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Mustang vs Musicmaster?

apollo bass

apollo bass

Jul 22, 2010
46
2
Keithville, Louisiana
#1
So I just joined the "I've never played a Fender club." Never been able to afford one - well, didn't want to spend that much, and prefer short scale. So if I were to get one I think that limits me to the Mustang or the Musicmaster.

What's the difference in quality? Tone? Playability? Etc. Inquiring minds want to know. (On ebay the Mustangs can run into the $1,000 - $1500 range while Musicmasters can be had for $500, sometimes less, so there has to be a difference.)

And what about vintage Mustang vs MIJ Mustang?
 
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#2
The newer MIJ Mustangs are well-built, good-playing basses, and they sound big. I can’t imagine anyone wanting a short-scale being dissatisfied with it.

I saw one going for $400 on local CL, otherwise I wouldn’t know what the used price would be.

I bought one a few years ago new for $565 before the price increase.
 
#3
Musicmasters do not have a split pickup and have a 1-piece pickguard whereas a Mustang has a split pickup and a chrome control plate. I personally think the Mustang looks nicer with a much nicer pickguard shape.

Musicmasters are currently not in production, the closest direct relative being the Squier Bronco. Fender Japan make Mustangs right now though they seem a little pricey for what they are, and they do not sound like the original Mustangs apparently.
 
#4
You'll find that the Mustang has a little more of a Precision-like sound than the Musicmaster (current split P sound, that is). Both are fun basses to play. I think you'll find the playability to be exactly the same between the two. Also, if you're looking at vintage, they're like any old Fenders: some are great, some aren't.
 
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#7
Mustangs have a split humbucker like a P bass, but smaller. Similar tone though. The Musicmaster, like the current Squier Bronco, use a solitary single coil Stratocaster pickup. I've A/B'd a 70's Musicmaster with two Broncos and they were virtually identical in sound. Used Musicmaster, around $400 depending, a new Bronco though is usually $100 or less out the door...
 
#8
My Mustang sound much like a P bass with the split coil pickup and my Bronco (which is similar to a musicmaster) sounds much like a first generation P bass/Telecaster bass with the single coil pickup and sort of like a J bass with only the neck pickup on, but more like the P/T bass.
 
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#9
Just because I like posting the pic...

'78 Musicmaster - Stock (except for re-wired controls... CTS Pots and Orange-Drop capacitor)

78_musicmaster_1.jpg


I'm playing this right now as I browse TB... It often sits by the computer... To me, it doesn't give anything up to the Mustang, but is just a different flavor... In a group setting, it sounds like a bass :D

The current RI Mustangs (from the past 5 years or so) are excellent basses. I was gassing very hard for one and narrowly missed getting one a while back (it was only slightly edged out in the competition by an MIM '50s Classic, which is truly an excellent bass!)... Of the RI Mustangs that I've played, there was not a dog in the bunch... Any of them would be giggers!

The Broncos are 'similar' to the Musicmasters only in that they are short-scalers with a 'strat-like' pickup... The agathis or basswood body, hardware and the light-maple neck are the differentiators IMO... Not a bad thing at all, but different. While I've seen a few Broncos in local stores that were setup poorly, I didn't see anything that a decent setup wouldn't cure. I would have gigged with any Bronco that I've held. They're an excellent 'upgradeable' platform, and can be found for cheap!

-robert
 
#11
A musicmaster has a single coil guitar pickup basically where as the mustang has the split coil humbucker.

The bridges are different , more mass on the mustang and also the musicmaster only has 2 saddles.

The mustang is more "deluxe" , I almost won a musicmaster on ebay todday it went for 350$ I bid 345$:(
 
#12
I have played several vintage mustangs and musicmasters. A few had really good setups, a few were in desperate need. I think that my MIJ Mustang reissue is as good or better quality wise.

I'm not a fan of the glossy finish on the back of the MIJ neck, I know some super fine grit sandpaper will fix that, although I haven't taken the plunge yet.

The stock pickups on the vintage instruments I have played have had low outputs, especially the musicmaster. Depending on your style you may or may not like the sound. I would have swapped the pickups for the Aero drop in immediately. The MIJ pickup thumps, I have no issues whatsoever.

The pots in the MIJ reissue are junk, mini pots. I'm sure the squier Bronco isn't any better. Full size CTS pots are a direct drop in though, no extra routing needed.

I swapped the pots, replaced the nut with bone and leveled the frets, now my MIJ it is my favorite of all my basses, hands down. I think that the reissue Mustang is worth the price, even the new higher price. It is a good bass, I can't imagine any short scale lovenot being happy with it.
 
#14
ia02 said:
The stock pickups on the vintage instruments I have played have had low outputs, especially the musicmaster.
Click to expand...

IMO, this is more of a factor of the electronics than the pickup... The bass pictured in my earlier post spent several years with the pickup wired directly to the output, and it was surprisingly live, growly and authorative... Not what I expected when I dove into it...

When I got the bass, it sounded, hmmm, somewhat flaccid (for want of a better description... Having had a '78 Musicmaster years before, I remembered this same exact thing). At first, thinking that it was the pickup, I was going to gut-and-redo everything. When I tore into it, I noticed that the stock electronics had two capacitors wired in place and decided to see what the bass would sound like with the controls bypassed... Turned into a hot little mammer-jammer! By the time I went to a different electronics scheme, the bass had easily paid for itself...

In the last 8 years, that bass has seen a number of pickup/electronics changes... Right now, it's completely satisfying with the stock p'up and more 'straight-forward' electronics... Still, I think that an Aeor is somewhere in it's future...

-robert
 
#15
I've been thinking about getting a short scale bass cause I've got some small hands. I've also never been one to spend cash in a name. So, are the Squier Broncos really that close to the MusicMaster? Cause the Broncos I've played were a bit to bright and the tone control didn't do much. Perhaps some ground wounds would fix the quack? Also, I have a Squier VM P Bass. Would a Bronco be worth it just for the comfort of the 30" scale?
 
#17
I have a Bronco that's a very nice bass. The satin finish on the neck is especially nice. Balance is good, and it's a very nice instrument. I added a Mustang-style chrome stripe with auto striping tape.

IMAG0040.jpg


I have a black pearloid pickguard for it that will replace the white one.

About the sound:

I pulled the Strat pickup and tried an S-D Hot Rails pickup; better, but still not quite the bottom I'm looking for. I installed a '53 reissue P-bass pickup (required a bit of simple Dremel work on the pickguard) but the pole pieces on the G and E are too far from the strings. I ordered a set of threaded saddles from Guitar Parts Resource and will try replacing the stock Bronco saddles with them - they should allow me to position the strings a bit better. I still need to enlarge the cavity under the pickguard to let the P-bass pickup shift a bit to the E string side.
 
#18
I guess the difference in tone between the Mustang and MusicMaster would essentially be the same as between a split-coil and single coil Precision. Personally I think that they aren't all that different in a band setting though. However I would probably choose the MusicMaster over the Mustang because I prefer the feel and balance of the MusicMaster and because it affords me the option to try out a bunch of different strat pickups to tailor the sound. I had a Bronco with a hotrails type Strat pickup and it had a great tone, especially when really digging in.
 
#19
When people say that the new mustangs don't sound like the old ones ; is the difference pretty much the same that one finds between instruments of the same kind, say between one current P bass to the next, of the same model, or is it more drastic than that?
also, aren't the necks on the new mustangs smaller than the older ones?
Or was it between the mustangs vs. musicmaster?

I remember trying a new mustang and the neck was tiny when compared to an"original" -I just can't quite remember if the "original " was a mustang or a musicmaster...
 
#20
Pilgrim the racing stripe is a nice touch. There are several other Basslines pickups that could work. Squier doesn't have the string spacing on their website for the Bronco. So, those could have the same problems as you did. But who knows? The others might work out just fine. Also, hope those bridge saddles fix your problem.
 

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