New PJ Mustang at Summer NAMM

[west al]

The first Olympic White, Mustang PJ I had, was labeled as a Sonic Blue at the GC I acquired it from. the lighting wasn't that bright inmost parts of the store. But then under the lighting at the customer service are, it was definitely Olympic White.

 

[Shorty3]

The Aerodyne is a long scale and has a Jazz profile body so it has a larger footprint. The Mustang is a short scale. That's both an advantage and a disadvantage, also dependent on who you are and what you like.

The Mustang fretboard radius is 9.5, the Aerodyne is a softer 7.25. The nut widths are the same. The necks feel pretty close but again the Mustang is a shorty so there are some differences in feel due to where the frets are put and whatnot.

The Mustang pickups are pretty standard AlNiCos. They sound good. The bridge pickup is a bit less tinny than the aerodyne's. That may be due to the short scale. Both have similar quality pickups I'd say.

The Mustang body is Alder, Aerodyne basswood. Some people don't like basswood but the Aerodyne kinda needs it for the shape it is. It has lots of contours.

The Mustang has a 3-way switch and you can't blend the pickups. Advantage is it's quick to switch tones and it actually works well on that bass. The Aerodyne advantage is you can blend.

The Aerodyne is also made in Japan. The Mustang is made in Mexico.

I'd say either one is a good choice but the Mustang is a better value. The Aerodyne is probably higher quality IMO but not a whole lot, likely the special hardware and shape on the aero is where some of the cost is.

The Mustang is excellent as a couch player and I use it in my small home studio since it's comfy in a tight space. Also I love the sounds, especially the bridge pickup.

Are you sure the Mustang has AlNiCo pickups? I supposed all MIM Fenders used Ceramic pickups. I didn't seem to find any spec info about the pickups on the Fender web site. If they are AlNiCo then ok, I shall wait for a sunburst or black PJ Mustang, hopefully with a maple fretboard (CITES will push maple!) and won't have to do any mods.

 

[shoulderpet]

The Aerodyne is a long scale and has a Jazz profile body so it has a larger footprint. The Mustang is a short scale. That's both an advantage and a disadvantage, also dependent on who you are and what you like.

The Mustang fretboard radius is 9.5, the Aerodyne is a softer 7.25. The nut widths are the same. The necks feel pretty close but again the Mustang is a shorty so there are some differences in feel due to where the frets are put and whatnot.

The Mustang pickups are pretty standard AlNiCos. They sound good. The bridge pickup is a bit less tinny than the aerodyne's. That may be due to the short scale. Both have similar quality pickups I'd say.

The Mustang body is Alder, Aerodyne basswood. Some people don't like basswood but the Aerodyne kinda needs it for the shape it is. It has lots of contours.

The Mustang has a 3-way switch and you can't blend the pickups. Advantage is it's quick to switch tones and it actually works well on that bass. The Aerodyne advantage is you can blend.

The Aerodyne is also made in Japan. The Mustang is made in Mexico.

I'd say either one is a good choice but the Mustang is a better value. The Aerodyne is probably higher quality IMO but not a whole lot, likely the special hardware and shape on the aero is where some of the cost is.

The Mustang is excellent as a couch player and I use it in my small home studio since it's comfy in a tight space. Also I love the sounds, especially the bridge pickup.

Both great basses but for me the Mustang is better as I have fairly small hands and the Mustang is short scale, also like the simplicity of the 3 way switch + 1 tone and 1 volume, have always found with PJ basses I will either solo one or the other pickups or have both on full so the selector switch is good for me, also the Mustang imparts more of a vintage vibe in looks, this also reflected in the tone which i would describe as being on the brighter,cleaner side of vintage (no idea why lots of people think that vintage=dark and lacking highs some of those vintage p basses are downright rude sounding), the Mustang (mine anyway) is also one of the most resonant basses I have played

 

[Antisyzygy]

Are you sure the Mustang has AlNiCo pickups? I supposed all MIM Fenders used Ceramic pickups. I didn't seem to find any spec info about the pickups on the Fender web site. If they are AlNiCo then ok, I shall wait for a sunburst or black PJ Mustang, hopefully with a maple fretboard (CITES will push maple!) and won't have to do any mods.

Yes. Fender Mexico uses AlNiCos the majority of the time. I haven't seen a ceramics for awhile. Squier certainly uses ceramics on some models. However even Squier CV or VMs often have AlNiCos.

I believe the site has it listed as "vintage" P and J pickups on that Mustang so likely similar to what's on the Road Worn or Classic Series.

Actually, some USA manufacturers use ceramics because they can pack more magnet power in a smaller bar. It all depends on the pickup, it just turns out ceramics are cheap to make so it winds up in cheaply made pickups which have more problems than just the magnet choice.

 

[Antisyzygy]

Both great basses but for me the Mustang is better as I have fairly small hands and the Mustang is short scale, also like the simplicity of the 3 way switch + 1 tone and 1 volume, have always found with PJ basses I will either solo one or the other pickups or have both on full so the selector switch is good for me, also the Mustang imparts more of a vintage vibe in looks, this also reflected in the tone which i would describe as being on the brighter,cleaner side of vintage (no idea why lots of people think that vintage=dark and lacking highs some of those vintage p basses are downright rude sounding), the Mustang (mine anyway) is also one of the most resonant basses I have played

I'm a blender for sure, but really the only blend I use is 100% P and 90% J. It gets rid of the mid-scoop but retains some highs. I like it on a PJ.

For whatever reason the Mustang does a good middle switch tone so I don't really feel like I need to do blending on this bass. Quickly switching between the settings is also nice, at least on this bass. I don't use the switch often mid-song, but I mean it's quick to switch to different "presets" if you will.

I've been dialing in the pickup heights to get good tones in all the settings. Right now I juiced the bridge up pretty high, but I need to probably lower the P pickup a hair.

At any rate, this Mustang also has a useable bridge pickup tone, unlike many PJs, so it gives you a little more to offset the lack of blending in my view. That bridge pup tone is nice and upper-middy, doesn't lack too much lows (raising pickup height helped) and isn't tinny. It sounds good--probably due to the short scale and pickup location though as it's a pretty standard J pickup.

I will likely get another one of these at some point and put a different set of pickups in it. Meaning like, grab some hot pickups or QPs or something, just for something different. I like the form factor and it seems the combination of the pickup location, controls, scale length, and even neck/body just add up to a great platform for feel and tone there.

 

[felis]

There's only one problem with the Mustang P/J - it's completely eliminated my GAS.

I haven't felt the need or desire to consider any other basses than what I already have.

(That's not really a problem for me - it's more of a blessing).

 

[Marial]

There's only one problem with the Mustang P/J - it's completely eliminated my GAS.

I haven't felt the need or desire to consider any other basses than what I already have.

(That's not really a problem for me - it's more of a blessing).

Pretty much for me too. I'm actually relatively GAS-free for the first time in, well, ever.

 

[Antisyzygy]

There's only one problem with the Mustang P/J - it's completely eliminated my GAS.

I haven't felt the need or desire to consider any other basses than what I already have.

(That's not really a problem for me - it's more of a blessing).

It made me want a second one, but that's about it.

 

[shoulderpet]

It made me want a second one, but that's about it.

+1 i want a Mustang in Torino red to go with my Sonic blue Mustang

 

[Marikk]

Would love to see a Maple board, Two tone burst with a black guard please!! But id settle for a few more colors and a maple board version

 

[Antisyzygy]

+1 i want a Mustang in Torino red to go with my Sonic blue Mustang

Yep! Same exact thing here. I was going to get the Torino one originally but it was sold out over last Christmas. I have the sonic blue. It needs a red brother.

 

[Antisyzygy]

Would love to see a Maple board, Two tone burst with a black guard please!! But id settle for a few more colors and a maple board version

It's popular enough I wouldn't be surprised if they launch a few more models. Probably at different prices even.

 

[felis]

Here's my twins:

New PJ Mustang at Summer NAMM

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I finally took mine home. I had loved playing them in stores but that is always different from playing a bass at a rehearsal or a show/service.

I loved the light weight. The short scale did not faze me at all. I guess I am just adaptable. I can switch between string spacing pretty easily too.

I love all the tones this bass offers, and I will keep rounds on it for the extra versatility. At rehearsal, I missed the B string, but I don't think anyone else did. My only issue was the single coil hum in PJ mode, but I knew that would be there when I bought it.

Overall, this is a great bass for under $550. It is also a nice change of pace from the 35" five strings. I would definitely recommend this bass.

 

[Downsman]

I was trying a couple out in a store yesterday, and noticed when the tone is rolled all the way down, the volume drops off very fast, from full to almost silent with just a very small turn. The tech there figured it's because of the three way switching, which he thinks is unique to this bass (for PJ pickups). He wondered if a treble bleed would solve it. It's not as bad on the D and G strings so seems the volume pot needs to pick up the treble to work properly. Anyone on here done anything to sort that out? Most people won't be affected by it, but for band I'm in I'm going for that early 60s thump and on my Jag SS PJ the P with tone rolled all the way down and Chromes is exactly the right sound. My goal is to do the same with Mustang, then put rounds on the Jag for more modern music.

 

[shoulderpet]

I was trying a couple out in a store yesterday, and noticed when the tone is rolled all the way down, the volume drops off very fast, from full to almost silent with just a very small turn. The tech there figured it's because of the three way switching, which he thinks is unique to this bass (for PJ pickups). He wondered if a treble bleed would solve it. It's not as bad on the D and G strings so seems the volume pot needs to pick up the treble to work properly. Anyone on here done anything to sort that out? Most people won't be affected by it, but for band I'm in I'm going for that early 60s thump and on my Jag SS PJ the P with tone rolled all the way down and Chromes is exactly the right sound. My goal is to do the same with Mustang, then put rounds on the Jag for more modern music.

I had noticed a volume drop with the tone rolled off but tbh the flats i use are plenty dark already so the tone rolled off isn't a tone that would be useful to me, i think it may be worthwhile for you to do a side by side comparison with your jag if possible to see if you really need the Mustangs tone to be rolled all the way off , the reason i say this is that my Mustang with the tone rolled off seems noticeably darker than my Jaguar with the tone rolled off, the Jaguar with the tone rolled off is kind of dark middy motown sounding whereas the Mustang with the tone rolled off is more like a Dub Reggae tone

 

[Downsman]

I had noticed a volume drop with the tone rolled off but tbh the flats i use are plenty dark already so the tone rolled off isn't a tone that would be useful to me, i think it may be worthwhile for you to do a side by side comparison with your jag if possible to see if you really need the Mustangs tone to be rolled all the way off , the reason i say this is that my Mustang with the tone rolled off seems noticeably darker than my Jaguar with the tone rolled off, the Jaguar with the tone rolled off is kind of dark middy motown sounding whereas the Mustang with the tone rolled off is more like a Dub Reggae tone

It's hard to compare because I use Chromes on my Jag and the Mustangs in the shops have rounds. You could well be right. Don't know if it's a deal breaker, but ideally I would like to have the choice of rolling off the tone and adjusting the volume if possible. If there isn't a mod to do that then I'll just have to decide how important that is. Who knows, I could end up in a dub reggae band some day

 

[shoulderpet]

It's hard to compare because I use Chromes on my Jag and the Mustangs in the shops have rounds. You could well be right. Don't know if it's a deal breaker, but ideally I would like to have the choice of rolling off the tone and adjusting the volume if possible. If there isn't a mod to do that then I'll just have to decide how important that is. Who knows, I could end up in a dub reggae band some day

Yeah the Mustang can be pretty bright with rounds and the tone maxed but the tone control on this bass is very responsive, i always have the tone on full but if i want to go darker with the tone there is a good range of adjustment

 

[Antisyzygy]

I had noticed a volume drop with the tone rolled off but tbh the flats i use are plenty dark already so the tone rolled off isn't a tone that would be useful to me, i think it may be worthwhile for you to do a side by side comparison with your jag if possible to see if you really need the Mustangs tone to be rolled all the way off , the reason i say this is that my Mustang with the tone rolled off seems noticeably darker than my Jaguar with the tone rolled off, the Jaguar with the tone rolled off is kind of dark middy motown sounding whereas the Mustang with the tone rolled off is more like a Dub Reggae tone

I notice the same thing. If you roll the volume down and cut highs it starts losing volume. In some ways the volume acts like a bass cut.

I think this behavior happens when the tone pot is wired after the volume pot, so a fix would be to move where the tone pot connects (not to ground necessarily, but the signal line).

This is a vague memory of reading forums or discussions on it, but I think the take-away was that it has an older style of wiring the tone and volume pot on certain basses (I can't recall if Fender or Gibson or other). Manufacturers have since used a different design as standard, so it's a bit odd on this Mustang.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I lowered the saddles on mine maybe 2mm. I agree that with rounds, this bass is super bright. That really makes the Jazz Pup shine! This little Mustang gets a better Jaco tone than a ton of basses I have played. Soloed, the Split pickup just falls short of a true p-bass sound.