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Get it refurbished or leave it as is?
Leave it in it's "thoroughly used" style 88%  88%  [ 7 ]
Get it refurbished 13%  13%  [ 1 ]
Total votes : 8
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Post subject: 1976-1977 Musicmaster Bass?
Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2011 10:41 pm
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I'm new to the vintage bass market, but I saw a 1976-1977 Musicmaster Bass with some weird pickup setup (kinda like 2 jazz bass pickups glued together and wired in unison) on ebya for 60 bucks. It had the whole black pickguard black body rosewood fretboard style with the expected dings and scrapes. The tuners have a small spot of rust on them. It's about a 6 out of 10 on an aesthetic scale. The pickup routing looks amateur, but the 60 bucks for a 34 year old bass is appealing to me, simply because I like the vintage style but I'm too cheap to buy one of the $5000 jazz basses that are so common they're almost not worth it. Is $60.00 US a good price for a bass of this condition? The guy was advertising it for $58. There is also a greyish cloud on the neck about from frets 3-11. Is that just use that one would find on a bass of this age? Or is it grease/sweat/crappy care from the previous owner? The ebya page does not say how many have owned this bass, but it looks like the shop that ones it wasn't the first. I am also thinking of repainting the pick guard to an off white. Never was into that whole black on black thing. Looked tacky to me. Also, would there be a guy near Dallas, Texas that would do a professional refurbishment of the bass? Thank you!!


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Post subject: Re: 1976-1977 Musicmaster Bass?
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 11:24 am
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$60.00 is an incredibly good price for a USA Fender bass in any condition, let alone one from the 70s.
Get the bass and post some pictures, but if you have waited until you heard a reply to your question on this forum, that bass has probably already been sold.

There is somebody in every US city of any size that can restore a Fender bass. It just comes down to :How much is the bass going to be worth after you put that kind of money into it?
A Musicmaster Bass may cost more to restore than the bass could sell for.

It is then up to you to decide if it is worth it to you to restore the bass.
If you love it and want to keep it - Go ahead and spend the restoration money.
If you want to sell it- Then think twice before you spend 1000 dollars on a 600 dollar bass.

Good luck.

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Post subject: Re: 1976-1977 Musicmaster Bass?
Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 11:52 am
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The original Musicmaster "short scale" bass guitars are a fun instrument and especially if you have small hands or shortish fingers (as I do). I've also played guitar (six string) and stumbled on the Musicmaster / Mustang bass about 30 years ago when I looking for a bass that I could wrap my hands around ... literally .... better than a full scale P or Jazz Bass. I now of 3 of them (1971, 1972 and a 1973 - Dakota Red, Cardinal Red and a very rare Cream Vanilla).

Now here's the skinny on the Musicmaster (one word) Bass. Originated in 1971, it was essentially a cheap "surplus parts" guitar that Fender (CBS) generated to use up extra left overs from the Mustang Bass and Musicmaster/Duo Sonic guitar productions. The body was either a blemished or not good enough wood for a Mustang Bass. The neck is the shortest scale Fender ever made (think it's 30"), pots were from the Musicmaster/Duo Sonic guitar line and the pickup is not even a 4 pole as used on the Mustang Bass! The 6 coil pickup is from the Musicmaster guitar ... but amazingly sounds pretty darn good.

Many players did what you saw on your eBay "special", a pickup looking something like one on a Fender Jazz or P-Bass. Lots of times, the mod was horrifying with re-routing done with what looked like a wood chisel. I have ALWAYS warned buyer of the Mustang or Musicmaster bass to inspect UNDER the pick guard to see if at some time someone bastardized the bass with another none original PU. My 3 are dead original and near new or mint condition .. and they are staying that way.

There are newly made replacement pick guards in many colors, dual and single ply, on the WD Music website and also someone is selling them on eBay. BE CAREFUL that the screw holes match your body! I know that the WD PG's do fit 100%. And if you want to go back to the original 6 pole Musicmaster guitar PU, there are plenty of used 70's vintage ones all over the web.

Enjoy your Musicmaster Bass.

BTW - near MINT condition early 70's ones are going for $650 - $800US depending on the color. Cardinal Red is very uncommon, White is rare, Cream is the most rare, lots of Dakota reds around.


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Post subject: Re: 1976-1977 Musicmaster Bass?
Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 7:28 pm
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vintageguitarz wrote:
The original Musicmaster "short scale" bass guitars are a fun instrument and especially if you have small hands or shortish fingers (as I do). I've also played guitar (six string) and stumbled on the Musicmaster / Mustang bass about 30 years ago when I looking for a bass that I could wrap my hands around ... literally .... better than a full scale P or Jazz Bass. I now of 3 of them (1971, 1972 and a 1973 - Dakota Red, Cardinal Red and a very rare Cream Vanilla).

Now here's the skinny on the Musicmaster (one word) Bass. Originated in 1971, it was essentially a cheap "surplus parts" guitar that Fender (CBS) generated to use up extra left overs from the Mustang Bass and Musicmaster/Duo Sonic guitar productions. The body was either a blemished or not good enough wood for a Mustang Bass. The neck is the shortest scale Fender ever made (think it's 30"), pots were from the Musicmaster/Duo Sonic guitar line and the pickup is not even a 4 pole as used on the Mustang Bass! The 6 coil pickup is from the Musicmaster guitar ... but amazingly sounds pretty darn good.

Many players did what you saw on your eBay "special", a pickup looking something like one on a Fender Jazz or P-Bass. Lots of times, the mod was horrifying with re-routing done with what looked like a wood chisel. I have ALWAYS warned buyer of the Mustang or Musicmaster bass to inspect UNDER the pick guard to see if at some time someone bastardized the bass with another none original PU. My 3 are dead original and near new or mint condition .. and they are staying that way.

There are newly made replacement pick guards in many colors, dual and single ply, on the WD Music website and also someone is selling them on eBay. BE CAREFUL that the screw holes match your body! I know that the WD PG's do fit 100%. And if you want to go back to the original 6 pole Musicmaster guitar PU, there are plenty of used 70's vintage ones all over the web.

Enjoy your Musicmaster Bass.

BTW - near MINT condition early 70's ones are going for $650 - $800US depending on the color. Cardinal Red is very uncommon, White is rare, Cream is the most rare, lots of Dakota reds around.



Fender never used the term "Cardinal Red"! Cardinal Red was a Pontiac term often employed by Gibson to describe a custom finish for their Firebird/Thunderbird guitars and basses.

Here's a photo of Phil Manzanera playing a Cardinal Red Firebird VII:

Image

Image

Perhaps you mean Fiesta Red, which is Fender's DuPont alternative to Gibson's Cardinal Red.


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Post subject: Re: 1976-1977 Musicmaster Bass?
Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 2:10 am
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Its always a tough call without actually have the bass in question(great pics can help but the real thing goes beyond a one dimensional image) I usually recommend staying away from(if not well schooled in spotting a mess type bass) all vintage or semi older basses that had body alterations professional or rookie.
A musicmaster bass is'nt the type of bass purchased NOW for its ability to be modified and become a "go to" bass or for studio work too,so fixing it up will be something done for you,that bass(musicmaster)is'nt looked for due to how many there are all around,they are'nt known to be a collectable(yet)its the cheapest model in the vintage Fender aresenal.
All the amateur modding is really enuff to snuff out any real value(unless its perfectly suited to you,then its worth..?)so basically plan on keeping it,all the stuff done and re-done to get it back to original shape also detracts from its vintage type value,fix it and hold on to it to enjoy yourself,maybe after all the vintage stuff gets played out you can get top dollar but for now enjoy it. :mrgreen:

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Post subject: Re: 1976-1977 Musicmaster Bass?
Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 3:13 pm
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Hey. I happen to have a 1977 musicmaster Fender Bass with one pickup and I love it. It's small and goes anywhere.I'm a Bassplayer and I have quite a few rare vintage Basses. I prefer my 1972 Precision the most. I just don't like hearing that musicmasters were made from leftosver parts. It was my first Bass in 1985 so I've learned a lot from it.


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Post subject: Re: 1976-1977 Musicmaster Bass?
Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 3:49 pm
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Sad but true, the Musicmaster, did use up a lot of spare parts, such as the guitar pickup mentioned. Pretty sure the bodies were excess Mustangs, but I am quoting from memory...or what is left of it.

I have had two leave my collection recently, both to female bassists. I think the short scale is the draw, and the vintage Mustang costs $1000 more. There is a third option, and I have only had one in the short scale version, and that is a Bullet. That was the first bass designed by John Page and was available in a 30 or 34 inch scale, the 34 being called the Deluxe.

To respond to the post however, the MM you are looking at is obviously been modified, just from your pup description. But IF it ever truly was a MM, you have more than $60 in parts. The neck alone would double your money.

Buyer beware.

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Post subject: Re: 1976-1977 Musicmaster Bass?
Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 12:55 pm
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I have a '77 Musicmaster bass and it has a "lipstick" pickup. I haven't seen that style of pickup on MMs anywhere else. I know that is was posted about the bass getting left over parts... is that the case with my bass? Any information will be appreciated.


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Post subject: Re: 1976-1977 Musicmaster Bass?
Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 8:18 am
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Interesting reading about the Musicmaster basses. I have two of them and love them immensely!

The first one I got was for $50, but that being said it was recovered from a hay loft, in a barn, and it was in the orginal (or what was left of it) cheapo chipboard case. The paint was coming off in sheets, all of the hardware had some surface rust, and of course the electronics didn't work. This was '96 and not having the internet I had to travel to a few shops to find out anything about this type of bass. All I knew was I'm a short guy with small-ish hands and the full size bass I had been playing was still uncomfortably big.

So after determing that the bass was mostly just good for parts, I figured any work I did would not drop the "vintage" value so I tore into it. The pots were replaced (can't remember type, sorry) a four pole pickup was installed, I sanded and had the body repainted, and I spent hours using cleaners to polish up the hardware.

What I also found out at that time was Squier had reissued the Musicmaster around this same time. So the "rebuild" of my Fender was based on the new specs, string through body bridge, and pickup/pots of equivalent output.

The serial number on my Fender dates it as a '78 and once it was complete the Ibanez bass was gone and it's been my workhorse ever since.

A couple years ago I found a Squier Musicmaster on Craigslist for only $100 and I snapped that up. No rebuild needed on that one. However the original pickguard was broken at the output jack, a common problem. And I did get a replacement from WD, which was mentioned in an earlier post.

Love them, regardless of the way people make fun of the "shorties", I would never go back. My son was an avid airbrush painter around his senior year of high school and he's done some work on both basses to further personalize them to my taste.

And back to the OP on this thread, I hope you were able to snap up a $60 bass if you were able. All of the rework I did on my '78 came to about $200 and I'll never regret a penny of it.


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