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Fender Mustang Club
- Thread starter FlyingPigSound
- Start date
We shell pink'ers seem to be an uncommon bunch, but something about that glorious finish set along the mint guard...
I've ended up with some very industrial-era black chickenhead knobs (with white pointer stripes) along with my EMG vol/vol & tone setup, and a white leather 4" strap. Somehow, the mint and white really don't clash. And the thing altogether looks like some retro ice cream parlor. It's literally strapped onto me as I type.
Needless to say, beautiful bass!
Still in the honeymoon phase with mine, and of course learning some Jaco means I'm spending plenty of time with it.
I recently put together a small pedalboard that includes a Broughton HPF, Barber Linden EQ, and Sushi Box Particle Accelerator, plus a couple other things. Since this puppy barks a little differently than long scales, its big fundamental means it benefits from the HPF, and it responds interestingly to the EQ & tube pre.
Honestly, it's got me second-guessing my plan to eventually throw flats on it. When I say this puppy barks, I mean it. And I like it. Since I've got EMG GZR / JHZ pickups in there, with their later era of tone... maybe roundwounds are the best fit? Idunno. What do y'all think?
I recently put together a small pedalboard that includes a Broughton HPF, Barber Linden EQ, and Sushi Box Particle Accelerator, plus a couple other things. Since this puppy barks a little differently than long scales, its big fundamental means it benefits from the HPF, and it responds interestingly to the EQ & tube pre.
Honestly, it's got me second-guessing my plan to eventually throw flats on it. When I say this puppy barks, I mean it. And I like it. Since I've got EMG GZR / JHZ pickups in there, with their later era of tone... maybe roundwounds are the best fit? Idunno. What do y'all think?
I've got GHS pressurewounds on my Mustang currently and really like them. My only problem with the Mustang is the pickups are are really weak compared to my other basses pickups and I haven't been able to use it in band setting successfully - just no bite and doesn't sit well in the mix. I've tried raising the pups and got the action as low as can go, but it just pales in comparison to my J (Dimarzio pups) and P (overwound Fralin pups). I love practicing at home with the Mustang and would like to eventually promote it to band status, but I'm thinking new pups are gonna be in order. I see lot's of folks like the geezers - I'm thinking those or Aguilars. I'd love to go Fralins, but wow they be pricey!
I have Dunlop flats, Aguilars, and a blend pot on mine. The P soloed sounds awesome at home, just about perfect. But when I play with my classic rock cover band, I almost always end up blending 60/40 neck/bridge, and it sounds perfect. It cuts through but also has that pillowy P bass sound. I don’t know though how much of that is the blend, and how much is the Aguilars. The Aggies definitely have a more present midrange though.
Maybe look into Nordstrand pickups...I had a set of Nordstrand Blade pickups in a mustang that I had and it was night and day difference in tone...I got the clean and clear wind on the set that I had
Thanks - good info! I know I'd prefer to also be able to blend the pickups - either by blend pot or having switch replaced with tone pot and then volume for each pickup. The Aguilars are getting a hard look - stronger midrange is what cuts through for me!
Chef
In Memoriam
"pickups"
My 69 Mustang had a 74 P bass pickup in it, and had been otherwise stripped and monkeyed with.
When the Nordstrand shop refinished it and put it all back to "stock," I used their Mustang replacement pickup, which I'm pretty sure is a blade type.
At any rate, I really like it, band mates really like it, and with the Mustang flats on it, it's a great vintage tone.
I always found the stock pickups a little anemic (which is why some of the old ones had their pickups replaced with P type) and the Nord isn't that.
My 69 Mustang had a 74 P bass pickup in it, and had been otherwise stripped and monkeyed with.
When the Nordstrand shop refinished it and put it all back to "stock," I used their Mustang replacement pickup, which I'm pretty sure is a blade type.
At any rate, I really like it, band mates really like it, and with the Mustang flats on it, it's a great vintage tone.
I always found the stock pickups a little anemic (which is why some of the old ones had their pickups replaced with P type) and the Nord isn't that.
The Nord has two angled pole pieces per string, like their NP4A. They have pictures that show it under the covers. Having used the NP4A, I can say it would definitely give a really nice mid presence.
Attachments
Chef
In Memoriam
Ah: there ya go then. Either way, I like it, and I have those staggered pole NP's in my Valenti 5 PJ and they're excellent.
Arrived yesterday... Been on the GAS list since they were first announced. Officially the last bass I will ever buy, (of course, I will still build, mod and trade axes).
Flanked by my 2 '78 Musicmasters... the white one will soon be fretless. These are all great basses, and I am very happy!!
-robert
Flanked by my 2 '78 Musicmasters... the white one will soon be fretless. These are all great basses, and I am very happy!!
-robert
I don't remember if I posted this picture of my LE here, sorry if it's a repeat...
Before I got my JMJ Mustang I owned a 73 Mustang which was just too thin and had trouble in the mix with the rest of the band. After reading on Seymour Duncan's site about the custom shop Mustang pickup they made for the JMJ wished I had one of those on my 73, but it did not disappoint when I got the JMJ. Love the tone and the tone control has a huge effect on the sound and it is no way weak like my 73 and I like it a lot more than the Aero I put on the 73. Listen to some of the clips out there of the JMJ and it might be what you're looking for. The Duncan pup is also slightly larger than the original pup so you might need a new pickguard or have to modify the one you have, but it will be a bigger sound. Its 9.5k DC resistance which is similar to the output of the Fender Original Pbass pickup at 10.5k
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Where on the Seymour Duncan website do they discuss the pickup for the JMJ? Can you post a link?
Mustang Bass
There's the link to the custom shop pickup and its referred to on the Fender product page as "A major part of the sound, look and appeal of this bass is its custom-spec single-coil Mustang Bass pickup, voiced as closely to his vintage original as possible." In the spec section it says "Custom Seymour Duncan® Split Single-Coil Mustang Bass®" There is some discussion by Justin Meldal about this in the JMJ Mustang thread and don't know if the custom shop pickup is exactly what Duncan made for the JMJ or if it was the starting point and the design slightly modified for the JMJ, but suspect the JMJ bass is designed around the custom shop pickup. Perhaps Justin and Seymour worked together during the design of the bass around a joint-effort pickup to be used in production and also offered to the public through the custom shop. Only Seymour and Justin can answer and know there was a tremendous amount of time spent in the design of every aspect of the bass and IMO it really paid off.
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,636
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
My JMJ came with the CS Duncan. i love Duncan pickups and have been using and recommending them since 1976 when they first came out for guitars, and while i think that it's a really nice pickup and sounds like an original Mustang bass pickup, i still found it to have a little less thump than a p bass, which i expected after owning several vintage 60's mustang basses, so i thought that i'd try the Nordstrand Mustang replacement in it to make it sound closer to p bass. It has a little less output than a vintage p bass pickup, but IMO, does sound more like one.
