Hi there,
I hope this is OK for me to do... I'd very much appreciate the help of those more Fender-savvy than myself

My Mum has an old Fender Mustang Bass she used to play in a band back in the day. It's been collecting dust in the garage for some time so we thought we'd frame it up with a plaque as a gift for her. Not being anything of an expert in this area, I want to make sure we get the details correct. Here's where you come in...

Can you tell me anything important about this Bass? Is it full length (are there 3/4's?) or is there anything else you can tell me about it?
Any info will be very much appreciated

Here's the info I have:
S/N: 7607057
Full Length: 42"
Neck Length (to top fret): 20.5"
Neck Length (inc head): 29"

Hi kyebosh, welcome to the Forum.

Dunno if it's just me but I can't seem to view your pictures. Why don't you open a free acount at Photobucket.com and then post the pictures from it here for us to see?


Actually, neither of those measurements helps us much, unless we happen to have a Mustang bass and a ruler right in front of us.

I don't know if Mustangs come in more than one size: the specs on this website list it as having a 30" scale length. To see if that is what you have measure from the breaking point (where the strings leaves the metal) on the saddles at the bridge to the front (fingerboard side) of the nut. That's the scale length. Or from either of those positions to the 12th fret. That's half the scale length - and should be 15 inches.

People will be happy to tell you more when they see your photos.

Cheers - C

Much appreciated Ceri,
I fixed up the pic, sorry about that.

Good to know about the measurements! I'll drag it out & check it

Hi again kyebosh: you're welcome, and thanks for doing the pic.

'Fraid it doesn't give me much more to add: the guitar appears to have been built in 1976 - but then I expect your mother knows that already if she bought it new. A small bit of research suggests Mustang basses have always come with a 30 inch scale length as standard. That's already short for a bass and kinda means it's a 3/4 size instrument by design. So I'll be most surprised if your one is anything different to that measurement.

Current models seem only to have rosewood fingerboards, so it is nice that yours has maple - to those of us who prefer a maple 'board, anyhow!

Can't offer much more. But don't worry: there's folks round here who know plenty about '70s basses and hopefully they'll look in. Especially since we keep bumping this thread back to the top of the page where it'll be seen.

Good luck - C

Thanks again Ceri,
That clears up things a bit. I knew it was short for a bass, but I wasn't sure if that was the design of all Mustangs, or if this was a different 3/4 model.
Good to know