Fender Mustang Club

[Bassndrums73]

Very nice! I have one too and love it - it’s a great bass. I thought it was an interesting design choice they made to black out the Mustang Bass section of the decal, don’t you? I kind of wish it was visible from a distance. Got any mods planned for it?

No I don’t have any mods planned at this point. I think it sounds great. Haven’t decided yet on the headstock decal. At first I kind of thought I wish it had Mustang on there too but I kind of like it without since it has the matching black headstock.

 

[felis]

Very nice! I have one too and love it - it’s a great bass. I thought it was an interesting design choice they made to black out the Mustang Bass section of the decal, don’t you? I kind of wish it was visible from a distance. Got any mods planned for it?

I didn't notice before, but I definitely think it should have included 'Mustang' in the same font and color as the 'Fender'.

What were they thinking?

 

[Bassndrums73]

It would have been nice but let’s face it, how often do you see a Fender bass with a matched painted headstock. That alone is nice.

 

[OtherLisa]

I took my Pony (PJ) in for a tuneup -- er, set up. Asked for estimates for some other work too. Hum-less Jazz pickup, can you address the fact that the fret markers on the side of the neck are impossible to see in any kind of stage condition, and...that three-way switch -- am I the only one who doesn't like that?

After picking up I think it was the Vintera road-worn and feeling how much thicker the neck was than the PJ, I thought it might make more sense for me to just mod the PJ rather than upgrade. Already have a high mass bridge, which made the balance much better. It's a comfortable bass to play.

 

[phillipkregg]

Can anyone verify what the original factory strings are on the Fender JMJ Road Worn Mustang?

I found these on the Fender site, but they are for long-scale basses and wouldn't fit my Mustang:

I have a JMJ Mustang with the Labella Deep Talking Mustang strings, but the original strings had a little more crisper attack and sounded great when you slap. But they weren't quite as bright, and felt better than D'Addario Chromes.

 

[Bassndrums73]

I took my Pony (PJ) in for a tuneup -- er, set up. Asked for estimates for some other work too. Hum-less Jazz pickup, can you address the fact that the fret markers on the side of the neck are impossible to see in any kind of stage condition, and...that three-way switch -- am I the only one who doesn't like that?

I don’t mind the 3 way switch so far but a noiseless jazz pickup sounds appealing. I have to turn and stand just right to keep the hum down with the one that’s in there now. Is there a Fender noiseless pickup that can be dropped in there without any routing being done to the body?

 

[OtherLisa]

@Bassndrums73 Yep, supposedly there's one that drops right in. It's the same standard Jazz pickup as on a Jazz bass so it should be pretty straightforward.

 

[PotsdamBass8]

@Bassndrums73 Yep, supposedly there's one that drops right in. It's the same standard Jazz pickup as on a Jazz bass so it should be pretty straightforward.

I think it’s just a standard size bridge J pickup. I put Aguilars in mine and the standard split coil bridge J fit.

 

[monsterthompson]

@Bassndrums73 Yep, supposedly there's one that drops right in. It's the same standard Jazz pickup as on a Jazz bass so it should be pretty straightforward.

The confusing thing is that there are two different J sizes. There’s a neck and a bridge sized pickup, and some bass models use the neck size in both positions.

Bartolini’s site says the J neck is 3-5/8” long vs. 3-3/4” for the bridge.

 

[Bassndrums73]

I’ll have to measure the pickup in it. Just ordered a hard shell case for it. One thing at a time. Thanks for the info.

 

[OtherLisa]

Oh yeah, forgot that bit about the different sizes. Thanks for the reminder @monsterthompson . It should be the bridge pickup.

 

[Bassndrums73]

Do people usually change out the P neck pickups while they’re changing the bridge pickup for something better or is it generally considered the existing P pickups are suitable? I’ve always used the stock pickups in my Fender basses because they already have the noiseless J in there so I’m new to doing any mods.

 

[SoulReflection]

Do people usually change out the P neck pickups while they’re changing the bridge pickup for something better or is it generally considered the existing P pickups are suitable? I’ve always used the stock pickups in my Fender basses because they already have the noiseless J in there so I’m new to doing any mods.

I found the neck pick up sounds just fine on my PJ.

 

[monsterthompson]

Do people usually change out the P neck pickups while they’re changing the bridge pickup for something better or is it generally considered the existing P pickups are suitable? I’ve always used the stock pickups in my Fender basses because they already have the noiseless J in there so I’m new to doing any mods.

It really depends on what you want to hear. If what you hear now is acceptable, then no need to change. If you're in the market for a J, several companies have "matched" sets. Or you can mix and match.

I like the Steve Harris Duncan I have in my P bass, and have been thinking about dropping one in my PJ Mustang. I'm still considering hum canceling J pickups. Once I make a decision, I'll drop my bass off at the shop for a full set of adjustments and a rewiring, so I can get it all done at once.

 

[Axstar]

Do people usually change out the P neck pickups while they’re changing the bridge pickup for something better or is it generally considered the existing P pickups are suitable? I’ve always used the stock pickups in my Fender basses because they already have the noiseless J in there so I’m new to doing any mods.

Across the two PJ Mustangs I owned I ran:

Stock P + Stock J
Stock P + generic hot ceramic J
Dimarzio Model P + Model J
Seymour Duncan SPB-2 + STK-J2B
Dimarzio Area P and Area J
Kent Armstrong hot vintage alnico P + old MIM ceramic J pickup.

 

[Bassndrums73]

The stock P pickup sounds pretty good in my Mustang and so does the J. It’s just I can’t hack that noisy humming J that came in it. I got rid of a Rickenbacker I had because I didn’t want to deal with that single coil pickup hum. I couldn’t get it to quiet down no matter what direction I turned while holding the bass. I’ll just end up getting a noiseless J for it. The ones in my Elite J don’t make any noise at all.

 

[velobob]

have you tried shielding the cavity beneath the p'ups? It's a small project, but when done correctly it really works! Helped my MIJ Mustang immensely.

 

[Bassndrums73]

No I just got the bass 2 days ago. I bought stuff to do that with the Rick when I had it and decided not to do it. Make sure the shielding grounds to this part but don’t let it touch that part and all that kind of put me off on the idea. Not sure I’m enough of an electronics guy. I think I would rather change the pickup out and be done with it. This bass is going to be a keeper for life anyway so I don’t mind the cost of a good pickup. I already ordered a hard Fender case for it so me and this one are in it for the long haul. I‘be already learned my lesson on buying basses I don’t plan to keep. Thanks for the thought though.

 

[Axstar]

have you tried shielding the cavity beneath the p'ups? It's a small project, but when done correctly it really works! Helped my MIJ Mustang immensely.

It does make a vast improvement.

 

[Bassndrums73]

If I tear into it to put a pickup in I may do it then. After all I already have the materials to do it.