Check out WD Music. That's where I got my black Mustang pickguard. They have an option for the 2017 P/J Mustang.
Invalid Link Removed
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Fender Mustang PJ upgrades
- Thread starter Pressman52
- Start date
Invalid Link Removed
Hi Guys, I'm looking to buy a Mustang PJ here in Brazil.
Can the stock MIM pickups be replaced by the standard P/J american pickups?
Edit:
The idea is to use 1 (one) of these original Jazz Bass pickups:
Invalid Link Removed
AND the original Precision Bass pickup pair:
Invalid Link Removed
Can the stock MIM pickups be replaced by the standard P/J american pickups?
Edit:
The idea is to use 1 (one) of these original Jazz Bass pickups:
Invalid Link Removed
AND the original Precision Bass pickup pair:
Invalid Link Removed
Last edited:
Yes the Fender Original Jazz Bridge Pickup will fit just fine.
https://www.amazon.com/Fender-Origi...1&keywords=fender+original+jazz+bridge+pickup
The Fender Original Precision Pickup will fit but you might have to file the pickguard a little.
https://www.amazon.com/Fender-Preci...8-1&keywords=fender+original+precision+pickup
As an Amazon Associate, TalkBass may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via links on this site.
Has anyone had issues with the jazz pickup wires not reaching the toggle switch on the Mustang Bass? I had an aguilar pj set and the jazz wire wasn't long enough to reach the toggle switch.
Baddass II, Gotoh GB350, Fender US Precision & Vintage Noiseless Jazz pickups.
I used a Jumper wire. Solder a wire to the toggle switch then solder the end of that wire to Jazz pickup wire. Use heat shrink tubing or you can use electrical tape.
I have the same bass! Did you have to modify the peg holes in the head stock to fit the Gotoh GB350's? My bass has a slight neck dive. Do you think the baddass II and the Gotoh GB350's would help with neck dive? Thanks!
With stacked knobs, you could have eliminated the switch.
A switch is still good for a quick change without having to fumble around with the knobs though.
looks like a lot of people are upgrading theirs. I'm currently awaiting a set of cream dimarzio model PJ in the mail. Once i get them i'm gunna shield it with some copper and then drop em in. Hopefully it improves some of the issues I have with it.
No. The tuners are smaller than the holes. I wrapped 3-4 turns of aluminum tape around each tuner-nut to prevent wiggling.
As for neck-dive: The whole idea was exactly that. I first installed BAII and kept stock tuners. That helped but there was still some neck-dive left so I went ahead and installed Gotohs as well. Now the bass balances perfectly.
Fender extend the white wire from the Jazz pickup. In both of mine the wire is spliced to another and insulated with heat shrink.
I was doing some mods on my Mustang P/J and somehow killed the jazz pickup. 
If you care to read about that, it's here: Tone pot causes volume drop on Mustang PJ - need help please (I'm not too sad about it because the jazz pup seemed to be inherently weak on all the Mustang PJs.)
I have been following this thread and the Mustang Club thread. To those of you who have swapped out pups on your Mustang PJ, why did you choose your particular new pups? How did the sound differ compared to the stock pups?
I play mostly praise and worship music, so I'm not looking for anything too "aggressive" sounding. What would you recommend in my case?
BTW, the "P" pup works fine, but I'm not opposed to upgrading both pups. Thanks for your help.
Kathy
If you care to read about that, it's here: Tone pot causes volume drop on Mustang PJ - need help please (I'm not too sad about it because the jazz pup seemed to be inherently weak on all the Mustang PJs.)I have been following this thread and the Mustang Club thread. To those of you who have swapped out pups on your Mustang PJ, why did you choose your particular new pups? How did the sound differ compared to the stock pups?
I play mostly praise and worship music, so I'm not looking for anything too "aggressive" sounding. What would you recommend in my case?
BTW, the "P" pup works fine, but I'm not opposed to upgrading both pups. Thanks for your help.
Kathy
I was doing some mods on my Mustang P/J and somehow killed the jazz pickup.
I have been following this thread and the Mustang Club thread. To those of you who have swapped out pups on your Mustang PJ, why did you choose your particular new pups? How did the sound differ compared to the stock pups?
I play mostly praise and worship music, so I'm not looking for anything too "aggressive" sounding. What would you recommend in my case?
BTW, the "P" pup works fine, but I'm not opposed to upgrading both pups. Thanks for your help.
Kathy
I like Seymore Duncan Vintage P Bass SPB-1 it has that 50s & 60s sound.
I have installed Seymore Duncan Apollo Jazz Bridge which is noiseless and blends nicely with the SPB-1.
I had the Classic Stack Jazz STK-J1B noiseless also but didn't blend well with SPB-1 that and I just wasn't happy
with the sound of it.
Thanks @Pressman52 , I appreciate your input. No one else has chimed in, so I may go with your recommendation. I don't know a lot about pickups, but the way you describe yours seems like they would do well for me. I've been following this thread since you started it and have been impressed with all the upgrades you have done.
Thanks for your help. I was able to buy all the pickups, the Fender high mass bridge and the thumb rest.
I just picked up the bass from the local luthier who did a beautiful job at installing and regulating all the parts.
Check his work, @CelsoFreire from @DreamerGuitars:
Soon I will post my observations and photos of these improvements as soon as I can test it more carefully.
(PS: Still looking for Fender tuners to replace the generic originals).
(PS2: thumb rest was not yet installed because I'm checking the best place to fix it, any help here?).
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate, TalkBass may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via links on this site.
For replacement Tuning Machines I would check out Hipshot HB10 here is a link.
Invalid Link Removed
For Thumb Rest placement I taped the Rest to the pickguard in different places and ended up putting it
where the
5th string would be on a 5 string Bass. So experiment with taping it first.
Hi everyone, I'm back with my impressions after playing with the Mustang PJ upgraded a few hours tonight.
My purpose isn't do an A/B test on every item, but give an overall felling of the upgrades.
Check all upgrades here:
Fender Mustang PJ upgrades
- Let's start with the High Mass Bridge:
It's beautiful and looking cool
It adds a few more sustain for sure (maybe the new strings helped??).
Anyway, it's a worthy upgrade for the price (around $50 USD)...
- USA Original Precision and Jazz Bass Pickups
Both MIM pickups were replaced with Original American made. It sounds almost the same... I said "almost". It has a higher and tighter output (maybe it's the strings again??), but the noise have been reduced a lot (noise on neck pickup is almost zero)... (My local luthier compared the noise before the ground service).
There's still a very low hum noise that stops when hold the strings... Maybe just actives pickups to stop it all.
- Pro Steels D'Addario XL EPS170S Strings
For me the big difference was in the exchange of the original strings by the EPS170S.
These strings are softer than the originals, make it easy to move your fingers ...
It sounds really cool, I hope to record a little bit for you in the near future.
I really recommend exchange your original strings with this one.
- Also, I managed to find a G&G/Fender Short Scale Bass Case on a local store in Brazil:
Fender Mustang PJ upgrades
As you can see, It fits the Mustang, but has a lot of room.
The case is well made but it lacks some kind of straps to hold the bass on place.
There's a lot of soft foam that helps secure the bass when is closed..
It's more than enough to carry to a gig on your car/van.
It's also expensive but we don't have too many options here
... it should cost half the price...
Next steps:
- Fender Strap-Lock (waiting to be delivered)
- Find a good place to fix the Thumb Rest
- On a near future: replace the tuners with Fender Original Mustang Tuners (the ones with the Fender logo) or a Hipshot B10 set as suggested by @Pressman52
My purpose isn't do an A/B test on every item, but give an overall felling of the upgrades.
Check all upgrades here:
Fender Mustang PJ upgrades
- Let's start with the High Mass Bridge:
It's beautiful and looking cool
It adds a few more sustain for sure (maybe the new strings helped??).
Anyway, it's a worthy upgrade for the price (around $50 USD)...
- USA Original Precision and Jazz Bass Pickups
Both MIM pickups were replaced with Original American made. It sounds almost the same... I said "almost". It has a higher and tighter output (maybe it's the strings again??), but the noise have been reduced a lot (noise on neck pickup is almost zero)... (My local luthier compared the noise before the ground service).
There's still a very low hum noise that stops when hold the strings... Maybe just actives pickups to stop it all.
- Pro Steels D'Addario XL EPS170S Strings
For me the big difference was in the exchange of the original strings by the EPS170S.
These strings are softer than the originals, make it easy to move your fingers ...
It sounds really cool, I hope to record a little bit for you in the near future.
I really recommend exchange your original strings with this one.
- Also, I managed to find a G&G/Fender Short Scale Bass Case on a local store in Brazil:
Fender Mustang PJ upgrades
As you can see, It fits the Mustang, but has a lot of room.
The case is well made but it lacks some kind of straps to hold the bass on place.
There's a lot of soft foam that helps secure the bass when is closed..
It's more than enough to carry to a gig on your car/van.
It's also expensive
but we don't have too many options here... it should cost half the price...
Next steps:
- Fender Strap-Lock (waiting to be delivered)
- Find a good place to fix the Thumb Rest
- On a near future: replace the tuners with Fender Original Mustang Tuners (the ones with the Fender logo) or a Hipshot B10 set as suggested by @Pressman52
Last edited:
