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Squier MusicMaster Vista Club

#1,421
halfwound121 said:
I would try solder first, but I doubt it will hold. Better to find someone who will spot-weld it. Should be cheap.
Click to expand...

I actually called my local tech today to ask him about soldering it, and his suggestion was to get some super glue down in the gap between the key and the post. That sounds promising to me, so I might give that a shot first. He's seen this happen before, and he said that the solder often doesn't bond to the chromey plating very well.

To clarify, the key doesn't feel like it will come off right now -- it just rattles back & forth in the slot in the post. So I think the super glue might be enough to stop that.
 
#1,425
Finally: after playing Fender Musicmaster Basses for quite a long time, a Squier Musicmaster crossed my path and I could not resist... the neck feels very smooth and the sound is really powerful! I still have to experiment with strings, but for now it feels very nice. Very tempting colour ;-)
May I have a number please?

( and yes, the uppermost tuner got damaged during transport. Are these tuners common in size?)

Musicmaster pink.JPG
 
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#1,426
Hey! Congrats for your "new" Squier Musicmaster. Dont worry about the tuner.
You can partially fix the plug with pliers and be very careful. But, in any case, it gives character to the instrument.
Two types of tuners were used in the Squier Musicmasters. At least, the tuners installed in my bass are made of steel, of good quality, and that, in addition to offering good tuning, positively influences the sound.
 
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#1,427
matt-o- said:
Finally: after playing Fender Musicmaster Basses for quite a long time, a Squier Musicmaster crossed my path and I could not resist... the neck feels very smooth and the sound is really powerful! I still have to experiment with strings, but for now it feels very nice. Very tempting colour ;-)
May I have a number please?

( and yes, the uppermost tuner got damaged during transport. Are these tuners common in size?)

View attachment 3838935
Click to expand...

Congratulations matt-o-, you are club member No. 79!

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#1,430
This might be the wrong group to ask, but how is the quality of the basses?

I have a '78 Fender Musicmaster, and I'm concidering getting another one. However the prices have gone quite up the last years. As much as I like the bass, I'm not gonna pay $1400 for one. The Vista basses I've seen go for around $500 which is still kinda expensive compared to what they used to cost, but still a lot less than a Fender MM.

To those of you that have Vistas, would you still buy one for $500? How do they digger from Fender? How's the quality compared to Fender?
 
#1,431
P-punk said:
...To those of you that have Vistas, would you still buy one for $500? How do they digger from Fender? How's the quality compared to Fender?
Click to expand...
I have a pink Musicmaster Vista Bass and I think it is completely fine. Powerful pickup, 4 saddle bridge. Mine is a bit on the (my) heavy side with 8 lbs, but sounds good and plays good. The neck is a bit more substantial than my favourite musicmaster necks, but still ok. Craftmansshipwise nothing to complain.

I agree, that the price for 70s Musicmaster Basses have climbed to an unhealthy height, especially regarding the fact, that usually they ask for modding, which counteracts the "vintageism". And the variance of quality is quite high.

So a Vista Musicmaster Bass in the $500 region or current Squier CV Mustang or Jaguar (32") would be reasonable alternatives.
 
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#1,432
P-punk said:
This might be the wrong group to ask, but how is the quality of the basses?

I have a '78 Fender Musicmaster, and I'm concidering getting another one. However the prices have gone quite up the last years. As much as I like the bass, I'm not gonna pay $1400 for one. The Vista basses I've seen go for around $500 which is still kinda expensive compared to what they used to cost, but still a lot less than a Fender MM.

To those of you that have Vistas, would you still buy one for $500? How do they digger from Fender? How's the quality compared to Fender?
Click to expand...

I'm no expert by any means. But in my experience with my 2 MM's I'd say the factory build quality of the Squier was much better than the Fender.

I won't bore you with the long story but when I got my Fender MM it was in terrible shape and rebuild and refinish were not an option, they just had to be done. I used it for quite a few years with the original pickup and bridge and was quite happy with it. Then I came across the Squier MM on CL for $100, and eventually got it for even less. It was also rough so I had the body repainted.

The Squier had several, IMO, improvements over the original Fender design. A four saddle bridge, a better 4 pole pickup (vista tone) and string through body bridge design. A few years ago when my son was in high school he was into airbrushing and I let him paint the body. At that time I did those upgrades to the Fender too.

Love my MM's, my only basses. If I really wanted a Squier MM in good shape I'd expect to pay $400-$500 for one. They were only made for one year after all and are getting hard to find. Best of luck with your decision.
 
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#1,433
P-punk said:
This might be the wrong group to ask, but how is the quality of the basses?

I have a '78 Fender Musicmaster, and I'm concidering getting another one. However the prices have gone quite up the last years. As much as I like the bass, I'm not gonna pay $1400 for one. The Vista basses I've seen go for around $500 which is still kinda expensive compared to what they used to cost, but still a lot less than a Fender MM.

To those of you that have Vistas, would you still buy one for $500? How do they digger from Fender? How's the quality compared to Fender?
Click to expand...
I have both and have had a couple of other Fender MM basses in the past. As the crowd on this forum seems to concur, the build quality of the Squier at least equals that of the Fenders, especially the pre-'76 models with the crappy tuners. I see very few Squiers for sale these days and they are pricey. I've also seen a number of '76 and later Fenders that are in the $800-1000 range in very good condition. From a design standpoint, the upgrades mentioned above on the Squier make it an all-around better bass, IMO. Another benefit is the position of the truss rod adjuster. You don't have to remove the neck, like you would on a Fender.
 
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#1,435
P-punk said:
This might be the wrong group to ask, but how is the quality of the basses?

I have a '78 Fender Musicmaster, and I'm concidering getting another one. However the prices have gone quite up the last years. As much as I like the bass, I'm not gonna pay $1400 for one. The Vista basses I've seen go for around $500 which is still kinda expensive compared to what they used to cost, but still a lot less than a Fender MM.

To those of you that have Vistas, would you still buy one for $500? How do they digger from Fender? How's the quality compared to Fender?
Click to expand...

I love my Squier MM. It's a little on the heavy side for how small it is, and the fretboard radius feels really flat to me. Other than that, it's awesome!
 
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#1,436
Hi All, I found my way here as I was wondering about the Vista Tone pickup on my Minty Surf Green Squier Music Master Bass. I'm firstly a Drummer but play Guitar and Bass, Keys etc. I bought this new in a little shop in town around 2004. it hangs on the wall in my Studio and has never been out. A great Bass player friend did some Intonation and neck tweaking (Flat Wounds) and this thing is Awesome! Sounds so good on recordings and I added fancy knobs from NAMM that year and a built-in Tuner called the ("N-Tune). That's the dial around the potentiometer. Anyway, Good Luck to everyone searching for one of these Gems!IMG_2186.JPG IMG_2187.JPG IMG_2188.JPG
 
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#1,440
redstrand said:
It's the deadest sounding bass unplugged but man does it sound great in a mix. It's one of three shorties I now have.
View attachment 3973156
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How do you like the Acinonyx? I've been looking at those. I would like to get Lake Placid blue, but they're sold out. There's one in the classifieds here for almost retail, and the owner wants additional for shipping. I would rather buy direct from Nordstrand.
 

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