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NGD (for now): Questions about the Mustang Bass

Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 1:19 pm
by CBA
HEEEEEEEEEEY.

Welp, at the request of Officer Bukowski, I got me a Mustang Bass. It's the Japanese reissue and it's a pretty solid bass. My first go with it was a little... I don't know... weird. I've never bought a brand new bass, so obviously it felt really... NEW. Haha.

Anyway, it's built well... there is a little bit of a gap in the neck pocket on the right side, but not on the back or left side, so I think that's alright. Other than that, it's a beauty.

I'm becoming more of a thumpy, 60's flavoured palm mute kind of bass player, and the Mustang sounds AWESOME with palm mutes. Really great. Like raw yet still ballsy. People say that short scale basses don't have as much oomph to them, but both my Hofner and this Mustang seem to be even bassier than my P-Bass (ON SALE NOW! ;) )... maybe I'm just nutz.

One question: Since I've never bought a new bass guitar, I'm not very used to the sound of these brand new Fender strings. They're really... metallic sounding. I figure that once I dirty them up and wear them in they'll sound a little darker... woodier or whatever. Is that true? Or should I just get some new strings? I thought about putting some flatwounds on it, but I don't want it to lose the raw punch when I palm mute. Specifically the low E string sounds pretty weird when you play it open... almost like it's chorused. Weird. It's a very round sound and not that thumpy/dark.

Second question: Where would you recommend that I get a good red tort pickguard for it? I like the brown one it came with, but I've always thought red pickguards on Mustangs look reeeeally hot.

Image


I want it to look like that. It didn't come with a "thumbrest", which I was just reading is not the proper term for that thing, but I'd like to install one. I don't use it, but I like how it looks. :)*


Yep.

C

Re: NGD (for now): Questions about the Mustang Bass

Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 1:24 pm
by aen
I gotta have flats on bass. Makes things sound and feel so gooooood.

Re: NGD (for now): Questions about the Mustang Bass

Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 2:06 pm
by Haki
CBA wrote:One question: Since I've never bought a new bass guitar, I'm not very used to the sound of these brand new Fender strings. They're really... metallic sounding. I figure that once I dirty them up and wear them in they'll sound a little darker... woodier or whatever. Is that true? Or should I just get some new strings? I thought about putting some flatwounds on it, but I don't want it to lose the raw punch when I palm mute. Specifically the low E string sounds pretty weird when you play it open... almost like it's chorused. Weird. It's a very round sound and not that thumpy/dark.

They'll get a little better, but even then I still didn't like them (both sound and feel). Might as well just get the strings you want on them right away.

Re: NGD (for now): Questions about the Mustang Bass

Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 2:30 pm
by CBA
Yeah, they're very "springy", and I'm not used to that sound at all.

I have no idea what strings are on my P-Bass, but they're like twice as thick as the ones on the Mustang.

Do you have a Mustang Bass, Haki?

C

Re: NGD (for now): Questions about the Mustang Bass

Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 3:59 pm
by Noise...
aen wrote:I gotta have flats on bass. Makes things sound and feel so gooooood.


This.

Also. Flats on bass+fuzz.

Basically, get flats.

Re: NGD (for now): Questions about the Mustang Bass

Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 4:23 pm
by CBA
I found a link to some specifically made for Mustang LaBella flats at Elderly Instruments, which is right up the road from me (well, like an hour)... so I'm going to order some of those. I got LaBella's for my Hofner Beatle Bass, and it totally transformed the instrument. Those are SUPER high-quality strings.

Anyway, yup, gonna do that!

C

Re: NGD (for now): Questions about the Mustang Bass

Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:18 pm
by Mudfuzz
aen wrote:I gotta have flats on bass. Makes things sound and feel so gooooood.

Re: NGD (for now): Questions about the Mustang Bass

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 7:19 pm
by metalmariachi
Flats check short scales here.
Check just strings
http://www.juststrings.com/
or Strings and beyond.
http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/

Threw TI Beatle bass flats on my Music Master they are sweet.
MM