The Mustang Bass was one of Leo Fender's last designs at Fender but didn't make its debut until 1966, after CBS had bought the company. It was made throughout the late 1960s and '70s before being discontinued ca. 1981. In 2003 the Fender Mustang Bass was offered again in the USA, albeit as a Japanese-made reissue.
Even before I began playing bass guitar more often, I had thought about getting a Fender Mustang Bass. Given my preference for shorter scale guitars, I knew that my hands would also like the Mustang Bass' shorter 30" scale (especially given some of the hand-breaking songs we would sometimes play). I had considered a vintage Mustang Bass, like a late '70s model with a clear-coated and contoured ash body. However, those '70s Mustang Basses all had the wider P-Bass nut width, whereas I wanted the narrow Jazz Bass nut width. In addition, the craftsmanship and quality of a new Crafted in Japan (CIJ) Fender should be much higher than that of a USA-made, '70s CBS Fender guitar, which are considered to be the least desirable era of Fender guitars. Finally, the total price I ended up paying (~$480, including tax but no case) is much less than a '60s Mustang Bass, especially if you also include $200 for the inevitable refret of any used guitar.
[ back view | body: front and back ]
[ headstock front & back ]
My Mustang Bass (finished in Olympic White) was special-ordered from Eddie's Guitars (Maplewood, MO) at the end of 2003. Previously, Eddie's had a red CIJ Mustang Bass in stock, and one day I made the mistake of asking to play it. Five minutes later, I had to have one, even before I plugged it into an amp. The shorter scale made Eric Avery-esque (ex-Jane's Addiction) and other chord-y bass lines absolutely effortless to play. My bass finally arrived over three months later, and after tweaking the setup (beware, the truss rod adjustment nut is at the butt of the neck!) this bass was a pure joy to play. Compared to the 34" scale length of my P-Bass Special, the 30" scale of the Mustang Bass feels like I'm cheating, especially when I play more than one note at the same time. The hum of the split single coil pickup was somewhat surprising (until a peek under the hood revealed no shielding whatsoever around the pickup -- something rectified in May 2005), and to my ears its intrinsically bright tone limits the useful range of the tone knob. However, this bass has plenty of punch, is not very heavy, and it balances acceptably well (not too neck-heavy) when strapped on.
The biggest downside to the CIJ Mustang Bass is that it does not come with a case. As of 2004, Fender offers a hardshell case for the Fender Mustang Bass, available with either a textured silver or a black vinyl exterior (part nos. 0996121424 or 0996141406, respectively). However, they cost $134 and would be a special order (with a 2-month lead time) from your Fender dealer, so I settled for a used silver vinyl '60s Mustang Bass case made by Victoria (about $60 delivered). These older cases (even the 1970s black vinyl cases) are lower quality relative to the new cases, with little padding, but I can now at least take this bass to band practice. (I later found a properly-sized Fender gig bag for just $21 including shipping on eBay.)
The first modification I made was aesthetic: replacing the stock brown shell pickguard with a repro white/black/white 'guard (from Pickguard Heaven). The stark white replacement pickguard really brought out the rich creamy color of the body's Olympic White finish, and it looks so much better. If you decide to replace your pickguard, just be aware that replacement pickguards intended for vintage Fender Mustang Basses will NOT fit the reissue CIJ Mustang Bass (and vice versa). In May 2005, I shielded the pickup rout using a vintage Mustang Bass brass pickup shielding plate, but held down by double-sided tape (with a dab of Elmer's Glue for good luck) instead of nailing it in place like the original, and this bass is now noticeably quieter when plugged in. Finally, the tuning machines seem to be surprisingly low-quality (too much backlash in the gears) for a Crafted in Japan instrument, and I may replace them at some point in the future.
Vital statistics:
- Serial number: Q045467 (crafted in Japan)
- Body: probably solid alder
- Neck/fingerboard: maple/rosewood
Scale length: 30"
Neck width:
- at nut: 1 1/2"
- at 12th fret: 2 1/16"
Neck radius: 9.5"
- String gauges (standard tuning):
Fender nickel roundwound Bass 7150s (.105-.085-.065-.045)
- Electronics:
Pickup (polarity/DC resistance):
"Special design" (non-humbucking?) split single-coil pickup (EA coil = south/DG coil = north; 8.06 kOhms as wired)
Controls: volume, tone
