[JosephMorley]

Hi there,

I’m very interested in purchasing a fender short scale bass guitar. I have recently been looking at these Mustangs and Musicmasters: http://www.nicksguitars.com/basses.htm . I would be very grateful if anyone could offer their opinions on the models currently available. I am interested by the fact that two of the Musicmasters are priced £515 and one is priced £525. What is the reason for this very slight difference in price? I would also like to know if there are any clear modifications or none original feature.

Thank you,

Joseph Morely

[jpenta]

From what i understand, vintage musicmasters have a strat pickup in a different cover. It will give you a very unique sound, but if you want pure guts, the mustang is your best bet!

[jules]

Some nice basses on that site actually.....

Mustangs have more substantial bridge too. I'd certainly chose a Mustang, given the choice

[jb]

Yep, i agree if you can afford a little extra a mustang is the way to go - more attitude and a bigger sound. They're quite dynamic too - if you play softly with your right hand they sound nice and warm, but really growl when you dig in.

I bought one (a '75, maple fretboard) not because I wanted a shortscale but because they have such a great sound and are relatively affordable against other vintage fender basses. Plus they look hot! Well I think so anyway...

Though for the price musicmasters are great too...

[jules]

Hi jb, and welcome to the forum. Yeah, I really like the look too - espeicially the competition colour scheme.

What colour you got? let's see a pic...

[jb]

Yes, the competition stripe looks uber-cool... i have an all original '73 competition blue guitar; the bass i have is natural. Actually, it's a strange one, when i bought it i assumed it was a refin, although it does have the same kind of wear and finish checking that you would expect on an original fender. Plus the stain on the headstock matches the body... Who knows, maybe someone refinished immediately after buying it and copied the matching headstock idea... Actually maybe you could shed some light on that for me....? Here's some pics:

[stony]

hi i have 1972 comp mustang in blue i bought new,i have always loved how it plays.......they are getting pricey, gbass site has some listed at $2500 theres pics of mine on the vintage fender site......axecollector i believe

[jb]

looks brand new! yes the mint condition mustangs from that period are fetching a bit more than they used to, especially with the comp stripe/matching headstock.... a friend of mine has a '69 - he bought it only a few years ago for half of what they are worth now ....