Nice score Zapple, it would have been a fair deal at twice that price. Congrats!
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
You almost beat my best Vista score. My very first Vista was found on the local CL. I got a blue one for $150. Still my fave of out of all of them.
I'm sure if Pixie is not meant to be yours that one of us will be happy to take it off your hands.
Thanks for the heads up. @MakoMan, sad to report but Pixie is gone. Off to a new home. #59 will need to be reissued to the next SVMM owner. Thanks again.
So I got this yesterday. May I join your club? 
I am a guitar player. Primarily wanted a shortscale bass to emulate Kelli Mayo of Skating Polly and hack it up to make it a 3 string "basitar" of sorts. But I've always loved the look of the Musicmaster, and used to own a Vista Super-Sonic and the guitar version of the Musicmaster so when I saw this one pop up on CL I jumped on it. This is sort of an early birthday gift from the boyfriend, it was originally going to be one of the shell pink Mustangs Fender is releasing but this is more fun! He still needs to pay me back though! I am not going to hack it up as it's far too beautiful to destroy like that!
It's in really good condition for being 20 years old. Only one ding on the back but no paint chips. Sounds great! The previous owner has really light strings on it, and I am curious if the rule of short scale bass should have heavier strings applies to basses like it does guitar. My bass experience is pretty limited. I played bass in a band once, also another shortscale bass, but that bass was a piece of junk. This bass I actually WANT to play because it's so beautiful and I actually have a desire to do stuff with it.
I am a guitar player. Primarily wanted a shortscale bass to emulate Kelli Mayo of Skating Polly and hack it up to make it a 3 string "basitar" of sorts. But I've always loved the look of the Musicmaster, and used to own a Vista Super-Sonic and the guitar version of the Musicmaster so when I saw this one pop up on CL I jumped on it. This is sort of an early birthday gift from the boyfriend, it was originally going to be one of the shell pink Mustangs Fender is releasing but this is more fun! He still needs to pay me back though! I am not going to hack it up as it's far too beautiful to destroy like that!
It's in really good condition for being 20 years old. Only one ding on the back but no paint chips. Sounds great! The previous owner has really light strings on it, and I am curious if the rule of short scale bass should have heavier strings applies to basses like it does guitar. My bass experience is pretty limited. I played bass in a band once, also another shortscale bass, but that bass was a piece of junk. This bass I actually WANT to play because it's so beautiful and I actually have a desire to do stuff with it.
Great find and welcome to TalkBass! If you're going to tune down then I would suggest heavier strings, otherwise it comes down to personal preference. Keep in mind this is a string-through body so you'll need medium-scale strings. If you need help finding some I highly suggest www.bassstringsonline.com. The owner is a member here and ridiculously helpful. You also get a discount on some strings just by being a member here, but his prices are generally pretty low already. Have fun!So I got this yesterday. May I join your club?
I am a guitar player. Primarily wanted a shortscale bass to emulate Kelli Mayo of Skating Polly and hack it up to make it a 3 string "basitar" of sorts. But I've always loved the look of the Musicmaster, and used to own a Vista Super-Sonic and the guitar version of the Musicmaster so when I saw this one pop up on CL I jumped on it. This is sort of an early birthday gift from the boyfriend, it was originally going to be one of the shell pink Mustangs Fender is releasing but this is more fun! He still needs to pay me back though! I am not going to hack it up as it's far too beautiful to destroy like that!
It's in really good condition for being 20 years old. Only one ding on the back but no paint chips. Sounds great! The previous owner has really light strings on it, and I am curious if the rule of short scale bass should have heavier strings applies to basses like it does guitar. My bass experience is pretty limited. I played bass in a band once, also another shortscale bass, but that bass was a piece of junk. This bass I actually WANT to play because it's so beautiful and I actually have a desire to do stuff with it.
View attachment 2747167
Welcome to the club pizzaprincess !
Nice score. I have the shell pink one as well.
Heavier strings will put more tension on the neck and thus better tone I'm. Plus the strings won't feel so floppy.
I got mine off Craigslist as well and it had a light gauge set of strings too. I put a heavier set of Thomastic Infeld Jazz Flats on it.
The Vista Series has a great pickup and the hardware is decent.
Nice score. I have the shell pink one as well.
Heavier strings will put more tension on the neck and thus better tone I'm. Plus the strings won't feel so floppy.
I got mine off Craigslist as well and it had a light gauge set of strings too. I put a heavier set of Thomastic Infeld Jazz Flats on it.
The Vista Series has a great pickup and the hardware is decent.
Congratulations pizzaprincess! You are Member No. 59! Welcome to the club!
Updated Members' List:
#1 MakoMan
#2 Duuuuuuuuuude
#3 Agent77
#4 Prokjuh
#5 redzebra6
#6 mcjor
#7 Konepyoramies
#8 Seadorf
#9 bl00mer
#10 nomadx
#11 RedNeckBBQ
#12 iguana
#13 RedGreyRed
#14 Burwabit
#15 indiekelsi
#16 telepbrman
#17 Paulhenning
#18 gip111
#19 don21480
#20 pierrot s
#21 davelowell2
#22 cuircuitspore
#23 wodock
#24 A-Step-Towards
#25 PineBrookJohn
#26 johnp352
#27 Ken Thompson
#28 indieandrew11
#29 jac80000
#30 canuckshort
#31 SunDogAZ
#32 onefallinghope
#33 Paulkins
#34 Shortstuff
#35 idoru
#36 Yonoid man man
#37 FranzRamos
#38 burl0029
#39 Bbzk77
#40 Zimi1
#41 Leauxco
#42 Duder
#43 Alan Horgan
#44 ColoradoRobert
#45 frozen embryo
#46 the mighty bow
#47 halfwound 121
#48 Jessica lily
#49 youssipee
#50 extrabold
#51 CalBuzz51
#52 d nehman
#53 Norm931
#54 lowplaces
#55 ejaggers
#56 megamaeng
#57 chucklebucket
#58 JudyFightsBack
#59 pizzaprincess
Updated Members' List:
#1 MakoMan
#2 Duuuuuuuuuude
#3 Agent77
#4 Prokjuh
#5 redzebra6
#6 mcjor
#7 Konepyoramies
#8 Seadorf
#9 bl00mer
#10 nomadx
#11 RedNeckBBQ
#12 iguana
#13 RedGreyRed
#14 Burwabit
#15 indiekelsi
#16 telepbrman
#17 Paulhenning
#18 gip111
#19 don21480
#20 pierrot s
#21 davelowell2
#22 cuircuitspore
#23 wodock
#24 A-Step-Towards
#25 PineBrookJohn
#26 johnp352
#27 Ken Thompson
#28 indieandrew11
#29 jac80000
#30 canuckshort
#31 SunDogAZ
#32 onefallinghope
#33 Paulkins
#34 Shortstuff
#35 idoru
#36 Yonoid man man
#37 FranzRamos
#38 burl0029
#39 Bbzk77
#40 Zimi1
#41 Leauxco
#42 Duder
#43 Alan Horgan
#44 ColoradoRobert
#45 frozen embryo
#46 the mighty bow
#47 halfwound 121
#48 Jessica lily
#49 youssipee
#50 extrabold
#51 CalBuzz51
#52 d nehman
#53 Norm931
#54 lowplaces
#55 ejaggers
#56 megamaeng
#57 chucklebucket
#58 JudyFightsBack
#59 pizzaprincess
The strings issue is overwhelming coming from a guitarist perspective! It's like 10-52 Ernie Ball BAM done. I don't care about coating or any of that. Yes there are different types but blah. But bass it seems as though string type matters. I'll eventually figure it all out!
Welcome...I have 2 of these, both with D'Addario chromes medium scale, 45-100. They have plenty of tone, and as Duder mentioned, should be fine unless you want to tune down, in which case a heavier gauge would play and sound better. You didn't mention whether you wanted round of flats, which make a big difference in feel and tone, whether you intend to play pick or finger-style, etc. You might want to look for some cheap used sets in the classifieds here, and try them out to see what you like. Especially before laying out $75 or so for TI flats (my favorite too, but can't afford them for all my basses.)
As mentioned above, string gauge is mostly about personal preference. I used to dig in really hard so I ended up getting heavier strings so they would bounce back quicker, but started playing regular gauge again after playing a bass that had them. I liked the tone I got and the way they felt. I then got really adventurous and got a set of light gauge strings. I actually liked those also, but I definitely needed a lighter touch.
I own four of these Vistas (one of each color) and they all wear different strings and have very different tones. I always knew strings made a difference but I didn't know how much until I had all these. If you can say what sort of bass tone you like we could probably steer you in a good direction to start.
This thread has sat idle for too long. Here's a couple pics.
I previously posted this photoshop mockup, but I've edited it a bit. The top photo is the bass as it sits now (though I have replaced the speed knobs with Jazz bass knobs). The second is a very quick photoshop job. I was cruising Reverb and noticed a white Vista Jagmaster that had the white/cream pickup covers and knobs. I really liked the look so I updated the photo quickly. The pickup image is just half of the the Jagmaster pickup for speed and ease. If I were to somehow cover the existing Vista pickup I'd need to think about the best way to do that. I'm torn on the look. I love the original but I also love the tort/white look.
I previously posted this photoshop mockup, but I've edited it a bit. The top photo is the bass as it sits now (though I have replaced the speed knobs with Jazz bass knobs). The second is a very quick photoshop job. I was cruising Reverb and noticed a white Vista Jagmaster that had the white/cream pickup covers and knobs. I really liked the look so I updated the photo quickly. The pickup image is just half of the the Jagmaster pickup for speed and ease. If I were to somehow cover the existing Vista pickup I'd need to think about the best way to do that. I'm torn on the look. I love the original but I also love the tort/white look.
I know it's not a Vista, but here's a '78 Musicmaster that I rescued for a friend... Seriously old DiMarzio PAF bass pickup. He wanted white with tort, and I was only too happy to oblige. I am currently using it, as it was sitting unplayed. Gonna have to give it back someday...
-robert
Those Rumble cabs with the badge removed ? ^
Here are mine...
Here are mine...
