Demo of Fender Musicmaster Bass and Squier Badtz Maru Bronco Bass

[ePRmu]

I have this exact bass. exact color and everything. how much do these typically run for?

[actionfleet]

short scale basses need a little overdrive (actually i like the sound of distorted shortscales more than the dist. sound of a longscale)

[bittertea]

Since you know a lot about the subject of pickups, I was wondering if you can recommend another decent pickup for the Badtz Maru Bass that is under 100 and doesn't require you to change the nob tone volume things. I'm a beginner and it doesn't pick up as much as I'd like. o.o; Appreciated.

[mbvglider]

@bittertea Bronco Bass is very easy to work on. You shouldn't have to change the tone or volume knobs at all for any upgrade pickups. I use the Lace Red Sensor, which I really like. Some other popular options are the Seymour Duncan Hot Rails and the DiMarzio Fast Track 2.

[yellofury]

I wanna be adored...nice man!

[xPsuedo]

@mbvglider

that dead low e sound is characteristic of most short scale basses. i have a cheap 30" scale sx p bass. the lower string tension makes the low e kind of floppy and unresponsive. maybe a high mass bridge or strings with higher tension would fix the problem. higher action helps too.

but the advantage, the higher strings sound less thin and it has more low end to it, which is pretty cool if you like to play lots of high bass melodies.

[tornmask]

the Squier (Fender) Bronco Bass is amazing!..wat i call a No Holds Barred instrument..it's very standard plain & simple bass guitar! =0]

[keef71]

re: the mustang bass, if you want to know what it should sound like in a rock setting, listen to 'status quo - live!' (live double album from 1976). bassist alan lancaster used a mustang for this - i think the mustang benefits from its split-pickup (which for some reason is not available as a fender spare part)

[tightpants2]

cool. looking forward to it.

[tightpants2]

dig it! im looking at a squier bronco. as if the musicmaster doesnt come with a 4 piece bridge! it does new, i think. but new it comes with a gross faded pink colour, so i can totally understand why whoever sold it to you refinished it. the blue looks quite nice actually.

[mbvglider]

@tightpants2 I think there was a line of Musicmaster Bass by Squier that had a 4-saddle bridge, but most Squier Bronco Basses and Fender Musicmaster Basses have the same 2-saddle bridge. It's really not that big a deal but still a bit annoying. Yeah, there's nothing wrong with the lake placid blue, it looks very nice.

Unfortunately, even after a pickup and string change, the Musicmaster just ain't getting the punch I thought I could get.

[tightpants2]

@mbvglider do you think you could do another video? i have a short scale that i really invested in without knowing much about the dead low end.. its very disheartening to have spent so much with such a big problem. what im concerned about is the very low end, on the E string. it's just quieter than the rest of the strings.

is that what you're talking about with the lack of punch?

[mbvglider]

@tightpants2 I will do another video soon. I'm in the process of working on the Musicmaster and I think I'm almost there.

Some short scales have a bad low end, others have better ones. These Mustang-style Fenders tend to have pretty good low end and I don't think they lack punch.

[tightpants2]

@mbvglider interesting. it could be the pickups. ive heard that my short scale, the gibson sg reissue, has a problem with the neck pickup.

acoustically though, the e is weak. on my long scale bass the e isnt. it seems to be a flaw in the build. its really depressing to think my 1000$ bass can be beat by a 150$ bronco in terms of the e string's low end. however, the bronco i've noted still has a bit of that problem. the musicmaster is still the best short scale i've played.

[mbvglider]

@tightpants2 Yeah if it's weak acoustically, there's not much that can be done, though you could try adjusting pickup height. I mean, it's not like the E is overpowering on the Bronco. I tend to play with a pick and I've made the Bronco to be a very bright sounding bass, but it still has a quite nice and even tone in my mind.

I am getting a Mustang soon and getting Rotosound flats for the Musicmaster, and then I'll try to make a video where I compare the Bronco, Musicmaster, and Mustang.

[PBL187]

@mbvglider lool why u not just get the mustang in the 1st place? is it possible to add a jazz bass bridge pickup on a bronco?

[mbvglider]

@PBL187 Mustangs are significantly more expensive and are not as easy to mod. Anyway, I think a modified Bronco sounds better than a stock Mustang and is like 1/3 the price.

[keef71]

@mbvglider squier did the musicmaster bass as part of the 'vista series' in the mid 90s? white, pink or pale blue, 4 saddle bridge, thru strung, 4-polepiece 'vista sonic' pickup.

i think with the short-scale fenders, you have to up the action and really dig in to get that characteristic 'bark' from the low strings