Fender MIJ Competition Mustangs

[Chris P.]

I play mostly short scale the last couple of years and I love Competition Mustangs.

Last year I found a good deal on a '93/'94 MIJ Competition Mustang in Ocean Turquoise Metallic. That's a strange colour. It is an old Ford colour (not the Mustang though) and Fender offered it back in the days too.... ....but I think they tried to come up with a colour that looks like yellowed Lake Placid Blue (or Competition Blue as it was known, with the stripes). I found some pics of old yellowed blue ones and it's almost spot on.

Another nice thing: I always loved the band Air and I wanted a Höfner because of their bass player. Not because of Macca. And he has the same Ocean Turquoise reissue.

Here's mine. It has Labella flats on it and I installed pickups from my good friend Carey Nordstrand, which make the bass sound better. As if you plug into a slightly better amp.



My dear friend Madelief borrowed it to use in a Bowie project, but now she still has it, cos she uses it to record her new album. This shot was taken on holiday:



 
A week ago I found another very affordable one. It comes from an UK dealer who only sells Japanese Fenders. He got some instruments sold, cos I adviced people to look at his site, so I got a great discount. This one's stock and is '95/'96:



I almost use Souldier straps from Buchanan only, cos owner Jen is a friend (again, haha!). On the white you see a prototype of the Johnny Cash strap. Check the 'finger' pic of him and you see this pattern.

[Chris P.]

My love for the Höfner sound started here:



And the same guy and song with the turquoise 'Stang:

[gearHed289]

About 9 years ago, a friend and former keyboardist of mine had her Music Master "converted" to a Competition Mustang and re-finished in Ocean Turquoise. Except she had a Duncan '51 P-style pickup put on, and I think a Badass. Really cool little bass, strung up with TI flats. This first pic makes it look more LPB, but against my car, you can tell it's more turquoise.

[Chris P.]

Looks very cool! I have a very battered Musicmaster and sometimes I think about a conversion to a Mustang. But MM's have their own charm.

[Pilgrim]

I've turned my Bronco bass into a Mustang near-clone, with a Gretsch 2202 pickup.  Nice sound, looks nice too.

I've added dice knobs since this:

[Chris P.]

Always liked that one!

[Rob]

Always liked that one!

Me too!

[Dave W]

I really like that Ocean Turquoise MIJ.

IMHO the Nordstrand pickups sound much better than the originals.

[ilan]

That's a great color for a Competition Mustang.

Soundwise, personally I prefer the single-coil Musicmaster Bass.

[Chris P.]

I installed the Nordstrands and I didn't know a bass could get so much better with other pickups. I changed Jazz pickups once, bit the sound didn't change that much. But now it's just.. ..better! Like I said, as if you plugin a slightly better amp.

Musicmaster versus Mustang. I have a blue Squier MM and a '78 black Fender MM. I always read the 'Musicmasters sound better than Mustnags', but not to my taste. And yes it's taste. MM's sound a bit woodier, the Mustang a bit more 'little P.'

The white is not a real '66 Competition Mustang colour but I like the Shelby Mustang Vibe:



I really love Chrysler/Dodge muscle cars and I really love GM muscle cars, but I never liked any Ford at all. Strange I play Thunderbird and Mustang. I guess I need a Warwick Corvette and someone should make a Chevelle, Impala, Charger, or Challenger bass haha! Having said that I really love the muscle car series by G&L Detroit Muscle series, although they lacked stripes, one based on GM and the other on Mopar:

[ilan]

MM's sound a bit woodier, the Mustang a bit more 'little P.'

I couldn't agree more, Chris. That's exactly how I hear both basses. For me, that "bit woodier" sound is a lot like the neck pickup on a good pre-CBS Jazz, and the "little P" sound is just that - makes me want to play my real P's.

[Dave W]

I prefer the original Musicmaster pickup to the original Mustang pickup. Never thought of it in terms of being woody but it does fit. Regardless, there are a few aftermarket Mustang choices and plenty of rail-type Strat pickups that will work in a MM without any routing. With either bass you don't have to be tied to the originals.

[Chris P.]

Yep!

My '78 Musicmaster has a lipstick - because I liked the sound in the Rascal - and makes it a bit more 'little P'

My '97 Squier Vista doesn't have the 4-pole but an old 6-pole and is a bit more woody.

My turquoise Mustang has the Nordstand. The new one is so new, i can't give an opinion and the turquoise isn't here. The white one will get Labellas too, so I can A/B them soon.

About the little P thing: I understand you want to play your real P, Ilan, but I just enjoy the looks, the narrow neck and the sound high on the strings of the little Mustang

[Dave W]

The Rascal didn't work for me, but there's no reason a lipstick pickup won't work in the right bass, even though the Seymour Duncan lipsticks in the Rascal were designed for a special run Strat. Always keep in mind that the pickup doesn't know what it's being installed in.     The last bass I bought (back in 2017) is a short scale bass with only a Lace Sensor Gold Strat pickup at the neck. I think it sounds great as a bass pickup.

[ilan]

I loved the Rascal. Short-scale basses with P-like overall length, i.e. basses where the bridge is moved about 4" up the body like the Fender Bass VI or the Teisco RB200, are to me the most comfortable basses to play. I like the short-scale sound, and the 1st fret is still where my left arm remembers it.