The Fender Musicmaster Bass is a model of electric bass guitar, produced by Fender between 1971 and 1981.
As with its six-string counterpart, which was a stripped-down version of the Fender Mustang, the Musicmaster Bass is a simpler version of the Mustang Bass. It features a short 30 in (762 mm) scale. All of the Musicmaster's electronics are mounted onto a single piece of plastic.
Like many of Fender's other budget-priced guitars, the Musicmaster Bass used many surplus parts from other Fender models. The bodies were leftover Fender Mustang Bass bodies, while the pickups were six-pole guitar pickups, rather than four-pole bass pickups. Many players modified the bodies of their Musicmaster basses to accommodate Precision-style double pickups or enhanced electronics.
The Musicmaster Bass was introduced in 1971, and originally came in either black, red or white finish. Some very early issues were Daphne Blue with pearl pickguards.[1] Later, this was expanded to include many of the finishes present on other Fender guitars. Earlier models are distinguishable by their small headstock logo, lack of a serial number on the headstock, and small, triangular tuning keys; later models feature a much larger headstock logo, with a serial number silkscreened next to the "Fender" logo, and Mustang-style tuning keys.
The Musicmaster Bass was discontinued along with all of Fender's budget-priced models in 1981, with the introduction of the Fender Bullet Bass. They were reissued briefly by Squier in 1997 (Squier Vista Series). This model had strings through the body and four polepieces pickup. However, it was discontinued after only a year of production, and replaced with the Squier Bronco Bass, but retaining the six-pole pickup. Today, with the rise of indie and punk rock, vintage Musicmaster basses are becoming more collectible among Fender's vintage bass guitars, but are still much more affordable than many comparable vintage Fender models.
