NBD 1978 Musicmaster Bass

[eddiditfirst]

Very happy to welcome this little fella into the family!
I had a nice example one of these in the past, but regrettably sold it off… i’m nor making that mistake again!
It took a fair bit of work to get it up and running. It’s had a lovely refret job from Bon Guitars here in Brighton, UK- and we’ve set the original electronics aside for now, replacing them with a Mojo Pickups 4-pole musicmaster drop-in replacement.
La Bella low tensions, plays like an absolute joy.
I recorded with it this evening and my mate producing was singing its praises all evening! Well chuffed!

 

[bholder]

I've got my black '76 in parts, first bass I bought for my very own (rather than mooching off my older brother). Have to get it back together someday soon.

 

[Dabndug]

Fabulous bass! Congratulations!

It looks like the pickguard is from an earlier bass - the tugbar was moved to the "bass" side around '75, and the discolouration shows the guard spent some time with a tugbar in place. If there are tugbar holes under the 'guard, you may have a late '70s neck on an early '70s body. The tuners and logo are definitely from a late '70s bass.

 

[nonohmic]

Sweet!

 

[ghostdog93]

That's a sweet Musicmaster, congrats on the new addition!

 

[SactoBass]

That's a nice bass! Good score!

 

[blastoff]

i was going to say the same. the pickguard is the early 70's style, and im not positive but don't think they did the white finish in the later era either. not common anyways.

 

[Hammertime3]

Wife has one just like it. Been sitting in the case for 30 plus years. Found this which I believe I recorded as the serial number years ago...5833172. Does this sound right?

 

[Kdmoo]

Had that exact bass, color and everything. Wish I had not sold it years ago!

 

[burpgun]

I saw video where a dude put some sort of hotrail Strat humbucker in a Squier version of this--a Bronco?--and I was shocked how good it sounded. Grindy and hot, the way I like it.

 

[Fresh Eddie]

Great looking bass! I used to have one that looked really similar but had the early heart shaped tuners. Sold it for $175 about twenty years ago… we all make mistakes.

 

[darwin-bass]

Educate me please. A short scale single coil P bass? What is special about it?

 

[rodak]

Nice! My first "good" bass was a white Musicmaster, probably a '74. Sold it to a friend who stripped but never re-finished it. He still has it - I should buy it back from him.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

Great basses. I got mine in nearly unplayable condition long ago and would never part with it.

Enjoy!

 

[Paul New]

Educate me please. A short scale single coil P bass? What is special about it?

It’s a short scale single coil p bass.

 

[Dabndug]

It’s a short scale single coil p bass.

Yep! That's worth the price of admission!

They're also compact (they can fit in a guitar gig-bag), lightweight, were cheap(ish) when new, easy to play, and sound pretty good, even with the original strat-style pickup. The no-frills bare-bones design and low cost was (is?) appealing to the punk/indie movement.

They're also great modding platforms if that's your thing.

 

[SC Bassboy]

Congrats! My first ever bass was a Musicmaster that I bought for $100 in the mid 90's. Sadly, it took me a few years to figure out why all the strings I bought for it were too "short" haha. I was so disappointed that there was no silk wrapping left once I trimmed them to length. Anyway, I still have it thankfully. Did the earlier models feature phenolic bridge saddles? Mine has metal ones, but the ones on your bass almost look like rubberized plastic.

 

[eddiditfirst]

Fabulous bass! Congratulations!

It looks like the pickguard is from an earlier bass - the tugbar was moved to the "bass" side around '75, and the discolouration shows the guard spent some time with a tugbar in place. If there are tugbar holes under the 'guard, you may have a late '70s neck on an early '70s body. The tuners and logo are definitely from a late '70s bass.

I truly hadn’t imagined that the neck and body came from different years, but that speaks much better sense than whatever was going on in my head. The scratch plate and body are definitely a match, the screw holes all match up. After reading your response, I realised i hadn’t looked at the pickup since taking the instrument in for its refret and rewiring, so i dug it out and it appears to be dated… 1972!
That’s a commendable intuition you have there sir!
If only i could lose so many years in an evening!

 

[eddiditfirst]

Wife has one just like it. Been sitting in the case for 30 plus years. Found this which I believe I recorded as the serial number years ago...5833172. Does this sound right?

with the serial number on your bass’s neck plate, that serial would date that bass ‘74- ‘75- but we’ve since dated the pickup to ‘72 on this one.
CBS seemed very fond of changing up their serial systems throughout the 70s, so everything is with a mucklesome pinch of coarse salt!

 

[eddiditfirst]

I saw video where a dude put some sort of hotrail Strat humbucker in a Squier version of this--a Bronco?--and I was shocked how good it sounded. Grindy and hot, the way I like it.

Would that dude happen to be the bassist for Improvement Movement? Because yes, it does indeed sound fantastic!