Distracting myself with indecision: Partscaster, MIJ, or AVRI?

[hamletpowpowpow]

I could be totally off on this, but a producer friend of mine claims that Robert Smith and Kevin Shields both use MIJ, when they clearly have the means to get whatever they’d like.

Having said that, I’ve seen a bunch of videos of shields playing some very vintage American stuff, so who knows.

Where does one import an MIJ these days? I’ve always had a thing for lawsuit guitars. Japanese instruments tend to be amazing.

If I had the cash, I’d do a Musikraft neck on a Guitar Mill body...trying to see if Guitar Mill will offer a body/neck deal on a JM style build. I know they will for a Strat or Tele...

[Lo-Fi]

Not much to add which hasn’t already been said but I have a 90s MIJ Jazzmaster which I much prefer to the 62 AVRI Jazzmaster which I previously owned (possibly a contentious statement!)

Only mods to my MIJ is a pickup swap for Antiquities and a Staytrem bridge. I absolutely love this guitar.

[Beyer160]

You're not wrong about the price vs. Classic lacquer, but compared to the lacquers I've played, the MIJ blows them away.

Pickups are subjective I guess, only matters if you're a traditionalist or you care about that kind of thing - nothing "wrong" with what's in there, they're just not really JM pickups in execution. From a build quality standpoint, which is harder to change than the electronics, they're miles apart. Fair point on the case, I'd rather not have one though, I live in a tiny apartment and would rather that cost go into the guitar anyhow (I mostly use a gigbag).

I'll have to disagree with the MIJs "blowing away" the MIMs- I've had several examples of each, and the higher end MIMs like the Classic Lacquers and TVLs are actually nicer than any MIJ I've ever seen (I've owned four MIJs at this point). I don't have any experience with the new MIM Vintera line, though. Both the Lacquers I've had are dead ringers for the AVRI '62s except for the bridge and trem plate being a little thinner and cheaper feeling. If you're talking about MIM Standards, sure- the MIJ necks are definitely nicer. As for the pickups, those Strat style pickups in MIJ Jazzmasters REALLY sound awful with 1M pots. MIJ stuff made sense 25 years ago when your only other choice was vintage (although you could pick up vintage offsets fairly cheaply in the '90s), but there are a lot more options now- including the Squier VM offsets (haven't played the newer CV though). The Squiers have better pickups and a properly spaced trem plate, although the MIJ necks are still superior (which they should be, given the cost difference).

[garyfanclub]

You're not wrong about the price vs. Classic lacquer, but compared to the lacquers I've played, the MIJ blows them away.

Pickups are subjective I guess, only matters if you're a traditionalist or you care about that kind of thing - nothing "wrong" with what's in there, they're just not really JM pickups in execution. From a build quality standpoint, which is harder to change than the electronics, they're miles apart. Fair point on the case, I'd rather not have one though, I live in a tiny apartment and would rather that cost go into the guitar anyhow (I mostly use a gigbag).

I'll have to disagree with the MIJs "blowing away" the MIMs- I've had several examples of each, and the higher end MIMs like the Classic Lacquers and TVLs are actually nicer than any MIJ I've ever seen (I've owned four MIJs at this point). I don't have any experience with the new MIM Vintera line, though. Both the Lacquers I've had are dead ringers for the AVRI '62s except for the bridge and trem plate being a little thinner and cheaper feeling. If you're talking about MIM Standards, sure- the MIJ necks are definitely nicer. As for the pickups, those Strat style pickups in MIJ Jazzmasters REALLY sound awful with 1M pots. MIJ stuff made sense 25 years ago when your only other choice was vintage (although you could pick up vintage offsets fairly cheaply in the '90s), but there are a lot more options now- including the Squier VM offsets (haven't played the newer CV though). The Squiers have better pickups and a properly spaced trem plate, although the MIJ necks are still superior (which they should be, given the cost difference).

Worth pointing out that the "Traditional" MIJ line, started in 2016 or 2017 is a step up from the previous generations - AVRI part specs, nicer hardware - these are meant to be high-end JM's for the Japanese market. There's a reason they're not often found over here, at the price point there'd be no reason to spend 2.5k on a comparably-built AV Fender. I'll agree that the 90's > early 2000s MIJs are not comparable, not sure they were ever meant to be, they were simply what was available 25 years ago before this whole crazy started and the marketplace matured.

YMMV, and this is of course, like, my opinion, man. I just haven't played a MIM Fender that's felt so "finished" and "solid" - only ones that have compared were stupid money ($5k vintage, or AV65's at roughly 1.5k+ what I paid).

Enough talking, here's a pic...