ped

They're fantastic quality - only a few minor signs of cost cutting such as a roughly cut pick guard and some minor setup required (though they provide tools and instructions). I'm sure if it was made in '66 it would be just as good as the other! Good idea to get her a YOB bass! You only have two months left.

This is why I should't be left alone during the week. I asked a friend about his Mustang bass, and he said I could borrow it to try out. I told myself it was so my niece could have her own bass when she comes round to 'play guitar' (which mostly consists of her pressing all the buttons and moving all the dials in my office/studio) I expected to want to change a few things on the bass ('Go for it' he said), but when it arrived I was floored with the little thing. I haven't played a Squier since my first bass, which was an Affinity P bass, which was great, but the neck in particular was pretty anaemic looking. This thing has a lovely dark tint; the fretwork is great (amazing for £300!) and I'm able to get a fairly low action without problems. I don't even mind the strings, despite having ordered some La Bella flats for it - I rather like the raspy little pickup and the poky sound. It's like a small happy dog and my regular P is like a calm Labrador. So now I have a pack of La Bella 760-MUS flats doing nothing. And you know what that means. I have gone fully down the rabbit hole, reading all about Mustangs and their history, even going back to Geddy Lee's book where they must have passed me by previously (tbh I was expecting Geddy to have some Stingrays, anyone know why not?) So then I bought this, because that's probably sensible right? A few days later I had a big vets bill which meant selling a lot of things (actually it was quite good to have a clear out) but when you're paying about £500 to boil a pan of water it puts things into perspective, so I decided to honour the agreement and get this thing posted. As you can see, it's a 1966 Mustang, from the first year of production - which would normally go for about £4500, but since this has been modified, allegedly in the 70s, with P/J pickups, it was to my mind great value. I'm not particularly worried about absolute originality, and rather like modified basses, especially if it makes them cheaper. The body, neck, hardware are all original as far as I know, and working perfectly. The neck is straight, the fretwork is lovely and the feel of the thing is spot on. Broken in but looked after, I'd say. The tuners are the lollipop style found for a short time around '66 when Fender made them in house to cut costs, I believe. The pickups are (we think) dimarzio (neck) and Fender (bridge) but I'll confirm at some stage. They sound great together, giving a nice 60s jazz growl together and individually the P sounds fantastic, like a mid heavy slightly more rubbery P sound with lots of articulation. The Jazz soloed is burpy and tight and not lacking in guts. Playing over the back pickup is more comfortable for me than on a regular sized jazz (not that full scale basses are difficult for me, I just wanted a mini P bass really) The slab body, as with my Stingray, to my eyes looks amazing (on the Squier, too) and really suits the narrower body. Super comfortable to rest your arm on, allowing the hand to naturally fall over the back of the P pickup. The controls are vol/vol - I am tempted to have them changed to balance/tone but I'm playing this bass 99% at home through my studio/headphone/bassboard setup where I can roll off the top end, although with flats and a custom foam insert (which slides in and out nicely) I'm really happy with the top end and can adjust it externally. I'll try and get some sounds recorded and post them here. The case is original and you can see the original owner was 'Victoria' which is pretty cool, can you imagine tracking her down now? Cheers ped

I spoke to David who sounded like a right legend, he said there's a 14 day money back guarantee and that he'll do something custom for you if required, such as a super hot overwound pickup with thinner wire, which he said I could swap for a standard set if I didn't like them. Sounds like they're worth a go.

I normally find the tracking number changes once it's landed and transferred to customs, at which point you can follow it as it's inspected, charges raised, then you call 'em. But it's probably different every time depending who's on strike.

Yeah you'll just have to wait and see. In either case as soon as it says awaiting charges, give them a ring. Some people say you need the 16 digit code in your letter, but most will happily let you pay with the tracking reference. If you get one of the former, hang up and try again!

Oh definitely, but it still deletes the final delay after all that initial messing about.

As soon as your item tracking says it's in customs, ring them and pay the fee - otherwise they send a letter which can take 3-4 days if Royal Fail can even be bothered

This should be front page news, under the headline 'the real cost of climate change' - just like when the war in Ukraine meant my mum couldn't get her knitting patterns any more! Glad you got it sorted, that must have been really mind boggling to happen especially to two basses at once.

Nice. One of the best Smiths I’ve played was a JJ Burner like that. Enjoy 👍🏼

Quite surprised how good the squier pickup sounds from those clips. Not much in it - the lollar sounds a bit more ‘open’

I’ve been talking to these guys https://www.northernpickups.co.uk/mustang-bass Worth a look imo

I think the LaBella Mustang set are probably about the same gauge as the stock strings but I could be wrong. With lighter strings I've never had to adjust a nut before but I don't mind having to if that's the case. I'll be tempted to give it a fret level and probably shield it too - I'll probably end up tinkering a fair bit!

Thanks. I think I’ll give those a go then👍🏼 I’m not planning on changing anything else but I saw a company in Yorkshire makes a replacement pickup which looks quite fruity from the specs https://www.northernpickups.co.uk/mustang-bass Can’t see any reviews though and the stock pickup sounds fine from the vids on YT

Thanks! Yes it looks like LaBella do 760FLMUS which are specifically through body. 43/60/82/104 seems like a fair increase over my FX long scale so reckon they'll feel quite familiar. That said, the bass sounds pretty nice with rounds: I expect it'll need some fettling to get it playing and feeling it's best but like I say it should fun... the only other Mustang I've played was a natural finish late 70s one that sounded terrible so let's see!

Hi folks I'm taking ownership of a Squier Mustang bass next week. I think it has the strings it came with on at the moment (anyone know what they are? I know they're rounds..) My preference for strings on standard scale: Flats - Labella 760fx (0.039 - 100ish) Rounds - Exlixir super light (40-95) I will probably want flat son the 'stand but given the reduction in scale I was thinking about the LaBella 760FL S Flat wound (43/60/82/104). These are short scale - various people say because of the thru body stringing that I'll need medium scale, but nobody seems certain! Anyone know? (edit - it says they're not suitable on LaBella site) Elixir never made short scale rounds but I might try chopping down a long scale set (I have plenty!) Anyone else have any particular recommendations? The Labellas are £40 form Bass Direct which seems good. I'm quite looking forward to checking out the Squier. Should be good fun! Cheers ped