Fender Mustang Club

[DavesnothereCA]

Well, some really very good news from Sweetwater! After I emailed another complaint, this time with a photo of my hang scale showing that the 5 lbs 14 oz Mustang they sent actually weighted 7.22lbs when I received it, I got a call from their chief sales engineer... Turns out they're going to refund me $100 on my Sweetwater CC so I can get a set of Hipshot Ultralight tuners if I want!
***Yayyyyy!!!***
I especially like this because it shows they will stand behind their specs after all, and I can again trust them in future dealings! As I said earlier here I did have some good results in my dealings with Sweetwater in the past, so I am relieved now to learn I can keep many of those positive feelings about them!

Now to find the right model Ultralights for this bass......
Enjoy,
Greywoulf
(Pleasantly Surprised...)

~
VERRRY K00L !

Now so can we.

BTW, 5 pounds 17 ounces ?

I wonder whether any of their people read this forum/thread ?

Hmmmm....
~

 

[DavesnothereCA]

Happy you are happy...Ultralights with clover tuners is my choice.

~
Even among the USA ULs, some models weigh less than others.

I looked at the blueprints the other day, on their site.
~

 

[SoulReflection]

~
VERRRY K00L !

Now so can we.

BTW, 5 pounds 17 ounces ?

I wonder whether any of their people read this forum/thread ?

Hmmmm....
~

Or, they just realized they have been caught.

 

[adamajah]

Turns out they want to make this right, so they're going to refund me $100 on my Sweetwater CC so I can get a set of Hipshot Ultralight tuners if I want!

Nice! Now your bass won't be heavy and your wallet won't be light.

~
BTW, 5 pounds 17 ounces ?
~

 

[SoulReflection]

Nice! Now your bass won't be heavy and your wallet won't be light.

Trade-offs. Just be happy, as the song goes.

 

[SoulReflection]

Trade-offs. Just be happy, as the song goes.

 

[Real Soon]

Of your other basses which DO/DID show dead spots, let me ask you - which of them are/were short or medium scale ?

To the very last one, all the ones with mild to severe dead spots have been 34" or 35" scale. I've had one 32" Danelectro whose dead spot was in the same place, but very mild, and with tapewound strings, it was pretty much masked.

@Greywoulf That's good news! He must've realized the documented proof would end up causing more trouble than it was worth if he didn't do something. We shouldn't HAVE to hold them accountable, but they definitely NEED to be held to account. Good work making them follow through!

 

[Greywoulf]

To the very last one, all the ones with mild to severe dead spots have been 34" or 35" scale. I've had one 32" Danelectro whose dead spot was in the same place, but very mild, and with tapewound strings, it was pretty much masked.

@Greywoulf That's good news! He must've realized the documented proof would end up causing more trouble than it was worth if he didn't do something. We shouldn't HAVE to hold them accountable, but they definitely NEED to be held to account. Good work making them follow through!

It's because of Talkbass really... I never thought of buying a fishing hang-scale until I read about someone here doing this to check the weights of their basses. Got me such a scale (weighs up to 60lbs) at Amazon for $11.99; -well worth it, right?
But I still gotta say that prolly the main reason I was a bit extra disturbed by the incident is because Sweetwater has otherwise always treated me fairly...
Greywoulf

 

[DavesnothereCA]

It's because of Talkbass really... I never thought of buying a fishing hang-scale until I read about someone here doing this to check the weights of their basses. Got me such a scale (weighs up to 60lbs) at Amazon for $11.99; -well worth it, right?
But I still gotta say that prolly the main reason I was a bit extra disturbed by the incident is because Sweetwater has otherwise always treated me fairly...
Greywoulf

~
Did you ever think that this Fish Scale would be weighing a Sweetwater Bass ?

OK, OK, enough with the fish puns !

Or maybe not.
~

 

[Greywoulf]

~
Did you ever think that this Fish Scale would be weighing a Sweetwater Bass ?

OK, OK, enough with the fish puns !

Or maybe not.
~

However if that fish scale only weighs up to a certain level, whadda you do if you got a double bass? -Throw one back?

{-And this is exactly why I always wondered why a bass guitar wasn't spelled 'base' guitar?}
Greywoulf

 

[Greywoulf]

Anyone know if the Hipshot HB10 tuner replacements advertised for Mustang basses are as light as the ones (like the HB6 type) that are labeled Ultralights?
Thanks,
Greywoulf

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Anyone know if the Hipshot HB10 tuner replacements advertised for Mustang basses are as light as the ones (like the HB6 type) that are labeled Ultralights?
Thanks,
Greywoulf

They aren't. They're certainly lighter than the stock Fender tuners, but not by a lot. Certainly nowhere near the Ultralite range.

I've got HB10s on my PJ, they're a drop-in replacement which is great, and they're much better than the stock set. But they are the same size as stock, rather than the much smaller HB6 range, which is where most of the weight saving was.

If, like me, you wanted a quick replacement to improve tuning but you're fine with your bass weight & balance, get the HB10s. If you want to shave off major weight, or you're trying to solve neck dive, then it has to be the HB6 Ultralites.

 

[DavesnothereCA]

Anyone know if the Hipshot HB10 tuner replacements advertised for Mustang basses are as light as the ones (like the HB6 type) that are labeled Ultralights?
Thanks,
Greywoulf

~
If you go to the product page on the HipShot site, and look at the blueprint, it should be included.

[It was for each of the UltraLite and HB7 models, the other day when I checked.]

Yes, here : HB10 Bass Tuning Machine

They are 2.9 ounces each, with mounting hardware included.

And they require an oddball [by me anyway] 15mm headstock hole.
~

 

[DavesnothereCA]

....If, like me, you wanted a quick replacement to improve tuning but you're fine with your bass weight & balance, get the HB10s. If you want to shave off major weight, or you're trying to solve neck dive, then it has to be the HB6 Ultralites.

~
But if I was going to spend the money for one reason, might as well have both, as the price of either set is similar enough.
~

 

[OllyW]

Anyone know if the Hipshot HB10 tuner replacements advertised for Mustang basses are as light as the ones (like the HB6 type) that are labeled Ultralights?
Thanks,
Greywoulf

Weights including mounting hardware from Hipshot.

HB10 (Clover) - 2.9oz
3/8" Ultralite (Clover) - 1.77oz
1/2" Ultralite (Clover) - 1.95oz

 

[DavesnothereCA]

Weights including mounting hardware from Hipshot.

HB10 (Clover) - 2.9oz
3/8" Ultralite (Clover) - 1.77oz
1/2" Ultralite (Clover) - 1.95oz

~
Yes, and the Mini Clover USA Ultralites are 1.59oz [45g], apparently the same for both post sizes.

Their 3/8" 'Y' Ultralites are the lightest, at 42 or 43g.

I've been in shopping mode as well.
~

 

[Florinda4]

OK, here's some photos of my new Squier Mustang. Can I get a club number?
Also showing my Mikro for size comparison. And yes, this Mustang is the one Sweetwater listed and vocally guarenteed to me to be 5lbs 14ozs. And as you can see...???
It's also gained 2ozs since I got it, which is probably the weight of the Zero-Mod thumb rest I added. So that pretty much shows my hang-scale is accurate... I also posted the Mikro's weight just for fun and comparison. The Mikro is probably the easiest bass in the world to play, but I don't enjoy it's tone as much as the Mustang's.
Greywoulf

Heck yeah, welcome to the remuda, Greywoulf!

You are #118

 

[Greywoulf]

Weights including mounting hardware from Hipshot.

HB10 (Clover) - 2.9oz
3/8" Ultralite (Clover) - 1.77oz
1/2" Ultralite (Clover) - 1.95oz

Much thanks to all of you bro bassists for taking the time and effort to clearly explain this Hipshot stuff to me! (And one of my own hips is just about "shot" too...) I did see the blueprints at the Hipshot site but, genius that I am otherwise, I couldn't quite figure them out clearly..
Anyway I'm thinking now that Sweetwater has comped me some $$ (for a mistake on their part) I'll probably go for a set of 1/2" Ultralights, and probably for the lollypop shape in either a nickel or black finish. I think I could manage to drill the one extra hole each tuner requires w/o doing any serious damage. (Hopefully?)

Thanks be for sites like Talkbass where fellow musicians can make things much clearer to ancient fuzzy-headed burnouts....!
Enjoy,
Greywoulf

 

[SoulReflection]

Much thanks to all of you bro bassists for taking the time and effort to clearly explain this Hipshot stuff to me! (And one of my own hips is just about "shot" too...) I did see the blueprints at the Hipshot site but, genius that I am otherwise, I couldn't quite figure them out clearly..
Anyway I'm thinking now that Sweetwater has comped me some $$ (for a mistake on their part) I'll probably go for a set of 1/2" Ultralights, and probably for the lollypop shape in either a nickel or black finish. I think I could manage to drill the one extra hole each tuner requires w/o doing any serious damage. (Hopefully?)

Thanks be for sites like Talkbass where fellow musicians can make things much clearer to ancient fuzzy-headed burnouts....!
Enjoy,
Greywoulf

Drilling that extra hole is really easy. All I did was remove my old tuners, draw a pencil line on the back of the headstock, through the center of each tuning machine hole. Then I inserted the Ultralights and lined up their one hole to the pencil line. Next, drilled a slightly smaller and shorter hole than the screws they provide. I then erased the pencil line and installed the Ultralights.

I mentioned before that the four exposed holes from the old tuners don't bother me and, if someone is standing that close behind me, I'd have other things to worry about .

 

[Greywoulf]

Drilling that extra hole is really easy. All I did was remove my old tuners, draw a pencil line on the back of the headstock, through the center of each tuning machine hole. Then I inserted the Ultralights and lined up their one hole to the pencil line. Next, drilled a slightly smaller and shorter hole than the screws they provide. I then erased the pencil line and installed the Ultralights.
I mentioned before that the four exposed holes from the old tuners don't bother me and, if someone is standing that close behind me, I'd have other things to worry about .

Thanks!
Tiny extra holes in the back of a headstock are not something that would keep me awake nights either...
Greywoulf