Mustang basses... any fans?

[Alanko]

Ha! The power of the Internet! Broad bass was a very apt description.

[Droombolus]

Almost correct. Actually BB stands for Broad Bass.

So it's a bass for women 

[Pilgrim]

So it's a bass for women 

Or guys over 30....that's when the spread starts to attack...

[Aussie Mark]

I bought a MIJ Mustang last year to use sometimes in our Stones tribute band.  Since being in that band I've got to tolerate short scale basses, and from my point of view the Mustang with flats sounded very close to a P bass.  I was not disappointed in it at all, the quality is excellent for a bass that cost me around $500 used.

[Alanko]

I like the Ampeg backline there! A nod to authenticity! Is that a GK amp behind you?

[JazzBassTbird]

I don't see any reason a Strat pickup wouldn't sense a strong fundamental? Is there anything in a passive guitar/bass circuit that acts as a high-pass filter?

Depends on the frequency response the pickup's designed for. Every pickup has a resonant frequency, the wind, materials used, and design all affect that.

[Pilgrim]

So didja go ahead and get a Mustang, didja, didja??? 

[Aussie Mark]

I like the Ampeg backline there! A nod to authenticity! Is that a GK amp behind you?

Smoke and mirrors.  The "Ampeg" cabs (we prefer the name "Shampeg") are empty frames only, and the Ampeg head on top is a gutted shell from a non-working Ampeg.  "Keef" has a Fender combo behind one of the "cabs".  My Fender 610 cab is real, but the "amp" on top is an empty SVT head shell with some knobs glued onto a silver-painted sheet of MDF.  At this gig I was running a Genz Benz Streamliner into the Fender cab.  The GB is sitting inside the SVT head shell, and I can reach around to tweak the controls if need be.

[Alanko]

So didja go ahead and get a Mustang, didja, didja??? 

I've registered an interest in one! I went into my local Fender dealer and they had no knowledge of these instruments, but their manager phoned me back the next day to let me know they would call when they get one in. Fender are telling dealers that they will be coming in around mid-September. The odd thing is that they are selling these new ones for less than the previous retail price. Another local shop had a MIJ Mustang in stock for a good long time, at around £700 if not slightly more. These new ones seem to hover around £520 or so. Weirder still considering the rumours that Fender Japan were packing it in. Maybe they found a bunch down the back of the sofa and are busy polishing them up...

Aussie Mark I applaud your resourcefulness! The wall of Ampeg is the Stones backline look I immediately think of, but is clearly impractical unless you are playing MSG. I see you haven't relocated the strap button to the lower horn like Bill did!

[Dave W]

Fender Japan was a marketing company rather than a factory. There's no reason Fender can't have a Mustang bass made in Japan by whichever factory made it under the old agreement -- assuming the new one you're talking about is actually made in Japan.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

the Ampeg head on top is a gutted shell from a non-working Ampeg.

Believe it or not, those switches on there are long out of production, hard to find and worth a bit of money. They are also some of the few parts of an SVT that actually go bad with age in all of them.

[Alanko]

Fender Japan was a marketing company rather than a factory. There's no reason Fender can't have a Mustang bass made in Japan by whichever factory made it under the old agreement -- assuming the new one you're talking about is actually made in Japan.

All the stores online are suggesting it is a Japan build, but they could be recycling old copy.

[Dave W]

All the stores online are suggesting it is a Japan build, but they could be recycling old copy.

New Fender Offset Guitars and Basses at Summer NAMM 2016

According to the paragraph beneath the video, they will be MIM.

And be sure to watch the video. It will have P/J pickups.

[Alanko]

Interesting! The thing I'm after is up for pre-sale here:

http://www.thomann.de/gb/fender_mustang_bass_vwt.htm?ref=search_rslt_Mustang+bass_389482_7

Fender Mustang Bass VWT, electric bass, made in japan, alder body, maple neck, c neck shape, rosewood fretboard, 19 frets, 38,1mm nut width, 30" (762mm) short scale, 1x Special Design Split Singlecoil, 1x master volume, 1x master tone, standard strings: Fender 5250XL (#181693), finish: vintage white.

[hieronymous]

I looked at the website for Ikebe, one of the big Japanese retailers. They have USA & MIM, but also "Fender Japan" - it looks like they are producing a limited number of instruments in Japan, marketed as "Japan Exclusive." (Confusing given that they supposedly put Fender Japan to rest.)

http://www.ikebe-gakki.com/ec/srDispCategoryTreeLink/doSearchCategory/11020J1F000/04-05/4/1 (not sure the link will work)

Ishibashi even has an MB-SD (Mustang Bass, presumably with the Seymour Duncan pickups that the earlier Fender Japan Mustangs came with?) in black, though it's on hold for someone, but it looks like a brand new one.

http://store.ishibashi.co.jp/ec/pro/disp/1/80-321631300 (again not sure the link will work)

Ikebe didn't list any Mustangs, only Precision & Jazz basses.