I recently picked up a really early Musicmaster II -- according to my information, this guitar was made two months before the IIs and the Mustang were even announced. Everything is dated June 1964 (neck, pots, pickups), it's got the spaghetti decal, and a low L28*** serial number.
It's my first short scale guitar -- and it's serving its purpose: I can finally play those John Lennon rhythm parts! (Strings help for this: just after taking these pictures, I put on some 13 flat wounds, which are staying in tune nicely and sound great)
wow. it could have been assembled after june '64 of course, using left over stock from the older musicmasters/duos and the new style body etc. but still, i've never seen another stock model quite like it.
Looks a bit more pristine in the pictures than in person. But definitely kept in spectacularly good shape. I feel a bit guilty playing it. But not so guilty as I'd feel with humbuckers :)
She only seems to have the two she always plays, though, the white Duo and the red MM. When I saw her, she played both:
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MM.
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Duo.
It's funny. When I think of the definitive short scale album, I think of Exile in Guyville because that album captures the raw tone of a Duo Sonic like no other album. I mean, sure John McLaughlin played a Musicmaster on all those Miles Davis albums, but he doesn't exactly sound like a normal person would playing one of those guitars, whereas Liz does. I became interested in Mustangs out of a case of mistaken identity (I thought her Duo was a Mustang).
anhammon wrote:The neck is definitely the new style (judging from the headstock) -- so I guess only the pickups and electronics could be from the older stock?
