72 Musicmaster Fretless Project

[ped]

Hi guys

 

Since I had my '66 Mustang modified (Resto-modded, I think is the term) by the amazing @Andyjr1515 I have found it to be an absolutely wonderful instrument in every way - it's properly floored me, so much so that I sold my other 4 string basses. Now I'm looking to create a fretless version with the same sort of vibe.

 

I say create, but I basically mean buy the bits and stick them together, and ask a competent luthier to fill in the vast gaps in my knowledge and skills. To that end, I have started a conversation with a recommended local luthier who will do some of this work.

 

So what am I working with?

 

Rather than de-fret a Musicmaster neck, I was lucky enough to score a Mustang (MIJ) neck on Facebook, which someone had already worked on. The truss rod has been replaced with an aluminium one and the fretboard replaced with ebony. The guy sounds quite experienced and I think it'll be a decent job. It cost me £200.

 

 

As for the rest - well, I was always going to need a pickup near the bridge, which Musicmasters don't have. Either I'd need to get something routed or try and find something pre destroyed. This came up on eBay, Reverb etc from Rich Tone Music in Sheffield. I have spoken to them about it a bit and decided to go for it. I think it was slightly over valued but I think it'll be pretty spot on for my project.

 

 

It's a 1972 Musicmaster that someone has put DiMarzio pickups in. The installation at the bridge is quite neat - indeed the neck is done quite nicely too (I saw pics under the scratch plate) but it is slightly wonky. But that's OK - I have a plan.

 

So the neck will come off and swap easily. The neck pickup can be wiggled to straighten it (there's a bit of space around the pickup, happily not a massive swimming pool but just a slightly looser cutout than the bridge, looks like an OK job). 

 

The electronics are, weirdly, vol/tone. One vol for both pickups (no pan). I will re-wire it instead to blend/tone as per my Mustang. I say I will, someone else will with me pestering them.

 

Once the pickup is repositioned I'll either need a new scratch plate or to work around it somehow. I have a plan for this too - reissue scratch plates have too many holes, and It would be nice to use the original. I don't have to be precious as it's obviously already been hacked away. I will widen the cutout to accommodate the moving of the pickup by a few degrees, then put a bezel around the new position, covering the gap left. Original guard stays on, and the neck pickup will gain a bezel, which I'll do in probably 3 ply w/b/w rectangle. 

 

Or, that fails and I get a new guard made using a tracing of mine.

 

Next - the neck. I'm after a glossy finish, so we're talking about epoxy coating/polishing. Of course this can happen later if needs be. I will be using rounds, so something hard to compliment the ebony, but something that can be re-finished eventually.

 

Finally - I might put a new bridge on, one with four saddle adjustability. I play in drop D (yes it works really well on the Mustang, even at 30") so independent adjustment for intonation is a must - I will probably need longer saddle screws for the fattest two strings, too.

 

So the bits are arriving over the coming weeks - I have a couple of weekends away and so forth but I will update here as I go, if anyone is interested! I will see if my luthier is interested in updating here too, though if I'm able to move the pickup and do the pick guard bit myself he might not have too much to do except this kind of thing on the neck:

 

 

So, a little bit crazy, potentially daft - but it went so well last time I thought why not?

 

Cheers, looking forward to tops/advice/commiseration as appropriate!

 

Crazy thing is that I'm not even any good on fretless 

[BassApprentice]

If it ends up looking anything like your Thunder-me-wotsit Mustang thing - this will look ace!

 

Like you, I'm bad at fretless. Then you listen to Pino or a bit of Pearl Jam and think I NEED one. Think I've had 4 or 5 fretless basses, none of which have lasted after gathering dust 😅

[Beedster]

43 minutes ago, ped said:

Hi guys

 

Since I had my '66 Mustang modified (Resto-modded, I think is the term) by the amazing @Andyjr1515 I have found it to be an absolutely wonderful instrument in every way - it's properly floored me, so much so that I sold my other 4 string basses. Now I'm looking to create a fretless version with the same sort of vibe.

 

I say create, but I basically mean buy the bits and stick them together, and ask a competent luthier to fill in the vast gaps in my knowledge and skills. To that end, I have started a conversation with a recommended local luthier who will do some of this work.

 

So what am I working with?

 

Rather than de-fret a Musicmaster neck, I was lucky enough to score a Mustang (MIJ) neck on Facebook, which someone had already worked on. The truss rod has been replaced with an aluminium one and the fretboard replaced with ebony. The guy sounds quite experienced and I think it'll be a decent job. It cost me £200.

 

 

As for the rest - well, I was always going to need a pickup near the bridge, which Musicmasters don't have. Either I'd need to get something routed or try and find something pre destroyed. This came up on eBay, Reverb etc from Rich Tone Music in Sheffield. I have spoken to them about it a bit and decided to go for it. I think it was slightly over valued but I think it'll be pretty spot on for my project.

 

 

It's a 1972 Musicmaster that someone has put DiMarzio pickups in. The installation at the bridge is quite neat - indeed the neck is done quite nicely too (I saw pics under the scratch plate) but it is slightly wonky. But that's OK - I have a plan.

 

So the neck will come off and swap easily. The neck pickup can be wiggled to straighten it (there's a bit of space around the pickup, happily not a massive swimming pool but just a slightly looser cutout than the bridge, looks like an OK job). 

 

The electronics are, weirdly, vol/tone. One vol for both pickups (no pan). I will re-wire it instead to blend/tone as per my Mustang. I say I will, someone else will with me pestering them.

 

Once the pickup is repositioned I'll either need a new scratch plate or to work around it somehow. I have a plan for this too - reissue scratch plates have too many holes, and It would be nice to use the original. I don't have to be precious as it's obviously already been hacked away. I will widen the cutout to accommodate the moving of the pickup by a few degrees, then put a bezel around the new position, covering the gap left. Original guard stays on, and the neck pickup will gain a bezel, which I'll do in probably 3 ply w/b/w rectangle. 

 

Or, that fails and I get a new guard made using a tracing of mine.

 

Next - the neck. I'm after a glossy finish, so we're talking about epoxy coating/polishing. Of course this can happen later if needs be. I will be using rounds, so something hard to compliment the ebony, but something that can be re-finished eventually.

 

Finally - I might put a new bridge on, one with four saddle adjustability. I play in drop D (yes it works really well on the Mustang, even at 30") so independent adjustment for intonation is a must - I will probably need longer saddle screws for the fattest two strings, too.

 

So the bits are arriving over the coming weeks - I have a couple of weekends away and so forth but I will update here as I go, if anyone is interested! I will see if my luthier is interested in updating here too, though if I'm able to move the pickup and do the pick guard bit myself he might not have too much to do except this kind of thing on the neck:

 

 

So, a little bit crazy, potentially daft - but it went so well last time I thought why not?

 

Cheers, looking forward to tops/advice/commiseration as appropriate!

 

Crazy thing is that I'm not even any good on fretless 

 

That neck..............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ped]

16 minutes ago, Beedster said:

 

That neck..............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Wot, the shiny one? Nice isn't it - though not mine. Just an example of the sort of thing I'm going for (hopefully possible with a decent starting point)

[ped]

If I want to put a Musicmaster decal on the Mustang neck, is that a mission? I guess the original needs stripping back and re-varnishing or something? Maybe not a massive headache if the neck is getting a glam up anyway? 

 

 

[ped]

...and is it possible to use the rear part and tuning key from the Musicmaster with the Mustang neck? The Mustang neck has the bigger string posts which is obviously much better, so wondered if I could combine the two (or is that being silly)

 

 

[BassApprentice]

Not sure about the tuners, by the decal is very straightforward. Sand off, tidy up, apply new decal, varnish/clear coat over. Done.

[Joe Nation]

In theory you can put smaller tuners in bigger holes if you have ferrules with the right inside and outside diameters. Whether such a thing exists or not, I don't know. Or you can plug and redrill the holes, but that's a lot of work. Those are nice tuners though.

[ped]

14 minutes ago, Joe Nation said:

In theory you can put smaller tuners in bigger holes if you have ferrules with the right inside and outside diameters. Whether such a thing exists or not, I don't know. Or you can plug and redrill the holes, but that's a lot of work. Those are nice tuners though.

Thanks. Yes I wanted to use the word ‘ferrules’ but wasn’t sure if I’d dreamt it. Ok - one to stuck in the maybe pile. The tuners on the Mustang neck are probably functionally just as good/better and as I won’t be playing it in tune anyway, it might not matter a great deal! 

[Beedster]

Ah, ferrules, tuners, holes, and the great mystery of just how f***ing difficult it can be to get all three to match. Best of luck 😂

[SpondonBassed]

Bushings!

 

Sorry, I couldn't contain myself.

 

3 hours ago, ped said:

Cheers, looking forward to tops/advice/commiseration as appropriate!

 

Heckling?

 

Seriously though, I'm following with interest.

[ped]

1 hour ago, ped said:

If I want to put a Musicmaster decal on the Mustang neck, is that a mission? I guess the original needs stripping back and re-varnishing or something? Maybe not a massive headache if the neck is getting a glam up anyway? 

 

 

The bloke who makes this particular logo is in the US, and won’t post to the UK (bit odd, I asked and he still said he wouldn’t) - do we have a good UK source for transfers? Prefer this like the one on the original neck as opposed to the later design. 

[Stub Mandrel]

I don't know why I'm asking as I need to save, but will you be selling the musicmaster neck?

 

 

[ped]

28 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I don't know why I'm asking as I need to save, but will you be selling the musicmaster neck?

 

 

Oh I need to save too!! I’m not sure yet - probably if everything goes to plan. 

[ped]

I think I got lucky with the neck on my Mustang; it’s perfect and the fretwork is impeccable and it’s solid as a rock. I’m not sure if Musicmasker necks are basically the same or not?
 

Of course for a fretless the neck needs to be spot on so hopefully the more modern Japanese neck will be fairly decent

[Andyjr1515]

I have to say, that shiny neck does look the absolute dog's wotsits!!  If you can get one/get one done like that, I'll be well impressed  

[ped]

Some gut shots:

 

Plenty of wiggle room to adjust the neck pickup. I’m talking to BC legend @KiOgon about a loom, probably balance/tone (maybe a varitone style selector somewhere, tbc. I want to use the original knobs and I’m allergic to stacked ones)

[ped]

1 minute ago, Andyjr1515 said:

I have to say, that shiny neck does look the absolute dog's wotsits!!  If you can get one/get one done like that, I'll be well impressed  

I’m talking to Steve at Chapel Guitars http://www.chapelguitars.com (found via the recommended luthiers thread here). He’s made the potentially fatal error of accepting the challenge! 

[KiOgon]

What fitting/size are the original knobs?

[ped]

7 minutes ago, KiOgon said:

What fitting/size are the original knobs?

 

If the same as my 'Stang they're 6mm push fit, I think. I don't necessarily mind using different knobs of the same style, or adding a third. I have some the same type which fit with a set screw which might work depending on the pots required. I'm just wondering were a third one would go - I'd like to keep the front mounted jack, and I'm not sure where else would fit with the existing routing, or where there might be space. Maybe a third in line with the others before the neck pickup, though it would be quite close - not a problem for my playing style but can't tell if there'd be room until I have the bits in hand....

 

For everyone else, I'm toying with the idea of a bland, tone, and varitone control with two different caps which would be quite tasty on a fretless. I think @devinebass has a similar arrangement on his Lull Jazz, using a push/pull to switch between the two, which is a good idea.

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, ped said:

I'm toying with the idea of a bland

 

An excellent choice for those James Last and Acker Bilk tunes.

[Si600]

2 hours ago, ped said:

The bloke who makes this particular logo is in the US, and won’t post to the UK (bit odd, I asked and he still said he wouldn’t) - do we have a good UK source for transfers? Prefer this like the one on the original neck as opposed to the later design. 

Push the boat out and get it sign written 

[Stub Mandrel]

2 hours ago, ped said:

The bloke who makes this particular logo is in the US, and won’t post to the UK (bit odd, I asked and he still said he wouldn’t) - do we have a good UK source for transfers? Prefer this like the one on the original neck as opposed to the later design. 

 

I can make transfers.

 

 

[ped]

12 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

I can make transfers.

 

 

 

Brilliant, I will drop you a line if things don't go tits up before we get to the logo stage!