Musicmasters

[Bluester]

I'm very interested in these guitars, I think they are very cool. My uncle has a '62 that is nice. It's hard to play it normal, but I want to use it for slide. Does anyone own one of these, with the small bridge? Are they worth buying as a slide guitar?

[Phil Jacoby]

If a guitar fits you, great, if not...

I came really close to buying a '59 in desert sand with the anodized guard. I didn't really like playing it but I thought it would be cool to have for my daughter. Afterall, it was Fender's most affordable guitar and was designed for small hands.

If it has the mojo for you, great. Seems like most of the original Danos/Silvertones etc have been wicked for slide. The two PU versions are in series with both PUs selected and they honk.

Best wishes!

[Jimi's Bolero]

what about musicmaster basses?

I had an old one I sold cheap ( $200 cdn) because I thought it sounded awful....but at the time I was using it through a twin reverb, not a bass amp!!

:fall

didn't know much at the time.....anyway, are these any good as basses?

[Knobby]

Well, I had one, and a Musicmaster bass incendentally for a while.

I wouldn't say the guitars were too hot for slide - especially the older ones. Older ones are fairly narrow, low nuts, and a very round radius. I think a flatter one like on the beforementioned Danos would be more appropriate (and a cheaper mod).

Musicmaster basses are fun! You can rip on the smaller scale and they are pretty comfy. The pickups aren't the greatest, but that's what the eq on the bass amp is for! Also, I was thinking about sending my MM pickup to somebody like Fralin (or somebody) and have him do a number on it. Wind it like a Tele bass one!

Anyhow...

Had a pair of Fender Bronco guitars too for a while. Traded the Musicmaster, and both Broncos for my '66 Jazzmaster.

[Jim Shine]

I have had a number of Musicmaster's spanning from the 1956 pre-productions to the last ones made around 1981. The "type 1" style can be hard to get used to if you have big hands. I keep one around as a travel guitar more or less.

[Casey4s]

I have never played a Musicmaster guitar but about 15 years ago we needed a bass player in a hurry so I got demoted to bass player and i didn't want to buy a bass for temp duty (turned out to be about 8 years) I borrowed a Musicmaster Bass from a friend and I thought it played pretty well actually. The 3/4 scale made it a lot easier to make the transition from guitar. I played it through an Ampeg VT-22 into a 2x12 bass cab with a horn, it didn't sound bad.

Finally I had to give it back and so bought a P-Bass in white :nelson

[GuitarG]

I've got a '57 w/ the anodized guard. I've had it for a couple of years and rarely play it. It came with a non-original pickup (a Lace sensor-Yeccchh), which is probably why I haven't played it much.
Well this morning I put one of my old strat pickups in and on a whim tuned it to D. Sounds great for slide. The short scale takes some getting used to but overall I'm getting some nice tones. I may be playing this one a lot more now.

[dave hiwatt]

I got a 65' musicmaster II for my oldest daughter a few years back. It was in very sad shape when I got it for her. Somebody stripped most of the white paint off, slathered on thick coats of what looks like polyurethane and tried to cut a bridge pick up in. There were gobs of zip strip in the neck pocket and pickup cavities. This guy was a real genius. The pole pieces actually were between the strings and had a toggle switch to turn the pickup on and off. The neck looked like it was hardly played. More abuse than use. I played it and in spite of all its problems it sounded good, on the front pickup anyway. I took Kim over to play it and I could see by the look on her face that in spite of all it’s problems she had fallen in love with it. I bought it for her. I cleaned out the neck pocket and ordered a new mustang pickgaurd, put a 73’ strat bridge pick up at the bridge, and a 94’ strat middle pickup at the neck. I wired it like a mustang and it sounds and plays great!