Squier MusicMaster Vista Club

[redstrand]

I forgot to post the finished product, sounds fantastic and plays great.

 

[matt-o-]

I forgot to post the finished product, sounds fantastic and plays great.

View attachment 4185528 View attachment 4185529 View attachment 4185530

Ouch - you lost a screw ;-)

Looks great!

 

[redstrand]

Ouch - you lost a screw ;-)

Looks great!

There isn't wood underneath it, isn't much wood underneath the guard either, Jack Casady electronics take up a lot of space. it sounds sooooooo good

 

[redstrand]

The guard covers most of the previous holes, close enough for government work

 

[rllefebv]

I would have to do a tracing, I sent them a message on Monday and no response yet. Maybe they're busy but that didn't impress me that 3 days later they couldn't answer. Call me impatient, that's fine.

Had I known WD would stop selling them I would have bought extra's back when they carried them. Hindsight is 2020, but enough about 2020.

What color guard are you looking for? I've done a few Musicmasters...

-robert

 

[WI Short Scaler]

What color guard are you looking for? I've done a few Musicmasters...

View attachment 4185685

-robert

Thank you for the offer, I was just looking for plain white. My son is going to paint something new for me.

I sent a tracing to Pickguard planet and got it done now.

 

[Marc61]

In searching to find out the name of the pickup, I found this thread. It just so happens I took a pic of mine just today. I know the stickers and Pete Wentz autograph can come off. Still a but beat up. It was sweet when I bought it for my son in 2007. I think I paid $75 for it.

 

[Marc61]

Took off the Zep sticker and the Pete Wentz autograph on the pickguard. Used black nail polish to cover the divots. Looks better IMO

 

[grrg63]

I think I paid $75 for it.

Good deal for a great bass.

 

[rage941]

Can someone tell me how much these usually go for in the US and which colors are easy or hard to find?
And if you've found a pickup that sounds similar to the stock one?

I recently stumbled upon a shell pink one on eBay. I have a thing for pink guitars and I love the sound of these from YouTube samples. I usually snipe bid at the last second, but forgot and missed the end of the auction and I'm super bummed about it. Everything I see for sale now is around $1k and I've only found black ones which to me is the worst color and I'm not willing to pay anywhere near $1k for one of these.

Anyone want to let their shell pink go?

 

[matt-o-]

One black is offered for 525,- in the classifieds here, which is a fair price in my opinion. Though you don't like the colour....
The pickup seems to me a kind of quarter pounder pickup. My Vista Musicmaster is the the most powerful bass in my Musicmaster collection.
The Squier Vista Musicmaster Basses are a step up from the Fender Musicmaster Basses with a 4 saddle bridge and a real bass pickup.

I bought the special run pink bronco bass end of last year and they seemed to me of better quality than the ordinary bronco basses - shielded cavity, better pickup, poplar instead of agathis...
mine is my favourite bass in the moment.

 

[rage941]

One black is offered for 525,- in the classifieds here, which is a fair price in my opinion. Though you don't like the colour....
The pickup seems to me a kind of quarter pounder pickup. My Vista Musicmaster is the the most powerful bass in my Musicmaster collection.
The Squier Vista Musicmaster Basses are a step up from the Fender Musicmaster Basses with a 4 saddle bridge and a real bass pickup.

I bought the special run pink bronco bass end of last year and they seemed to me of better quality than the ordinary bronco basses - shielded cavity, better pickup, poplar instead of agathis...
mine is my favourite bass in the moment.

So over $500 is the going rate? Seems a shame when I've gotten all my MIJ guitars/basses for about that or less.

So you've played a quarter pounder and you think they're similar? Everyone talks about how this bass is really versatile with the pickup and the tone knob, able to get a wide range of sounds. I wonder if I could achieve that with a quarter pounder and the right tone pot.

When you say it's better than the Fender Musicmasters, are you referring to the vintage ones?

And for the pink one are you talking about the Bullet Bronco? I saw there's a pre order for those and I considered one, but the stark white on pink looks really cheap and not classy to me so I figured I'd definitely want an off white pick guard which I only found on eBay for $50 (and of course a matching pickup cover, if those are even available or able to be swapped-might have to replace the whole pickup just to get the right color). And I hate the bleached white maple so I'd want that stained which I've never done anything like that before. And I figure there's a good chance I'd want to change the tuners which is more money, and there's a chance I'd want to change the pickups, and if I do that I might as well do the pots and jack while I'm at it, and before you know it I'm $400 into it, plus the work.

I really haven't played bass in years and I already have an MIJ Mustang (I'm first and foremost a guitar player). So to get the Bronco and go through all that doesn't seem worth it when it will likely just sit around. A real Vista might inspire me more to actually play, and it's a bit of a collectors item so I wouldn't have to worry about having trouble reselling it.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

When you say it's better than the Fender Musicmasters, are you referring to the vintage ones?

I'm only guessing but that would be my understanding of what he was saying. As for the original Fender Musicmasters, if I remember correctly, they were basically like an afterthought made of Mustang 2nd bodies, with a top load bridge and strat 6 pole pickups, marketed as "student" or "economy" entry level basses. And production on them stopped in '81, so is that "vintage?"

When the Squier MM's were introduced they were constructed of better wood, string through body bridges, and the upgraded Vista Tone 4 magnet pickup, and a thinner more comfortable neck. Some nice improvements IMO.

I have both a Fender and Squier, both were in pretty sad condition. But I got the Fender for free and the Squier for $100 off CL. About 10 years ago my son repainted my Fender and at that time I installed a Squier string through body bridge and a SD 1/4 pup. The bridge was, and still is, a nice addition. The SD pup didn't line up well with the strings due to wider spacing for a 34" scale. Now it has a Nordstrand custom 17mm string spacing pup that sounds very close to the Vista Tone. And due to arthritis in these old hands I recently put a Bronco neck on the Fender too. I have no worries about the resale factor on the Fender, that one is my "take it to my grave" bass.

I love my MM's. $500-$700 seems to be the going rate for them. There was a place about an hour and 1/2 from me called Island Music that had a pink one a couple months ago for $525. I'm no fan of black but even less of pink but to each his own.

 

[matt-o-]

So you've played a quarter pounder and you think they're similar? Everyone talks about how this bass is really versatile with the pickup and the tone knob, able to get a wide range of sounds. I wonder if I could achieve that with a quarter pounder and the right tone pot.

When you say it's better than the Fender Musicmasters, are you referring to the vintage ones?

And for the pink one are you talking about the Bullet Bronco? I saw there's a pre order for those and I considered one, but the stark white on pink looks really cheap and not classy to me so I figured I'd definitely want an off white pick guard which I only found on eBay for $50 (and of course a matching pickup cover, if those are even available or able to be swapped-might have to replace the whole pickup just to get the right color). And I hate the bleached white maple so I'd want that stained which I've never done anything like that before. And I figure there's a good chance I'd want to change the tuners which is more money, and there's a chance I'd want to change the pickups, and if I do that I might as well do the pots and jack while I'm at it, and before you know it I'm $400 into it, plus the work.

I really haven't played bass in years and I already have an MIJ Mustang (I'm first and foremost a guitar player). So to get the Bronco and go through all that doesn't seem worth it when it will likely just sit around. A real Vista might inspire me more to actually play, and it's a bit of a collectors item so I wouldn't have to worry about having trouble reselling it.

Everything as WI Short Scaler says.

No, I have not played a quarter pounder yet. I wrote "it seems" to be close to one, when you compare the big pole pieces and the powerful output. In some period Squier used pickups branded "Duncan designed", so this could be an early collaboration.

I would not describe the Vista Musicmaster as more versatile than any other Musicmaster/Bronco Bass. Dependent on the pickup/string combination you have a certain tonal variability in conjunction with the tone pot/cap you use.

The pink Bronco Bass I mentioned was a special run from the Affinity Series.
Yes the white pickguard looks cheesy and I exchanged it for a black one, but everything else is fine.
I think the pale colour of the maple is the natural one, the darker ones are usually tinted.

But if you already have a MIJ Mustang Bass - why don't you play this one? It is a fine bass.

 

[Gunga Din]

Hello.

I'm needing some assistance with these basses. I'm currently doing one up (non-original electronics) and I now find it has a guitar pickup and that I need extra caps. What values are they and where do they go?

 

[Gunga Din]

Well, seems it's not a guitar pickup. But it's very bright and with the P-bass controls I put in it, it's not rolling the treble off. Indeed, when I turn tone down, I also lose volume.

 

[WSquires]

Hey all! NGD - I've owned one of these awesome basses before and have regretted selling it ever sense. Saw one online in good shape for an okay price and decided to pull the trigger!



A few questions for all of you:

1. Are there any easy drop in replacement tuners out there that fit these models? (Hipshot HB1?)
2. Who do you recommend for cutting a white guard?
3. Unfortunately the body was slightly damaged during shipping (the lower strap button is bent... Damn you FedEx). No big deal as I can glue the pieces of chipped finish back onto the body. Have any of you seen the following before? Kind of wild! It looks like there is every colour of finish under the black of this bass.

 

[burl0029]

Hey all! NGD - I've owned one of these awesome basses before and have regretted selling it ever sense. Saw one online in good shape for an okay price and decided to pull the trigger!

View attachment 4406981

A few questions for all of you:

1. Are there any easy drop in replacement tuners out there that fit these models? (Hipshot HB1?)
2. Who do you recommend for cutting a white guard?
3. Unfortunately the body was slightly damaged during shipping (the lower strap button is bent... Damn you FedEx). No big deal as I can glue the pieces of chipped finish back onto the body. Have any of you seen the following before? Kind of wild! It looks like there is every colour of finish under the black of this bass.

View attachment 4406982 View attachment 4406983

I have (or had; can't remember) several that had multiple colors painted on. Now I'll have to go look tomorrow (too lazy to leave bed).

 

[matt-o-]

It looks like there is every colour of finish under the black of this bass.

That really looks funny ;-)

 

[andare]

One black is offered for 525,- in the classifieds here, which is a fair price in my opinion. Though you don't like the colour....
The pickup seems to me a kind of quarter pounder pickup. My Vista Musicmaster is the the most powerful bass in my Musicmaster collection.
The Squier Vista Musicmaster Basses are a step up from the Fender Musicmaster Basses with a 4 saddle bridge and a real bass pickup.

I bought the special run pink bronco bass end of last year and they seemed to me of better quality than the ordinary bronco basses - shielded cavity, better pickup, poplar instead of agathis...
mine is my favourite bass in the moment.

The pickup in my pink Bronco was so noisy. Loudest single coil hum I've ever heard. To be fair, the humbucker I replaced it with is just as noisy in split coil mode. Unusable.