you ordered one already did you?
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hahahaa
ahh no.
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everybody calm down, surgery was a success. Greg is up and healthy again ^-^
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we both do! and I even feel a bit mroe connected to him now 
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Yeah ordered and arriving mid October.
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Quick question, why does Fender’s location of assembly/build seem to be so important (MIM, MIJ, MIA)?
Are they so different that justify everyone around the web apparently giving it so much importance?
Honest question. Aren’t they all Fenders in the end of the day?
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That is a great question, and there is some debate about MIA and MIM being close enough to be same.
Some of the MIM and MIA materials do differ.
But geographic location of the two makes them close to one and the same.
There is at least one, and many days two or more trucks that go back and forth between the two plants bringing parts back and forth.
MANY of the MIA bodies are actually CNC machined IN the mexico plant.
And I believe that ALL of the necks are. They do not do the CNC machining production in Corona any longer.
So, the hand finishing, sanding, and stain / paint / veneer / finish is done in the Corona plant (Corona is in California).
The MIA necks fretboards are probably cnc machined for the frets, in Mexico as well
But all the fretting, final neck assembly, and all the assembly, set up and tuning of all MIA’s is completed in Corona CA.
So, the big difference wold be the master luthiers that do all the fret work and finishing work and assembly and set up / tuning will be different between the two plants. That and materials selected and used. Even when the same material type is used, the MIA might get a higher grade
This is a generalization of how it operates. My roommate took a tour of the plant a few months ago and this was divulged to him then, and I ma going from memory, but it is very similar to what I just described if not exact.
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My new American pro P bass goes in for minor surgery tomorrow. Set up (action is def too high) new pickguard and some Labella Flats 
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In the most general terms, Fender Made in America (MiA) instruments uses the best cuts of wood, get the most finishing work, have higher quality hardware, and better electronics.
The Made in Japan (MiJ) Instruments exist a bit outside of the main Fender line. With older MiJ instruments, that were made while Fender was having trouble and moving operations, were the best Fender had in the market at the time. Considered to be at least as good as the MiA and frequently considered better.
With the modern Fender MiJ, we only have the Aerodyne as an example. It’s a beautiful instrument that also sits a bit outside of the main Fender line since it has it’s own modern styling.
As for Made in Mexico (MiM), they’re good instruments. They just do things to keep costs down to make it more affordable. Like not doing as much finishing work on the neck as you would expect to see on an MiA and using less expensive electronics.
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Fender makes MIJ models for all basses. Jazz, Precision, etc.
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Are they just not sold in the US?
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Maybe? They are definitely all over the place here.
Strats, teles, J’s, P’s, etc.
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Weird. I had no idea. The only ones I’ve ever seen were older and being sold used. Thanks @howard.
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They seemed super good to me, FWIW 
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Man, that is crazy. There are at least ten different variations on the Aerodyne. In the US we just have one, the black one @rory just got.
There are also colors Fender isn’t offering unless you go through the Mod Shop and you have no pick guard styles that aren’t offered here at all.
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I basically love the color selection here, yeah
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that’s relative to the range. from the lowest to the highest : MIM > MIJ > MIA
those are all “real” Fender (same basic design) and even a MIM can be quite a good instrument.
possible for the beginning of the CBS era (70’s/80’s) but I can’t agree for the current range. not saying that a MIJ is not a good instrument but it definitely does not compare to a MIA.
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I think for the CBS era, the MIJ clones were probably better Fenders than Fender was making.
Actually that’s still true for some of the boutiques, but that’s not limited to Japan.
The history of the lawsuit era is interesting.
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