My new bass arrived this morning, and I was pleasantly surprised to see DHL delivering on a bank holiday. After a quick inspection, I started customising it to my liking.
It’s a 2022 Sienna Sunburst Player Mustang Bass.
I played around with my SS Squier PJ Jaguar bass, which already has short-scale cobalt flats. However, I realised I don’t enjoy the cobalts on a short scale as much as I do on my Thunderbirds. So, after installing the hi-mass bridge, I rummaged through my box of ‘worn-in’ strings and found a set of short-scale LaBella flats with orange silks. I put these on and set up the bass. My initial impression is that it’s a keeper. I made a template to position the thumbrest using my spare JMJ pickguard and carefully drilled some holes with a miniature hand drill.
I’m very pleased with this bass. It offers something slightly different from my JMJs and feels and sounds great with the flatwounds. I was considering removing the switch and wiring it like a jazz bass, but I’ve decided against it. The switch provides three easily selectable sounds, including the bridge pickup soloed, which surprisingly is my favorite — at least through my practice setup.