Fender Mustang Bass
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mustang Bass | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Manufacturer | Fender |
| Period | 1966 — 1981, 2002 - present. |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Solid |
| Neck joint | Bolt-on |
| Scale | 30" |
| Woods | |
| Body | Alder |
| Neck | Maple, “C” Shape,(Gloss Polyurethane Finish) |
| Fretboard | rosewood (9.5” Radius/241 mm) |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | Strings-Thru-Body with 4 Individually Adjustable Saddles |
| Pickup(s) | 1 Special Design Split Single-Coil Mustang Bass Pickup |
| Colors available | |
| Currently Fiesta Red and Vintage White, previous colours in the past. | |
The Fender Mustang Bass is an electric bass guitar model produced by Fender. Two variants, the Musicmaster Bass and the Bronco Bass, have also been produced from time to time using the same body and neck shape.
Introduced in 1966 as a companion to Fender's shorter-scaled, 2-pickup Fender Mustang guitars, the Mustang Bass was the last original bass designed by Leo Fender before his departure from the company in 1965. The Mustang Bass has a short 30" scale and a single split pickup (similar to the P-bass), one volume and one tone control, with strings-through-body routing. Like the early Precision and Jazz basses, the Mustang Bass was fitted with string mutes (although most players removed these).
The standard finishes were red and white. Mustang basses, like all Fender guitars, were finished in nitrocellulose lacquer up until 1968, thereafter in thick polyester finish. In 1969, both the Mustang guitar and bass were issued with 'Competition' finishes, i.e. red with three white stripes, a thick one between two thinner ones, Lake Placid Blue with lighter blue stripes, etc. and were later available in various plain finishes including black and sunburst. (The yellowing of the lacquer on some early models has also resulted in "rare" colours like Surf Green, in reality a yellowed Competition Blue).
In production almost continuously to 1981, the Mustang Bass was recently reissued by Fender Japan in 2002.[1]
The Musicmaster Bass variant was also introduced in the mid-60's and was originally marketed as a student model. Rather than the split-coil design of the Mustang Bass, it featured a single-coil pickup, which was actually a 6-pole Stratocaster guitar pickup under a solid plastic cover. Production ceased around the same time as the Mustang Bass. The Squier Musicmaster Bass was reissued briefly in 1997, however it was discontinued after only one year of production and was ultimately replaced by the Bronco Bass.
[edit] Players
- Tomethy Furse of The Horrors uses an all-black Mustang Bass.
- Trevor Bolder of David Bowie and The Spiders from Mars used a Mustang Bass among many other basses.
- Lisa Brigatino, formerly of Lez Zeppelin, frequently uses a Mustang.
- Barry Bronson from Gear Wire reviews, is usually seen playing a Fender Mustang Bass when reviewing popular Bass amps.
- Holger Czukay of German band Can used the Fender Mustang extensively in the 1970s.
- Jason Falkner, solo musician, uses a black mid 70's Mustang Bass.
- Tim Foreman of Switchfoot presently uses this bass for live presentations.
- Nicolas Godin of the French band Air uses a red Mustang Bass on tour and when recording.
- Clive Griffiths of Patto used a Mustang bass for most of his tenure with the band.
- Brian Hill of The Postmarks currently uses this bass for live performances as well as recording.
- Gary Jarman of The Cribs used a Mustang Bass for The Cribs' self titled debut album, and extensively live around this period.
- John Deacon of Queen occasionally used one and also had one as a backup for his Fender Precision Bass.
- Alan Lancaster of Status Quo used Mustang and Musicmaster basses.
- Denny Laine occasionally used one during his time with Wings, when lead singer Paul McCartney would switch from bass to piano or guitar.
- John Linnell of They Might Be Giants plays a Mustang Bass in the music video for "The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)", although his role in the band is almost always that of keyboardist or saxophonist.
- Colin Moulding of XTC used a Musicmaster bass in 1979.
- Chris Murphy of Sloan frequently uses a Mustang bass.
- Dee Dee Ramone played a Musicmaster bass during the early days of the Ramones.
- Thompson Twins used a Musicmaster bass on tape Hold Me Now in 1983.
- Wally Waller of the Pretty Things used a Mustang bass from 1967 to approximately 1976, including on the band's seminal albums S.F. Sorrow and Parachute.
- Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads used a Mustang bass in the early days of the band.
- Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys used it in the video of Good Vibrations, and probably he used it in 1967 album Smiley Smile, too.
- Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones used Mustang basses in the late-1960s and early-1970s.
[edit] Literature
- Peter Bertges: The Fender Reference; Bomots, Saarbrücken 2007, ISBN 978-3-939316-38-1
Keith Stalcup of the Lorrie Morgan Band currently uses a Mustang Bass on tour. Danny Partridge of the Partridge Family used a Mustang Bass in some episodes. Chris Stillwell uses a 1971 Competition model with The Greyboy Allstars and KDTU
