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78 Fender MusicMaster for $500, is that good?

LKdubby

LKdubby

Nov 2, 2007
377
0
Los Angeles
www.rkart.us
#1
This was copied from a Craigslist add:

1978 fender musicmaster bass. great shape. great tone. plays great.
email your number and any possible trades... a steal at this price, no low ballers. $499
mm1.jpg


Was wondering what the reputation of these basses is?

The guy mentions that he might accept trades. I've been thinking of selling my Shecter 5'er, only because I really don't like the string spacing after all this time of owning it.. I wonder at the thought of offering it as a trade.. So I'm seeking opinions..

The one on the right is my Schecter that I'm referring to..
Pic001.jpg


Which one would be the better bass, the Shecter Studio 5, or the 78 Musicmaster? Why, in your opinion?

I haven't played a Musicmaster before so I don't know how they feel or sound..

Any help is appreciated!
 
#2
I forgot to mention that I did do some searching before asking, but the most I could determine is that the necks are a custome size, or at least not the standard Fender neck anyways. And for that matter the tuners might be different than standard as well.. I read that people were having trouble finding replacements for theirs that were missing...
 
#3
A quick ebay search suggests that $500 is a tad high for a Musicmaster bass. I see a range of maybe $350 to $500 or so on completed auctions.

These were Fender's least expensive basses in the 1970s. IIRC, they actually had a six pole guitar pickup, not a four pole bass pickup, hidden under the plastic cover.

So it's kinda cool in its own way, and I'm a vintage Fender guy. But to be honest, the Schecter is probably overall a "better" bass, at least in terms of contemporary playing requirements.
 
#4
The Musicmaster has collectability going for it. As for being a player, it's fine if you're into passive short-scale basses with a very limited pickup. You can upgrade the pickup, but doing so mitigates the collectability of it. I had one and my memories of it were that it was sort of like my '83 Precision, except my Precision, which was the least favorite of the half dozen I've owned, had way more going for it tonally. I called my Musicmaster the Mudmaster, because that's what it sounded like. Too bad I wasn't playing reggae at the time.
 
#5
Overall the Musicmaster is not calling out to me, I was just intrigued for a minute..

I don't necessarily want to get rid of my 5 stringer, I just want one with wider string spacing and different pickup arrangement.. The Schecter is not the one for me!

I appreciate the comments. :cool:
 

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