Leaderboard

A bit late posting but here’s the draw https://fb.watch/C2HTnT-4e_/? The Midas has now gone to its new home and we raised a huge £10890! thanks to those who supported this project

These knobs. I think they tie things together nicely with their half black, half shiny nature.

Newest short scale to my collection 😍

Perhaps more of a cautionary tale in buying old school Trace Elliot equipment is that what you may find is that thirty plus year old gear will actually need some TLC and repairs to get them back to a solid gigging standard. My last find was a thirty four year old TE AH250 GP12 SMX head that was sold for parts or not working on a well known auction site. It arrived in very good cosmetic condition but needed a whole lot of work to bring it back to a usable gigging standard. The cooling fan circuit was shot, the mosfet output transistors were distorting badly, and the pre-amp needed a new tube. The power supply caps on the output board and the pre-amp were shot as well. Not all vintage Trace Elliot stuff is going to be a bargain once repair costs are factored in, but some of it is well worth spending some time and money on because at the end of the day you might well have an amp or cab that out performs anything that's currently available in the here and now for a fraction of the cost. Well thats IMHO.

In the final stages of completion . Just waiting for an additional control knob to come

New toy.

Ha, Annie Lennox is going to be so annoyed at that.

oh yeah definitely, it is a known fact that board gaps and empty spaces ruins tone and hinders you to play better. More gear is the only solution.

You have indeed stumbled upon the correct pronunciation. It is simply "neep" as in swede/turnip/rutabaga and "heid" as in head. A silly person, basically. I came up with it as my internet nom de guerre/plume because I was wanting a Hotmail address (in the pre Microsoft days, so around 1996?) with no numbers in it and I wondered what no American would think of.

When does it go from a collection to an obsession?!

Sold mine last year, if only it had the neck profile of the status, for me the nut was too narrow (38mm from memory) I read that Ned asked Stanley Clarke for advice on the neck to which he advised a narrow nut and deep front to back, neither to my tastes🤷‍♂️

Knobs. Eh? Heeheehee. I don't often find myself admiring a knob but those look good.

These are my two Japanese 🇯🇵 Fender Mustangs. After trying many US, MX and Squier Mustangs over the years, I always keep coming back to the Japanese models due to their slimmer necks. The one of the left is a Fiesta Red with an upgraded Nordstrand pickup and rocking a set of Rotosound flats. I am still getting used to these flats, they have a lower tension than the LaBella's on my other Mustang. I do like the Nordstrand pup, seems to open the sound a bit more and has a lovely midrange to it. I can do more chordal work on this bass and it seems to love modulation and time-based effects due to the added clarity. The one on the right is my go-to bass for the past several years. Candy Apple Red with an upgraded @KiOgon loom, as the original one was crapping out on me during sessions, a set of LaBella Mustang strings, and a set of roadworn J-Bass controls (large for vol, and small for tone) which I think look way better ☺️ This one is all low-mids, big round notes, pretty decent sustain too. Loves drives and fuzzes due to having a little less top-end. As far as I understand, Japanese Mustangs have an early 60's neck profile and the rest (US, MX, Squier) have a late 60's/70's neck profile. If anyone knows better, please shed some light. But this is something I have come to experience with Mustangs and agreed upon with other Mustang players in the past.

I have a dep gig on Saturday which has seen me spending the last two weeks learning a 32 song set list pretty much from scratch. I've played 8 of the songs before in bands, albeit in different keys and with different arrangements. Of the rest, there were 9 I heard for the first time when going through the list and the other 15 I am familiar with to a greater or lesser extent, having heard them on the radio over the years but never played. I was only given the keys; no charts or equivalent. I almost turned the gig down as it meant so much work and at a time when my main band was coming back to life after our summer break. But it was a favour for a mate and he's seen me right in the past with dep gigs and stepping in for me when asked. Last night was the first (and only) rehearsal. I was nervous as the band has a high standard. It's one thing to play along to the recordings but a completely different thing to play the songs in a band setting. I'm happy to say that it went really well and all those little bits I was unsure of seemed to go well. All the parts I'd worked out fitted and true to their word, the arrangements were almost identical to the originals. Where there were differences, I was able to read the BL's cues and come in/stop/slow down as required. Highlights for me were Oliver's Army, Pump It Up and Born to Run which, once I'd got the bass parts nailed, were great fun to play. There were a couple of songs in the set which, if I never play them again it will be too soon, but that's personal preference and I understand they go down well with the target audience. As an aside, we rehearsed in a local village hall. Just over 30 years ago, I rehearsed in the same hall with a band doing Britpop covers. I was the rhythm guitarist but as we worked up the band it became clear that I would be better suited to bass (the 'bassist' was a better guitarist than me - as were most people 🙂) and I moved over to bass duties. It was the first time I'd been a bassist rather than a person who occasionally played bass. Good memories. This was the debut of my Hohner 'The Jack' through the Peavey Minimax and TE 1x10 pair in a band scenario and it sounded great. I was complimented on the tone several times and there was plenty of volume left in the amp. It's a big gig so I'll be DI'd into the PA on the day, but I'll have the stack behind me for monitoring and a little extra 'oomph' as the band is generally very loud. I'm also working on a personal IEM mix so I can guarantee to hear my bass, and manage the on stage volumes of the others. If nothing else, the earbuds will act as ear plugs. Last night's kit. The pedal board has an HPF set to about 50hz, MS60b providing noisegate and tuning, NUX compressor, EHX Bass Clone, NUX Voodoo Vibe (currently my favourite modulation effect) going in to the Ampeg SCRDI.

Erm, like this?

It's like when you watch those "isolated bass" videos on Youtube - the tone is often pretty unpleasant when solo'd, but perfect when heard in its proper context. I got to hear that first hand the last time the band and I did some recording earlier this year - I laid down some fretless, and once it was in the mix with heavy guitars and a drummer who's not shy with his double-kick pedal, it became a bit hard to hear. Just sorta rumbled under everything. So the engineer and I sat down, we tweaked the compression (I use a fair bit of compression anyway), added some overdrive and did a little EQ'ing and frequency slotting, and, all of a sudden, there it was, a big, warm, supportive-yet-audible fretless tone. Soloed it doesn't sound great, but it works when combined with everything else.

fretless Stingray 2EQ FTT Silky Comp VCA type Wounded Paw very light overdrive joy to the world

There's some really interesting tonal interactions you can get with a combination of a fretless, a compressor and some overdrive - with the right balance, you get a tone that is creamy and warm, but cuts through everything and sits perfectly in a mix without overwhelming everything else. You're playing the effects as much as you're playing the bass at that point, but it's worth it.

Screw holes now countersunk!

I now find 4 strings weird.I skip over them in the classified ads for sale like you wouldn't believe. In fact I wish could filter them out of the search listings 😄

Outstanding!

Second rehearsal with a group. I feel a little tricked into it, really. Told it was "rock", but ended up being 90% straight up blues rock...splitting hairs maybe. It isn't my thing at all, and not particularly enjoying it. They're unprepared and musically sloppy. . I'm almost certain that I won't continue. This makes me sad because I miss playing with people, but it doesn't *feel* right. Conundrum. Equipment wise, it was a Tech 21 VT Bass 500 head with a TC Electronic k 212 cab. It's louder than my usual Orange OBC115, but doesn't sound as warm. Bass was a Sire V5 (24 fret version). Pedalboard was tuner, Empress Bass Compressor and a Laney Digbeth DI pedal. I miss my stacked fuzz pedals.

We all know what happen when there is a gap

Oh bum! Hopefully it's not going to be an unpleasant trip with a sad outcome. All the best for your family and safe travels.

Looks like it will be!

OC2 clone > mammoth clone > Alembic tube pre “clone”> tuner/mod/delay/reverb/everything else that I think I need from tone3000, mounted on a pedalboard riser powered by you know what.

I’ve had three Mustangs this year. I still have the 2023 American Performer in ‘Aubergine’ which I’ve almost sold a couple of times, but secretly I’m glad it’s still around. It’s strung with cut down Elixir 40-95’s (Fender put 40-100 on as standard) and plays & sounds phenomenal. I also had one of the Vintera II’s in “Competition Burgundy” for a while, which was a fine bass, but I didn’t like it as much as the American Performer. It came with Labella Flats which sounded very dull and had far too much tension, so I changed them for a set of Thomastik Jazz Flats I had. Better, but still don’t particularly like flat wound strings. (Don’t shoot me!) = And for about five minutes I had one of the Player series Cherry Burst P&J’s. This was the biggest disappointment. Yes, it sounded huge, but it sounded like any given P&J full sized Precision. Not at all like a Mustang. There was none of that short scale delicacy to the sound.

My JMJ as featured on Mustang gig bag thread (https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/329743-mustang-bass-dimensions-for-gig-bags/) )

Hey everyone! I’ve followed Bass Chat for a number of years but only just joined the community properly. My name’s Dan, and I’ve been playing bass for around 20 years. I’m lucky enough to work in the music industry through my own music studio and events company, and I also play in a few different bands. Earlier this year, I was fortunate to join the artist rosters for both Blackstar and Alpher Instruments, which has been a real highlight for me. Over the years I’ve owned more basses than I can count, but lately I’ve found myself gravitating more and more toward short scales. My JMJ Mustang has actually stuck with me longer than most others, which says a lot! I’m a huge advocate for short scales—not just for their mojo and unique vibe, but also for how playable they are. One thing worth mentioning is that I developed a tendon issue in my right hand about 3–4 years ago (likely from overplaying). Because of that, longer-scale instruments aren’t always an option for me, but the lower tension of short scales means I can still play comfortably for much longer. So, I’m partly here to say hi, and partly to share my appreciation for short scales. Really looking forward to being part of the conversation!

Left it for a few days, then did a proper flatten and polish - 1500 > 2000 > 2500 grit wet sanding followed by Meguiars Ultimate Compound for the final polish. First time using Meguiars and wow, I'm sold. The compound plus a microfibre cloth and job's a good 'un! Not quite the "sheet of glass", but for a first go by an absolute beginner amateur who has never done anything like this before in his life, I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. It looks... intentional? Looks better than this IRL. The camera does lie! So, as you can gather, it's all back together again. Gave the fretboard a drink of lemon oil which it greedily accepted. I can happily proclaim the outcome of my first ever full fret level and crowning to be a success - no high frets, no buzzes, very happy with that! It's playing pretty damn well, took a setup like a champ. Truss rod on this super cheap neck is working great - obviously it was pretty slack from when I was doing the fret level, so when I put a fresh set of D'addario XLs on it it bent like a banana. No matter, a full turn on the truss rod and it was back to straight - actually too straight for my liking so I loosened it about an 1/8 of a turn and then there was a sliver of relief - just how I like it. Nut height feels OK to me - I'm no expert but I'm whizzing around the low frets no bother so I guess it's good. There are only some minor things to sort out now. The rotten bit at the bottom/back of the body. I'm not wedded to these amber speed knobs. I get quite a bit of touch buzz off the pole pieces of the Warman pickup and because it's fully epoxy potted, there's no way to earth them from the back, so unless I've done something wrong in the wiring, I'll have to do the old "lacquer/nail varnish on the pole pieces" trick. And because some of you care about these things, it weighs 3.7kg/8.15lbs on the bathroom scales. It's not a heavy bass by any means, but it has enough heft to keep me happy.

I'm glad there are others with email addresses chosen in a moment of madness and still going decades later...

Newest Mustang to my collection 🙏 Atelier Z Baby Z… Purchased on here actually. 🙌 IMG_5368.mov

Hi all! Great page!

Interesting... Tried the new intro song... it was going to be solo acoustic but we thought we'd put in some subtle backing. It's tricky with some dropped beats, but with the vocals it makes sense. I swapped a bass riff (inspired by Cirrus Minor) to a different song so had to invent a replacement. I suggested a big tempo change that rescued another song. For my troubles I got threatened by a clown armed with a rubber sledgehammer, but the vocalist cut his face off with a plastic chainsaw... the gig will be memorable! True confession... I'm starting to enjoy plectrum playing (perhaps because the extra practice is making me better at it).

Hi folks. I just wanted to show an idea I developed and turned into a product having had some issues with guitar stands damaging my basses. Id love to be able to get it to market and I’d also love to hear some feedback from you guys ..

The Steinberger L2 will always be the bass I wanted most but never got. It's a beautiful object. Some people used to complain the sound lacked the warmth of wood. It was supposed to! These basses had a tone all of their own and it's unique. I love it. I too remember when these basses first came out. In 1982 the UK retail was £999, and Soundwave in Essex were the sole importer. That's about £3500 in today's money. At that time I was lucky if I could muster £9.99, so it was just a dream in those days, but I passed on buying one in the late '80's and the early '90's when I easily could have, and then before you know it thirty years has passed, Steinberger are long gone and it's all ancient history. Regrets? I've had a few.

Here are a few I’ve owned over the years - still holding on to my JMJ. I also own a Fender Mustang PJ II in white and have an Atelier Z Baby Z on order. Over the years I’ve probably had 10–12 Mustang-shaped basses in total. Highlights (and lowlights!) include: - A Firemist Gold Fender PJ - A second 1978 Musicmaster in white (honestly pretty rough, definitely not my favourite) - The natural-finish ’78 Musicmaster pictured below - one I really regret selling - A couple of heavily modded Squier Broncos - One pictured below So at the moment I’m down to three in the collection, but Mustangs just keep finding their way back to me.

I have a few basses but this is still one of my favourites. I think if I could only have one this would probably be it.