Fender Musicmaster Bass

[nexis]

Anyone know much about this bass? I can't find much info about this one. I've had if for probably 10 years. I believe It's a 1972.

[mlrpa]

Basically, it was Fender's budget line. The Musicmaster's and the Bronco's were the equalivant of todays Squires. Body woods ranged anywhere from alder and padauk, to maple and stuff that looked like it came from a pallet! I think ithey generally were a 30" short scale, and surprisingly, fetch a bit of cash on ebay.

[sumgai]

mlrpa,

Basically, it was Fender's budget line. The Musicmaster's and the Bronco's were the equalivant of todays Squires. Body woods ranged anywhere from alder and padauk, to maple and stuff that looked like it came from a pallet! I think ithey generally were a 30" short scale, and surprisingly, fetch a bit of cash on ebay.

OOOOPS!

Errrr, that's not how Fender remembers it. The Mustang, Musicmaster/DuoSonic and Bronco series were all basically tailored for the student crowd. They were made in the same shop, using essentially the same materials, as the higher priced spread. Leo didn't like to stock things that were duplicative efforts, so no exotic woods were used back then.

But the hardware, paint job, pickup, neck setup, attention to detail, these were all short cutted to save on costs, thus allowing them to be sold at a more attractive price to Ma and Pa. They were alway short scale, 22" for the guitars and 30" for the basses. Remember, they were aimed at students, meaning usually younger, less-grown-towards-full-size people.

Now, contrast that to Squiers. Always made offshore (Mexico included here). Various quality grades, up to and including very good. Nearly always the standard scale neck length. (Short scale units are probably more rare than original Mustangs, etc.)

Nope, not even in the same class, except to say that they are both Fender born and bred. But they do catch some serious bread on eBay and craigslist due to their age and origin. I've got a '71, and you can have it when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers! ;D


sumgai

[nexis]

I just need to get a new bridge, neck plate and pick gaurd for it. Some parts were enscribed with the name of my middle school from before I went there and It belonged to them and the pick gaurd has a piece broken off.

[mlrpa]

Easy enough parts to find.
And yes, while it was tailored for the students, they were not the best built, or same quality, as their "real" instruments. (Please understand, I hold a grudging respect for the tele. Most everything else that Fender touched, I despise.) Most of the necks I've seen from the Broncos and it's ilk, have twisted, or splilt, or otherwise should be considered firewood. And for future reference, Leo sold it to CBS LONG before the introduction of the cheap stuff.

[sumgai]

mlrpa

.....
And for future reference, Leo sold it to CBS LONG before the introduction of the cheap stuff.

Yes, that's true, if by cheap you mean the off-shore junk that was first graced with the Squier marque.

However, if you were in fact referring to the 'student' models, I refer you to about a gazillion sites around the 'net that show catalogs, price lists, advertising posters, etc., etc., ad nauseum.... all showing the MusicMaster and Duo-Sonic stuff well before 1964, if I'm not mistaken. Here's a sample link: 1956 Fender Catalog

(I really should be outside doing something useful. If the wife figures what I've been doing for the last few hours, I may not be able to type any more answers for several weeks. .... ;D )


sumgai

[sumgai]

nexis,

I just need to get a new bridge, neck plate and pick gaurd for it. Some parts were enscribed with the name of my middle school from before I went there and It belonged to them and the pick gaurd has a piece broken off.

Search on "fender musicmaster bass parts", and see what you get for responses. Pick a supplier, and go for the gold! Maybe others here will recommend their favorite vendors, but over the years, I've had good luck with just about all of them. I don't know where you live, maybe you'll get lucky and find a supplier that's close to you, so you can pick up the parts instead of having to pay for shipping.


sumgai

[mlrpa]

Sumgai, I stand corrected. I thought that the duos and musicmasters came in the early 60's, not the mid 50's.
But, I disagree about the first generation Squire's being off shore junk. I had the original Squire Lead I, II and III's. I changed out the pickups, and the Lead II, I traded straight up for a 75 Guild M75! (Alas, the I and III were destroyed in a fire.)

My friend has a Squire Strat from 86, that will outplay just about anything out there! Lowest action I've ever seen on anything with a floyd.

[sumgai]

mlrpa,

(What follows are things I've gotten from various sources, and the sad truth is, they don't all agree on every point. Which means that in the big scheme of things, I certainly could be wrong in some of the details here. Please take a larger-than-usual grain of salt while reading, OK? )

Like other, more expensive models in those years, Fender had a huge quality control issue. AFAIK, all of the 1st generation Squier stuff was made off-shore, and some of that was not made in Fender's authorized Japan factory, but at another outlet which was bidding for Fender's business. (Fender had already been getting their acoustics from that Japanese maker for a number of years.)

As I said in a previous post, some few Squiers did come out quite nicely, but for the life of them, Fender couldn't do it consistently. Still, at that price point, they were killing most other MIA guitars in raw sales, and they were more than holding their own over many comparable imports.

For all their faults, Fender is a victim of their own success. Witness, when was the last time they brought out a completely new guitar model? And it stuck around for more than two years?? For at least a decade now, and probably longer, all Fender has done is bend, fold, twist, staple, mutilate and bastardize the same basic models, over and over and....... Fer Gawd's sake, a DaisyRock pink Strat?!?!?!? Not even a moderately different body with a new name?

I dunno, maybe they need to amortize their CNC machines and jigs, who knows.

Ach, I'm tired of this, I've got a dissertation to write for unklmickey, so I better get to crackin'


sumgai