Fender Musicmaster Bass Guitar

1979 Musicmaster Bass, made in USA. Standard 30" scale length/19 frets. Stock single pickup and, I assume, stock pots - 1 vol, 1 tone. Stock bridge - but not through body string mounting (they mount through the back end of the bridge) Originally white, now a nicely yellowed patina of age. A little knocked up, but overall pretty decent for a 30 year old instrument. I paid $150 for this little guy about a decade ago.

This is a sweet, little back up for my 63 P bass. It's about half the weight of the P. The sound is quite thin and unsophisticated compared to my Demarzio equipped P. I intend to replace the broken pickguard and the pickup some time soon with similar split P style demarzios or the equivalent. I'll also upgrade the pots, tuners, and bridge at that point. It doesn't hold tune as well as I'd like and I'd really like to take this on the road. I'm playing a lot of semi acoustic stuff now, and lugging the stand up is a pain in the *** at times. This doesn't take up much room.

I'm running it through an early Ashdown stack right now. I've also used it through a vintage, blackface bassman, a small 2 8" Ampeg, and a huge stack with two ported JBL 15" pa bass tubs, powered by a vintage V4B. (everything sounded good through that stack, but I'm too old to pack it anymore)

I like the way the neck feels just like my P bass. The finish seems to be great, considering its age and obvious lack of care for long periods before I bought it. I love playing it. It's like a little electric guitar, more than a "real" bass (i.e. my P)

Never had to adjust the truss rod. It's fine for live playing, but I won't use it until I replace the pickups with something a LOT more meaty sounding. (Demarzios, I hope). I have used it for gigs, but not often. When you have a true vintage P bass, it's hard to put that down for ANYTHING else. Even another Fender.

Never used Fender customer support, although I've owned my P bass since 1963

I've been playing professionally since 1964. I typically gig about 175-200 gigs a year. Earlier it was rock. Then country. For two decades I've been mostly playing blues in a big band with horns - that's my electric life. I use a 1963 P bass for most of that. I also have a Japanese fretless P bass, and the Musicmaster under consideration here. I also play a lot of acoustic music using both a 1953 Framus 3/4 single cutaway plywood German bass, and a 1993 Miesel carved acoustic German 3/4. Occasionally I use the Musicmaster as a back up. That work is mostly either Bluegrass/String band, or gypsy jazz stuff.

I like the Musicmaster, and I'm going to be excited to see if I can get it up to any sort of comparable sound to my old Precision.

1974 CBS-era Fender Musicmaster bass guitar, 3/4 scale, alder body and rosewood fingerboard, single pickup, volume, and tone controls. Standard white/black/white pickguard and potato chip pegs. No case.

Mostly original except a few key areas:

Cheap stock pickup and bridge replaced with P-Bass components.

Originally a semi-transparent blonde finish that had grown a sickly yellowish color over the years and was lightly dinged up. Wood had no mentionable grain to highlight with a nice glossy professional refinish, so sprayed it myself with gray/black splatter trunk paint. Super tough and looks like granite - a great stone-age vibe!

My brother purchased it new in '75 or '76 when we were playing in our first band. A few years and a couple of bands later, I bought it when he upgraded to a beautiful limited-edition Precision.

With stock configuration, I'd have to rate this bass a 5, but with pickup and bridge upgrades it earns an 8.

The short-scale Musicmaster is the perfect size for guitarists and beginners. The shorter body and neck, and correspondingly smaller frets make these basses easy and fun to play for anyone accustomed to smaller instruments, or someone getting started. I've taught two people to play using this bass.

The lightweight body and shorter string length will never quite put out the big sound of full-size instruments, such as Fender Jazz or P-Basses. However, replacing the wimpy stock single coil with a P-Bass pickup gets this particular example surprisingly close! The sound is full and round, suitable for most "organic" styles like classic rock and country, also wonderful accompaniment with acoustic instruments. A monster metal machine, it's not.

Though this Musicmaster was gigged about for a few years, it's not well-suited to live performances. But, as noted in other posts, it does work beautifully for recording, especially when run through a DI like an ART Tube MP, yielding nice, balanced, useable tone.

As an entry-level instrument, Fender didn't exactly knock themselves out in the fit & finish department. As described previously, the original stock body finish became pretty ugly, crazing and yellowing, as the years rolled on.

That said, the standard hardware is decent. The neck is straight and intonation good with replacement P-Bass bridge. The instrument stays in tune for years!

This Musicmaster has the requisite cracks in the pickguard next to the output jack and one of the screw holes, as so many do. Step on the cable one time and this is the unfortunate outcome.

I've also never understood why the "thumbrest" was mounted on this model below the strings and next to the neck. I mounted a second one, identical to the original, above the strings and back by the bridge - where a thumbrest belongs!

With the muddy, low-output original pickup, even with an incredible amp rig you'd be unlikely to get outstanding live tone with the Musicmaster. With a better pickup, it certainly could be used in certain live settings and is a useful intrument for recording.

The bass is quite solid and dependable. No question it could go out without backup.

This thirty-plus year old bass has stood the test of time, and has never needed attention outside of the occasional setup.

The Fender Musicmaster is an ideal bass for anyone wanting to learn to play. Its frets are somwhere between those of a full-sized bass and those of a guitar, making the instrument much easier for beginning hands to manage, and is also a great pickup instrument for guitarists.

Though this instrument has done some duty on stage, it's since earned a peaceable retirement doing recording and living room jamming duties, for which it's reasonably well-suited.

If mine were stolen or destroyed, I certainly would consider buying another. I love this bass, and will never voluntarily part with it.

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1963 Epiphone Coronet, 1966 Gibson ES-330, 1980's Epiphone SG, 1990's Jackson PS-2. 1965 Fender Deluxe amp, 60's Harmony 525, Vox AD30VT and Gibson Goldtone GA-15. Casio CZ-1000. Alesis SR-16, M-Audio Firewire 410, Ableton Live 6.

Year made 1977 U.S.A.
19 Frets
volume and tone controls
Strat pickup
Originally white but has yellowed with age

This was my first bass so it has sentimental value, it was given to me for Christmas by my parents in 1977

Except for the finish yellowing, it has held up great

I've been playing it for 30 years and it is the only bass I own, it still kicks ass

Like I've said, I've played it for 30 years and it has never let me down

Year Made 1977 Fullerton, California, USA
19 Frets
Volume & Tone Controls
One Six-Pole Single-Coil Stratocaster Type Pickup ( Fender Special Design )
Passive Electronics
Body: Alder
Neck: Maple
Finish: Polyurethane Black Paint
Body Style: Fender Precision Type
Bridge: 2x2 Saddles
Tuners: Fender Jumbo
Neck/Scale: 30" Short Scale, Narrow, Thin & Fast. Rosewood Board.
No Accessories Included.

One Trick Pony.....Vintage Fender Sound, Warm & Rich. It Really has the Vintage Fender Mojo, but different than a P or J Bass. I Play Open Stages, So this Bass being Plug'n'Play, Suits that Activity. Some Single-Coil Hum, but not too bad.
I use it at Home through a Fender BXR25 Practice Amp and Rolls Mini-Mix 51 Mixer System. I Play Stages through whatever Amp is available. I also have a Hartke Kickback 10 120 Watt Combo, but rarely use it.
I installed GHS 3020 Flatwounds as I Kill Roundwounds in a Short Period of time and am constantly replacing them.

Factory Set-Up was 30 Years Ago !

I Set it Up with Low Action to meet My Playing Requirements. Some Rust on the Saddles and Bridge, but everything works. Two Wires under the PG had come Loose and were Soldered back where they belonged.

All-in-All, for My first All-Original Vintage Musicmaster, things were Okay.

I May get a Fret Dressing down the Road, POlays Fine " As Is " however.

Finish is Tough...No Problems.

Already took it out Live....Performed Wonderfully.

Replaced the Buttons with Schaller Strap-Locks.

These Basses are Tanks....built to Last a LONG TIME !

Reliable without a Back-Up.

Just had Two Loose Wires under the PG Re-Soldered, that's it.

Playing 38 Years.

Also Own a 1975 Hofner 4890 Acoustic Guitar.

anyone with a musicmaster or buying one read this
this is a upgrade of my last review but on my latest 78 musicmaster i have had 2 of these and struggled to find out upgrade info /
body i have stripped both my bass back to natural and unless im mistaken looks very much like an ash body.
pickups/ standard are 6 pole piece stratocaster affairs
i really like these bass's so i will give it 10 but read on for the mods.

the sound of my first musicmaster i thought was great then i heard about pickup upgrades but couldn't find any info on them so i rang everyone seymour duncan the lot then i came across rob at crazy train music heres the link info@crazytrainmusic.co.uk
and he gave me loads of info and answered some questions i had as i diddnt want to get it wrong and waste my money .
so i fitted the seymour duncan quarter pounder scpb 3 pickup /i had to widen the pickgaurd by 1mm and in it whent screws and all.
the standard 250k pots are crap and made it sound like mud so to get the real sound i bypassed the volume and tone pots wiring direct into the input socket and wow get ready it nearly made my ears bleed //i now have a very powerfull punchy sound with warm bottom end more mid and treble// sound great with pick or fingers/// get one of these you will not be dissapointed its awsome//i only have to have my markbass quarter of the way up to get the same volume as i did at half way before with the standad pup (DONT FORGET IT WILL SOUND GARBAGE THROUGH THE STANDARD POTS AND NOT VERY LOAD SO WIRE IT DIRECT LIKE ME OR GET THE RIGHT POTS///I GAVE IT A HIGH NUMBER LAST TIME I DID THE REVEIW FOR SOUND SO IF YOU COULD SCORE 20 IT WOULD NOW GET 20 HOPE THIS HELPS

I DONT HAVE TO TELL YOU ABOUT THESE BASS'S I HAVE SAID ENOUGH BUT THEY ARE BUILT LIKE TANKS AND WILL LAST FOREVER
MINES A 78 FULLERTON USA MADE THE BODY LOOKS TO BE ASH ITS JUST BRILLIANT

REALLY EASY TO PLAY AS ITS A SHORT SCALE AND IM A 6FT 1'' BLOKE WITH BIG HANDS //IT THE SAME SIZE AS A STRAT MORE OR LESS BUT WONT FIT IN A STRAT FITTED CASE //
I PLAY THIS THROUGH A 102 MARKBASS COMBO I DONT KNOW IF YOU HAVE HEARD OF THESE COMBOS BUT THEY REALLY KICK ASS AND ARE REALLY LIGHT TO CARRY// I HAD A BIG SWR 18'' RIG BEFORE THIS AND THE MARKBASS BLOWS IT AWAY /// YOUVE GOTTA GET ONE FOR THE MUSICMASTER

AND YES I DO USE THIS AS MY MAIN GIGGING BASS WITH NO BACKUP

BEEN PLAYING BASS 12 YEARS AS I AM ORIGINALY A 6 STRING GUITAR PLAYER
BUT SWITCHED TO BASS WHEN OUR BAND COULDNNT FIND A BASSIST
I HAVE OWNNED USA PRISCSION / USA JAZZ/ HOFNER COLORAMA 1966 THAT GOT STOLEN IF THE THEIFS READING THIS IM GONNA BREAK YOURE ARMS /
HOFNER BEATLES BASS AND MORE/// AMPS I HAVE HAD TRACE ELLIOT 15'' COMBO //ASHDOWN MAG 200 COMBO//MAG300 COMBO 2X10/CARLSBRO 200 BASS HEAD/ SWR HEAD AND 18'' BIG BEN CAB/ PEAVEY 500 WATT HEAD//AND NOW THE MARKBASS COMBO FORGET THE REST MARKBASS IS THE BEST
IF SOMEONE STOLE MY MUSICMASTER I WOULD TRACK THEM DOWN AND INSERT A LIVE SNAKE UP THERE ASS

1978, Made in the USA, solid alder body with black finish, maple neck with rosewood finger board (same neck as the Mustang bass), elephant ear tuners, 19 frets, , top loading bridge, 1 tone control, 1 volume control, passive electronics. Originally had the standard 6 pole guitar pick up which did not line up properly with the strings and had weak output. I upgraded it with a a DiMarzio dual blade humbucker Fast Track 1 pick up. I also added strap locks. Basic features, but they work well.

The upgraded pick up is louder and has better tone. It works great for the rock and blues tunes I play and imagine you could use it for just about anything. It produces a full warm sound or bright snappy sound, depending on how you dial it in and what strings you use. I use it with a Fender amp and do not get noise with the humbucker pick up. It sounds good live and recorded through my home computer. Not sure how it would sound in the studio, but I guess if you have the tools and know how anything can be tweaked to sound great.

The bass is over 27 years old so it had some scratches but overall in great shape. Everything is original (minus the pick up and strap locks) and functions perfectly. It had rust when I received it so I took it apart, polished it off and replaced the screws were needed. I adjusted the truss rod and set up the bass.

The bass is over 27 years old, the finish is still great and it functions perfectly. It had little play from the original owner. I put strap locks on the bass like I do with all my guitars. I have only had to adjust the truss rod during the initial set up. I can definately depend on the bass, it has never let me down. No matter what bass you have, who would gig without a back up?

I own other Fender products and have never had to contact them. All of their products have been solid. The fact I've never had an issue leads me to rate their customer services as a 10.

I have been playing bass for 2 years and guitar off and on for 20 years. I own a Musicmaster bass, Gretsch (Fender) bass, Fender acoustic guitar and Agile electric guitar. If this bass was lost or stolen I would replace it, though it would be such little play time on it. I chose this bass because I like short scales and did not want to fork over the extra money for a vintage Mustang.

Dates around 1975,usual features,bought it from a guy I worked with who had it for years. Red with white pick guard, rosewood fretboard,I eventually replaced the single coil with a black Fender Lace Sensor Gold, so it still looks stock, I may replace the bridge with an intonatable type..I dunno.

Man i love the way it sounds now. No noise and a fuller range of tone. I play guitar but I like to pick out my favorite bass riffs, too. Motown and Marley.

I've made only intonation and pickup height adjustments to it in 8 or 9 years I've owned it.

I've thought about getting another bass, but I don't play out and this one suits me just fine.

never had to deal with them

been playing for about 22 or 23 years..late starter..always wanted to play bass first, but learned guitar first. That's why I bought this little Musicmaster. If something happened to this one I would definitely find another, even though I doubt I could get it for only $125.00

musicmaster made in good old 1977 usa model
short scale
was in translucent dark red now stripped back to natural looks superb
///the tuners must be made out of stainless or cheifton tank type material cos they are indistrucktable and more than upto the job

been using it to play rock to brit pop through a 500watt peavey usa head and a swr bigben 18'' cab sound superb but to be honest i also have a cheapo squir bronco that sounds near on as good but a bit more trebeley
it really kicks ass through my rig and is quite warm in overhaul sound

easiest bass to play ever i am a 6ft.1inch bloke with big hands all the adverts say suit small people and all that crap they suit anyone its the same size as a strat and its nice and light
if your a six string player like me they are great for fast pick bass or finger as all can be reached with ease

these have been out for years and there are still plenty of 70's one's about so they must be able to stand the test of time
really happy with mine i used to play a new usa precision bass and hated it gave me awfull shoulder ache after 2 hour rehersals so i sold it and bought the musicmaster

never had to deal with them even though i have owned about 7 fenders

been playing 12 years
i really like the bass and would buy another if stolen
buyers beware they dont fit in a stratocaster case
i was told these were a student guitar to start with but lacking the budget feel
i beleve these to be very well made guitars and would recommend people to buy one ///////winxx @ yorkshire england

I bought my musicmaster bass in 1976, second hand.
Don't know how old it is.
The number is 392209 and the colour is yellow

50th rock and roll

not so good in a live band

never needed repairs, only strings

I bought it to learn to play bass and used it for demo recordings
Because of problems with my hands, I'm never able to play it again and will sell it to a collector info@verkeersmagazine.nl

I'm not sure of the year on this Bass ,but I picked it up 10 years ago in a pawn shop of all places as an impulse buy. Obviously niether the man selling it or I had any idea of what he had. Standard single pickup and all the hardware is still origninal, though even when I had first gotten ahold of this baby the frets had been worn into the fingerboard. It's obviously had a hard life. The black body still looks decent, but you can tell it's taken a few knocks here and there. The scratchguard on the other hand is in good shape leading me to believe that it's always been fingered (the technique I prefer). The neck needed to be tightened down and has a very slight warp to it ,but honestly it really gives it the character that I've come to love. There's really not much to these basses, but sometimes I guess simplicity really is the key.

I love the sound this little thing has. It's really undescribable. it has a very smooth dark sound to it, which suits my taste. Of all the basses I've had over the years this is the one I always come back to. The only beef I have with it is it's performance live. Honestly, I've found to use this bass effectively live it takes a ton of sound adjustments just to be able to hear amongst any other instruments, which is a real shame. All in all, fretted or otherwise, I've never found a bass that can duplicate the sound that this one has.

This bass really has stood the test of time considering. It's playability is amazing. I really haven't found any flaws with the design of this bass, at all. As there really isn't much to it I imagine it would have been kind of hard to mess up. As much as I love the feel of a large bass, this one seems to fit so comfortably it's scary. Almost like it's a part of you. Other than some dents where it's obviously taken a few bumps the finish, though dulled slightly with age is still thick and rich, so you can still see how beautiful this thing must have been brand new. The turning pegs are all still tight and show no signs of giving out.

As far as durability the thing really is incredible. No one I've ever played with can believe how heavy and solid it is. Other than the aforementoned fret loss the rest of the hardware is still going strong and shows no signs of deterioration. This bass also suprisingly needs very little adjustment. I have had many basses come and go and I have no problem using this one without a backup, though I usually only use it to accompany an acoustic for the above mention sound problems.

N/A

I've been playing for 16 years now and this thing is my favorite. Despite that it looks a little worse for wear and its output is limited by the single pickup, i'd never part with it. it's priceless to me.

1971, 19 frets, 1 vol, 1tone, body colour cream white,
Tuners with Fender logo, "play condition" mint, but it look like... terrible horrible awful, how do i say, yes...rock'n roll ;>)

perfect low sustain "soul sound" with ampeg vst tubeamp and 2x15" cabinet
used stage and studio, and studio... many tracks direct to mixer
thumb thumb...

Action!

25 years musician works with guitar and bass,
keep it simple, little bass with big sound ;>)

one pickup, one volume, one tone. All you need in a decent start up bass, I'd give it ten out of ten for features, because bells and whistles do not a great guitar make.

Hmm, the sound never really cuts through that much in a live experience, without a fat lot of compression on it, but recording wise, it is a dream- when you can sit and tweak it in the mix, is sounds great.

I got this second hand in around 95/96, and it was sold as a refin, but recently I took the neck off, and there is a fender sticker in the neck cavity, so I reckon the finish is original. It's a shame, if I'd have known that I wouldn't have stuck pokemon stickers all over it when I was stoned!

A rock, despite the size, this is the heaviest guitar/bass known to man. I don't know what it's made of, but it isn't going to crap out any time soon. The electrics are so simple a child could repair it if anything went wrong.

second hand

Good, but I've just sold it. I was playing with a rock band when I snapped a string, and borrowed someone elses long scale aria . I realised I was fighting a losing battle with a short scale bass. I've got pretty big hands anyway, and decided to move on. A great bass to start on, but, a standard, unmodded musicmaster just doesn't cut through that well in a live setting. Incidentally they started making these in the late sixties or early seventies, so any tales of fifties or early sixties examples are either results of sniffing the sodler, or mustang basses from 64? onwards

The first USA series made with thinner neck and no visible serial number. One pickup, tone and volume - all I want from bass guitar.

I've replaced the original bridge with brass Badass. TYhe guitar still retains the same sound however the sound is stronger - between Musicmastermaster and Precission bass. At the time I owned Febder Precisson and also Jazz but have sold them keep the Musicmaster only since I had no need for the other basses. I use it life and recording and get perfect sound everytime.

It's very old so hjas crackless in the black body paint and the neck finish is warn to the bear timber. It gives it smooth most beutifull feel to the neck of any guitar I've ever played.
On;y think about this guitar is that while reciording, the pickup tends to pickup electronic noise even from far away. That's something to get used to. It is much noisier than Precission.

Negver needed repair in how ever old it is - 30-40 years?

na

If it should get lost I'd be looking for another one but would be hard to fin the one with thin neck I'm affraid.

According to Fender Axe-dater this Musicmaster is a 1971. It has definately seen a lot of use over the years. This bass is your typical 19 fret musicmaster however there have been some significant modifications. The original pickup has been repalced with what I believe to be a Seymour Duncan p-bass pickup. The original pickguard has over the yeard been replaced with some sort of home made pickguard (possibly out of thin drywall as crazy as it sounds. The pickguard is definately home made due to the really lousy routing job around the pickups, and 3rd rate bevel job on the edge of the guard. I had to replace both volume and tone pots as well as the patch cord jack (really bad soldering job when the pickup was repalced). The tuner head for the G string has broken and someone has welded a head from a p-bass onto the machine. Finally, I'm not sure as to the original colour of this bass as it has been re-finished with a black sparkle metallic finish. Despite all of the poorly done modifications this bass is really cool.

This bass does not have a lot of tonal variations, however once the tone is dialed in you can get really fat warm sound. It works well both in the studio and live, a great compliment to my '77 J Bass. The bass sounds great through many different amps. Most noticably the bass was incredable when run through an old Ampeg B-15. The only dislike is that as you move to the higher frets there is a considerable loss on tone ans sustain.

This baby needed a considerable amount of set up to the bridge, neck, nut and pickups when I purchased it. She's a real beauty now.

It seems as if this instrument has had a real tattered past. As it has not been turned into firewood or a canoe paddle by now it is unlikely that this bass will die ever!

A great second bass to add to your collection. Grab once cheap while you still can.

Not sure when it was made. It had been heavily modded by the time i got it (1986) with a clear plastic pickguard, Badass bridge, full-size Schaller tuners, small humbucker from a Gibson EB-3, and refnished natural. It had a rosewood fingerboard and Rhodes piano style knobs on it. It didn't have a lot of features but what it did have sounded good.

this was my second bass. I'd played it in rehearsals with my first band but never used it live. I was playing through either a Holmes or Gorilla amp which probably didn't do it justice. We were doing Judas Priest, Ramones, Sex Pistols, and Def Leppard covers. it didn't have a lot of low end punch but that was probably because it was a short-scale bass. When I practiced at home at low volumes it sounded pretty good, though.

Great action. The neck had that worn-in feel to it. It looked like it had been professionally refinished, I don't think Fender made Musicmasters in natural but I could be wrong. I think it probably would've looked better with a black or white pickguard, though.

By the time I got it all the cheap parts had been replaced so i don't think it would've given me any trouble if had played it live. It was a real nice bass for a beginner and definately a step up from the Harmony I had been playing.

Never dealt with Fender. The ground wire for the pickup came loose once and I fixed it myself.

I've been playing for 17 years and this bass would probably sound great through the equipment I got now (Ampeg B2R). I traded it to a guy for a no-name Les Paul copy and a Peavey Studio Pro amp. Sometimes I really wish I'd held onto it though.

1964. 19 Frets, one volume, one tone, one single coil pickup replaced with a Jazzmaster whern I got it. Maple neck, rosewood fretboard. There are 2 saddles for 4 strings.It's a little flat in the upper registers. I like its short scale. It's lack of "features" is a selling point as far as I'm concerned, with a bass. The simpler, the better IMO.

Not lots of diversity. A good bass for country, rock, and r&b. It doesn't lend itself to slap. I've even turned the tone to full bass and used it for bluegrass, it was okay...considering that's all we had.

I Love the short-scale neck, This one's radius is rather smallish. I'm short so I like shoart scale basses. The paint was completely sanded off when I got it... It's a sturdy little bugger, though. It's lasted nearly 40 years.

A truck couldn't hurt this thing. I don't even HAVE a backup. I'd buy a new one and replace the strat p/u with a jazz one--if it were a newer model.

never dealt with them.

See above radings. The overall rating is lower than my personal reaction to the instrument. It's a great beginner's instrument, but given its limitations, a SERIOUS bassist would undoubtedly want to use this as either a backup or a suppliment. I'm a guitarist who occasionally is called upon to play bass, and this fits the bill for what I do.

I purchased this mid 70's Musicmaster in a estate sale of an aquaintance whose father in-law passed away. It was played up until his final months. While the finish & hardware was soiled & tarnished, it is a very stock Black on Black. It had old but usable roundwound strings on it. As for features, it's a 9 for for minimalists, 1 for techno-gearheads. 1

I play pop covers & funk with it. It favors a warm vintage rock / pop sound. More drive / cruise than slap, and does it cruise! Also bumps along great w/ foam under the strings. Very stable tuning to temperature, especially compared to my Jazz ( for those of us/you who occasionally fly into the gig late! ).

Action is FAST. Short scale neck plus low action equals quick. I started decades ago on a short scale but left it years ago. When I got this I was suprised how easy & fun it was to play. With my tiny hands, a P-bass is like driving a Mack truck, the Jazz is a Cadillac while the Musicmaster is a Mini Cooper.

Finish is decent considering it's lack of maintenance. Hey, the guy played it... Black finish has some fine cracks lengthwise along the grain & Headstock varnish is yellowing but otherwise, very good & very stock. Hardware is tarnished but in perfect order. Pickguard is ever so slightly warped ( can't quite comb your hair looking into it ).

Pots are suprisingly in excellent shape; no noise, smooth action.

I haven't had it very long but have gigged with it. Again, very good teperature stabilty, especially in Seattle. Yes,I would send this thing solo on a gig.

Leo built this thing knowing he'd be long gone. Thanx!

I've been playing about 30 years ( very little gigging ) & own a new Jazz Bass and a Yamaha Fretless. I play thru a 2x8 Ampeg combo or just DI with some ( OK, alot of ) compression. I wished I had known about this bass earlier, thanx Rusty. I love the minimalism about it which makes you, and lets you, put more into it... It's not a Dump Truck. It's not a Cadillac. It sure ain't a Ferrari but it's fast & fun.
p.s. I'll take good care of it...

Follow-Up to my Earlier Review. I have now had a Chance to get it to the Shop and an interesting thing was found. Some "DunceCap" had Soldered a Capacitor to the Volume Pot or something like that. It was, in essence, sucking the life out of this Bass !
The Guitar Tech was dumbfounded needless to say !
The Bass Sounds " Night and Day " Better now. She is an absolute Sweetheart.

Beautiful Sweet Mellow Tone....worth the Turnaround from The Shop.

Action is Superb, Very Low, and Minimal Fret Buzz. Plays like " Greased Butter " !

I adjusted the Pickup upwards to get more Output.

The White Enamel Body Finish is Cracked and Chipped, but the High-Gloss Neck and Headstock are in Excellent Condition. I was considering Refinishing the Body, but it's a Ton of Dough to do so.

Never had a problem with Fender: I have owned Three Fender Basses in the past, but none as Neat as this !

A great little Short-Scale Bass. It will make a Nice Vintage Collectable Companion Bass for my Hagstrom 1973 H 1 B.
I am just about completely away from Long-Scale Basses....these Short-Scales are simply too much fun for an Old Guy like me !

Made in the U.S.A in 1978.
19 Frets.
Solid Body.
One Volume, One Tone.
One Single-Coil Pickup.
Fender Pickup I Guess ?
Passive Electronics.
Alder Body.
Maple Neck.
Rosewood Fingerboard.
Enamel White Finish ( Now Off-White ).
P-Bass Body Style.
Vintage 4-Saddle Bridge.
Fender Tuners.
30 Inch Scale "Fat" Neck.
Came with Nearly-Wrecked Non-Fender Tweed Hard Shell case ( Which I promptly threw in the Garbage ! )

Cannot accurately assess as I just bought the Bass and it needs Pots Replaced, and the a Full Set-Up ( Including a Proper Pickup Adjustment.) From all other Reviewers, however the Sound of these Basses Rates Highly.
Right now, the Sound is kind of "Murky". I am sure after the Bass gets a good " Overhaul" by the Guitar Tech, it will be Fine.

This Bass has that " Sting Precision Bass " look about it ! Body Finish Cracking and Wear abound, and I love it ! The Neck and Headstock, however, are Beautiful, in Excellent Condition. So is the Hardware. I bought this Bass from a Pawn Shop, so God knows where it's been, yet the Neck is straight as an Arrow, the Frets show Minimal Wear, and the Action is Super Low with no Buzz. Plays like Dream !

Already has withstood Live Playing Big Time !
Hardware is Solid.
Finish has already started to fall off.
The Front Strap Button needed tightening.
Should be Dependable...more on that Later.
I don't Gig...but yes, I would say it be usable without a Backup. It is a Seventies U.S.A. Fender Bass, after all !

I have Dealt with Fender on Amps and Basses before...no problem.

Playing Bass 34 Years. I also own a 1973 Vintage Hagstrom Sunburst H 1 B Bass, a New 2002 Gibson Epiphone EB-O Bass, a Hartke Kickback 10 Bass Combo, a Fender BXR 25 Bass Combo, an Epiphone Studio Bass 10S Bass Combo, and a Rolls Mini-Mix 51 System.

About the MusicMaster, I love the Cool Look, the Light Weight, Ease of Playability, the fact that I have a U.S. Made Fender Bass again,( after a long drought!), The " Relic Look ".
I wish I could have assessed the Sound better prior to Purchasing the Bass, but hopefully everything will Pan out after an Overhaul.
Down the Road, I may get the Body of the Bass Re-Finished down to the Natural Alder, and then NitroCellulose Lacquered, but I hear that's costly.

Custom, hand made, American 1971 Fender MusicMaster Bass. Beautiful cool jazzy shape, natural finish , one pickup, volume and tone controls. Custom cedar carved wooden body and fat neck.

Warm deep funky sound. Sounds very cool with chorus and delay pedals.
This guitar gets the chicks.

It looks fine to me.

Very reliable and durable. Its definitely good live and I wouldn't need a backup. Never goes out of tune and has been serving me well for 6 years.

Excellent service.

This guitar has been serving rock and funk bassists for 31 years. I bought it 6 years ago and if the last owner was not desperate for money he would have kept it for himself. Bottom line is : a must have.

My bass was made in 1978, it is black with a black pickguard. It has one volume and one tone. I would not trade it for anything in the world.

I play a lot of punk and rock so it sounds really through my tube works 100W amp.

The bass is perfect in every way. No chips and no scratches. Bascially mint cond.

ROCK SOLID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Never dealt with them?????

I have been playing for almost a year and it was the first Fender i have ever owned, and from what i can tell, Fender now has a permanent buyer. I also have a Rouge bass, and amp. But nothing has come close to my Tube Works and Fender.

The bass was made in 1973, I got it used in the early 90's.
Same specs as what everyone else has stated.
My bass has a yellowish color to it, with a white pickguard and black knobs and pickup cover.

Pretty simple design, plus it was great to learn bass on.

This bass sounds pretty good for being a small bass guitar.

The strings are really close to the fretboard so it's really easy to play fast on this bass and the harder you play the strings the sound of the bass changes a little to give it a "harsher" tone which is good if you are looking for that kind of tone.

This bass sounds different in every bass amp I've played it through ... which is cool, some bass guitars I've played sounds the same in every bass amp ... not this one.

I really like the way the strings are set on this bass ... really close to the fretboard.

I don't care alot for the yellowish finish this bass has, but I won't change it just because it's so different looking.

I like the idea that this bass is so light weight also.

I've used this bass as my main bass guitar for about 10 years and never had the need for a backup bass. I now have 2 bass guitars the Musicmaster and a Fender Precision Bass just to have a longer neck bass, and most of the time (when I do play bass at a gig) I still take both basses with me and still the Musicmaster bass gets just as much "stage" time as the Precision bass.

I've never had to use the customer service, but they do have a nice website with information / links.

A great bass to learn on and also a great bass to have a to be a little "different" than most bass players and to have a different sound.

Fender Musicmaster Bass - short scale 30" neck, Maple neck with rosewood fretboard. Made In USA. One single coil pickup, one tone, one volume knob. Mine was Basic Black in color, with white pick gaurde. A very Simple Bass with few features, it was my first Fender, my first Bass, I didn't know how to play at all I just knew I wanted to play Bass, and I must have a Fender.
I purchased this Bass in college in 1982, and Yes I only paid $159.
I remember very clearly, it seemed like alot of money to me at the time, because it was all I had.

Time has put some perspective on how this Bass sounded. At the time I used a Roland 30 watt Bass amp with a 12" speaker. It was OK, but overall one single coil pickup was weak and thin. Tone control did almost nothing. A good learning Bass, I learned alot!
BUT then I walked in (couldn't play the thing) guys said "WOW it's a real Fender" so I got into a band, I had the right gear.

When I bought the Bass it had flat wound string on it which was good to learn on, didn't hurt my fingers. Overall the fit and finish was very good. The Hardware was very good quality for my first Bass it was great. When I started to learn to play better guys I played with started to make fun of this (short Scale) baby Fender. So I sold it and bought a full size Precission Bass (my second Fender).

I used this Bass on gigs many times, at the time it was my only Bass, I had no back up. Something must have been right, I never broke a string, it always stayed in tune. In the ten years I owned it I don't think I ever adjusted the trust rod. But the short scale neck didn't put to much presure on the strings. So it had a kind of soft feel to it. I'm sure this Bass is still out there some place kicking out the tunes I just hope someone is loving it the way I did.

None needed. What is Fender customer support? I think it's fairly well made mass produced instruments which need liitle or no repairs if you just take care of them.
Thank you Leo ! May he rest in peace knowing he gave the world a great sound.

Post Script: I sold this Bass over ten years ago. NOW I see New ones are out(not made in USA), not nearly as good in quality and sell for twice as much. AND old ones like mine have become collectors items, I've seen ones in poor condistion selling for $400. Old beat up crapy Basses with no finish left on them. I'm not a collector, I'm a player, but now I wish I'd waited to sell mine. My quess is everything Fender will one day be a collectors item if you just hold on to it long enough. I now own two Fenders; a Fretless Jazz Bass (1990) and a P-Bass deluxe special (1998), a Yamaha TRB5, and three other Basses, my amps are Gallen-Kruger or SWR, speakers are Carvin or Harkey. I've spent thousands on the Best gear you can own, but this little Fender Musicmaster was my first Bass so it will always hold a place in my heart as the Bass I learned to play on.

The first model made, USA, 1950's, the type with skinnier neck, short scale. One pickup, volume, tone - all the features I wan't in a bass as I like simplicity.

This rather rare old model sounds much better than the later more common ones with thicker neck. Sound is alive, I have a "bad ass" bridge on it and this gives me more sustain. Sound of this guitar is best for 50's rock and country but will do any type of music fine. Not good for slap.

Nearly 50 years old and styll holds together, only hardware rusts.

reliability 100%

Excellent sound, and great for a smaller bass player (like me). There is no noise or anything else. I would never give up this bass!

Style: punk. I am using it with an Ampeg Diamond Blue b-100r bass amp. I love the tone I can get with it.

Excellent

I trust this bass without a backup.

I have had it repaired once, no problems

64'? it was made in america.

19 frets, short scale. 4 stings.

solid top.

1 tone, 1 volume.

1 single coil(leo fender put strat pickups in it)

strat pickups

passive.

ash body. maple neck w/ rosewood fretboard

off white.

p-bass

hard tail

orig. fender open cast tunners.

3/4 w/jumbo frets.

punk... need I say more.

peavey basic 112

no noise at all.

bright sound depending on tone settings.

slapp, funk, jazz, you name it's got it.

stage, easy to play long gigs, and its compact.

i take it to the grave

awseome.

damn good.

paint chips. string buzz, all orig, and in great cond.

hell yeah!

its lasted since 64' hasn't it.

built fender tough.

see number 1.

see number 4.

see number 5.

n/a

whats the point a bass is bass and ths thing kicks ass

3 years.

hell no.

no to scarce to find another.

no.

no.

if you ever find no matter how much it hurts your wallet, buy the damn thing

I got my pristine '74-'75 Fender Musicmaster Bass back in May. It's my third one. After I found my first one in a pawnshop last year, I was hooked..."fun" is an understatement! These things are a pleasure to play, I do everything on it, including bluegrass! The one I play now is the cream finish (now nicely, slightly yellowed), is all original, came with the original hardcase, owner's manual, inspection tag, cleaning cloth and Fender strap. It's one of those you can really classify as MINT. It's even nicer that it came with all the stuff. I do love the way this one sounds, has more "growl" than you'd think, even though it has not been hot-rodded. It's quite versatile and being the short scale, it's easy for me to go from banjo to bass and not think twice.

It fits my need fine, as far as sound. When we do Aerosmith tunes, I run it thru a Fender Bassman, pull up the mid's a bit and it's ready to go. When I play bluegrass, I run it thru a smaller Fender Bassman 25, set the tone warm and full, to mimick an upright bass, (which it does fine!) My only request would be that they had put in large/jumbo frets when it was made.

The action was set up low...I did adjust it to my tastes, which was a bit higher. The finish is fine, I LOVE how it's mellowed to a yellowish-white. No rusted or oxidated parts!

It does great playing on stage/in studio. The hardware is durable, I have not had to make many adjustments other than raising the action and I've adjusted the neck once, in conjusction with the action being raised. That's it.

I have never dealt with Fender directly.

Logged 25 years playing this December. Also play banjo, mandolin and guitar. My only suggestion would be again, the larger frets and that all of them had a hardshell case when originally sold. I am fortunate mine came with one, but others I have seen for sale, like on Ebay for instance, originally came with soft-shell/chip cases. These as you know, are terrible. Thankfully, hardshell cases are availible if you lool around. I'm sure prices for these pieces will continue to go up, as are most vintage pieces, I definitely would say if you are considering one to GET ONE SOON while they are quite reasonable and can still be found in great condition.

My Musicmaster (this is my second one) is a 1976 USA made Black/Black model. It has 19 frets, and like all Musicmasters, one pickup (classic Fnder Jazz) and one volume/Tone control.

The body is alder and I?m not sure about the neck, but it?s all original.

I give it a ten on features, because if you want a great sounding short scale bass to give you that classic rock sound, this is it. Plug and play!

I had a 1969 or 1970 Musicmaster back in the 70?s and 80?s. I sold it around 1984, and have been pining for one since. I?ve owned four other basses since, but really missed that great, fat, no-nonsense classic rock "plug it in and play" sound. Perfect for Rock, Country, Folk, or Jazz. Don?t need a rackfull of effects or floor full of pedals to make this axe sound like a bass, it just does. I?m playing it through a Yamaha Bass 115B Combo, and Also have a classic Fender Showman with a 4/12 cab which I never lug anywhere anymore!

This bass has wonderful action, and after playing it non-stop for the last week, I can find no unusual buzzing or vibrating. The original black finish with black pickguard looks beautiful. I really wish it had a white pickguard, though and may swap it later.
It?s truly a pristine, rare guitar.

My last Musicmaster was not nearly as nice as this one. It was a refin, and I personally put a big, fat Gibson Humbucker on it in 1974. Over a 12 year period I played it all over the US and on two world tours and it always played and sounded great. This one is in much better shape, and with regular yearly setups I expect it to last the rest of my lifetime (I?m 44 now!). This one is a keeper.

I?ve been playing Bass, Guitar, and Keys since 1969. I?ve been a professional musician all of my adult life and have a VERY extensive project studio. My other gear includes a 1978 Martin D-41, 1968 Gibson ES 135, Fender USA Telecaster, and a full studio of recording/midi/sampler/synth stuff. I?ve not had so much fun playing any bass in years and am so happy I decided to search out, find and buy this model once again.

Made in 1978, this US version is extremly rare. A standard 4-string model, 20 frets w/ solid top. It has a volume and tone control, one Fender Jazz pickup with the same model year. Only Passive Electronics because of the make year. Is a Maple body and neck with a string-thru body bridge. The neck is a shorter scale 30" and has a rosewood cover with dot inlays. The neck itself is fairly thin for accuracy.

This guitar is excellent for my music style which is classic rock/heavy metal. I jam to anything from Led Zeplin to Metallica. I use a Peavy TKO 80 for jam sessions or a Carvin Full Stack for gigs. I own 4 effects, a DOD Supra Destortion, and Electro Harmonix BassBalls and Small Stone. It is very quiet and extremely powerfull. It contains a very low-end sound with great middle and good high. It is more of a funk, rock, and blasting bass over a mellow bass. Its not that great with a wah either. I use it on stage and in the studio. I love the range but could use better electronics.

The action is unbelievable but comming from Fender what else can you say. The set-up and pickup configuation is absolutly perfect for anyone but the finish gave it a little twang here and there. The pick board also is loose.

This bass will withstand anything. The hardware and finish has lasted through 6 months of the most rigorus jamm sessions I've ever had. Nothing has changed and I dont expect it to. Strap buttons are still good little akward for a tall guy but solid otherwise. The truss rod needs adjustmentabout once a year. Not too bad. I would deffinatly use it on a gig without a backup.

This is my first Fender and I'm realy happy and looking foward to dealing with the company again.

I got this bass 6 months ago and love it. I own an Alvarez dana other than my Fender. If it were ever stolen I'd be looking for either a new Musicmaster of the same year or the stolen bass very hard.I wish it had active electronics because I could then do a lot more with it.

This is a 1970's USA made red coloured Musicmaster Bass. The short scale means it is much easier to play and real light, I guess the body wood is either alder or ash. Its short neck has 19 tall thin frets and the big headstock almost dwarf's the body. Volume and Tone for one AWFUL guitar pickup in there ( six poles ). As in all old Musicmaster basses they used a guitar pickup which is no good, low volume and no tone at all.The neck is really well used showing the natural yellowed oils coming up, with the black/brown gunge meaning this bass has been WELL played. The bridge was quite rusty and it also has a small finger rest on the right side of a quite awkward pickguard, looks nice nevertheless.

When I first tried the bass it had long scale flatwound strings and the original pickup, so it sounded quite terrible. I changed the strings to proper short scale, and the pickup to a blade type guitar for proper string alignment.

With these minor changes the bass sounds TOTALLY different. Really nice mellow sound, nothing like a Pbass or a Jazz, it is a "younger" sound, that sounds quite different through my Peavey TNT 150. It is not a very full sounding bass, more like a warmish sound that definitely sounds vintage due to its age.It sounds great when turned amp and this bass has 2 sounds: tone full up as described before and tone backed down makes it sound like old Motown, real woolly and sweet for the blues I play.

The action was quite porr although easily set up, tweaking the neck and bridge saddles. The saddles are wuite rusty and some screws are imposible to tweak ( I guess that are the donwides of vintage ! )but the pickups and knobs arent noisy. There are some minor flaws in the finish due to aging but quite aesthetically pleasing for those who like well used instruments.

Fender basses are reputedly long lasting. THis one has 30 years and looks like it will live another 30 with no problem. The neck is rock solid and the strap buttons show no signs of falling out. Maybe the finish on the neck will need some touching up in a few years time but it is fully dependable and I use it for my regular blues gigs, havent had a problem yet.

N/A

In Spain there are NO short scale bass guitars and it was a miracle to find one from a guy who was selling second hand. I am now looking to purchase the Squier Musicmaster from the Vista Series as a replacement as it looks like a perfect copy. This is a really great bass for those with small hands or who are looking for something different. It is so easy to play and the sound fits perfectly in my small 3 piece blues combo, sounding quite nice and sweet. It also would suit perfectly for other small piece rocking bands although jazz is probably out of the question, maybe younger sounding bands.

i love this bass.i got it second hand in the early eighties and still love it.it's great being short scale, 19 frets,came with a pissy single coil pick-up i changed to a seymour duncan p-bass set up.the finish i have is a transparent red, it;s lovely.also the bridge was a bugger to set up so i changed that for a badass fully adjustable unit. the neck is as good as i have played and the body is solid.

i have used this bass to play everything from hard rock to jazz and the sounds are great.i play it through a peavey tnt 115 bw, and they go well together.i have played it in working bands doing 5 gigs a week and it stands up very well.

i haven't touched the action since i got it .it was perfect and still is! the only flaws are the pick up and the bridge but the rest is beautiful.

the finish is as good now as when i got it and as i said it's been used abit.the strap buttons even work well.i have never needed a back up so i don't have one now,haven't for about five years.

never needed their help

i love this bass . it's abit different, i am 6' tall so it looks real small on me but gives a big sound.if i ever lost it i would have to get another .i have had alot of different basses in my time including a thumb bass but i love my musicmaster.

Fender's Axe-dater system has placed my Musicmaster Bass as one of the earlier ones (1968-1971). 19 Frets, one volume, one tone, one single coil pickup. Maple neck, rosewood fretboard. I've played this bass ever since I was 5 (I'm 14) and my dad is the original owner. Everything is original except for the pickguard (it cracked). The main thing I don't like about this bass is the fact that there are only 2 saddles for 4 strings witch makes setting the intonation a pain in the neck. Also, it goes out of tune quickly. I do, however like the fact that it is a short scale bass. Short scale basses play more like guitars and are easier on the arms while sitting down than their longer scale counterparts.

I am playing this bass out of a 1972 silverface Fender Bassman 70 and a 1971 Fender Solid State 3x12 cab with blue line special speakers. I might set up a Boss DS-1 or run it through a Fender Sidekick Chorus 15 before the Bassman. It suits my playing style well, which is punk/ska. The shorter neck makes for much faster basslines.

The guitar has lasted well throughout the 27-30 years it has been in my family.

Everything is great on this bass, If it was lost or stolen, I would defenitely buy another one.

A great short scale bass.