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Fender Mustang Club

#1,241
daveobieone said:
Hey Lowplaces...
Tell us a little about that rig you have. I love the pretty purple lights! Is that 4x15's I see? I play through a Mesa D800 and Subway cabs at gigs, but drive it with an Ampeg SCR-DI to get closer to the Ampeg sound. An Ampeg V4B (original USA made, and refurbished) into an Ampeg 15 cab for rehearsal and some recording. I have a mint B-15n as well (in that pic) with the "optional" Altec driver...really sweet sound...wouldn't dare take it out...just for recording in my home studio. I also have a "Blue Diamond" Ampeg R100b combo for smaller gigs. The edge of that 100 got into the Mustang pic. Ya, I love the Mustang into Ampeg sound too! Really hard to beat.

Best bass tone I've EVER had is the Mustang (with my mods) into the V4B and modified Ampeg 1x15 cab. That's the tone I've been searching for since 1966! Finally it's in my grasp.
Click to expand...
Hi Dave, the cabs are Rumble 112's. I like running one head with the ultra low on, and the other one mid heavy more often than not.
I'm happy with them.

I'd be happier with that B 15n though ! Wanna trade ?
:laugh:
 
#1,242
Bobhmcs said:
Hey all,

First while I was playing recently, after a break, as I was putting my bass back on I had spasm in my right arm and snapped the switch handle off completely. Keep on thumping!
Bob
Click to expand...

Do you really even need that J pickup?

Just disconnect the J pickup and take the J wiring out of the circuit (unsolder), take the switch and switch ring completely off the pickguard, and finally go buy some bananas and then tidy everything all up by putting your Chiquita Banana sticker over the empty switch hole. Done.

14C5BDF0-2241-435B-AEAA-EC9FF03E043A.jpeg

Meanwhile, bananas contain plenty of potassium and fiber, so you’ll benefit from that, too. I’m seein’ nothing but Win here.

(Mind you, don’t drop the banana peels on the floor though!)
 
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#1,245
lowplaces said:
I'd be happier with that B 15n though ! Wanna trade ?
:laugh:
Click to expand...
I'm certain that your rig sounds fantastic...no doubt about it! I'm guessing those are the 50 watt PF heads.?.

That B-15 has a fun history. It was purchased new by a church in St. Louis. A year or so later, the power transformer died. They placed it in a corner behind the stage covered with a tarp, where it lived for the next 20 years. It had never been out of the building, and (other than the dead transformer) was in perfect mint condition. I was installing a new sound system in the church around 1990, and found it there. I offered them a reduction in my fees of $200 in exchange for the Ampeg, and they agreed. Afterwards they said they would give it to me because it didn't work.

I brought it home to my shop, and found the problem was the dead power transformer. I found a fellow in St. Louis who bakes out the potted transformers, and replaces the guts with new ones. Did that, and replaced a few weak caps. The amp was quickly back in playing shape, and sounding yummy.

Other than two moves to new houses, it's never been gigged, or even taken outside of my home studio. I don't think there's another one like it in mint, all original condition anywhere.

I do still have the original CTS driver, but a few years ago I installed the "optional" Altec 421 in it. Man, what an improvement! I mean, it sounded wonderful before, but the Altec added more highs, more deep bass, and was at least 2db more sensitive. Almost like doubling the power of the amp. They were right to design the amp around the Altec driver.

Dave O.
 
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#1,247
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#1,248
daveobieone said:
I'm certain that your rig sounds fantastic...no doubt about it! I'm guessing those are the 50 watt PF heads.?.

That B-15 has a fun history. It was purchased new by a church in St. Louis. A year or so later, the power transformer died. They placed it in a corner behind the stage covered with a tarp, where it lived for the next 20 years. It had never been out of the building, and (other than the dead transformer) was in perfect mint condition. I was installing a new sound system in the church around 1990, and found it there. I offered them a reduction in my fees of $200 in exchange for the Ampeg, and they agreed. Afterwards they said they would give it to me because it didn't work.

I brought it home to my shop, and found the problem was the dead power transformer. I found a fellow in St. Louis who bakes out the potted transformers, and replaces the guts with new ones. Did that, and replaced a few weak caps. The amp was quickly back in playing shape, and sounding yummy.

Other than two moves to new houses, it's never been gigged, or even taken outside of my home studio. I don't think there's another one like it in mint, all original condition anywhere.

I do still have the original CTS driver, but a few years ago I installed the "optional" Altec 421 in it. Man, what an improvement! I mean, it sounded wonderful before, but the Altec added more highs, more deep bass, and was at least 2db more sensitive. Almost like doubling the power of the amp. They were right to design the amp around the Altec driver.

Dave O.
Click to expand...

Yes sir, PF-50T's

Thanks for sharing the story on that great find. Where else to find the Holy Grail of bass amps but in church :)
 
#1,250
Havard Ramses said:
I want a better bridge. Is there a bridge that will fit perfectly in existing holes.
Click to expand...

There are several, as it is a generic Fender bridge. I put on a Fender high mass Badass II-style bridge on mine, that I robbed from a Fender Starcaster bass.

I've seen a couple of these PJ basses with Gotoh 201 bridges, but there is a lot of choice out there.

What is the stock bridge not doing for you, and it might be easier to narrow down an alternative.
 
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#1,251
Axstar said:
There are several, as it is a generic Fender bridge. I put on a Fender high mass Badass II-style bridge on mine, that I robbed from a Fender Starcaster bass.
I've seen a couple of these PJ basses with Gotoh 201 bridges, but there is a lot of choice out there.
What is the stock bridge not doing for you, and it might be easier to narrow down an alternative.
Click to expand...
It's not like I need to change it. It's mostly for looks and feel. And fun. I feel a big mass bridge looks cooler.
Pimp da Bass, Shallow Hal.
 
#1,253
Florinda4 said:
Happy to consult via PM on ditching the switch, but be advised I know exactly 0 about the wiring of same. I paid a certified bass genius to do the setup, as it's his business to know how to do that. I don't know what's going on behind the dang pickguard and don't want to know.

I've seen two approaches to setting up controls without the switch so far it seems, though I'm sure there are others out there.
1) One stacked knob for tone/volume, one single knob for blending the pickups. This is how mine was done (you can see it in my avatar). Smaller top knob in the stack is volume, riding on the larger tone knob, and down as far from the playing area as possible, next to the jack input where I can't bump it. The large single knob by the pick guard blends the pups (frustration at accidentally hitting the switch is what drove me to make the mod, but it also really bugged me that the stock switch setup meant all or nothing at all for each pickup). Using the tone and blend knobs, I have a very flexible range of sounds, despite the tone knob affecting both pups. And I can get to the volume with the pinkie on my right hand easily without worrying that I'll bump it accidentally.
2) Separate stacked volume and tone for each pickup. Ultimate control over volume and tone for each individual pup it would seem, but one too many knobs for my tiny brain. Hell, I'm a P-bass guy at heart, and any number of knobs above two is a bit scary.

Any others out there want to chime in? Other variations of switchless PJs?

I went with the simpler #1 because I need to keep it as simple as possible to adjust things on the fly come gig-time. I see basses (awesome, beautiful instruments) with half-a-dozen or more knobs, switches, EQs etc everywhere and wonder how the heck anyone has time (much less the skill) to use them when the heat is on, like in a 15/30/45-second break between tunes in a dance set, or figure out which one they bumped accidentally in the middle of a tune that made their sound turn to liquid.... molasses?... and fix it pronto. Would be (and has been on occasion) a major fail for me fer sure.

Flo
Click to expand...

Flo I am100% in agreement with you on thep electrician point. My degree is in health sciences. I don't know the difference between a watt and a ohm. So I have a commitment from the electronics tech that did the pickups and switch to do this project. It was he that asked for the printouts and the possible connection should he have any questions. I think your description of #1 helps quite a bit and Dave's specifics points him in a professional direction. I appreciate this greatly. dmt you always ask the pointed and tough questions as in "why don't you just turn the amp up to 6?" or "why not just loose the J pup completely? " They always make me go Hmmmmmmmmm. After the mods I got very used to using the J pup solo when playing jazz or blues and having that tone change as I do play quite a bit of that style. Great justification hunh? But you had a great point and I realized even though they were Duncans it wouldn't kill me to loose it and the P pups could handle the whole shebang quite well on it's own. (See I do listen). Look what P pups did for "Duck" Dunn. I am going take all of this input, suggestions, and knowledge to my tech in an hour and get his take on it. From my point of view it will be great not having my forearm black and blue from my wrist to my elbow ever again. I will keep everyone informed on the progress. Thank you all again.

Bob
 
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#1,254
Havard Ramses said:
I want a better bridge. Is there a bridge that will fit perfectly in existing holes.
For my new PJ, that is
Click to expand...
I was amazed at how simple it was to place the Gotoh 201-B4 on my P/J. I visually lined up the saddles with the old one, and the intonation was nearly spot-on. The screw holes lined up perfectly. I got the gold one, but the silver one is not very expensive...usually $30. I think the footprint is just slightly larger than the original. The sustain is a bit better, and more consistent across the strings.
Dave O.
 
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#1,255
Bobhmcs said:
Flo I am100% in agreement with you on thep electrician point. My degree is in health sciences. I don't know the difference between a watt and a ohm. So I have a commitment from the electronics tech that did the pickups and switch to do this project. It was he that asked for the printouts and the possible connection should he have any questions. I think your description of #1 helps quite a bit and Dave's specifics points him in a professional direction. I appreciate this greatly. dmt you always ask the pointed and tough questions as in "why don't you just turn the amp up to 6?" or "why not just loose the J pup completely? " They always make me go Hmmmmmmmmm. After the mods I got very used to using the J pup solo when playing jazz or blues and having that tone change as I do play quite a bit of that style. Great justification hunh? But you had a great point and I realized even though they were Duncans it wouldn't kill me to loose it and the P pups could handle the whole shebang quite well on it's own. (See I do listen). Look what P pups did for "Duck" Dunn. I am going take all of this input, suggestions, and knowledge to my tech in an hour and get his take on it. From my point of view it will be great not having my forearm black and blue from my wrist to my elbow ever again. I will keep everyone informed on the progress. Thank you all again.

Bob
Click to expand...
Bob:
If you decide to go the stacked VTVT route, and your tech wants a schematic, just let me know. I can scribble something out.
Dave O.
 
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#1,257
Bobhmcs said:
Hey all,

Well my bass life has taken a complete 180 and none of my doing. I want to say at the outset I absolutely love my PJ and there is no intention of any change. But I felt after all that this group has done for me I should honest up here. This is a 2 parter.


First while I was playing recently, after a break, as I was putting my bass back on I had spasm in my right arm and snapped the switch handle off completely. Now this was a HD Switchcraft Short Stem replacement and pretty heavily constructed. Takes quite a bit of force to break it like that. I was late taking my Parkinson's meds. So I am now ready to join the Ditch The Switch club. Does any of the current members have any problems with me PM'ng you should the need arise? Florinda, daveobleone, UncleK, and the rest? I would prefer not taking up TB space with questions already addressed. If you would prefer I didn't PM, you won't offend me or hurt my feelings. Btw this club is not as small as one would think, I had 10 names to refer to half way through the thread.


Ok secondly and quick as possible. In 1969 I was introduced by a family member to what I believe was a Gibson EB3 bass. It was a short intro. But ever since then I have dreamed, desired, and drooled over owning one. As this is the Fender Mustang Club I won't go further into the back story. Due to a set of unforeseen circumstances I have suddenly come into possession of a 2019 Gibson SG Standard. I paid $0 for this instrument. My PJ is and will be my go to bass. But what this does is put an end to 50 years of all that wondering of what if? Where this ties into is it allowed me the experience of not having the 3 way switch and deciding to consider the alternative options for my Mustang. I have not had the SG long enough for anymore to be said about it and if I do I will do it in the appropriate area.


I am in the process of going through this thread and finding the various posts referring to this mod and printing them out. But as the MFC has grown so much lately it has become a bit time consuming. I prefer not PM'ng without asking first due to past experiences.

With all that said I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!

Keep on thumping!


Bob
Click to expand...

You can PM me anytime, Bob.

Not sure I can be much help, tho. Have you tried asking in the Pick-ups and Electronics sub-forum?
 
#1,260
Anyone played the Fender American Performer Mustang bass and have any thoughts on it? I just ordered one and my first impression is nice neck, tuners and fretboard. Feels nice under the fingers and easy to play. Nice light weight bass. I like the top 3 strings sound but the E string with the factory strings is too twangy sounding for me. I have to pluck it very lightly to keep the twang out. It is a light set of strings with a .090 E string. I’m going to try a .105 to see if that helps the twang reduce and give the string a firmer tension feel. I’m used to 34” scale with.105 on it and this Mustang 30” scale along with the thinner .090 string are the contributing factors I believe to what I don’t like about the E string. Kind of wish the bridge was a bit heftier but it will suffice. An upgraded bridge would just about put this 30” short scale bass on par as far as build quality with the 34” scale American Professional. Everything else is very well built. The passive electronics are not too bad either. I was hoping for a short scale bass with as good of a build quality as Fender’s long scale basses. It gets pretty close but not quite there in a couple of features. Anybody have anything you want to jump in with here? Comments?
 
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