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Post subject: Fender Musicmaster bass question
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 10:54 am
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I believe it's a 74....it has those tulip machine heads on it,and I was wondering what type of pots would I get if I need to replace them? One volume,one tone. Looking at getting this to come alive again and all I know is it's dead when I plug it in. Don't know if it's the wiring or what. Pickup was replaced by a previous owner (who used a pocketknife to make room for it.....ugh!) Looking into possible causes of the total silence from the bass. No electric sound of any type comes out of it. Thanks in advance for any answers.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Musicmaster bass question
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 11:37 am
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Before you replace anything have someone who is handy with electronics trace it out with a meter. If it really is a 74 then the pots etc and all parts are worth a fortune and should be great quality and keep the vintage tone. It could just be a simple wiring problem/broken wire or a bad jack contact/solder joint.

If a component (pot etc) is bad replace it with a high quality one such as CTS brand which you can get from Stewart-Mac or ebay or possibly a local music store. However keep the original parts or sell them on ebay even if they do not work.... there are those who can always use it for something or repair it and even a bad pot from that era will bring 30-40 bucks. Or if you ever sell it in the future it will be worth more if you include any original parts working or not. A huge bonus if you still have the original pickup.

If you wish to check this yourself and feel confident to disassemble the bass go to harbor freight or similar and buy a 5 dollar digital multimeter and myself or someone here can guide you through how to check everything and isolate the problem.

Also I can assume you tried this but many forget to check the obvious..have you plugged in another instrument to make sure it is not the chord or amp?

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Post subject: Re: Fender Musicmaster bass question
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 12:05 pm
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Thank you for the quick reply. I had the original pickup when I purchased it,hoping I still have it thru many moves and previous jam buddies that had ripped me off. I've been going thru boxes I've not touched in 12 years so maybe that original pickup is in there. I'm hoping so as I've thought of restoring it's original condition. Wow. I had no idea the original pots would be worth anything-all I keep hearing is how "weak" old electronic hardware is when it comes to vintage instruments,and how "new is better". I had taken the pickguard off a couple of months ago to have a peek and hoped it was something obvious-like a loose wire. No such luck. I want to check the input jack as I'd like to start with what's easiest and progress from there if I have to. Good call on the cord & such. I'll get her out today and see what happens. This one was always my favorite to play.....and was my 1st bass ever. I'll let you know what I find. (or don't)

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Post subject: Re: Fender Musicmaster bass question
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 12:26 pm
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Well new is always "better" if the old part does not work at all lol but any real vintage instrument aficionado will swear by the older electronics. Now granted I have not tested this for myself I figure Fender has guitars and basses from the 50's and 60's where everything still works like new. That has to be saying something as most electronics today will maybe last 10 years....less if it is a moving part.

Now what some other vintage builders have told me is that the pots and even the caps do effect the tone. I can not vouch for that but judging by the prices those vintage parts bring they absolutely have some value. I know when I am doing a vintage build I can use a new high quality part and pay only a few bucks and it should function but on resale I would take a huge hit. However to pay 100 bucks for old pots just to have it have the correct date stamp can add hundreds of dollars to the resale value so I try my best to get the correct parts if possible and affordable. However for my "player" instruments my main concern is reliability and sound, not so much resale value and originality however I do consider resale value in the future and always keep my eyes open for a good deal on the vintage correct original parts.

As far as your bass issue you usually can't tell with electronics by looking at it where you have a bad part, bad solder joint, bad connection, broken wire inside the insulation etc which is why a meter would find this problem in seconds. In other words you can't "see" the electronic flow, but a meter can. The thing is the meter is only as good as the person using it to track down the culprit.

What can drive you nuts is an intermittent problem that seems to never happen when you have the instrument apart but as soon as you test it, the damn thing cuts off again. I am dealing with that now with one of my basses...I have no idea yet if it is the pickup, a pot or the jack. Now what they say NOT to do is just "throw" parts at it but deal with it until you eventually find the problem. One method known as "substitution" is good as a last resort and that is to temporarily replace one part at a time until the problem stops. But that is not necessary when you have a problem like yours which is consistent..the meter will show you exactly where the circuit is broken and why you have ziltch for sound.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Musicmaster bass question
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 1:17 pm
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Since the pick-up cavity in the body has been modified by a previous owner, all collector status & value is lost, but still has player status value as an authentic 1974. I'd go right ahead and modifiy it any way you want to. Just be hip that you won't get any return on your investment should you decide to sell. If you were going to sell it you'd be better off selling it 'as is' right now without further modifications. The original parts and original neck might fetch more $$$ parted out than as a whole bass.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Musicmaster bass question
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 1:47 pm
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got the bass out of the case,printed a wiring diagram,took the pickguard off and had a second (more educated) look. It's a broken wire..... i can see where the casing & everything split off somehow. now I know why there was scotch tape wrapped around some of the wiring.... (Not my doing) so I'll have to replace the wire that goes from the jack to one of the pots. I'm getting that ol crackle noise when I put the cord into the jack but nothing from the pickup due to the broken wire. What gauge electronic wire do you use on instruments? What's the voltage on the inside?

thank you so much for all the help thus far. Much appreciated.


Linnin- could never part with this one-I just love it,imperfections and all. It is in dire need of refinishing. The previous guy repainted the body but set it down before the paint hardened. The neck and size feel great to me.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Musicmaster bass question
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 3:51 pm
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Did this cat repaint it with house paint? Hahaha! I have a friend that repainted his '57 Precision (that he bought brand new) with a rattle can of black rustoleum. :roll: Yes he still owns it, but never plays it. Pity. :(


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Post subject: Re: Fender Musicmaster bass question
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 5:28 pm
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[quote="bassplayin_chick"]got the bass out of the case,printed a wiring diagram,took the pickguard off and had a second (more educated) look. It's a broken wire..... i can see where the casing & everything split off somehow. now I know why there was scotch tape wrapped around some of the wiring.... (Not my doing) so I'll have to replace the wire that goes from the jack to one of the pots. I'm getting that ol crackle noise when I put the cord into the jack but nothing from the pickup due to the broken wire. What gauge electronic wire do you use on instruments? What's the voltage on the inside?

thank you so much for all the help thus far. Much appreciated.

The gauge of the wire is not critical unless you are trying to do an authentic restoration. I generally use stock 18 gauge insulated primary wire. As far as the voltage on the inside it is not a concern it is so minimal with a passive pickup and such a short run...probably in the millivolt range. Anyhow if you got lucky and can actually see where the problem is just replace/repair that suspect wire and give it a test. The important factor here for reliability is a good connection which is going to be a proper solder joint and not scotch tape or band aids which I have seen both used. Sometimes I see no tape or insulation at all and the customer wonders why it cuts out. :roll:

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Post subject: Re: Fender Musicmaster bass question
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 5:54 pm
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linnin wrote:
Since the pick-up cavity in the body has been modified by a previous owner, all collector status & value is lost, but still has player status value as an authentic 1974. I'd go right ahead and modifiy it any way you want to. Just be hip that you won't get any return on your investment should you decide to sell. If you were going to sell it you'd be better off selling it 'as is' right now without further modifications. The original parts and original neck might fetch more $$$ parted out than as a whole bass.



I do not entirely agree. Not all collectors look for or can afford a 100% perfect vintage instrument. Many look specifically for ones with routes etc so they can get a better deal. It still is worth more if it has the original parts such as pots, pickups, bridges, tuners etc heck even the screws. Now where I do agree is in certain cases you will get more for it parted out but again that depends on what original parts are on there to sell. Non original parts are virtually worthless, original parts are worth a fortune.

That said, it seems the OP loves this bass and wants to play it, not resell it however I am sure she wants it to be as "right" as possible. Otherwise she could just ebay an entire harness for 30 bucks with jack, pots, wires etc and essentially have a 1974 USA vintage piece of wood that was actually built with a degree of pride and mate it with late model who knows what Taiwan garbage running the electronics.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Musicmaster bass question
Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2014 8:25 am
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I got shoppin to do then! Thanks for the help. Oh- the paint was the right type of paint,I believe,but needed more time to set. She needs a total refinishing one of these days-I'm wanting to have her in a pearly purple.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Musicmaster bass question
Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2014 12:59 pm
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bassplayin_chick wrote:
I got shoppin to do then! Thanks for the help. Oh- the paint was the right type of paint,I believe,but needed more time to set. She needs a total refinishing one of these days-I'm wanting to have her in a pearly purple.


Yep, especially lacquer paint. It could take up to 2 months for that stuff to set. I learned that the hard way. I painted a strat a really nice Chinese red and it came out perfect. A few weeks later I was moving so I wrapped the body in bubble wrap. When I went to take it out the paint had bubble wrap indents and marks all over it. Now I have to take it all down and start over.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Musicmaster bass question
Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 11:41 pm
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I use the cloth covered vintage wire from Guitar Parts Resource. I would NOT replace anything at all that isn't broken.

Actually the vintage electronic components on a passive bass were higher quality than the stuff now. Whoever told you that was wrong. On this particular model though the pickup was not Fender's best bass pickup design though because it was actually a Stratocaster pickup. I could understand wanting something beefier. I have no idea what pickup the previous owner forced into it, but I could understand wanting something else. Just a pity they did.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Musicmaster bass question
Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 10:57 am
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Yeah, hid the six pole pickup under a rubber cap...pretty clever. As Brother Dave mentioned, many people replaced the pup with an actual four pole bass pup. Too bad they did knife mechanics. Hang on to the old one to sell with it.

Regarding the scratching/static from the jack. Probably just some gunk or corrosion inside. Try taking a Q tip with a little Brasso (or similar) and clean it out. Should be an easy fix for a couple pennies.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Musicmaster bass question
Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 1:08 pm
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:idea: :arrow: A Strat p'up with rails would work well as long as it doesn't cut the bottom end.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/high-output/cool_rails_for/

or maybe this :!:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/high-output/blackouts_singl/

Oooooo this 8) http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/high-output/hot_stack_for_s/


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Post subject: Re: Fender Musicmaster bass question
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 5:15 am
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I've got an old one of these in a closet somewhere that someone butchered. Picked it up for a song back in a pawn shop in the mid-90's. They refinned it with what looks like a spraypaint can, and defretted it to make it a fretless. The fretboard was so dry that it had split in parts, and one of the tuning keys rattle. All that being said, with a set of black tapes on it the damn little thing sounded pretty awesome. I believe it still has all the original guts. (strat pup, tone circuit, ect) I loved that they came with the old school 2 saddle bridge like the early P basses. I don't think I'd trust it to gig, and I haven't played it in years, but it sure got a cool sound for a shortscale. Which normally I don't dig at all.

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