width,and the correct 4" pickup spacing.

I play about anything except country,unless I'm getting paid for it.
Right now i play through an ampeg svt with a art tube preamp and a full stack.
The bass has a great high and mid range but lacking in some bottom.

I purchased this bass from the orginal owner, and had it setup right.
There is a small gap on one side of the neck joint (factory)While the other side is flush.Almost like the body neck joint was cut to wide.
A small over cut on the 15th fret inlay.
The bad ass bridge needs to be cut deeper to prevent string slippage.
This is of course not fenders fault.I think Leo Quan's team needs to have a little redesign change of this great bridge.

This Puppy Hangs like a real bass should,it's a good chunk of hefty ash. Everything seems solid on this bass.
I would use this bass without a backup thanks to the active/passive switch.

I've dealt with fender a number of years ago when they were in fullerton,Ca.Then they were extremely helpfull.Thank's to Leo Fender.I dont think their as customer friendly as they use to be.Just try to contact them!

I've been playing for about 28 years.I started at 15 years old.
I've played,and own or have owned alot of basses.This is my first japanese made fender bass.This one might be a keeper,it plays as well as most of my american fenders.It is a beautiful looking bass.As far as sound,or a soul mate only time will tell.

2001

Didn't do it for me,until I read Tommy's input and had him change it around.( I'm not that good with a soldering iron.)
Now the beast sounds the way it is supposed to sound.
Even better in the true passive mode, just like a real 70's Jazz.
I can only recommend to do what Tommy says,you are not changing anything (Partswise) on the bass ,it just sounds a lot better.

See all the other listings

Very friendly

I've been playing as a hobby since 72, and had alot of basses since.
The MM is one of the easiest to play, do to it's weight and neck shape.
Soundwise it's my 2 nd favorite,
My first choice is a Signature custom vintage Jazz with Dimarzio DP 149's and a J-retro preamp.So far nothing compares to that especially when you like to slap!!!!
Signature basses where popular in the late 80's - early 90's before they were literally shut down by Fender, because of the perfect copies they made. They changed the headstockshape but to no avail.
I bought a whole collection of these basses ,and let me tell you they are better than any jap fender out there, the early models were even better than the USA made originals,but that's only my humble opinion.

marcus miller bass purchased on ebay, came with case, love the fit of the body and neck, actually prefer the vintage reverse tuners, take some getting used to, but rightie tightie, right? Body on mine is super light, not sure if they are all this way or not.

i play rock, folky singer songwriter, hip hop and I'm trying hard to get into jazz/fusion. Here is where I'll differ from the other marcus reviews, I HATED THE STOCK PREAMP. So did my guitar player fot that matter, the treble on the thing seemed very non musical, harsh, and biting. He was tired of having his ears split, and I was tired of twiddling every knob. (It generally takes me a long while to get a bass to where I am happy, anyway.) I had the preamp removed, and started using the bass as a passive with 2 volumes, 2 tones. The "u.s. vintage" p/u's then sounded awful too. sounds like they were wound specifically to work with the pre, but either way, I was not happy. The end result is that I installed a pair of jason lollar single coils (they are amazing), installed a tone bypass switch, had a fender american deluxe bridge installed(strings thru), and had it adjusted and set up and now I am very very happy. Tone bypass is exactly what it sounds like, no tone knob in the circuit. Just a volume knob for each pickup. With these mods, the bass sounds really musical( punchy and sting-like. I have since cut the tone wire on my main bass as well(a blueburst maple body jazz with a maple neck/fretless ebony fingerboard, hipshot strings thru bridge, reverse gotoh tuners and had similar results. It was more noticeable on the marcus,however.

Since I bought the bass on ebay, I don't have too much to say about the factory setup. I love my bass now that I have made the above mentioned mods. These seem like very good intermediate basses, especially in that around $700 range. Do try to find one in a store and see how it sounds to you. As bass players, we can get caught up pretty easily into always chasing someone elses' sound(marcus, jaco obviously), but it doesn't seem to me like chasing gear will ever end if that is the case. Those players found something that worked for them, find what works for you. Horn players use the giants as starting points to develop their own voice. I think we bassists should remember the point is our own voice.

Had to fix a loose strap button with some glue and sawdust, some stripped screws, dings etc. Stays in tune, takes a beating fingerstyle. I bring 2 basses with me when I play, a fretted and a fretless (I also own a fretless '76 sunburst pre- Ernie Ball stingray)so a backup is not an issue. Since its' last adjustment, it has been like a rock. Finish is nice, beautiful grain on mine. The back looks like lacewood.

Good bass, but expect a little time to make it yours.

Japanese 77 jazz bass copy, ash body, mpl neck w/ mpl fret board. Too much finish on the neck ( poly fin a little thick for my taste but not really a minus, i might remove it). active /passive deal (see tommy thompsons reviews that cat seems to know his stuff, i haven't tried his mods yet but i will soon). The only real problem i have is the tuners,not smooth will replace.

sounds good, passive is very authentic, active i roll off a lot of the highs. Its bright but not brittle. I like it but... i'm gonna try a set of bartolini's to see if i can get a touch more low end.

OK, Long story... I build and repair guitars for a living. A pro cat i do work for brought his in to have it dialed in pro style. i had to level and recrown the frets, the factory job was good/ok but this guy wanted super low action with no buzz. i reset the neck and adjusted the microtilt so the badass II saddles sit higher giving the bass a taught feel w/45-100s at 1.2 mm action. His bass played like a dream. Back to my bass i should follow the same steps with mine but haven't had time yet (2 months) it plays fine at factory specs, but it can be great. (side note : the above work also included nut work, intonation, pickup adustments for sonic leveling all part of a basic setup) also i saw a guy who converted his to stringthru i might try it?

SOLID AS A ROCK. read the bassplayer review and get strap locks

If you have Q's Ask your local dealer to call the fender area rep

I dig this bass, in fact i got rid of just about everything i had. if it was lost, stolen or destoyed well i just build another useing all parts maybe a rosewood fingerboard? killer bass, great sound and vintage vibe for way less than a grand.

A new 5-string version of the popular MM Jazz is now available: it shares all the nice features of the original 4-string, but was updated with an American Deluxe 5-string Bass Bridge, an assymetrical 5-bolt plate, a contoured heel for easier access to the upper frets, two Hipshot string trees and a 5th tuner at the bottom of the headstock, due of course to the addition of the popular low-B string.

The new Marcus Miller Jazz Bass V provides lots of tonal shades; think Marcus playing the original Sadowsky MM 5-string bass, built for him by the Sadowsky Tokyo Japanese operation. Especially attractive was the low-B "growl", which was tighter and meatier than other 5-string equipped Jazzes. I'd never seen Marcus playing his own signature Jazz Bass V, but I watched him playing a fretless 5-string bass on many concert photos.....

Fender had fitted the new MM Bass V with an American Deluxe bridge for top-load or string-through mounting operation as well, the fact that she doesn't currently found a Badass Quann II bridge for 5-string in order to give a closier aspect of the original 4-string version to the new 5-string MM J-Bass. But the MM Bass IV can also gain an American Deluxe bridge, a heel-joint truss rod adjuster and a 5-bolt neckplate, like the new 5-string version. Although the new MM Bass V's scratchplate was notched to acommodate the truss rod adjuster from the heel joint, the original 4-string feature the classic "bullet" truss rod, who was adjusted directly from the nut, a feature found on many '70s Jazz Basses.

I can't purchased that instrument yet, so I don't have any comment to do about the new Marcus Miller Jazz Bass V.

I can't dealt with Fender about the new Marcus Miller 5-string, but the fact that Sadowsky Japan had built a 5-string version of Marcus' original bass had given a strong impact to Fender, who decided to join the battle by releasing a faithful replica of the original Sadowsky MM Jazz Bass V, but updating it with some of the classic American Deluxe Series specifications. Of course the 22 fret neck option was not included.

The 4-string MM Bass had gained an extreme popularity since his first launch in the late '90s. But many Marcus fans wanted a 5-string version of this popular signature J-bass for their gigs, so Fender had now released the new 5-string MM Bass, as popular demand increased through the years. Like the 4-string original, the new Marcus Miller Jazz Bass V had been manufactured at the Fujigen factory in Japan, although the American Corona factory supplied new American Deluxe hardware to the Fender Japan operation for updating the new Marcus Miller Jazz V with some American Deluxe specifications (the 5-bolt plate, the new American Deluxe Bass bridge, the two Hipshot string trees and the notched pickguard).

Brand new 2002 MM J-Bass. Butterscoth finish, sexy as hell. I love the Japanese Fender line- more playable than USA in my opionion. It's made to the standard MM specs with stock everything. I didn't recieve the manual with the bass, so I'm gonna have to figure my way around the controls (2 volume, 2 eq, 1 A/P selector) because I got the bass yesterday and I'm used to the standard P-Bass simplicity. It's got that Leo Quan Badass Bass II on it, which is my only quarrel. Fender Japan didn't feel it was necessary to include any accesories.

Everything else aside, the singlehandedly best part about this instrument is its head-turning sound. Although the bass is a true beauty, the sound is simply untouchable. I foresee my Japanese fretless J and American Standard P collecting dust in the future. I'm running it through a Hartke 350 and a vintage Vox 15". The bass' tone actually compensates for my lack of HF output in my rig, which is a real plus. I noticed there are definitely grounding and noise issues (the pickup guard picks up tapping, etc., hissing in A/P) but I've never been a real snob about those kinds of things. I am a slap-man and I look forward to playing this thing out.

Here's the problem- and I noticed in on some other reviews as well: That damn Badass Bridge II. Sure it combats neck dive, but having the G-String pop out during any fingerpick-maneuver can be costly--especially on stage. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that; I'd rather not have to take a file to the bridge. I'll bring it to my luthier, I'm sure he'll know what to do. Besides that, the pickups sound excellent and their setup is flawless from the factory. Like a Lexus rolling off the line, this piece of Japanese luxury looks and feels perfect right out of the box!

Well, I've had no problems yets, seeing as I've only had this thing for 2 days, but I definitely don't look forward to having to mod the battery ground to avoid rapid drainage, thus making my warrantly defunct. Once again, I think my luthier's gonna have to take a look at it. It's worth the 10 or 20 bucks, in my opinion, to ensure that I don't mar this sonic miracle.

I hopefully won't have to ever deal with this corporate monster.

I've been playing guitar and bass for about 10 years. I've been through almost everything - Ibanez (SDGR), Guild, Fender (J, P, FL, USA, Japan), Warwick (FL Corvette - BTW Buyer Beware), and this piece takes the cake. If it were stolen or lost, I'd look into bying the same bass, but this time off eBay - some of the other reviewers got great deals (anything under 600)! I love the look and sound, but I don't like the g-string slippage factor. My favorite feature is definitely the Active EQ on/off - a mod feture that comes stock. Also, instead of taking the pickup guard off, I think I'll leave it on. Hell, I'll get used to it - the style points are worth the slight inconvenience (MM himself keeps it on). And what's better than a heavy-ass guitar?

This bass is a copy of the modified Jazz bass that Marcus Miller has done the majority of his solo/session work on. It has an Ash body (mine has the Sunburst option and the grain shows through well) with an all maple neck. The bridge is the popular Badass replacement which, due to its weight, helps to solve the usual Fender neck dive tendencies.
The tuners are 60's style reverse (a pain when de-tuning mid-song).
The active circuit is Fender's version of the Sadowsky modified bartolini circuit fitted to Marcus' bass. It has active bass and treble controls (boost only). A toggle switch gives a passive option (useful if your battery fails).

The combination of ash body, maple neck and badass bridge makes for a bright sound in passive mode (compared to the alder/rosewood combination found on some Jazz basses). In active mode the bass control adds good body to slap lines whilst the treble control helps old strings sound like new. Despite shielding this bass (my US Jazz wasn't shielded) Fender still haven't solved the old single pickup hum problem common to the Jazz .

This bass seems better built than my US jazz. It feels more comfortable due to there being no neck dive. The neck adjusts to give a low and even action.

Its only two months old - but seem very solid

No contact with Fender

The Marcus Jazz sounds great, looks great, is well built and is good value. Unless you want the freedom to modify a stock Jazz with your own choice of components, I can highly recommend that you buy this bass. Available in natural, sunburst and white.

The bass is as well made as my US bass, has great xtra components fitted as standard and still costs less than my basic US Jazz - great value. Shame they haven't included a case as standard though!

Fender Marcus Miller Signature Jazz Bass. Made in Japan. Ash body, bound maple neck with pearl block inlays and 20 frets. 34" scale. Reverse thread tuners; Badass II Bridge. 2-band Fender 9V active preamp. Controls: volume, volume, treble, bass, preamp on/off. Natural polyester finish. Chromed neck pickup guard. More tricked out than your plain jazz.

Accessories typically sold separately, but I bought used.

This is a hot bass with lots of output, even in passive mode. Neck pickup soloed give lots of nice round tones. Bridge pickup is more nasal sounding than a typical jazz; the instrument seems to produce a natural mwah. The preamp can add a lot or a little bottom to the typical mid-heavy jazz tone. The treble control sounds kind of harsh, though, and puts out a noticeable amount of hiss at about 70% of max. Still, the bass is plenty versatile.

Bass seems built to 1977 specs. Only a three-bolt neck plate, and there's a noticeable gap around the neck. The tuners feel a little stiff. Some sharp fret ends. (I realize that fret filing is difficult to do with a bound neck, but the setup guys could probably have taken a little more off of the ends.) The neck is also really skinny, so light gauge strings are a must for some semblance of tuning/action stability.

On the plus side, the body and neck are very well finished, and the blocks and binding are as good as I've seen on instruments costing over twice as much. For once, Fender seems to have cut the nut properly. The pickguard and all of its pieces have been cut and fitted well. Aside from the slender neck, it seems pretty solidly built.

See above. Strap buttons look solid. Call me a heretic, but I'd like a better truss rod in the neck, or maybe some graphite reinforcement.

Never dealt with Fender.

Cool looking instrument with a cool vintage vibe and heavy tone. Like Marcus himself. Minus some points for noisy treble EQ and some construction niggles. Still, it's one of Fender's better built production instruments.

Made in Japan (2001), 20 medium jumbo frets, 4 strings, 2 volume controls, bass and treble controls (works in active mode only), active-passive selector, 2 U.S. Jazz Bass pickups, ash body, maple neck and fingerboard, natural finish, BadAss II bridge, vintage style reverse tuners, 34" scale length. I'm missing the passive tone control, and it came without a gigbag or case.

It fits my style very well (mostly country), I love the sound of it. It has a warm sound, and sounds good even in bad acoustic conditions. When I first plugged it into my Peavey TKO 80 on a gig I surprized how it changed the whole sound of the band. It was amazing. That was about 3 weeks ago, now the strings are worn out (since I got kind of acidic hands), but I can still find a very good tone on the amp, much better tone than my Peavey T-40 bass had. Should sound better on better amps.
I use the passive mode most, I like the passive sound, but when I switch to active it becomes a real beast (not need for country, but for others it's great). As I wrote I miss the passive tone controls. I liked to play a little with that on my earlier basses, but I still got the two volume controls to play with. :)
Never used it in a studio. Once I played a gig with it trough the PA and I couldn't get a real good bass sound out of it.

I was the first to open it from the box it came in, and saw that factory setup was awful. The neck looked like a bow, the strings were too high. The service man set it up for me and told me to take it back in two weeks to set the bass up again. So now it's set perfectily, the intonation is ok, the string height is ok, quiet fret buzz (needed for the jazz bass sound, right? :) ).
The finish was flawless, but there are two faults in the wood work (one corner at the bridge pickup is broken off, and at the neck joint where the body is getting thinner the edge is broken off), but it's nearly unnoticeable. The frets are ok, tuners ok, pickups needed a little adjustment, it has the usual jazz bass noise when one of the pu-s are not full up.
It might be normal, but there's noticable space between the sides of the neck and the body.

It looks very solid, I think it will be a good friend for many years to come. The controls are noiseless, the solderings are ok, I replaced the strap buttons with straplocks, so it won't fall from my neck.
I always used my basses on gigs without backup and never had a single problem with them, I don't think I ever will.

I dealt with the hungarian retailer. They were helpful to select the bass (they don't have many instruments on stock, but they told me they bring a Marcus Miller bass to the country in 2 weeks so I can try it), and the boss even gave me 20% discount. The shop assistant was sometimes upset because I told him the things I read on the net, and he sad that fender doesn't make mistakes (read Tommy Thompson's reviews) etc., but they were helpful and sad that if I want to have any modifications to be made just bring few beers and they'll do it. I couldn't get a stack 500K pot in Hungary, so I have to give up my plan to have the passive tone control.
I think it has one year warranty, but I don't think I'll ever need that.

I've been playing for about 5-6 years (about 100 gigs last year), and this is the best bass I've ever had so far. If it were lost or stolen I bought another one if I could get the money. I love the sound, the fell, the look. What else could I need? Maybe a better amp... :)