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Post subject: Showing off my Squier Vista Musicmaster Bass
Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 8:41 am
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1997 Squier Musicmaster Vista Series

i haven't enjoyed a bass like this since my
67 Mustang. i think i like it better actually, but
that was long ago.
i bought it to back up my Bronco
Never know when a cap or jack could wig out.

i'm amazed that i never heard of these musicmasters before this year.
i've played Squiers for many years and never seen one.
The advertising must have been minimal at best when they came out.
i saw a Coral Pink and a Sonic ? Blue one on Ebay and i freaked.
i had to have one.

Found mine on Ebay and snagged it quickly!
These are so hard to find.
Rare isn't the word for them.

If you love Musicmasters Mustangs or Broncos
and see a Vista Musicmaster get it ASAP!
They are awesome little basses with truck loads of character!

You did an awesome job on this one Squier!
Thank You!


hellkat [/img]


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Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 4:13 pm
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Man I love those Vista Series Basses!!!
It really looks sharp in black!
I have a sparkle finish 96'Vista SuperSonic.
The series on a whole is hard to find, but very coool!!
Nice find!! 8)


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Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 7:02 pm
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Hey BastardN...

Thanks!
i really loved the coral pink one the best.
The bidders were vicious on that one.
It went for 350.00.

i'm so glad i found it.
Just finished goin thru it today.
The range of sounds this thing can make is phenomenal.
You can actually use the tone control...

Shielding the cavities cut most of the alnico noise
down and boosted the output to 8.10 K
which is mindblowing for a single coil pup.
Most stock P basses can't do that..lately.
i have a Bronco with a B&P Hotrail kickin
13.0 K and the Vista Tone can compete quiet nicely.

Thanks for the look and comment!

Have a good one!

hellkat

My girl calls me a bass $@!&#... :lol:
She's glad she's not a bass...


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Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 9:38 pm
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Hellkat -

Very cool Bass. I'm trying to finish out my Vista series collection and I still need the MusicMaster and the 12 string Venus.

You're right - they seem to be as rare as hens teeth. I saw the pink one on eBay a few weeks ago, but had my spare $$$ tied up in another project. My time will come though!! :D

I'm happy for you that you found yours and that you like it! I think the Vista series Squiers are well worth the money and the effort to find them.

Keep thumpin' 8)

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Old age and treachery will win every time over youth and enthusiasm.

"You can never have too many Tele's." A quote from my Sweetwater Sales Engineer


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Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 4:11 am
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Hey RickyD!

Thank you!

i had an anxiety attack when i saw it.
Sweatin and the whole nine. LOL

Yeah the pink Vista was awesome...
some lucky cat gotta a great one there.
i didn't have the cabbage at that time either.

What's really odd is the MM Squiers seem to be
more rare than vintage Fender Musicmasters.
i can see their value climbing higher
than most of the vintage MMs.
They're made better too, that's for sure.

i wonder if Ducan made the Vista Tone pups?
Really love the pup on my MM!

Good luck on your collection!
The Venus is an awesome guitar!
Yes your time will come.

Thanks for the read and comment!

hellkat

My bass was my friend when no person was...


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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2009 12:40 pm
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It seems awful rare to find folks that are big supporters of short scale bass guitars, Musicmasters or Mustangs or whatever. Very cool to read about how much you like yours. Sharp little bass, I really like it when the headstock is painted to match the guitar body, looks classy. My Montara and tie dye strat both have that little feature.

I have a '78 Fender Musicmaster that is my main workhorse, love that guitar. I looked for quite a while for a second one (a backup is always a good idea) but never stumbled on one I could afford. I settled for an SX short scale Jazz bass, nice but not like my Musicmaster as a backup.

Someday I hope to have a Mustang. I had heard of the Vista series but never read too many reviews on them.

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Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2009 2:50 pm
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Hey WI KISSfan!

That's a great MusicMaster!
Love the blue!

Here's my back up:
Image

You can get these for a song.
i paid 44.00 on Ebay for Buckey...(Bronco)
another 32 bucks for a B&P hotrail and ur ready to rock.
i hand lamanated the nitro tort.

There a Bronco on Ebay now for about 79.00.
There's also a closet classic '77 MM on there now.
It even has the hang tags...It's Awesome!

i love shortscale basses!
In bands with 5 members ur not knockin the guitarist or the singer
in the head if ya break bad during a jam.
It's to their advantage too.
Stanley Clark like em too. (Alembic)
(Not that i'm that good...LOL)
So if a rockhead band member busts on you
then remind them that Stanley played one.
Doesn't get much better than S.C. on the bottom.

Thanks!
i love it too...That was a great feature on these Vistas.
i also love the gold trimed out Squier logo.
Very unique in my opine.

The Bronco headstock is small like a Stratt headstock
but the Vista MM has a fatter one.
Love that too..
The Bronco makes a great backup for a Musicmaster.
i tune one 1/2 down and one standard.
Can jump back and forth with no issues at all.

SX makes a great bass.
Had a 57P at one time.
Flame top finish it was beautiful.
i just didn't care for the soft maple neck.
Felt like it bent when i got on it.

That Montara is awesome!
Love the paint job on that!

The Mustangs are very nice.
Didn't have the bucks for one this time but owned an old 67.
i routed it out ( i know, how stooopid i was 17 yrs old then)
but those egg pups didn't have any sustain so i
went with the old Tele/P chrome bucker.
It's out there somewhere...i hope to see it again one day.
It was a great bass.

i started on a shortscale Lyle back in 1977.
Found my way back to enjoying & playing a shortscale again.
No turning back no matter how i may get ragged for it.

i really dig Paul holding your MM neck in the pic!
Too Kool!

Thanks for the comments look & read!


hellkat
http://www.myspace.com/30yearsafter


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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 2:44 am
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hellkat, WI KISSfan,

It's good to meet both of you guys and see your interests in the short scale basses. I'm primarly a Tele player, but I picked up a P Bass a few months ago and am learning note by note, fret by fret.

I too have taken an interest in the short scale basses. I have another Tele or two on my list, but after that I'm gonna do just what you are talking about w/ the MusicMasters and Bronco's. I've also been looking at the new Mustang Bass and the Jag Bass.

Anyway - good to meet you guys. We'll have to keep up this discussion on the short scales.

RickyD

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"You can never have too many Tele's." A quote from my Sweetwater Sales Engineer


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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 6:41 am
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Hey RickyD!

Good to meet you (yall) too!

i went back to short scale again for a stupid superstition theory.
i was having a lot of auditions but wasn't landing anything.
Used Fender Ps when trying out...Bombed out almost every time.
So i told my chic, hey baby, when i had a Bronco i was
auditioning & gettin the gig, actually playing out and making money.
Maybe the Bronco (shortscale) is less threatening in a band
because of it's size and symbolic shape.

LSS got another Bronco, tried out for a band, got the gig
1st time out...theory worked.

also i must really suck on a P Model too....LOL
i do have small hands...maybe i'm quicker on changes with a Bronco/ MM.
i enjoy playing them more.
The MM & Bronco makes me want to play more...it seems natural to me.
P's can get tiring after 3 hours too.
i'm old as dust here...Don't need a machine gun when a pistol will do.

i like the Jags too, but not a fan of Jazz pups.
i found them to be noisy and weak too.
i've read the Jags are neck divers as well.
A newer Buckcherry live jam i saw their bassist
was playing one and thought it was pretty weak.
But it may have been their sound tech or the lack thereof.

The sustain in the Mustangs & Squier MMs are awesome.
Must be the Alder and string thru bridges.
The agathis Bronco is not bad but its not Alder either.

i'm glad i've found some guys into the Shortscale Fenders too.
My girl is as well...LOL

Have a Good One!

http://www.myspace.com/30yearsafter
hellkat



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Bass Players Know How To Squeeze The Bottom
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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 6:56 am
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Great to discuss these Ricky and Hellkat. I in fact am pretty short, about 5'6" so I can't palm a basketball anymore than I can be comfortable reaching around on a HUGE bass like a P bass or something. Don't get me wrong, they're great, but comfort is the key. And with the Line 6 amp I just bought I can boost the snot out of my tones and get about anything I want for a sound.

Ok, I know I've shared this before but since this is all about short scales, I want to share my story on the blue Musicmaster.

It was summer '95, my friend's folks bought an old farm and I was helping him with some moving duties, etc. His dad comes out of the barn with this terrible looking case and says he just found this up in the hayloft. It was the musicmaster. The bass was in terrible shape, light coat of rust on the chrome parts and the paint was cracked and coming off in huge flakes. My buddy said I could have it since I was learning bass. Now keep in mind, in 95 the internet was pretty nonexistant and no one had a computer so I had no idea what a short scale bass was. But I took it home and plugged it in and it worked! The pots were shot but otherwise I had tone.

So having nothing to lose and no one around my central WI location to help me I decided to undertake the rebuild. I pulled it all apart, sanded and stripped the body down to the wood. I took it to a local body shop where our car was going in for hail damage repair. So that blue color is the same as our '93 Intrepid was. And it got a few coats of clear coat too, all for next to nothing. I knew the guy and paid him like $30 to add the guitar body into the paint process.

As for the rest of the guitar. I was able to shine up the bridge, but the E and A tuners were stripped and had to be replaced. I used the original Strat pickup for many years but eventually had to upgrade when it failed, the Seymour Duncan has been very nice. New pots and I customized the pickguard with my kids hands/feet on it.

For a total of about $150-$200 and some of my own labor I have this great bass with a great history of it's rescue.

The pickguard on it now is a new replacement, we had two kids when I rebuilt the bass, and after "surprise" baby #3 I redid that.

What a long story, hope you're still awake. I did look at the Bronco's Hellkat but the ones I tried just didn't feel too "solid" to me, not as much as the SX. And the SX had a money back guarantee so I thought it was worth the try, out of the box and plays fine. The pickups are a little weak by comparison but it's a good little bass.

Ricky, if you're a guitarist and wanting to try bass, short scales are a great way to make the transition from one to the other less imposing. I jump around with my 6 strings and bass all the time and that's what I've found anyway.


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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 6:26 pm
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Hey WI KISSfan.

i know what ya mean.
i'm 5-10 but have stubs.
The reach on a P with the taper drives me nuts after a while.
causes a pinch in the bends of me fingers after about an hour.
Don't have that prob at all with my MusicMaster or Bronco.
The hold back on the shortscales is doing some Dennis Dunaway
on No More Mr. Nice Guy kinda stuff.
Can't get there on the short scale.
i just drop to the next octave for stuff like that.

i loved the story!
That's a great color.
Bet if you knew then what you knew now
you'd probably left the flaked out paint on it.
That would've been so kool.

i hear ya.
You have an oldie and a Bronco feel can't touch your vintage MM.
Your SX is probably Alder, Agathis can't compete with that.
Dragonfire pups are great for the bucks.
The dude that sells them on ebay is straight up.
The out put advetised is what you'd get.
BUT Jazz pups it seems of every make are noisy.
i've even tried EMGs and they have ground issues too.

Digin the shop talk!
TTYL

Oh Yeah...i'm selling my Fire Rescue 2001 Fender P.
Here's a pic:
Have a vet. bill to pay.
Image

It was in my nehews' garage after he got it from a house fire in Va.
They shipped it to me and i brought it back to life.
i went for the 1962 P look...i know no duh...lol
Better pics on Ebay when i list it.

All coatings are Nitro Pigs and Satin Nitro clear coat.
It's a beater look.


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 7:41 am
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Indeed good to discuss these short scales, we're def in the minority with them.

To tell you the truth, Hellkat, the flaked up paint did have to go, it wasn't an option. It wasn't just cracked, it was curling and raising off the body in big chunks. The chunks of paint were all about 2 inches in diameter/approx and they edges were all raised about 1/2" from body, they all looked like dead leaves if you catch my drift, and there was some mildew/stains on the wood. The body really needed to be stripped to be saved if you catch my drift. The chipboard case was so moisture laden it weighed about 10 pounds, when I opened the lid the hinges just pulled out of it. Who knows how long that thing laid up there exposed to the weather?

My one regret, huge regret, is that I never took a "before" picture of just how rough that thing was when it was first found and I got it. That was just pure stupidity on my part, how I skipped that I'll never know.

That P bass looks very nice, and big, LOL.

All of this discussion has renewed my interest in getting a Mustang to go with my MM bass. Now that I have my Line 6 amp paid for I can start saving my $ again, when I have enough I would sell the SX for the last needed cash and get a Mustang. I'd love a Fiesta red Mustang with a white pickguard, that would look so good with my blue MM.

Ah, now I'm dreaming.

I need some stained glass projects to raise some $$'s too.


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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Dec 05, 2009 3:45 am
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Yes i agree. People that love short scale basses are in a minority.
Which is kool. Different strokes kinda thing.
Maybe it's because no really famous bassist ever made it with one.
A pop culture thingie possibly.
i've never seen Geddy Lee playing one if ya know what i mean.
Wonder how guitarists would feel if they had to play a
long scale (same as a standard P) guitar with jumbo frets.
Bet there wouldn't be many guitar heros with those...LOL

i hear ya.
It's amazing that your musicmaster even survived.
And the neck wasn't warped?
Is the body a laminate or slab?
Pics of the before would have been so appropriate for its story.

i was cleaning Black Betty (my MM) last night
and i noticed because of the thin top layer paint
it has 6 pieces of laminated wood for the body.
The under coat is white. Which makes me think it was a Rejected Mustang.
This process seems typical in Squiers.
i've refinished about 5 Squiers and all of them
had a different paint jobs underneath the top coat.
i saw the white under this one in a chip in the neck pocket.

i have a theory about Squier basses.
i think they are rejected Fenders shipped to Indo or China.
Built there and shipped back.
i've seen better bodies on made in China bases
than the real Fender (Fire rescued P) in the previous posted pic.
The fire P had about 5 lams in the body.
i made a Relic this year from a China Squier P
that hand a solid slab body. The flaw i found
was a huge factory chip repair in the heel's neck.

The fire P had a tobacco burst and Blue paint under it's black finish.
Yeah, 3 coats of previous paint jobs.
i also think Squiers use paint for primer too.
They all may, don't really know.

Yes that P is Huge.
And the fire petrified the wood.
It's hard as a rock.
It's a moose!
i played out one time with it.
Man i couldn't wait for that night to end.
Talk about a chor to play it is.
Beautiful sound tho...Sounds like a piano being hit by a sledgehammer.

Here's a pic of my Relic'd job this year:
Image

i almost wanted to keep that one.
The sound was amazing.
i paint tarnished the chrome. Even the screw heads.
The cat that bought it loved it a lot.
Glad he was pleased.

Mustangs are the bomb!
Love them a lot.
Just have a multimeter with you when you buy one.
Some of those egg pups are really weak.
Take an old guitar cord, cut and strip it back.
Have alligator clips on the meter leads, clip them to
the striped back wires and turn up the volume knob.
If they aint kickin at least 6.5 k then put it back in the stand.
The replacement pups that are good can run nearly
a 3rd of the price of the bass.
i've seen MIM Fender Ps with weaker pups
than China Squier made Ps.
No joke...

Have a good one and hug your MM today.
i will be playing Black Betty for the 1st time tonite with the band.
i can't frickin wait to see those Gibson/ Marshall dudes
jaws drop when i crank her up!

Rock On Brutha!

http://www.myspace.com/30yearsafter
hellkat


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Post subject: Had to share this MusicMaster Auction
Posted: Sat Dec 05, 2009 7:23 am
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http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-1974-FENDER-MUSICMASTER-BASS-NO-RESERVE_W0QQitemZ150394772512QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item23043a1c20

Hard times are throwing some beauties out lately.
What a closet classic this one is!
My guess it'll go for around 800.00

This will be fun to watch...in my opine.


hellkat
http://www.myspace.com/30yearsafter

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The notes you don't play are the important ones


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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 5:41 am
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i have to give my Squier Musicmaster a 9 after last night's jam with the band.

Would have given it a 10 if it weren't for the heaviness.
It was close to feeling as heavy as a Fender P.
It's a heavy lil sucker considering it's a short scale.

Sound was solid and strong as a team of oxes!
Sustain for days!
One of our guitartist Cain had to play it.
He was blown away...He said feels and sounds
as good as any high dollar bass.
i helped him within the Gibson myth.
He thought he wanted a Gibson silver burst and i was like...
Dude the Epip. silver burst is a solid body Les Paul
and the Gibson is a chambered body Les paul.
LSS he said, man you were right, i'm gettin the Epip.

Moral?
A lot of Squier Basses are just as good as the top o the line Fenders.
Just have to choose one carefully.
i seriously don't think there's a stock Fender MM out there
that can my compete with a stock Vista Squier Musicmaster.
That's just for the real...in my opine.
Very pleased with Black Betty...obviously.


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