Gasman Posted July 4, 2023 Share Posted July 4, 2023 After unexpectedly having the chance to try out a Fender Mustang last week I got enthusiastic about buying one for myself, or at least something similar like the Squier Rascal, as a complete change from my conventional J and MM big boys - fast fingering, low weight, what's not to like? Sanity prevailed when I remembered my rapidly diminishing bank account (two privately rebuilt teeth recently = £2k) and the fact that I still had that old Fenton Weill bass up in the loft that I was given in 1974 - vintage even then! - surely that was a shorty and worth another try before splashing more cash? When I was first given it the poor old thing had a very tatty dark maroon finish, a cracked scratch plate and two non-functioning tuners. Nowadays that might have added value by making it 'road-worn' but back then I had no qualms about restoring it. The paint was stripped back to natural wood, the whole thing polyurethane lacquered, the tuners were all replaced, new pot-knobs fitted and I had a new scratch-plate made by Taffy, a very clever tech in Yeovil where I was living at the time. It was my only bass until '79, when I splashed out on a new Jazz, at which point it went into storage. So I recovered it from the loft last week 44 years later, fitted a new set of Tru-Bass strings and plugged it into my Cube 100w combo for a trip down nostalgia lane. Wow! The very punchy sound from those twin PUPs was still there, the 30" neck and floating bridge were a pleasure to play on and it still looks (to me) amazing for a 60-year-old bass. Downsides? Well, it weighs in at 10lb (4.5 kilos)so it's no lightweight and the neck is pretty narrow (40mm at the nut) - not for the sausage-fingered, I think, although fine for my cute little mitts! It's going on-stage this weekend, should be fun. Does anyone else play one of these or anything similar? Here are some pix of the beast... 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted July 4, 2023 Share Posted July 4, 2023 That"s one of the coolest instruments I've seen in a long time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted July 5, 2023 Share Posted July 5, 2023 I love these. Only ever seen one of them in the flesh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted July 5, 2023 Share Posted July 5, 2023 Very cool. Sad that the lovely wood grain is on the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cestrian Posted July 5, 2023 Share Posted July 5, 2023 I’ve got one. All original as far as I’m aware. Don’t play it as often as I’d like because I tend to use my Mustang. Really fond of it though. Affectionately known as Martian Cricket Bats in some quarters. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gasman Posted July 5, 2023 Author Share Posted July 5, 2023 (edited) Lovely original condition! Interesting - same body and PUPs as mine, different tuner arrangement on the headstock, plus double-layer scratch-plate and some switches! I wonder what year ours are? Yes, the Martian Cricket Bat soubriquet is very appropriate given the neck profile, although maybe it's more like a baseball bat... Edited July 5, 2023 by Gasman more info added Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueMoon Posted July 5, 2023 Share Posted July 5, 2023 I didn’t know that they made instruments. That’s a new learning for me! Back in the day I had a Fenton Weill amp/combo though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted July 5, 2023 Share Posted July 5, 2023 There was a hollow body violin style weird thing on ebay recently. You can see the 60s influence designs there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloke_zero Posted July 5, 2023 Share Posted July 5, 2023 4 hours ago, Cestrian said: I’ve got one. All original as far as I’m aware. Don’t play it as often as I’d like because I tend to use my Mustang. Really fond of it though. Affectionately known as Martian Cricket Bats in some quarters. Cool! What do the knobs and switches do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cestrian Posted July 5, 2023 Share Posted July 5, 2023 13 minutes ago, bloke_zero said: Cool! What do the knobs and switches do? I wish I knew. Some of them don’t make any discernible difference. Quick look on the internet suggests mine is from 1962. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gasman Posted July 6, 2023 Author Share Posted July 6, 2023 (edited) Yes, looking on the ‘Black Guitar’ vintage guitar website, mine looks like a ‘61 Contrabass. New price £58 for the guitar and £25 for the rather basic (mmm!) case, total £83 in 1961, equivalent of £1910 today! Edited July 6, 2023 by Gasman Added £ value today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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