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Please help ID. Musicmaster bass??

Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 9:28 pm
by blenin
Found this recently for a good deal, advertised as a Fender. It's been painted over but looks like a late 70's Musicmaster to me. Thoughts???
Image
Image

Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 9:33 pm
by DanHeron
Looks like a Fender. or maybe a Squier vista series. The pickup without a cover reminds of that.

Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 9:56 pm
by Billy3000
It looks too old to be a squier... granted the pics aren't the best quality, but it does look like it is aged and yellowed like a vintage musicmaster would look. If it is a vintage musicmaster then the pickup has been changed.

Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:00 pm
by blenin
It was actually painted yellow, as was the head stock so there is nothing to identify it. I read that the Vista's string through the back. Did the original Musicmasters??

Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:19 pm
by Lucamo
Does that pickup say vista tone on it? ask the seller, then it is a Squier pickup, so possibly a squier bass.

I have a vista series musicmaster bass, it is strung through, I believe the older fenders were not.

Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:23 pm
by blenin
I'll ask him. I was unaware of the Vista series but have been reading up on it. It seems that for $150, it would be a good deal either way.

Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:40 pm
by Lucamo
YEAH. a Great fucking deal.

The vista musicmaster is fucking good. I love it. Alot of balls for a shortscale.

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 12:13 am
by paul_
Looks like a Vista to me... dude, do it. $150 for a Vista = wow. If it's an old Fender, even wower.

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 12:41 am
by Billy3000
Yea, either way at $150 you're getting a hell of a deal!

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 12:52 am
by stewart
blenin wrote:I read that the Vista's string through the back. Did the original Musicmasters??
nope.

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 5:25 am
by Haze
Hell of a bass for that money. Great quality, those.

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 5:53 am
by Rox
Vista Musicmaster . For $150 it's a no brainer .

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 5:53 am
by Phil O'Keefe
Have a look at the neck plate, or have the seller send you a picture of the neck plate. If it has a Fender "F" on it, and a serial number, you can use the S/N to get an approximate date of manufacture. If it has the F but no date, then it was made in 1978 or later, and the serial number would have been on the headstock decal.

If the seller is willing to shoot some pics of the neck heel (requires unbolting the neck) there may be date codes there... they aren't always stamped, but if they are, that can tell you a lot about when the instrument was made.

It MIGHT be a Squier Vista, but I'm leaning more towards Fender Musicmaster. I can't say for certain either way though due to the small size and quality of the pics - I can't tell if the strings are anchoring at the bridge or going through the body.

FWIW, the strings do NOT go through the body on the Fender Musicmaster Bass; they DO go through the body on a Squier Vista Musicmaster Bass.

Here's a couple of Ebay auctions that clearly illustrate that:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender-Musicmaster- ... 35ade16965

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rare-Fender-Squier- ... 27b6bf905b

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 8:19 pm
by plesiosaurus
I see we're in the same area... I would guess vista mm from the uncovered pickup. I emailed the guy. He's clueless.

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 8:39 pm
by stewart
all he has to do is look at the back and see if it's string thru.

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 12:59 pm
by astrozombie
id pick this up regardless.

Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 5:20 pm
by blenin
Well, picked it up last night. What a great little bass! It is a Vista. Glad I got it.

Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 11:44 pm
by STRATONUCLEAR
Ding, Ding, Ding.....WE HAVE A WINNER! :lol:

Now, time for some more pictures??

Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 12:33 am
by blenin
Here is my daughter Olivia with it. I bought it for her to learn on...and for me to play with! I'll post some more of the bass itself later.Image

Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 12:35 am
by hotrodperlmutter
definitely leave graffiti yellow. find a squier vista logo for the headstock, and ROCK.