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Fender Mustang Club
- Thread starter FlyingPigSound
- Start date
Welcome to the remuda, Stevis! That's a snappy looking Mustang you have there, and a nice case too.
You are # 131.
My Mustang PJ is great completely stock. The only thing I did was smooth the fret edges. They didn't really need it but the tools were right there.
Bought it earlier this year, been gigging it about 8 times so far. Shell Pink. Love it!
Bought it earlier this year, been gigging it about 8 times so far. Shell Pink. Love it!
That is one of the Road Runner brand gig bags from Musician’s friend. I think the specific model is “highway premium.” I have a couple of ProTec Contegos and a Mono bag, which are much more expensive. I find the RR bags from MF to be every bit as good and you can get them on sale for around $75. It is hard to find a gig bag with the neck brace for that price. These bags will fit a precision or a jazz but the neck brace has Velcro so you can reposition it for the short-scale Mustang.
I am not sure that the RRs could withstand the rigors of being on tour or tossed around in a van - but not sure many gig bags could. For easy storage and putting it in the car to go jam, I think that they are a great buy.
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Thank you for the warm welcome. I look forward to being part of the group.
I think that shell pink color is very cool. I am a sucker for aesthetics. ha ha
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I could not keep my Mustang P/J stock. I didn't like the sound, the limited controls, and the tuners. I kind of went all out, replacing pots with VT, VT, replaced the crappy switch, added decent pickups, and replaced the tuners with ones that are easy to dial in (Hipshot HB-10s.) No real weight saving but it transformed the instrument into something highly useful. I get great P and J tones, the bass is still in tune when I pick it up after a week, and the switch does not crackle or cut out. For the price Fender should have provided better components. I also replaced the bridge, though there was nothing wrong with the original. I just like Hipshot bridges.
BTW, I misled someone about changing the pots. I did have to drill the plate, but it was easy to do with regular drill bits due to the soft metal. I didn't remember that until I took everything back apart. Getting old....
BTW, I misled someone about changing the pots. I did have to drill the plate, but it was easy to do with regular drill bits due to the soft metal. I didn't remember that until I took everything back apart. Getting old....
NOW it's a "Special Edition". You certainly did go all out, but now you have a top-level pro bass! I absolutely support your choices! (Not that you asked...or care) 
Nice job! I'd like to see a full body shot (of the bass, not the player
). It's almost a NBD!!
Nice job! I'd like to see a full body shot (of the bass, not the player
). It's almost a NBD!!
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Thanks! It's not really a NBD. I did this last year, except for the switch which I replaced this weekend. Since there's been a lot of discussion of mods I thought I would show mine when I pulled it apart. Here's the completed bass. It plays and sounds better than my US Performer due to the neck and tone choice.NOW it's a "Special Edition". You certainly did go all out, but now you have a top-level pro bass! I absolutely support your choices! (Not that you asked...or care)
Nice job! I'd like to see a full body shot (of the bass, not the player
Finally bought a set of Nordstrands for my American Performer! an NM4 and a 51 J for the bridge. Is anyone keen on a quick comparison video when I chuck them on?
Got my Mustang PJ pink lady lapped as I type. Btw, the Berklee Press - Funk Bass Fills book by Prof Anthony Vitti is a very comprehensive one for the enterprising bassist who is already accomplished but wants to develop specific skills to great heights. I'm a better player after the first 7 pages, so the potential as I continue is exciting stuff.
Maybe this could/should go in the strings department, but for my fellow GHS users, is it common for you to see some touches of varnish/rust(?) after not that long a time having the strings slung upon your axe? My 50s Classic P and 'stang PJ both had Pressurewounds that displayed that fairly quickly, and the current Brite Flats on the 'stang PJ are exhibiting a bit of it as well.
Am I just not wiping my strings enough? No other sets of things like D'Addarios or Ernie Balls, nor the Precision Flats on my '60 P have the same markings. I'm not bothered if it's just aesthetic, but am bothered if it's causing issues for string cohesion.
Maybe this could/should go in the strings department, but for my fellow GHS users, is it common for you to see some touches of varnish/rust(?) after not that long a time having the strings slung upon your axe? My 50s Classic P and 'stang PJ both had Pressurewounds that displayed that fairly quickly, and the current Brite Flats on the 'stang PJ are exhibiting a bit of it as well.
Am I just not wiping my strings enough? No other sets of things like D'Addarios or Ernie Balls, nor the Precision Flats on my '60 P have the same markings. I'm not bothered if it's just aesthetic, but am bothered if it's causing issues for string cohesion.
Idk why Fender uses that switch when it's impossible they haven't seen the feedback on the terribly inconsistent (and maybe just terrible) quality of the selector switch.
Aguilars! I'm one of a swath of cats who went EMG (and I love my Geezer), but that's gotta be a nice sound. While I enjoy the V/V/T ultimate setup I went with, VT/VT/Switch is a lot like some classic hollowbody guitars and the like.
Realizing I didn't say it yet, good call on the Shell Pink. Congrats! It's a babe and I personally don't think I'll ever ditch the mint green pickguard; it's gorgeously well matched to the body and the maple neck. If your pickup selector switch isn't failing, well, the P pickup is the same as the Vintera (& 50s Classic) pickup i.e. absolutely phenomenal, and the J isn't awful but does its best work in the middle switch position.
I modded mine to correct a couple QC issues + add customizability options, but without the former, I may have just passed on the latter and kept it fully stock.
With GHS Brite Flats on mine, it's also got a great string tension, and it sounds like a bass I'd gladly carry into a major studio recording session.
~
During 2016, when I emerged from my hiatus, on my Franken-Ric 4001 there was a set of Dean Markley Ground Round Wounds, which remained on it since the 1990s [many of us believe those to be GHS Brite Flats from before they were sold as such, with light brown silks instead of the current colour], and there was some evidence of rust here and there creeping out of the windings, unchanged from before I had put it away some years prior.
The strings sounded fine [but I had to replace the battery for the EMG active pickups to get signal to the amp].
I wiped them once with alcohol, but the rust for the most part remained.
I gigged it and it still sounded fine.
At the venue just before a later gig, I changed only the E string for a new Brite Flat of the same .098 diameter [long scale light gauge], but had to start to play just then, and did not change the others.
I did not notice a significant difference in sound among the strings, and the new one fit in immediately with the other 3.
Having developed a lazy streak in more recent years, I left it that way, and played it for a few more gigs.
The new string developed some similar rust, but continued to sound decent.
I should mention that in all instances, the rust was mainly in the area of the pickups, where perspiration from my plucking arm would end up on the strings and everything else in its path, and even if wiped, some still got inside of the wrap of the strings, so c'est la vie on that.
Rickenbacker's own flats, of which I had used several sets earlier on, tended to rust internally, all along the way along the strings, and would become dead sounding as a result, and be stiff when removed.
I would wipe them with alcohol while off the bass, then gently flex/bend them to break up the internal rust, and they would become supple and usable again.
Typically I would rotate 2 or 3 sets of them, like I did with RotoSound RS66 rounds on my previous P bass, when boiling a set to get the crap out from between the turns of the outer wrap of those.
Occasionally, a string would develop other problems, and would get discarded.
I have not regularly rotated sets of the Dean Markley / GHS ground style strings, as they seemed to keep their character better than the others which I mentioned above, albeit with some rust showing.
~
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You can't put a musicman pickup in the bridge of your mustang and not show us some more in depth photos! Unless you've already posted them and I've not seen them...?
