Does anybody have a Fender Marcus Miller Jazz Bass? Do you get that "Marcus" sound with it? The original model has a Sadowsky preamp.....maybe that makes a big difference?
I think it was reviewed in bass player magazine

I have played one many times, and thought it was a solid bass. The absence of a Sadowski preamp did compromise a bit of that "Marcus sound," but not that much. Needless to say, I didn't sound much like Marcus when I played it! The review in B.P.M. was informative, and check out the B.P. website archives for it.

I've never played one, but we have a customer at our store that says he loves his and is very please with it. I've read several reviews that said the preamp was noisy. Of course one man's poison is another's cure.

From Marcus' Website:

The preamp in my '77 jazz bass is called a TCT made by Bartolini and installed by Roger Sadowsky. It has bass and treble boost knobs and an on and off switch.

Groove is Everything
Jon Packard

Yeah, Sadowsky didn't make a preamp yet when he modified Marcus Miller's bass.

I've played the MM Jazz...it certainly made the licks I've copped off of Marcus sound more like him than they do on my Stingray...it's well-made. I'm not fond of the pickup cover, but otherwise it's a fine bass. Japanese-made, good hardware. You certainly couldn't go wrong...

I have one. It's very bright sounding, so if you're looking for a bluesier axe with a less pronounced growl, you should find an alder/rosewood combination. The preamp has a very effective bass control; I lay off the treble boost, though, since the bass is already so bright. You can get pretty close to Marcus, though whether this is technique or instrument I'm not sure.

It's put together pretty well. The neck pocket isn't very tight, but I guess it's true to the original Also, some of the fret ends were left a little sharp, which is probably due to the fact that the neck is bound.

It only has 20 frets, which is limiting, but cures overplaying. One last thing: this is a heavy sucker. My specimen weighs as much as my Roscoe Beck 5-string, which itself isn't known for being a flyweight!

I think that the Marcus Miller bass is bogus.

Marcus just wanted his name on a Fender.

As mentioned in this thread Sadowsky had a lot to do with the development of his original bass and Fender threw some pre amp into theirs copied the pick guard design and called it -
The Marcus Miller bass - for the Marcus sound. I have not seen any reference to Sadowsky in Fenders ads for this bass....

On a side note, over the weekend I picked up a set of DR "Marcus Miller Fatbeams."
I was extremely happy with my purchase, to say the least. (I haven't used DR Hi-Beams before, but I've been told that the Marcus signatures sound/feel alot like Hi-Beams.)

Great tone & playability... we'll see if they last or not

I couldn't get my hands on a Marcus signature so I made my own. It's an American Made 2000 Fender Jazz with an Ash body, Maple neck, Natural Finish, with EMG active Pick-ups. I use the "Marcus" Fatbeams by DR and I can cop a pretty respectable Marcus Sound among others. I used to use GHS or Ernie Ball strings and I was unwilling to spring the extra $5.00 for the DR's. Then I finally caved in, and I was blown away by them. These strings "sing" (that's the best way I can describe the difference in tone) and they last quite a bit longer then anything else I've tried. Some time later I tried the Hi-beams and my frets buzzed badly regardless of what my tech did to adjust my bass. Anyways, this is off the subject but I couldn't pass up a chance to brag on the Fatbeams. I did not experience the bass workmanship issues mentioned above with my American made Jazz. So for $1129.00 I got a very well made American made bass, pickups and case.

Like everyone else I love to play all the basses at every music store. I've found that in this price range Music Man and Warwick basses are equal in tone and workmanship but you'd have to drop considerably more cash to bump up to a nicer bass. As always good luck and happy hunting!
Robert

I was watching the Wooten Brothers at 3rd and Lindsley last Wednesday. My friend Robert Cureton sat in with the band. He played a Marcus Miller jazz bass, and it sounded good. :p

And why should they? All Roger did was install a Bartolini preamp in it. Sure, he routed the body and cut the now distictive pickguard extension, but in reality that's just cosmetic. The bass is just a great Fender with an active preamp. And since Marcus does record with it, it's not really bogus....

Talk about digging up old threads! I had the opportunity to try one of these out this afternoon. Nice bass! The neck felt really good and the tone was sweet. I think the one I was trying had been there for some time though. While I was fiddling with the controls it was a little scratchy sounding. Still the tone shaping was decent. It was a decent bass for $699.

They have made a 5 string version that made in america....not sure if it makes the biggest difference....most of those japanese fenders are pretty sweet.

I still would love to know if anyone has tried out the 5 string version of this bass. As much as I liked this as a 4 string, I'd love to try the 5.