Fender Marcus Miller Jazz Bass

2001 Fender Marcus Miller Jazz Bass made in Japan.
Beautiful solid ash body and comfortable maple neck.
Natural finish, reverse turn tuners, badass2 bridge.

It is a funk machine. I like to play fingerstyle and would like to hear some more midrange. There is very little shielding which makes it noisy especially in the active mode. If your a slapper, it the bass for you.

The construction was flawless. Gorgeous glossy natural finish. The setup was very good.

For live playing this bass should hold up well for many years especially if you shield the electronics.

I take care of my own instruments so I dont ever plan on having any warranty work done. Ive never dealt with Fender.

Ive been playing bass for over 20 years. If it were stolen, I would probably build my own with a different preamp. I love the look and feel of this bass. I just wish it had more tonal versatility.

What a bargin !!! I am going out and buy another. Nice durable finish
on the body. I feel it will stand up to many years of use and keep smiling at cha. Ample if not reverse tuners. The Badass bridge seems
moderate and a little better than the stock bridge although some may differ. The neck is nice and fast, but be careful, my bass had some burrs on the side of the neck i had to gently file down. Overall, the feature were above average. Nice sturdy hardware for the price.

What a beast !!! I recomend highly rewiring the active/passive switch. The instructions on how to do this was submitted above by a gentleman named Tommy Thompson. This procedure works so well, im going out and buy another bass and mod it also !! Just follow the directions one at a time and READ CAREFULLY !!! I found that my bass had a wire coming from the output jack connector and i didn't add an additional wire. I just moved the wire from one pin to the other as instructed in section 5 of his instructions.

The set-up was great. One problem, when the pre-amp is engaged, a res or better yet, a nasty hiss jumps up. This can be prevented by not getting to close to any power source. I am going to try and sheild the control cavity a little better to see if it helps. Overall, a nice job.

What can i say, this bass sounds great. A real solid sounding live and recorded bass. When you strap it on it feels like a bass and you can do some damage with it. Get some STRAP-LOCKS !!! If this baby comes-a-loose, she's going to do some damage !!!

Ya know Fender. Someday's ya get the elevator. Someday's ya get the shaft !!!

I own a 84 Musicman Stingray, A fretless Standard Fender Jazz and a Modified Ibanez 5-str. The Marcus Miller Signature Fender Jazz Bazz is a real bargin. With a little modifing, this bass really kicks butt. It is true, after moding the switch, you end up with 2 basses !!! One a true old fasioned U.S.D.A 1977 Jazz bass and a True
Marcus bass w/real funky ballsie tone. What a DEAL...WTG FENDER !!!

This thing is one beautiful Japanese-made Fender Jazz bass. It has a volume control for each pickup. It also has treble and bass controls, which only seem to function in active mode. It is probably one of the prettiest basses in the world, with its maple fretboard and ash body. The pickup cover really adds something to the look, as well as the playability. Its got the Badass Bass II bridge, which really doesn't seem that special to me, but at least the strings aren't through the body.

I'm a guitarist, not a bassist, but I do multi-track recording on my computer in which I record all of the instruments, which includes bass. For the style I play, which is blues, this thing can't be beat. It's got a nice, fat, low but not muddy tone, or a nice funky slapping tone when you turn one of the pickups down. One thing that I have noticed, but is barely noticeable is that when one of the pickups is turned down lower than the other, it seems to hum a little bit, but not much. You can't notice the hum at all while you're playing, just while you're stopped, and not much then. I haven't recorded much in the active mode, but man, it really does rock in that setting! I think that would be the way to go for a trebly funky slap sound or something. I think it would be great in either the stage or the studio, but I've only used it for one, and that may not ever change.

I got the bass at a place that sells damaged freight, and stuff like that, which was going to go to other stores but ended up there. Mine happens to have a dent on the back of the body, but I'm not judging it by that at all, since I know that Fender didn't do that. Anyway, the action, neck, and intonation were set up horribly!!! The A string was buzzing against the pickup cover as the E string buzzed against the frets. The intonation was way out, as fretted notes were sharp on some strings, flat on others. I was able to fix all of that in less than half an hour though, with a couple of allen wrenches and a philips screwdriver.

This bass will definitely withstand some brutally live playing, but I don't intend to make it endure that. The hardware seems to be very sturdy. There is that dent I mentioned earlier, and I know Fender didn't put it there, and it happened before I got it, so I don't know how easily that dent was put there, but I'm guessing it was dropped, in which case the thing is built like a tank. If I were to play it in a live situation, I'd definitely expect it to hold up just fine.

I've never had the pleasure of dealing with them.

I haven't been playing this thing very long, but it definitely seems to be one of the best basses available. I definitely believe that it's the most beautiful bass in the world. Some may find the pickup cover to be inconvenient, but I rest my thumb on it while I pluck the strings on the side closer to the bridge. I don't have much point of reference, but it seems like it is an amazing bass. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have bought this if I hadn't gotten an amazing deal on it. I would have ended up with a Standard Jazz Bass or something like that, but I couldn't pass up this opportunity.

This is a MIJ MM sig series Jazz bass. Natural finish, ash body, maple neck, BAII bridge etc. Reverse (!) operating tuners, I found this a bit strange after being used to the usual operating tuners. Also, the tuners are as solid as you would expect from a new Fender bass. I found the lack of tone control in passive mode a bit annoying. Without that, I feel forced to use the active mode all the time.

I play funk, soul, fusion-jazz and latin and this bass is just perfect for that. There's quite some hum when I don't touch the strings, apart from that this bass sounds awesome. This is by far teh best sounding bass I've ever played. I have played a '77 and a '78 Jazz bass but the MM beats them easily! Even in passive mode, there is a lot of low-mid that gives the bass comfortable spot in a mix. The sound always cuts through so you never need to boost your amp too much. In active mode there's 2 settings that i use: First, for regular finger-style and slapping both pickups full, bass at 60% and treble at 40%. Slapping sounds great on all 4 strings. My second preferred setting uses only the bridge PU and bass boost at 80-90%. This will provide a lot of growl and allows for some great finger-style funk. I'll be honest here and subtract 1 for the hum...

The setup was quite good. I had to do minor adjustments to the intonation and string height. There was no allen wrench delivered with the bass to adjust the saddle heights which was a real pain because that small size is hard to find at the regular hardware store. I had some trouble with the neck PU (see below). I would say that the neck and frets could have been set up a little better. There's some minor fret buzz on high positions on the D and G string. The neck to body construction looks very solid and fits actually a lot tighter than the originals from the 70's!

After playing on it for 2 days, the neck PU went dead (see below). This was something I'd not expected to happen with a brand new Fender. Besides that, the bass is solidly built and will last for a long, long time.

After the neck PU died I returned the bass to the local retailer. They immediately ordered a new PU. Until then, thumbs up. However, the replacement PU never arrived. After a lot of calls with the retailer and the Fender europe distributor, finally nothing happened. The retailer brought the bass to a local luthier who repaired the PU. So, in terms of Fender support this deserves a 1. The shop was somewhat better, i'd give them a 5. Overall a poor average of 3.

I play bass for about 15 years now. My other gear consists of a '78 jazz, a '84 fretless jazz and an Ellio Martina (a dutch luthier) 4 string. The MM will be my main instrument for regular gigs. I would buy another one, but would pay attention to the quality as this (unfortunately) varies a lot with Fender, albeit somewhat less with this model. However, I've tried several MM sig basses before buying this one. This one sounded best to my ears.

This is a 2001 bass purchased brand new. The other reviews have pretty much said all there is to say about this bass. The only thing that keeps this from a 10 is the fact that you don't have tone control in the passive mode.

I play in the praise team at church and I play old 60's stuff (mostly Motown), 70's and 80's R&B/Funk with some Reggae and Jazz as well--I'm a groove player. This bass handles it all without a problem. I use a Hartke combo and go direct through the speakers at church (don't know what they are), I keep it simple the only effects I use are through my Korg Bass Pandora. This is the second best sounding bass I've ever played (my Steinberger XL is still the best).

James Jamerson must have set this bass up at the factory. It arrived from the factory with the strings set extremely high. Except for the pickup guard being loose and a light scratch on the pickguard, the bass was in great shape, I think the fit and finish is excellent for a non-custom instrument.

Again I have to compare it to my Steinberger, it ranks behind it for solid construction but comparing it to other wooden basses it would be at the top of the class. Except for the fact that it eats batteries like crazy, I wouldn't hesitate to use it without a backup.

Lets see, I emailed Fender on July 16, 2001 received an email on July 24th saying they would get to me ASAP, its August 24th and I haven't heard anything else. They did respond pretty quick on a past email request when I asked for a wiring diagram. So I'd have to say they are ok, pretty good for a big company. The one thing I noticed about their website is that you have to click on "contact us" twice to get the email form--not very customer friendly, unless you don't really want a lot of emails.

I'd give this bass a 10 because of the great features and tone at such a bargain price. I initially intended to purchase a used Jazz and set it up like the MM Jazz but there is no way you can for the same price that I paid. The "Vintage" market has gone crazy (I remember when things just got old and were used), a mid 70's Jazz is about twice the price of a new MM Jazz. Lets see a natural finish, badAss bridge, preamp, vintgage pickups, and vintage neck at under $700.00--this is the best deal out there for a mass production instrument.

I bought this new in '99. It is a Japanses-built 70's 3-bolt Jazz bass with active electronics. This one has a maple fingerboard an natural ash body - looks wonderful. It has the metal cover over the strings by the bridge pick-up. It doesn't have the bridge/tail cover but that is because it has a Badass II bridge.
There are two metal pots for the volume control of each pickup (vintage according to the fender spec) and two black plastic knobs for the active treble and bass boost.
The pick guard has quite an ugly shape, as it has an extra removeable battery cover near the bottom. You get at the battery by unscrewing this cover - would be much neater if routed in the back instead of the front. It is supposed to look like a Sadowsky modified Jazz.
There is an active/passive switch, but no auto switching on the jack socket. This means that it eats batteries because you always forget to turn them off before putting it away. I had mine modified, so now my batteries last a reasonable time. I rate this as an essential mod.

I use a Trace Elliot amp, and have also di'd it direct to the mixing desk. It can sound flat when di'd (but so do most guitars)- I prefer to take the di out of the amp to give it a bit of compression and EQ.
The only change I would make to the sound would be to use a tube pre-amp. I mostly use both pickups at the same time, but have noticed they can be a little noisy if used singly. Again, I would experiment with different pickups but love the tone so much I don't want to risk spoiling it.

Excellently set up straight from the box. Can't fault it.

I put straplocks on. Its a Jazz, built like a brick outhouse.
I should take a backup in case strings break or someone treads on it. But I generally don't. I bought a flight case for it.It will probably last longer than I will!

I once had an amp serviced by Fender in the UK. They were very helpful. Also my local guitar shop (Machinehead Music)is run by someone who used to work for Fender, so he always gets good service!
This bass won't need support

I play a mix of blues, jazz and rock in a gigging band. I also have a Yamaha John Pattitucci 6 string and a couple of other lesser axes. I have been playing guitar for more than 40 years.
I just love this bass. I can get a really "woody" jazz sound, a Marcus Miller sound, or use the bass boost to give it more of a "thump". I also have a Zoom footpedal that I sometimes use to get more of a Precision tone.
I tried many Jazz basses when I bought this one, and this model was very distinctive - I bought it in preference to various USA models. It is lively and more responsive. It has the usual Jazz deadspots. If I could cure that without otherwise affecting the tone I would, but I don't want to risk messing up my favourite instrument.
The more I play it, the more I like it. If I lost it, I would have to buy another.

Made in Japan. Now i know a lot o' you snobs out there say that if ain't American it ain't worth havin', but I must disagree. It was superbly made. It has standard '77 Jazz specs as far as pickup spacing and neck size. It has the inferior 3-bolt neck system, but it's true to the '77. It has volume controls for both passive pickups, a bypass switch for the active pre-amp which has boost only capabilities on bass and treble frequencies(i feel it should be boost/cut with a dent in the flat responce area). The bridge is a Leo Quan BadAss II which increases the mass at the body and makes it sustain much longer and more eavenly than a standard bridge. I do have a complaint about the bridge though. When i would pop the G string it would often slip out of its string slot on the bridge. I fixed this by filing the slot a little deeper. I found that to be a problem on all 3 of the MM basses i tried out.

It has a wonderful array of tonal options. The active/passive electronics are useful, but i think they should be boost/cut not just boost. I also find that when playing without the pre-amp (passive) I don't have the standard Jazz tones because there is no tone control. I am thinking about putting concentric knobs in, so I'll have tone control in passive mode. Another problem is the usual hiss associated with the Jazz pickups. If you have both pickups up full, no hum. If you have them both down somewhat there is no hum. But if you have one up full and the other down some you get 60Hz cycle hum. This is common on all passive jazz basses not just the MM. I play through a '70's Ampeg V4B 100 watt all tube amp into a 12" Sunn Speker Horn combo and a 15" sub. The bass has a nice warm Jazz sound in Passive mode, and flipping to active pushes that 15 just enough to shake any room. The finger funk tones are excellent with just a little bit of active treble added, and blues and rock sounds are a cinch with some bass added and forward hand placement.

I bought mine used, and it was in excellent shape. it had barely been played at all, but the action and intonation had been set up in the store. I tweaked the truss-rod a bit to facilitate my own preferences, but it was set up nicely anyway. The finish is flawless 3-Tone sunburst even under the pickguard. The brass inserts that prevent screw stripping under the battery compartment cover is a very economical touch. The neck was nice and slim and was so glossy it made my hands stick a little. The bone nut is nice, but I prefer a zero-nut (which no fender bass has, Arghh). The only real problem was the aforementioned Bridge slipping. But i think thats a grievence with Leo Quan not Leo Fender.

I play live with it all the time. No backup needed (I do carry a Fretless Ibanez sumthinoranother for upright tones). It will without a doubt standup as well as any other Fender Bass no matter where it was made. I never use straplocks and have never had to. I may be stupid or just asking for trouble, because it is heavy, but i dont jump around or anything so I'll just stick with stock. About the weight, it must weigh a good 12 pounds. Very heavy (again true to the '70s models), but i always like a good solid chunk o' wood on my shoulder. Keeps me focused, would you forget about that terrible ache in your left shoulder? It feels very solid, and i wouldn't be at all worried about some inept roadie toting it around and using it for a hammer.

Its got a warranty, but i threw it away. Its that solid. Never dealt with Fender probably never will.

I was playing a vintage '64 (pre CBS) P-Bass, but was a little leary bout totin that bad mother to gigs downtown. My Marcus Miller was cheap, and solid. I retired the Precision and will take this Jazz anywhere. If it were stolen I'd go pick up another that day, and tell the theif he got a real bargain.

I will not go into the tech setup of this bass. If you wanna know I suggest that you check Fender's web site.

I own a couple of nifty basses: Alembic Series 1, Alembic Spoiler, Music Man Stingray, but when I heard this bass I was blown away! Such brilliance and depth in the sound. I am playing over EBS power and pre amps and an Eden 4 x 10" 700W speaker cabinet. The combination is awsome. After gigs I get tons of compliments from bass players on my sound (I hope they like the playing as well....). The combination of the active and passive setting, the mix of pick ups and the tone settings make it a versitile instrument and my main axe! Now Fender has to release a fretless version as well....

I was not to happy about the factory setup. I fooled around for quite some to to have it set up properly. It is not one of the most lightly playable basses around, compaired to for instance my Stingray. But you will get used to that quickly! Overall finish was good.

No problems so far. Been playing it for a year now.

N/A

Made in 2000 in Japan. 20 frets, 4 string bass (yeah, i am answering the suggested harmony central questions that everyone else has so pipe down). 2 active eq's, 2 volume, 1 active/passive switch, 2 vintage single coils (jazz). Electronics are active or passive (switch). Maple neck and fretboard, ash body. Natural finish. Badass II bridge, vintage reverse wound tuners. (I will be giving this all tens)

Okay, if everyone gives the american standard jazz bass 9's and 10's, and i've had that bass, and it was pretty kew, yet this bass is a hella better, i'm definitely giving this one a 10. (did u get all that?). The sound is totally killer even without touching anything. Already I (and my teacher) noticed a huger, warmer, darker sound. It cuts right through the mix on rock, and it's a breeze to play Jazz on it. Once you start fiddling with the tone, you can get a lotta different sounds out of it. That active/passive switch is great for when you need a boost in a song. It also allows you to leave the bass plugged in all the time, cuz u can jus switch it off (unlike other active basses where you have to unplug it so the battery doesn't wear out). The battery is also in the front of the guitar, not in the back, it's that area with 4 screws in 1sq inch square of pick guard to the immediate right of the bridge.

This bass was set up perfectly from the factory. I haven't changed anything (unlike with my american standard, no, i'm not raggin on it, i'm jus saying). Marcus must be inspecting em himself. Anyways, the action was perfect, pickup height is fine, the electronics (yeah, i took it apart, ya lazy slob) are set up beautifully. I tested out the intonation as soon as i got it and it was dead on, now that's rare. Normally it's at least 5-10hz off. I can move on this bass a lot faster than my old one.

I've only had it for a few weeks, but i've dissambled the whole thing, and it looks like it will last me quite a while. The finish, hardware, everything is solid.

never dealt with fender.

I've been playing for about 2-3 years now. If this bass were lost or stolen, I'd definitely replace it if I could scrap up the money. I love everything about it, but especially the feel of the neck, and prolly the dinky little thumbrest (yeah, i know, but it helps and adds to that "look" a bit). The badass bridge kix. Stays perfectly in tune, and it actually has slots for the strings (unlike a certain american standard). The one feature i "dislike", would have to be the fact that the eq knobs have no center detent like the manual sayz, oh well. I compared this bass to my old one, a few ibanezes (however the hell u spell it), and some yamaha's. (i've owned all of em at one point or another). I can't think of anything that I wish it had, maybe a built in cup holder? I didn't write the price I got it for cuz, well, I don't wanna get anyone in trouble. :)

The features have all been stated well from the other reviews.

I'm using the MM through a Peavy 115, and it sounds better through better amps. The bass has a wide range of sounds. The bridge pickup is closer to the bridge than normal making it nice for slapping etc. The bass can shake rooms if you put the active lows all the way up. There is a slight hiss when u turn up the treble up alot, but thats to be expected.

I bought this bass used off of ebay. I have no clue what the owner did to it, but everything was perfect when I got it. I'll give the finish a 10, it's beautyful. The action is low on the one I got, and i like it that way, i'll give the action a 10. Since these aren't the factory settings i'm not putting in a rating otherwise.

Never been gigged on and only 4 months old, so I wont rate it. Thus far I've had no problem with the battery nor have I herd anything about the battery beyond one of the other reviews. As far as i know this is a great bass.

From what I've herd Fender has been jerky to people lately... but i've had no trouble... then again i've never talked to them...

I haven't been playing bass for that long but I've listened to music and played drums for about 9 years now. I know how a good bass sounds and this baby roars. I listened to other basses while I was looking to buy one and none of the others seemed as versatile or beautyful. Nice job Fender.