My 3rd Musicmaster bass

[ilan]

Parts bass that I put together recently just for fun. A beat-to-hell '78 body with heavily flaking finish that I decided not to strip or refinish, a '77 neck with tuners that I took off of a '72 Mustang bass neck, and a gray bottom Mustang guitar pickup (Musicmaster basses had 6-pole guitar pickups). I went with a white pickup cover although I know it originally had a black cover, I think it looks better this way. The mint guard, Strat knobs and wiring harness are new. And she sounds wonderful and plays very nicely.

[Dave W]

Looks nice. I can't remember, did the original Musicmaster basses have a Mustang guitar pickup or was it a Musicmaster guitar pickup?

[godofthunder]

Cool bass ! Nice work on that. I always wanted one of those !

[Pilgrim]

Dang, something about the simplicity of those always gives me GAS.

Maybe after I sell my Epi EB-3 and Kay KB-2 I can indulge....

[ilan]

Looks nice. I can't remember, did the original Musicmaster basses have a Mustang guitar pickup or was it a Musicmaster guitar pickup?

AFAIK Mustang guitars, Musicmasters (both basses and guitars) and Duo-Sonics had the same pickup. Under the cover the pickup is like a Strat's (same bobbin) but with flush polepieces. 

[Dave W]

I know I like the tone of original pickup Musicmasters much better than Mustangs. Guitar pickup or not, it works fine and has plenty of low end, at least with the original bridge.

[pamlicojack]

I had a blonde 72.  It was a great bass but I hated the short scale.  Flipped it after about 6 months...

Enjoy it though, they sound and play fantastic...

[OldManC]

That's a beautiful bass! I love seeing so many basses being brought back from the dead (ala Dr. Frankenstein or otherwise). I really want a shorty Fender for my boy's first bass. I need to do my homework and learn the differences between the Musicmaster and the Mustang...

[ilan]

That's a beautiful bass! I love seeing so many basses being brought back from the dead (ala Dr. Frankenstein or otherwise). I really want a shorty Fender for my boy's first bass. I need to do my homework and learn the differences between the Musicmaster and the Mustang...

I got my first Musicmaster (black '78) for my kid as a first bass, then I got into Musicmasters myself - I like their sound although I wish they were long scale and had wider string spacing - and bought him a '78 Oly white Musicmaster. Next was a '66  Mustang body and pickup with a '72 neck, and now this one from parts. Of the three, the Mustang is my least favorite.

The differences: post-76 Musicmaster necks (cloverleaf tuners, TV logo) are identical to Mustang necks. In fact my '77 neck has a Musicmaster headstock decal and a Mustang neck stamp. The Mustang has a split coil pickup (like a P bass but with smaller bobbins and one polepiece per string), the Musicmaster has a 6-pole single coil guitar pickup. Bridges: Mustangs are 4-saddle strings-thru-body (Musicmasters have top load 2-saddle bridges), and have individual felt mute pads on springs, like early J's. Body shape is also identical but Musicmasters have rounded-edges slab bodies, and later Mustangs have tummy cuts and forearm contours. Mustangs generally had nicer woods for the see-thru finishes. Also, some Mustangs had maple boards, Musicmasters never had them.

Here is a better view of the flaking finish, compared to a clean '78:

[Dave W]

I also recall a photo from Bill Bolton of a stripped Musicmaster body with about 7 narrow pieces. Seems they were made up from offcuts. At least that one was. Can't tell when it's painted, and if that was common, IMHO it didn't hurt the sound.

[ilan]

I also recall a photo from Bill Bolton of a stripped Musicmaster body with about 7 narrow pieces. Seems they were made up from offcuts. At least that one was. Can't tell when it's painted, and if that was common, IMHO it didn't hurt the sound.

Yep, don't strip Musicmasters, they were made from leftover pieces and it's not a pretty sight. But I strongly believe that the secret ingredient in the Musicmaster's sound is glue.

There were some '80 or '81 Musicmaster basses - the last ones built - that had a translucent red finish, and a nicely grained ash body. But most of them were made using 5-6 unmatched strips of wood, hidden under opaque finishes.

[Pilgrim]

Yep, don't strip Musicmasters, they were made from leftover pieces and it's not a pretty sight. But I strongly believe that the secret ingredient in the Musicmaster's sound is glue.

That would explain why some laminate basses sound good! 

[ilan]

Here's one with a nice ash body.

[Freuds_Cat]

........ body with about 7 narrow pieces. Seems they were made up from offcuts.

Sounds like my 74 Jazz bass 

[Saf]

Love the sound of the musicmaster basses. I dig the flaking finish on your black one. My main '73 is steady going into relic mode. Played her a awfull lot last past five years.

Most musicmaster I've ssen that were stripped down where made of multiple piece of woord glued together. But al the ones I played and owned were great sounding and playing instruments. I own three lefty's at this moment but have owned twee rights strung as an lefty and three of four squier vista serie musicmasters strung as lefty's. The squiers are great basses as well. They have an mustang bass bridge string throug and with four saddles.

Mine musicmasters



From left to right]
'74 had a telecaster HB in it when I got it. Now has an GFS lipstick HB with push/pull pots (tone and volume). In and out phase and splitting. A vario-tone with mini switch for 5 additional different sounds and one mine switch to by-pass the vario-tone. I'm thinking of an mini switch serial/parallel switch. This one come to me from osteria
'77 orginal. All the wat fro maustralia
'73 and my main bass.

Homebuilt bass with and '78 MM neck. The orignal body on this ones was all chopped up and wasn't saveble so made an new body for her
Project thinline telecaster body with an squier bronco neck.