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Post subject: Mustang vs. Musicmaster What are the differences?
Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2009 7:36 am
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I've been playing the bass (MIM P) for a couple of years. I have short arms and small hands, so my reach is poor and this is hold me back from being the player I'd like to be. I've been looking at vintage Mustangs and Musicmasters on ebay. What are the main differences? Is one intended to be a more serious instrument than the other? Suggestions?


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Post subject: Re: Mustang vs. Musicmaster What are the differences?
Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2009 7:57 am
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DeeReyTx wrote:
I've been playing the bass (MIM P) for a couple of years. I have short arms and small hands, so my reach is poor and this is hold me back from being the player I'd like to be. I've been looking at vintage Mustangs and Musicmasters on ebay. What are the main differences? Is one intended to be a more serious instrument than the other? Suggestions?


I'm not up on all the information. But I think that when the Musicmaster was released it was supposed to be an "economy" version of the Mustang. So they probably used more laminates over higher quality woods, that's a guess but I know that the Mustangs I've played are heavier than my Musicmaster. And the Musicmaster was equipped with just a plain old single coil strat/6 pole pickup too. I'm sure the pots were probably a downgrade from a Mustang as well.

For the overall value, getting a decent vintage Musicmaster and spending some change on some upgrades could get you a bass you're very happy with. Of course that is up to you, can you do the work or is there a reliable luthier/tech to do it for you at a reasonable cost.

Like anything else, you'll play a bass and it'll just feel right. Musicmaster or Mustang won't matter at that point. I've been playing my MM for about 13 years and it's been great. Good luck.


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Post subject:
Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 11:36 am
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Mustang bass ( 70's basses)

-more expensive model
-Split pickup with two pole pieces per side, one pole piece per string.(Corrected From original post)
-through body stringing
-bigger pickguard
-massive bridge like a Musicman or Lakland
-premium Fender finishes offered

vs. Musicmaster bass

-single coil strat pickup under cover
-Smaller two piece bridge
-smaller pickguard
-neck not finished in glossy finish
-body roughly finished in blue, white, red or black
-smaller tuners, but they are good tuners, later on they used the same tuners as a Mustang bass ( after '75 I think)
-necks are great on these basses

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Last edited by BCbassman on Tue Mar 30, 2010 8:25 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Questions on an all-original '78 Mustang
Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 8:24 pm
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Thanks for your responses. After making my original post I found and have purchased a 1978 Mustang. It has a sunburst finish, great neck and sounds like a dream - really love playing it. One problem though, the clear-coat finish is cracked in several places. The cracks are in the finish only, not in the wood. What would you recommend? Leave as is, or go to the expense of having it refinished? Is this possible without repainting (hate to as the original sunburst paint job is fantastic) or will it have to be stripped all the way down to wood and be repainted in order to fix the cracking finish?


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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 2:40 pm
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I don't own your bass so its your call but whenever I am asked this question, I like to tell players that your Fender bass is always the coolest and the most valuable with its original finish.
No matter what condition it is in. Everty scratch and crack tells a story of bass that was played for 34 years and is, in itself, a piece of music history.

Refinishing a bass is difficult to do yourself and expensive to have done by a pro and once you do it. It can never be undone.
A refinished '76 Mustang bass will be worth half of what the same bass is worth with an original finish with its cracking clear coat and all.
Plus the cost of having a sunburst redone will be at least 400 dollars maybe more.

Fender guitars/basses are the only products that I know of that are artifically aged by their manufacturer and sold at a markup for that trouble. (See Road Worn and Relic guitars and basses)

When people are paying extra to have their basses road worn- Why would you want to undo the real thing?

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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 3:06 pm
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BCbassman wrote:
I don't own your bass so its your call but whenever I am asked this question, I like to tell players that your Fender bass is always the coolest and the most valuable with its original finish.
No matter what condition it is in. Everty scratch and crack tells a story of bass that was played for 34 years and is, in itself, a piece of music history.

Refinishing a bass is difficult to do yourself and expensive to have done by a pro and once you do it. It can never be undone.
A refinished '76 Mustang bass will be worth half of what the same bass is worth with an original finish with its cracking clear coat and all.
Plus the cost of having a sunburst redone will be at least 400 dollars maybe more.

Fender guitars/basses are the only products that I know of that are artifically aged by their manufacturer and sold at a markup for that trouble. (See Road Worn and Relic guitars and basses)

When people are paying extra to have their basses road worn- Why would you want to undo the real thing?



That's a good call, leave it if you can. I didn't have any choice based on the condition of my bass when I got it. The paint chips that were left on it were so discolored I didn't know what color they even were, maybe yellow or white?


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