It's probably not a legit Fender. Hard pass if that's what you've been jonesing for.
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Fender Experts; is this Fender Musicmaster worth it?
- Thread starter Treedsman
- Start date
The vintage strap that is on there is worth more than the bass. IMHO... YMMV... etc...
They're solid instruments, no doubt. Nice looking, too.
My first bass was/is a Musicmaster and I still have it so I've been staring at it for over 25 years. Those tuners actually look like the correct ones for a certain time period but the headstock just doesn't look right at all and the nut looks crooked. On mine the "Musicmaster" decal comes after the Fender logo, not under it. I doubt that is an original pickguard as they are almost ALWAYS broken right beside the input jack. As others have said the pickup is obviously not stock. That being said the body looks right. I wouldn't even give $50 for it.
Ended up going for it, and managed to talk him down to 350$. Got the strap too. Thanks again for your input everyone
Doubt there will be anything vintage about the tone- save a few more bucks and get a JMJ Mustang if you can.
I am going to confess that this was a snap judgement, I didn't think this was legit at all... however, I retract that statement. This does look legit, albeit a modded refin. The distorted photo and what I thought were not correct tuners threw me off.
The price is realistic. Check sold 70's Musicmaster parts on eBay. BUT - IMO the sum of the parts is not necessarily a great bass. I own a Musicmaster and I did several mods to make it a decent bass. It still just sits in its case and my other basses outclass it in every way. I say save your money and buy a better bass. The Musicmaster was Fender's entry level bass back in the day. I say you are better off with a modern Squier 34" bass or better as your budget permits.
The neck is definitely from an early Musicmaster. The logo is correct and correctly placed. The tuners are also correct. I suspect the body is also original but heavily modified and refinished.
I can't imagine anyone sourcing the logo decal and tuners to fake a Musicmaster.
Here's a '71 Musicmaster headstock for comparison:
I can't imagine anyone sourcing the logo decal and tuners to fake a Musicmaster.
Here's a '71 Musicmaster headstock for comparison:
They're not really valuable like other Fender's of the same time, but all original ones are growing in price on Reverb.
I have a '72 in olympic white, mostly original except for the previous owner putting a Jazz bass pickup near the bridge.
$600US is a bit high for that particular bass, seeing its modded. But it's an awesome bass nonetheless.
I have a '72 in olympic white, mostly original except for the previous owner putting a Jazz bass pickup near the bridge.
$600US is a bit high for that particular bass, seeing its modded. But it's an awesome bass nonetheless.
NO.
You can get a myriad of new, used and "partscaster" Precisions and Jazzes for that kind of money. They are going to be WAY better basses for you than that one.
It's a pawn shop, $5 bucks and run like hell or just get out of there fast before they rip you off…
To me it's a very cool bass. It has some mojo to it. The nut looks off in the picture. A simple repair, it could give you some bargaining power. It's a pawn shop, haggle with em. See where it goes. I have 2 that have been repainted. They both have pickup upgrades, and sound amazing. Make sure you like how it sounds first.
I'd try to talk them down a bit but from what I've seen by me $600 is good for that bass (assuming it plays nice doesn't need new frets or some other major flaw)
Not for nothing the original pickup for those was essentially a strat pickup and has a cool tone so the fact that someone already went through the trouble of routing it out you could do whatever you wanted if the guild pickup isnt working for you
I'd go for it
Not for nothing the original pickup for those was essentially a strat pickup and has a cool tone so the fact that someone already went through the trouble of routing it out you could do whatever you wanted if the guild pickup isnt working for you
I'd go for it
