NBD: Vintera 60s Mustang

Found a good deal for a minty Vintera 60s Mustang on Reverb, pulled the trigger this morning!



Been playing more 4 string lately and I think I could easily incorporate both 4 and 5 into my scheme, been digging the P bass sound lately, been hankering for sunburst / pearloid, and loving the idea of a short scale / 8lb funk machine... Probably won't get it for at least a week...

 

Wow... just got this update from reverb

"Estimated delivery date:
Thursday 6/18/2020 by end of day"

 

I can tell this part of the story with pictures:

 

Gunna have to finish my work day before plugging it in and running it through its paces. Gave it a once over and the finish / woodgrain is perfect, fret work feels great (no sharp ends), neck is nice and straight, action looks good...

 

Yeah you can see the seam between the pieces of wood a little bit on the back, not at all on the front. very nicely done.

 

I played it for a while and here's the first impression. Caveats--it's my first short scale and I've been primarily a 5 string player for the past few years.

It wasn't brand new. It's totally mint, and clearly it has been set up or had a good setup in the factory. I could do with slightly lower action but it's totally playable. I don't love the strings but that's easy, and once they deaden up a bit they'd probably be fine.

I twisted a few knobs on the wd-800 and was able to coax several usable tones out of it. Preamp gain at noon seems the sweet spot... It's definitely got P-bass mids for days, and even without the deep switch on it has plenty of nice low end. With the deep switch on and the bass knob down a bit it's huge enough for reggae without a doubt.

It's nice and light, comfortable to play, and has minimal neck dive. The A D and G strings sound like any fender does up there. When you get up past the 8th fret or so on the E string it gets quite dull, but it's in tune all the way up the neck. I played a few songs in B and C in first position rather than up the neck where I might normally. Totally comfortable and sounded good. I'm a Ram by Al Green is in E, but there's a lot of B, C#, higher octave E and F#. It didn't sound so hot with that stuff being played on the 7th and 9th frets where I would have, but totally works on the 2nd and 4th frets.

Only negative is I wish rhe sunburst was a but brighter, and that it extended further towards the edge of the body. You can't see it on the horn at all, and you definitely can on all of Fender's marketing materials...

All in all a great bass that I can't wait to play more!

 

I just recently noticed that there are long scale strings on this thing... I've ordered some sunbeams, my string of choice. I've read the DR short scales are actually 33.75, but also that it's the correct length for string thru, which this bass has... I'm going to reserve any judgement about its performance higher up the neck until I have the correct length strings mounted...

 

Well you've given me two very interesting career change options to consider!

 

I just received the DR Sunbeam short scale 45 - 105 set from Fretnation and put them on and... WOW. i can't believe I didn't hate this bass until right now. The strings do indeed taper before they reach the posts. And of course for me, Sunbeams are IT so I'm very happy... Sounds more even up and down the neck--as much as you'd expect from any bass much less one with a 30" scale.

After having put the new strings on I plugged it in and for some reason now it's buzzing like a single coil. I think I need to take the pickguard off to see if somehow a wire got knocked loose... :|

 

Nope, fingers on string too. So that rules out a bad ground? I tried turning the lights off, the computer wasn't on at the time. Could just be that i had cranked the amp up to stage volume and had only played at more moderate volumes beforehand.

 

I don't mind the zing of new roundwounds on this bass. Taking off whatever wrong scale strings that were on it and putting a correct scale set of dr sunbeams really just makes this thing sound amazing. When i dig in a bit I'd call it "spanky"...

 

I think i might need to shield the cavity... it's picking up interference from phones and electronics. Not that bad, but just bad enough. And i haven't checked for a loose ground yet.

Tonight's revelation, thumb plucking with a palm mute near the the bridge, this is one serious thump machine!

 

I slapped some flats on this guy (as is our custom), and noticed a bit more neck bowing than I'd liked to see. I took the pickguard off and... seems like the truss rod is only adjustable by removing the neck... i like the vintage reissue being just like the original but... that's maybe one thing they could have updated...