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My MusicMaster is louder than my (passive) Fender when the tone knob is all the way up. But when the tone knob is all the way down it's pretty quiet. I usually keep the knob about halfway and cut the mids and highs on my amp head. Great tone that way.
BTW Duuuuuuuuude, I play thru a GB Shuttle too. Interesting story: One day I decided that my SWR was good enough for what I'm doing now, so I put the GB up for sale. I sold it to a co-worker of my brother. About a week later her car broke down and she was broke, so she asked me if I would buy it back. Being the nice guy that I am, I said sure. Got it back, plugged in my MusicMaster, and kicked myself for selling it in the first place.
But anyhoo, what tone setting do you use on your Shuttle?
Just put some D'Addario Chromes on my MusicMaster. This may be my perfect bass.
Oooooh... I have a set of short scale chromes sitting around and was wondering what they would sound like on my MusicMaster. Looks like they're going on this weekend!
I have two perfect basses. I've been swapping back and forth between the Vista and my Gretsch G2202 Junior Jet. Between the two of them I may be set for life LOL!
I hear ya, MakoMan. Between my MusicMaster and my Fender P I got all my bases covered. The MM is just a super-fun, all-around bass. Then when I need to get serious I'll whip out my P-bass.
BTW, Rondo music has some pretty decent cases for these for right around 50 bucks. I think my total after shipping was $66.
BTW, Rondo music has some pretty decent cases for these for right around 50 bucks. I think my total after shipping was $66.
Hey, are those strings short scale or medium scale? You need medium scale for the MM, cuz of the string-thru body.
I'm pretty sure you'll like the flats on it. I have a set of D'Adarrio Chromes and a set of steel rounds (don't remember the brand) that I switch on my MM every 2-3 months. I can't help it, the Chromes provide that deep, dubby sound I love while the rounds give me that near modern, almost a grind type sound.
Eventually I'll have another so I won't have to do that anymore...
I keep my tone up all the way, but I'll take your advise and try dialing it around.
And yeah, the GB Shuttle/Musicmaster combination is great. The bass gives a great vintage tone and the amp gives it a quick sharp response.
I'm backing an acoustic guitarist at a coffeehouse gig tomorrow afternoon. I've never played out with the MusicMaster or the Genz Benz. Really excited to try this setup in a real world situation. My cab will be an Ashdown MAG 115 with an Eminence Legend.
OK, got back from my coffeehouse gig a few hours ago and thought I'd report on the MusicMaster's performance.
I thought it sounded pretty decent with the acoustic guitar, with the tone knob up all the way. I thought it gave the overall mix a bluesy kind of sound, which is probably due to the new flatwounds I put on. However, there was some hum from the pick-up. So perhaps, some shielding may be in order.
Turning the tone knob down gave a bit more thumpy sound, more like a full scale bass, only less authoritative. The guitarist actually really liked it, saying the bassline "wasn't distracting."
Acoustic jams with this guy are always a lot of fun, and this bass is the perfect tool for it. Also is was much more comfortable to sit on a stool with a short scale. With a full scale I felt as though a strong breeze could tip me over, something I didn't notice until today.
After the gig a kid came up to ask me about my "Bronco bass." Seems he thought it was a heavily modded Bronco. So I told him all about the little known Squier MusicMaster, showed him major and minor arpeggios, and went on my way.
Turned out to be a pretty good Saturday: fun gig, free turkey panini, and I got to wear my new leather jacket.
I thought it sounded pretty decent with the acoustic guitar, with the tone knob up all the way. I thought it gave the overall mix a bluesy kind of sound, which is probably due to the new flatwounds I put on. However, there was some hum from the pick-up. So perhaps, some shielding may be in order.
Turning the tone knob down gave a bit more thumpy sound, more like a full scale bass, only less authoritative. The guitarist actually really liked it, saying the bassline "wasn't distracting."
Acoustic jams with this guy are always a lot of fun, and this bass is the perfect tool for it. Also is was much more comfortable to sit on a stool with a short scale. With a full scale I felt as though a strong breeze could tip me over, something I didn't notice until today.
After the gig a kid came up to ask me about my "Bronco bass." Seems he thought it was a heavily modded Bronco. So I told him all about the little known Squier MusicMaster, showed him major and minor arpeggios, and went on my way.
Turned out to be a pretty good Saturday: fun gig, free turkey panini, and I got to wear my new leather jacket.
@ agent77 - There was an open jam nite thing that had been going on in my area, and when every time I showed up, both the guys running it would welcome me like a regular. At that time I had some Chromes on it (which I just put BACK on...) and the tone was a nice, deep clear sound. I do agree, not quite as authoritative as a full scale, but quite thumpy when I rolled it down (I prefer about halfway). I think they liked it, I know I did.
Shielding it helps, just in case you decide to go that route.
Shielding it helps, just in case you decide to go that route.
I held back on that one, as did everyone else.
Did you notice that the finish had more of a blue cast to it? Is that how the SF Green ages?
I am dying to join this club (but not in black). I know a guy with a white one and offered him 300 for it (it's cherry). Wasn't taking b/c he likes to keep an ss bass around his space for when friends come over to jam. I don't think he knows what he's got.
Good story, Man. Glad you liked it. I haven't had any problems with authoritativeness, but I think I hear what you mean. My Vista sounds really gritty with the tone knob all the way up. I think it might sound tight in a punk band played with a pick. But when I bought mine in a pawn shop the tone knob was completely disconnected and I had to reconnect the wires. I might have done something wrong.
I'm looking into shielding mine but my local RadioShack doesn't carry copper foil. Has anyone here shielded a bass before? Is it better to use copper foil or that special black paint? I'm sure I could find the answer by googling, but I thought I'd ask here.
My son likes to play mine with a pick, which definately makes it noticable. I have shielded mine, among other things. When I lived in SoCal, notone of the stores around me carried any sort of copper tape, so I had to buy mine from Bass Parts Resource, which I think is fairly decent. There are others, so YMMV. Of course, after I move to NE Texas, there's a chain of hobby stores that carry rolls of copper sheets. Haven't tried those yet, so it might be workable for any future projects
If you give me a day or two (or sooner!), I can takes some pix of my bass innards to give you an idea.
