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Fender Mustang Bass
- Thread starter pandrew
- Start date
I love my mustang! They are so fun and easy to play and have that worm old school sound.
I bought mine, a 1971, 4 years ago and it still has the same flatwounds that I put when I bought it. Here it is:
I bought mine, a 1971, 4 years ago and it still has the same flatwounds that I put when I bought it. Here it is:
I am going through a bit of a Fender revival myself (playing a Squier VM Jazz for the most part) and I have always liked the Mustang sound and overall feel. I would love to get one.
A friend brought his out to the weekly open mic/blues jam recently and it sounded really good. Warm and punchy like a good P bass.
What surprised me was that he got a great slap tone out of it. I'm not much of a slapper, but he showed me what a great player can do with the Mustang.
What surprised me was that he got a great slap tone out of it. I'm not much of a slapper, but he showed me what a great player can do with the Mustang.
I love my mustang! They are so fun and easy to play and have that worm old school sound.
I bought mine, a 1971, 4 years ago and it still has the same flatwounds that I put when I bought it. Here it is:
Really nice relic'ing.
This will date me as far as age...
I had a Mustang bass with flat-wound strings running through an old Kustom 200 amp. I used a y-cord to access both channels, ran bass and treble on full, controlled everything from the guitar. Any sound you wanted, Before all the slap bass method was popular. Anyone that says a Mustang won't cut it or sound good is wrong. There are a lot of bassists that will scoff at a Mustang. (Floppy strings, no tone, etc. Where did that stuff come from?? I tried all kinds of strings--never floppy. Settled on the flat wounds). Mine cooked! Sustain was great. Never had a lick of trouble with it. If you have shorter fingers, or a smaller body, then something like the Mustang is really great. I play a Jazz now, but the Mustang was great. Stupidly sold it when I went to the Navy.
bill on da bass
I had a Mustang bass with flat-wound strings running through an old Kustom 200 amp. I used a y-cord to access both channels, ran bass and treble on full, controlled everything from the guitar. Any sound you wanted, Before all the slap bass method was popular. Anyone that says a Mustang won't cut it or sound good is wrong. There are a lot of bassists that will scoff at a Mustang. (Floppy strings, no tone, etc. Where did that stuff come from?? I tried all kinds of strings--never floppy. Settled on the flat wounds). Mine cooked! Sustain was great. Never had a lick of trouble with it. If you have shorter fingers, or a smaller body, then something like the Mustang is really great. I play a Jazz now, but the Mustang was great. Stupidly sold it when I went to the Navy.
bill on da bass
- Jan 28, 2009
- 2,929
- 4,152
- Disclosures
- Owner: Moonshine Custom Guitars
Iv'e had this one for about four or five years. I bought it as an investment, but it is fun to take out and play occasionally. It plays and sounds great. My son has made me promise to never sell it.
Moonshine
Moonshine
Iv'e had this one for about four or five years. I bought it as an investment, but it is fun to take out and play occasionally. It plays and sounds great. My son has made me promise to never sell it.
Moonshine
Oh man...my guitarist's guitar is the exact same color and has the stripes...if you want to sell it...PM ME!!
- Jan 28, 2009
- 2,929
- 4,152
- Disclosures
- Owner: Moonshine Custom Guitars
you know, I could swear I had a maple f-board Mustang in the eighties. It was that trans. mocha brown color(late 70's?). I could be wrong.
Iv'e had this one for about four or five years. I bought it as an investment, but it is fun to take out and play occasionally. It plays and sounds great. My son has made me promise to never sell it.
Moonshine
What year? Mine is (originally) the same color and configuration, but the headstock is blond instead of color matched. I think mine is from the early to mid 70's. The serial number is 388555.
However... it was my first bass, that I bought with my own money for $135 in 1977. Soon thereafter, it fell out of its case onto the concrete, and the finished was trashed. Also, as I was studying the 'cello, the presence of frets never did much for me. Sometime around 1980, I de-fretted my Mustang, stripped it, laid down a clear finish, and made a black pick guard.
It's a great "couch potato" bass, but... I am not in love with the tone, and the short scale / low tension are hard for me to manage now that I am playing mostly upright. Also, it is a top heavy bass... prone to neck-dive. However, it is still fun to noodle around on.
Attachments
I had one once, but it was just to easy to play - seemed like a toy. Basses aren't supposed to be that easy to play IMO 
