Fender Musicmaster: Paint, stain, or Let it Be?

[funkinbottom]

Another vote for refinishing. If it were mine I'd strip it. If I liked the grain, I would go with a trans color or dye and let the grain show. If the grain wasn't appealing to me I would go with an opaque color.

 

[thanos k]

Yours looks cool and unique. I would keep it as is, unless you like a brighter/lighter colour like daphne blue or fiesta red

 

[Cutter8]

It doesn’t look bad at all. If it were mine, I definitely wouldn’t refinish it—just give it a little TLC and play it.

 

[gln1955]

I like it as is.

But you do you.

 

[toomanyslurpees]

I dig it... it has personality that a refinish job won’t... I think with older instruments the things that are wrong with them become an important part of their character. I have an 81 Ibanez Artist that I got in grade 11 in 97, it came with one mismatched knob and was that way for a long time until I bought a set of generic knobs for it... ended up swapping them back a day later... that Guitar has that one wrong knob for longer than it could have had the right one so it just didn’t seem right for them to all match...

 

[felis]

It looks OK as-is. If it was mine though, I'd paint it. YMMV

 

[madmaskbass]

I would paint it in a relic style black..leave the checking and ding marks but darker. Maybe a super thin darker coat and a clear. idk it would be super cool if it was darker..that aged black lool

 

[Drummerdan]

Yours looks cool and unique. I would keep it as is, unless you like a brighter/lighter colour like daphne blue or fiesta red

Actually have a JMJ Mustang in the mail Monday in Daphne Blue

 

[Drummerdan]

Thanks everyone for the input so far. I have to say this is a great way to spend some time under partial quarantine here in So Cal. This is the best distraction I could hope for and I thank you all. Be well.

 

[bbh]

I usually don’t care much but on this one, I like it a lot as is.

 

[Joe Nerve]

I would LOVE that finish on a bass. Not a chance I'd touch it.

 

[ejaggers]

It's already an upgraded pickup. Original Musicmaster Pickups were 6 pole guitar pickups. So this one should already be completely fine.

Are you sure? I've never seen a MM with a strat style PUP.
Did you mean Bronco?

Title pretty much says it all. I picked up this cool 78 yesterday for a song. Needs a little TLC but if has good bones. The lacquer/stain job is odd but I kind of like it. Would you alter it? If so, to what? View attachment 3743495 View attachment 3743494

TB is a tough crowd on refin's, until after you do it.

So, would you refin yourself or have it done professionally?
How strong are you refin skills, if doing it yourself?
I need to know this before I vote.

057912

 

[Drummerdan]

Are you sure? I've never seen a MM with a strat style PUP.
Did you mean Bronco?
Yes. If you look into the Musicmaster history they were student basses and guitars. Fender used Mustang bodies and 6 pole strat pups probably to save money. Some collectors wouldn't consider changing them because they're part if their charm.


TB is a tough crowd on refin's, until after you do it.

So, would you refin yourself or have it done professionally?
How strong are you refin skills, if doing it yourself?
I need to know this before I vote.

057912

Professionally for sure. But I'll likely leave it as is.

 

[Drummerdan]

Here's the voting results so far.

 

[flannel cat]

id keep er as is..its pretty cool.

 

[dramatwist]

...as is, buddy... nothing wrong with it...

 

[Stumbo]

Tort pguard swap, though. Gotta have tort.

Also, how's the HPF working out?

 

[REMBO]

It has some cool mojo as it is!!

 

[Drummerdan]

Tort pguard swap, though. Gotta have tort.

Also, how's the HPF working out?

That might look cool!

 

[Stumbo]

That might look cool!

Yep, a tort guard with the current finish would be awesome. Maybe even relic the whole bass. make it a period correct relic.