The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!

[Osiris]

With my JMJ I find that I need to very slightly adjust my right arm position if I'm anchoring my thumb on top of the pickup, but it's only a small shift and was very easy to adapt to and isn't an uncomfortable position - for me anyway! I flare the right elbow out a fraction so the forearm has clearance from the body edge and all is good, that's with the bass on a strap so it's more or less in the same position it would be when seated. But I tend to play with the thumb pushed up against the edge of the scratch plate much of the time and find that that's the most comfortable position for me and doesn't require any adjustment of the arm or hand position. 

[Lozz196]

1 hour ago, dmc79 said:

 

 

Thanks. I've put a new set of D'Addario EXL160M 50-105 nickel rounds on my MIJ Mustang. Already the tension feels better with the clacky flats off, especially on the E. The necks on these are ridiculous, so fast & easy, especially when combined with the reduced finger stretch of SS & Jazz nut. I like it a lot but the acid test will come when I stand and actually play it properly, and discover if I can deal with the lack of body & arm contours. Just a few mins standing at home with it strapped on, and I really miss the P bass arm contour particularly. I've never really even thought about the fact that it exists on a P body, until I play a bass without one. It's whether I can adjust hand positioning comfortably enough and get used to it, as playing with the slab body digging into my right wrist isn't much fun the way I'm used to playing. 

 

The neck is fantastic but time will tell if I can deal with the slab body. Am I right in thinking that the only Mustangs with a body contour are the 70s competition ones, and the current Vintera II 70s comp reissue ones? I can clearly see they have a body contour but can't make out from the pics if they also have an arm contour. Do they? I guess some people like the go-faster stripe, but I have to say I'm not one of them. Does a Mustang with body & arm contours and no stripe exist? @Lozz196 I guess you've adjusted ok to the lack of contours on the JMJ? 

 

I never notice it until I read about it, and even then I went and checked my JMJ to make sure. Could be something to do with being a pick player I suppose, or that in general I`m a non-noticer.

[ezbass]

Did anyone here pick up that Wilcock Mullarkey that was for sale?

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, dmc79 said:

I can clearly see they have a body contour but can't make out from the pics if they also have an arm contour. Do they?

Just watched a video and there is a forearm contour on the Vintera ll but hard to make out with the stripe.

 

 

Edited April 9 by ezbass

[Lozz196]

So given I appear to be developing arthritis in the knuckle on the thumb on my left (fretting) hand I’ve noticed playing my JMJ Mustangs a tad painful at times. So tried out my backup Squier CV60s Mustang a lot over the weekend, found the slimmer Jazz width neck much better for this so today picked up a Made In Japan Fender Mustang to be my main gigging bass. Have to put a set of Elixirs on it as it currently has Labella Mustang Flats which aren’t my thing. First impressions are a really nice bass with a very comfortable to play neck.

[dmc79]

19 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

 

So given I appear to be developing arthritis in the knuckle on the thumb on my left (fretting) hand I’ve noticed playing my JMJ Mustangs a tad painful at times. So tried out my backup Squier CV60s Mustang a lot over the weekend, found the slimmer Jazz width neck much better for this so today picked up a Made In Japan Fender Mustang to be my main gigging bass. Have to put a set of Elixirs on it as it currently has Labella Mustang Flats which aren’t my thing. First impressions are a really nice bass with a very comfortable to play neck.

 

Nice! I put the JMJ I tried up for sale the same day it arrived. I can sort of see why people like them, and I like the idea of a Mustang with P nut, but I found the neck really chunky front to back, even with the reduced scale I knew it was so thick that I wouldn’t find it easy on the fretting hand. 
 

I’m not sure even if I lucked out with a lighter one that it would have worked for me, but at 3.8Kg / 8.4lbs, it was barely any lighter than my P bass, so I moved it on quickly. I think that bass has changed hands a few times before and since, the JMJ seems popular but clearly it’s not for everyone. 
 

The MIJ Mustang neck has really surprised me with how easy it is to navigate. I’m a ‘dyed in the wool’ P player though, so I still need to see if I can adjust to SS. Come to think of it, I haven’t even plugged mine in yet! 
 

I’m guessing that Mustangs have better string tension than top loading SS basses? Overall it feels better to me than the SBMM SS Stingray I briefly tried, that had a lovely neck and contours, but the body looked very small on me and the reach to the first fret felt even shorter, it did feel like a glorified kids toy in that regard. 

 

Edited April 9 by dmc79

[Lozz196]

Yeah I think due to the thru-body stringing the tension is a bit more than on top loaders - I certainly found that to be the case on my reg scale US Fenders so can’t see why it wouldn’t be the same on short scale.

[martthebass]

12 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

So given I appear to be developing arthritis in the knuckle on the thumb on my left (fretting) hand I’ve noticed playing my JMJ Mustangs a tad painful at times. So tried out my backup Squier CV60s Mustang a lot over the weekend, found the slimmer Jazz width neck much better for this so today picked up a Made In Japan Fender Mustang to be my main gigging bass. Have to put a set of Elixirs on it as it currently has Labella Mustang Flats which aren’t my thing. First impressions are a really nice bass with a very comfortable to play neck.

I find the neck on my Mikey Way mustang to be more comfortable than the JMJ for similar reasons.  If it wasn't for the great sound on the JMJ, which I think is partly down to the chunkier neck I'd consider a swap over.

[martthebass]

12 hours ago, dmc79 said:

I’m guessing that Mustangs have better string tension than top loading SS basses? Overall it feels better to me than the SBMM SS Stingray I briefly tried, that had a lovely neck and contours, but the body looked very small on me and the reach to the first fret felt even shorter, it did feel like a glorified kids toy in that regard. 

 

Can't argue with that, I find it much easier to pull the G off the fretboard on my G&L Fallout than on my string through Mustangs.  I've put heavier gauge strings on my (new to me) Lionel and the tension is similar to the Mustangs.

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, martthebass said:

I find the neck on my Mikey Way mustang to be more comfortable than the JMJ for similar reasons.  If it wasn't for the great sound on the JMJ, which I think is partly down to the chunkier neck I'd consider a swap over.

Try it, it's not like it's not reversible. That SD custom pickup really is the bomb on the JMJ.

[three]

On 09/04/2024 at 11:27, ezbass said:

Did anyone here pick up that Wilcock Mullarkey that was for sale?

I didn't but I'd have been horribly tempted if I'd seen it in time - and it was just up the road.  All the Wilcocks I've played have been superb in every respect.  It's not difficult to understand why they're so sought-after

[meterman]

On 26/03/2024 at 01:04, shoulderpet said:

I owned a black Musicmaster at one point and I concur that they weigh a tonne, its the heaviest bass I ever owned, that thing must have weighed 14 pounds, it also sounded like mud regardless of what strings I used and the tone control was close to useless.

 

Regarding the E string I find a lighter gauge string helps, lighter will give more clarity and heavier will give more thud/thump.

I don’t know what Fender were making their Musicmaster basses from in the late 70s but mine was so insanely heavy that if you played it sitting down for more than about 45 minutes, your leg would go numb from the weight of it. It did sound really good though, I will admit.

 

I once put black nylon tapewounds on my short scale Shaftesbury tele bass copy and on the E string you couldn’t hear any difference in pitch until you got close up to the 12th fret. The gauge on the was 115, and it sort of sounded like “mfffffff” wherever you played. Never went heavier than 100 after that. Had a 95 E on a Hofner violin bass but that was still thud central.

[shoulderpet]

1 hour ago, meterman said:

I don’t know what Fender were making their Musicmaster basses from in the late 70s but mine was so insanely heavy that if you played it sitting down for more than about 45 minutes, your leg would go numb from the weight of it. It did sound really good though, I will admit.

Yeah mine was ridiculously heavy, sounds like yours sounded better than mine did though, mine was mud central.

[dmc79]

I’ve put my CIJ Mustang up for sale here if anyone is interested. Just don’t think Mustangs are my thing, despite it being a quality instrument. 

[ezbass]

Trying out a new drummer last night, I took my JMJ along as the guitar player had said how much he liked it and I’ve been playing my P bass almost exclusively since I acquired it, last year. I’d forgotten how easy the Mustang is to play, especially around the first position. Looks like the P will be taking a back seat for a while now. 

[Lozz196]

I used my new MIJ Mustang at rehearsal last night. Sounded great though a couple of buts. First I need to get some Ultralite tuners as it was dragging a bit on my shoulder towards the end. Second I really need to put some hours in on the thinner neck, on the more complicated parts of songs my fingers were falling over each other. For years I’ve played Precisions so am used to the wider necks, just got to get used to it which means hours & hours of playing - not a bad thing at all imo.

[Rumple]

3 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

I used my new MIJ Mustang at rehearsal last night. Sounded great though a couple of buts. First I need to get some Ultralite tuners as it was dragging a bit on my shoulder towards the end. Second I really need to put some hours in on the thinner neck, on the more complicated parts of songs my fingers were falling over each other. For years I’ve played Precisions so am used to the wider necks, just got to get used to it which means hours & hours of playing - not a bad thing at all imo.

 

If you do change the tuners for Ultralites, I could be interested in the JMJ ones for my Squier if you were to move them on. I do have a soft spot for lollipop tuners.

[martthebass]

4 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

I used my new MIJ Mustang at rehearsal last night. Sounded great though a couple of buts. First I need to get some Ultralite tuners as it was dragging a bit on my shoulder towards the end. Second I really need to put some hours in on the thinner neck, on the more complicated parts of songs my fingers were falling over each other. For years I’ve played Precisions so am used to the wider necks, just got to get used to it which means hours & hours of playing - not a bad thing at all imo.

I found the same with my CIJ Mustang, I was surprised as it was the same weight as my Mikey Way that is well balanced. Ended up selling as it irritated on long sets even with a good strap. Pity, it was a comp stripe and they’re going for silly cash now.

[Baloney Balderdash]

Most recent shot of my current main instrument of choice, my 5 strings Ibanez GSRM25 Mikro Bass, named "Mr. Growley - The Noodlemancer", with the latest visual mods I did to it :

 

You can read about it and the mods I did to it here:

 

Edited April 25 by Baloney Balderdash

[ped]

Recorded a bit of my 66 Mustang today. Backing track is my band, used Moises to remove the bass and put mine over. Backing track is only a demo so not 100% full quality but it gives you some idea. Love the sound of this bass, it just sits and pokes out when needed. 
 

 

 

[NHM]

15 hours ago, ped said:

Recorded a bit of my 66 Mustang today. Backing track is my band, used Moises to remove the bass and put mine over. Backing track is only a demo so not 100% full quality but it gives you some idea. Love the sound of this bass, it just sits and pokes out when needed. 
 

 

Sounds great - what strings are you using?

[Baloney Balderdash]

16 hours ago, ped said:

Recorded a bit of my 66 Mustang today. Backing track is my band, used Moises to remove the bass and put mine over. Backing track is only a demo so not 100% full quality but it gives you some idea. Love the sound of this bass, it just sits and pokes out when needed. 
 

 

The bass sounds great, pretty awesome bass line too, though not my personal taste of music, but does sound good, despite the low quality.

 

 

Edited April 26 by Baloney Balderdash

[ped]

Thanks! I'm dragging at the start but I'll spend longer on it at the weekend and do a better one.

 

 

[ped]

1 hour ago, NHM said:

Sounds great - what strings are you using?

Cheers they’re Elixir 45-105 steels. Bass is in drop D tuning. Should point out that it’s not a standard mustang though (full story here if you haven’t seen it! https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/471651-modding-a-66-mustang-really-really/page/5/

 

[scrumpymike]

20 hours ago, ped said:

Recorded a bit of my 66 Mustang today. Backing track is my band, used Moises to remove the bass and put mine over. Backing track is only a demo so not 100% full quality but it gives you some idea. Love the sound of this bass, it just sits and pokes out when needed. 
 

 

That's my favourite kind of bass tone - one you can slice with a carving knife! ☺️