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Which pickup is in this '69 Fender Mustang?


BassAgent
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So there's a '69 Mustang on a Dutch website and the guy asks way too much money for it. So I sent him an e-mail and he's coming to my house tomorrow to determine how original it is, and what it's worth. There are only 2 pics, one of which is the headstock (looks legit from the picture) and then there's this one, of the whole bass:

$_86.JPG
 

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I have no idea! Gonna find that out tonight. A dude at TalkBass has found out what it is:

By the looks of it, it's the same Maxon model that was commonly used on Japanese basses of the early '70s. Actually a single-coil - the screws on either side are merely decorative.

2455139maxon_pickup-jpg.3205941

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Well, I checked the bass today. It's not a '69, it's a '72. The neck (including tuners, frets and neck plate) is 100% original. So are the finish (which is a lot prettier in real life), the bridge and the control plate. The pickup, pickguard and pots are replacements and they haven't been very subtle in putting them in. The soldering on the pots is sloppy, the cavity for the pickup is kinda ugly and the knobs are hídeous. Looking through that, however, it has some real potential. It plays great. The original shielding copper plates are still there. I want to buy it (depending on the price) and reinstate its beauty.

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Cool detail: this mr. Torres (who was an employee at Fender in the late 60's and 70's) made the neck on this bass. He also made the neck on my '71 Precision.

Edited by BassAgent
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41 minutes ago, BassAgent said:

Well, I checked the bass today. It's not a '69, it's a '72. The neck (including tuners, frets and neck plate) is 100% original. So are the finish (which is a lot prettier in real life), the bridge and the control plate. The pickup, pickguard and pots are replacements and they haven't been very subtle in putting them in. The soldering on the pots is sloppy, the cavity for the pickup is kinda ugly and the knobs are hídeous. Looking through that, however, it has some real potential. It plays great. The original shielding copper plates are still there. I want to buy it (depending on the price) and reinstate its beauty..

I would offer no more than the price of an early 1970s mustang neck.

The pickguard has been there for a long time by the looks of it... the body finish has aged around it and will look really odd with a correct pickguard. At a guess the routing for the pickup will have been done with the equivalent of a butter knife/soup spoon and it will need patching and a refinish to restore it to originality.

On the other hand, if it plays well and you get it cheap enough, t-cut it and insert a couple of Novak dark star pickups... oh my!

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The difficult bit is a pickguard. They seem hard to find (or I have to get them from the States which could turn out pretty darn expensive).

 

EDIT: Celebrated a bit too early. The dude said yes and then somebody added €250 to the price. Well, I'm not paying €1000 for it. So bad luck.

Edited by BassAgent
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20 hours ago, BassAgent said:

The difficult bit is a pickguard. They seem hard to find (or I have to get them from the States which could turn out pretty darn expensive).

 

EDIT: Celebrated a bit too early. The dude said yes and then somebody added €250 to the price. Well, I'm not paying €1000 for it. So bad luck.

What are the odds that the "buyer" who added the additional €250 pulls out? Sounds like an attempt to drive the price up to me.

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Nah, the guy was at my house when I checked it and he agreed on 750. I honestly believe someone offered him 1000 euros. I think the chances that the buyer will pull out are very small. The neck on this bass is amazing.

Edited by BassAgent
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22 hours ago, BassAgent said:

The difficult bit is a pickguard. They seem hard to find (or I have to get them from the States which could turn out pretty darn expensive).

 

EDIT: Celebrated a bit too early. The dude said yes and then somebody added €250 to the price. Well, I'm not paying €1000 for it. So bad luck.

That was a lucky break. No way is that heap of firewood worth 750 Euros. 75 maybe.

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