Mustang basses... any fans?

[Alanko]

my hands got a bit ahead of my brain... or maybe its the other way round. I shimmed the neck. I would never shim the bridge. If anything the saddle issue could be cured by routing the bridge into the top of the instrument, but I'm not going to be doing that.

Pics:



I put the tugbar on as a nod to authenticity.



The previous owner(s) had put a dent on the lower horn. I drop-filled it with superglue. You can see the edges of the damaged white paint, but I know that colour-matching white would be impossible so used a clear fill.



In the light it looks ok!



I also added a 'Hootenanny' button. I noticed one on the back of Wally Waller's bass in some Pretty Things footage. I will never use it, and the black gromit might be wrong, but I quite like the look.



I've noticed this issue on my bass, and on a bunch of pictures of Mustang basses online. The saddles all want to lean subtly over to the treble side. I think that the saddles are drilled for the mounting screws in the wrong location. The strings and the screws diverge subtly, and the strings seem to want to pull the saddles off-centre slightly. Not sure how this influences tone, but it makes everything look a little cockeyed.

[Pilgrim]

Great color, nice tort, and a deft touch on the chip fill.  Looks great to me!!

[Rob]

Very nice

[Alanko]

Thanks guys!  First rehearsal with it last night. VTDI into some random Trace combo. Sounded alright, and way easier to get around the neck.

[Pilgrim]

Dr. Bill and I both have espoused the virtues of the 30" neck. It's pretty nice.

[Dave W]

Looks good!

[Alanko]

I do feel that some commonly repeated criticisms of 30'' basses are a little unjust? Maybe it is because people associate the length with beginner basses of a certain era (combined with beginner amps of a certain era)?

Anyway, for reference I discovered a photo of last night's rehearsal online. I used to be 6 foot on the nose, but four years of crunching desk-bound office work have probably taken a few inches off:



I don't think I'm especially small, but I enjoy the feel of the Mustang! I started off on a Squier Bronco, so to me it is a bit of a return to my origins, or something. My hands, shoulders and back felt a lot better after three hours than they do with my P bass.

[Dave W]

It doesn't look that small on you. It's not as if you're Leslie West slinging a Junior.

The beginner bass stigma is part of it, sure. The other part is that a 30" scale doesn't give you the same complex overtones of a 34" scale, and the E string isn't as dominant. Still, short scale basses have their own thing going, and that's fine.

[gearHed289]

Nice wardrobe dude!

[Jeff Scott]

I've noticed this issue on my bass, and on a bunch of pictures of Mustang basses online. The saddles all want to lean subtly over to the treble side. I think that the saddles are drilled for the mounting screws in the wrong location. The strings and the screws diverge subtly, and the strings seem to want to pull the saddles off-centre slightly. Not sure how this influences tone, but it makes everything look a little cockeyed.

Which era CIJ is your Mustang Bass?  Is it the mid '00s era?Mine was from the short run in the mid 1990s, and its bridge saddles look like they line up fine.

I guess your are leaning a little bit to the right when viewed vertically.

[Alanko]

I guess your are leaning a little bit to the right when viewed vertically.

Spatially or politically?  The picture is cropped from a wider panorama shot, so the geometry is a bit suspect. I think it is a newer bass, but I've not actually looked up the serial number at all.

gearHed289, is that you? My older pair of red Chucks even have black laces!

[patman]

I perform in red chucks also.  after years, it's sort of a trademark

[gearHed289]

gearHed289, is that you? My older pair of red Chucks even have black laces!

Yes, that's me. I saw your pic and I was like "I wore that same getup at a 4th of July gig this year!"  The shoes are ancient, and actually burgundy, but close enough...

[Alanko]

One thing I've noticed is that this bass is noisy... especially with my home recording and rehearsal setup. I've ordered some copper slug tape! The bass has zero shielding fitted stock.

[Chris P.]

I have a Squier Musicmaster and a Fender Musicmaster but I wanted a Mustang for years. A cream one with tort would do, I almost bought a Squier Mustang in sunburst at a local shop, but the real dream was to have one with Competition Stripes, like Trevor Bolder of the Spiders From Mars and, of course, Bill Wyman. The Stones Gear Book made me fell in love again.

I still regret not buying the pawn shop in red and the last couple of years I searched for an affordable Mustang. Even the cream ones are hard to get, the new one is ugly and too expensive. A couple of weeks ago I almost bought a cream one, but the seller decided to keep it. His guitar played (a colleage haha) told him not to sell it.

Original comp stripes are far to expensive for me and even reissues are sold for a lot of money on ebay. If you can find one.... They almost never pop up, and if so very expensive....

The a friend said a company in England just had some Mustangs in. It's called Gas Station Guitars and this company just moved from Australia to the UK. The guy only buys and sells Japanese Fenders, like those bound Jazz Basses, a lot of Mustang guitars, Jazzmasters, Jaguars, et cetera. He had two Mustangs in, for a real fair price. Almost cheap... he had a Lake Placid Blue one from 2002 with lighter blue stripes, but a wrong tort guard. He immediately sold it. No worry, cos I fell in love with the other one. An Ocean Turquoise from '97. White stripes, only missing the finger rest (already got one in). I bought it and it will be shipped today! I hope to have it wednesday and it's one of the last basses of my 'wish list'.

When I reviewed the Fender Rascal Bass, I fell in love with the Ocean Turquoise Metallic. I think it's kinda rare and it's gorgeous. Keith from this shop is great to deal with.


two random images from the net: