Ahoy!
First new bass since I began mostly playing guitar (sorry!). Wanted something a little closer in scale and I always loved the mustang bass platform. In fact I’ve owned a number of them, including this bass when it was being marketed as the “Offset Series”.
That was so long ago that I cannot comment with any certainty on the difference between the two (older vs this Player rebrand). I’m pretty sure the neck is nicer and the finish feels more pristine on this new one compared to my old Torino Red model. The fretwork is definitely better, shockingly so in fact. I remember being instantly off put when I opened my older mustang PJ by the barbed wire alone the fretboard. This was a complete 180 experience where I was stunned by how good the frets are. Can’t say as to if these experiences are unique to me or across the board.
Every review I read seemed to indicate that the electronics were the same, so I instantly ditched them. I remember the bridge pickup being ridiculously weak and the switch being a huge pain, so I Had the store install a Duncan hot stack in the bridge and a SPB-4 in the middle. Sounds incredible. Thick, meaty, and professional. Utterly hum-free. Also have a grease bucket tone pot on the way (love it or hate it. I personally love it) and a balance pot to replace the switch with.
Overall I’m blown away. Switching between my Mariposa and this is fairly seamless and I am excited to finish up the electronics!
If I were to fight off the honeymoon phase and be impartial, I would say that these are now priced pretty roughly. As someone who likes the mustang shape but prefers PJ pickups, this makes sense still for me and the fit and finish do seem to be improved…but idk. If you aren’t picky about pickups or love/are interested in mustang pickups, these aren’t to far from the Vintera or JMJ lines anymore. They are also way more expensive than the Squier CV mustang bass. Just something to think about!
Given the nature of the instrument, I would only weigh this as an option against the American Performer Mustang bass. For me, this model won out!
enough talk, here are a couple pics!
oh, and my camera isn’t the best, but the neck has a really nice flame to it, an extremely pleasant surprise:
First new bass since I began mostly playing guitar (sorry!). Wanted something a little closer in scale and I always loved the mustang bass platform. In fact I’ve owned a number of them, including this bass when it was being marketed as the “Offset Series”.
That was so long ago that I cannot comment with any certainty on the difference between the two (older vs this Player rebrand). I’m pretty sure the neck is nicer and the finish feels more pristine on this new one compared to my old Torino Red model. The fretwork is definitely better, shockingly so in fact. I remember being instantly off put when I opened my older mustang PJ by the barbed wire alone the fretboard. This was a complete 180 experience where I was stunned by how good the frets are. Can’t say as to if these experiences are unique to me or across the board.
Every review I read seemed to indicate that the electronics were the same, so I instantly ditched them. I remember the bridge pickup being ridiculously weak and the switch being a huge pain, so I Had the store install a Duncan hot stack in the bridge and a SPB-4 in the middle. Sounds incredible. Thick, meaty, and professional. Utterly hum-free. Also have a grease bucket tone pot on the way (love it or hate it. I personally love it) and a balance pot to replace the switch with.
Overall I’m blown away. Switching between my Mariposa and this is fairly seamless and I am excited to finish up the electronics!
If I were to fight off the honeymoon phase and be impartial, I would say that these are now priced pretty roughly. As someone who likes the mustang shape but prefers PJ pickups, this makes sense still for me and the fit and finish do seem to be improved…but idk. If you aren’t picky about pickups or love/are interested in mustang pickups, these aren’t to far from the Vintera or JMJ lines anymore. They are also way more expensive than the Squier CV mustang bass. Just something to think about!
Given the nature of the instrument, I would only weigh this as an option against the American Performer Mustang bass. For me, this model won out!
enough talk, here are a couple pics!
oh, and my camera isn’t the best, but the neck has a really nice flame to it, an extremely pleasant surprise:
