ShortScale.org

i bought a 68 musicmaster a couple years ago, recently i've been trying to verify it's authenticity/originality. here's what i found:

the neckplate serial number is 228918, indicating it's a '68, American made
(dating fender serial numbers: http://www.guitardaterproject.org/fender.aspx)

the pickup has the date 6-11-68 written on the underside

the neck code is 22SEP66A, indicating it's a maple neck, A-width, from September '66
(about deciphering fender neck codes: http://www.vintagerocker.com/fender/neck_dates.html)

the volume and tone knob serial numbers are 304 6631, indicating they are Stackpoles from the 31st week of '66
(about reading serial numbers on pots: http://home.provide.net/~cfh/pots.html)

the wiring and soldering looks original to me, but i'm no expert.

SO, is it normal that the neck and pots pre-date the body and pickup by 2 full years?! or is this an indication that parts have been swapped? Additionally, it has been pointed out to me that the headstock decal is not original. The neck/frets/fingerboard hardly show any wear, while the body has the small nicks/dings/small cracks in the finish that you would expect from a 43-year-old instrument. Also, the "22" on the heel of the neck is almost completely rubbed off, with just the faintest indication that it was there... (see picture on photobucket link below) I'm guessing the neck was refinished however many years go, the original decal came off and this new slightly-more-modern decal was put on. Just an assumption but it's the only thing that seems to make sense to me...

here are some pictures:
http://s1179.photobucket.com/albums/x39 ... le%20size/

Anyway, just trying to solve this puzzle. Any help/info would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Eric

I think it's actually not too uncommon for Fender guitars after CBS took over to have mis-matching dates between all the parts. I didn't think this started happening until the 70's when it's pretty common knowledge that they just started pumping out necks and bodies, pickups, etc and stockpiling them and workers would just go to the shelves and grab what they needed to put together whatever they were making on any given day. That's why it's so hard to pinpoint an exact date on late 70's Fender stuff, especially the amps. It is certainly possible that this started happening with the budget models like the musicmaster/duo-sonic/mustang even earlier in the 60's when CBS took over.

This is purely just speculation on my part, so don't take it as 100% truth, but I wouldn't be shocked if it was all original, and just assembled with parts that were made 2 years apart.

The neck is weird but the pots are not. Fender bought a huge stockpile of pots from CTS in 1966 that if I remember right they used up to the 70's

those were my thoughts too... but then the fact that the headstock decal is not original kinda throws an extra question mark in there. i guess it's never possible to fully determine a guitars history after 43 years go by, but i'm trying!

I guess even the necks were outproduced too ie fender swinger

it's maybe just a parts guitar.

Billy3000 wrote:I think it's actually not too uncommon for Fender guitars after CBS took over to have mis-matching dates between all the parts. I didn't think this started happening until the 70's when it's pretty common knowledge that they just started pumping out necks and bodies, pickups, etc and stockpiling them and workers would just go to the shelves and grab what they needed to put together whatever they were making on any given day. That's why it's so hard to pinpoint an exact date on late 70's Fender stuff, especially the amps. It is certainly possible that this started happening with the budget models like the musicmaster/duo-sonic/mustang even earlier in the 60's when CBS took over.

This is purely just speculation on my part, so don't take it as 100% truth, but I wouldn't be shocked if it was all original, and just assembled with parts that were made 2 years apart.

+1,

Fender had a large surplus of 1966 shortscale necks.

Almost all swingers (made in 1969) have 1966 necks. (as jim mentioned)

I owned an all original 1975 musicmaster that had a 1966 stamped neck - By far the biggest age gap I've seen.

thanks for the info sven. i had read of the surplus of pots but never heard anything about surplus necks... appreciated.

I guess it was the following year when Fender was thinking "wtf are we going to do with all these shortscale necks, lets make a guitar that looks like a retarded version of a gibson sg"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Swinger

interesting... is it possible then that maybe my headstock decal is actually original and is from a 66 musicmaster???
i was told it was not the right decal for a 68, but as i've since figured out it's a 66 neck...
can you tell from the picture in my photobucket link?
http://s1179.photobucket.com/albums/x39 ... le%20size/

jim93 wrote:The neck is weird but the pots are not. Fender bought a huge stockpile of pots from CTS in 1966 that if I remember right they used up to the 70's

Correct. Also, as others have mentioned, this is a short scale (22.5") neck from the pics earlier in the thread - Fender made WAY too many of those necks in '66; nearly all of the Swinger / Arrow / Musiclander guitars (made in '69) have '66 neck dates on them. The decal is the only thing that I find a bit funky - it's an early 60s era version - but they sometimes did use non-II series decals on the Musicmasters and Duo Sonics to use up old stock, and in theory, I suppose that could have still happened in '66 when the neck was made. Fender had spare leftover Duo Sonic II decals they were giving away up into the 80s - and that guitar was discontinued in '69.

With the possible exception of the headstock decal, there's nothing about that guitar that I can see from the pics that indicates tomfoolery or anything other than an all-original, authentic Fender.