Mustang Bass: Vintage Vs. Reissue

dumb donnie · Post by **dumb donnie** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 5:47 pm

I'm a recent convert to short scale basses. I'm not entirely sold on short scale guitars yet (I have big hands and the two don't seem to fit).

Anyway, I'm desperately lusting after a Mustang bass and I, admittedly, don't know all that much about them. Obviously, it would be a lot easier to pick up a reissue, but how are they compared to the originals? Is it worth saving up for a little bit and picking up an older bass?

What is the quality of the hardware / electronics on the reissues? Does anything need to be replaced out of the box?

Any information that you guys can give me is greatly appreciated.

SKC Willie · Post by **SKC Willie** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 5:56 pm

I feel like the Vintage Mustang basses don't sell for that much more than the RIs.

Actually, on ebay there are some Reissues selling for more than the Vintage. I would go with a Vintage bass.

robroe · Post by **robroe** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 6:04 pm

i got my RI for 300 bucks at guitarcenter used. STUPID FUCKERS.

BEST DEAL EVER.

i can answer any questions you got about mine. never played or A/B a vintage one though

Viljami · Post by **Viljami** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 6:21 pm

Like I said on the other thread, the only thing I'd change with the RI's is the shielding, or the lack of. That and the annoying fact that I can't find any replacement pickguards or pickups here. Pickups are nice, but if I ever want to change it, I'll have zero options. No idea what the originals are like. Probably really sweet.

robroe · Post by **robroe** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 6:25 pm

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/d ... /mstgbass/

the stock pickups in a RI mustang bass are made by seymour duncan. fender just doesn't advertise it.

you can actually order them brand new for 50 bucks if you have a project bass

http://www.marshallparts.com/content/es ... roduct=856

dumb donnie · Post by **dumb donnie** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 6:38 pm

robroe wrote: the stock pickups in a RI mustang bass are made by seymour duncan. fender just doesn't advertise it.

Hmm, are you referring to the US/Mexican or Japanese Mustang bass pickups?

That leads me to a new question, is there a difference between US/Mexican and Japanese basses?

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 6:39 pm

the reissues are made in japan, you don't get mexican or american mustang basses.

robroe · Post by **robroe** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 7:07 pm

stewart wrote:the reissues are made in japan, you don't get mexican or american mustang basses.

robroe · Post by **robroe** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 7:08 pm

RI mustang basses are all made in japan. and unlabled "duncan designed" go in them also made in japan.

dumb donnie · Post by **dumb donnie** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 7:57 pm

That's weird, I wonder why they don't advertise that Seymour Duncan designed the pickups?

captain38 · Post by **captain38** » Wed Mar 03, 2010 9:35 pm

I've got a 1971 mustang bass that I LOVE! (unfortunately I think I have to sell it to pay the bills)...I got this thing after I had tried a few of the reissues at different guitar shops. I don't know how to describe it, mine feels more real...does that make sense? There was less of a toy feel to my bass...it was very legit feeling...only smaller. with that said, I still think that the RI's are pretty good.

Billy3000 · Post by **Billy3000** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 5:08 am

I've played a couple vintage mustang basses and reissues too. Honestly, they don't sound much different. All the reissues have been much lighter than the vintage ones I've played though.

rodvonbon · Post by **rodvonbon** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 6:14 am

I've been a bass player longer than I've played guitar and to me, a new bass is much more comfortable to play than an old one. In my stock right now I've got 2 reissue Mustang basses and an Jag bass. There have been vintage Mustangs I owned that I sold due to the fact that they don't offer anything more than reissues do. It's all a matter of opinion, but the feel of a broken in guitar is the complete opposite when it comes to playing bass. There's no 'mojo' tone an old bass can offer that I can't get out of a descent tube bass amp and a properly set up bass.

btw, I think I just died a little inside using the term 'mojo'.

astro · Post by **astro** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 11:29 pm

I have an OG Mustang Bass from 1978, as well as a 2008 Japanese reissue.

The pickups are different, but both are quite nice. Fender does advertise that the RI pickups are made by Seymour Duncan, but only on the Japanese web sites for some reason. The reissue pickup is a bit brighter, the vintage pickup sounds more "vintagey" if that makes any sense. Both sound like a good P-Bass, with a bit more mids. The pickups are also of slightly different sizes, but right now I don't remember which one is slightly larger. They are constructed differently, but I'm not sure what all the details are, other than the fact that the vintage pickups have longer magnets, which extend from the bottom of the pickup.

The necks are also different. The vintage one has a wider nut, like on a P-bass. The reissue has a narrower nut like on a Jazz bass. Both have thin, fast necks, and are comfortable to play, even with my sausage fingers. But the reissue's neck is just a little bit faster to play.

The bodies are usually poplar on the vintage ones, with some ash bodies made in the mid-1970's. The reissues all come with alder bodies. The originals that were made after 1968 all have contours on the body, unlike the reissues that only come with slab bodies, (even the competition models). The vintage models also have a thumbrest on the pickguard, as well as adjustable foam string mutes at the bridge. Neither of these features are particularly sought after by modern players, and are omitted on the Japanese reissues. I don't miss them. And of course the reissues come with different finishes than the vintage models.

The originals had two small brass shielding plates, one underneath the pickup and another underneath the control plate. The reissue has no shielding, but I don't believe that it makes a difference because my RI doesn't generate any noise, just like the vintage one. They both use a humbucking pickup, so noise shouldn't be a problem in either case unless something is improperly grounded in the electronics.

Both types are excellent basses, so unless you're looking for a particular feature that only one version has, I'd say go for either one that's available for cheap. If you're lucky you can score a used vintage model for as little as $600, but often I've seen people sell the reissues for as little as $400 or less. I suspect that the vintage models will soon start climbing in price though, because it's one of the only remaining vintage Fenders that has remained affordable to working musicians, so I'm sure the collectors are going to start snapping them up.

astro · Post by **astro** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 11:30 pm

Oh, and there were never any Mexican made Mustang basses. The original are made in the USA and the reissues are all made in Japan.

Dice · Post by **Dice** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 6:54 pm

There is a sunburst '75 at the same shop I bought my Bronco at today. It is very clean - and they have it listed on eBay. Seller is LiquidAssets-MT or something like that on eBay.

I'll find a link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-1973-Fender ... 335ac1410a

Billy3000 · Post by **Billy3000** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 11:07 pm

astro wrote: Both sound like a good P-Bass, with a bit more mids.

yea I would definitely say they sound pretty p-bassy... except a little bit thinner.