Having said this, there are a lot worse guitars out there, and as well as being historically important, the 1820 bass can certainly provide the goods when required. Over the course of the 70s, the Japanese output improved dramatically, and in many ways these early 70s models are a low point for the brand. These new Epiphones were based on existing Matsumoku guitars, sharing body shapes, and hardware, but the Epiphone line was somewhat upgraded, with inlaid logos and a 2x2 peghead configuration. The Matsumoku factory had been producing guitars for export for some time, but the 1820 bass (alongside a number of guitar models and the 5120 electric acoustic bass) were the first Epiphone models to be made there. This was scratchplate mounted in a fairly central position, resulting in a pretty gritty midrange sound (listen to soundclips here) with just the usual tone and one volume controls to give a little variation - for the right band how much more would you need?īy the end of the 1960s, a decision had been made to move Epiphone guitar production from the USA (at the Kalamazoo plant where Gibson guitars were made), to Matsumoto in Japan, creating a line of guitars and basses significantly less expensive than the USA-built models (actually less than half the price). Although very simple, it does have some sturdy components, especially the bridge, and was certainly a more substantial instrument than many other 'entry-level' basses.Īlthough a good functioning bass, it could perhaps be considered a little limited tonally, having only one single-coil pickup. It was an easy-playing good quality, solid, reliable bass. The Musicmaster was Fender's least expensive bass model (in 1973, it had a list price of $139.50, compared to $293.50 for the Precision), and with the shorter 30" was scale perfect for student musicians. The only real difference is the position of the thumbrest, but then, this catalogue does re-use the image from the 1970 catalogue - the first appearance of the Fender Musicmaster bass. Have a look at the 1972 Fender catalogue, which has an almost identical guitar pictured. The bass pictured is completely typical example of an early Musicmaster.
FENDER MUSICMASTER BASS FULL
This bass guitar is in very good condition with only very minor cosmetic signs of play wear to the finish. This guitar has been given a full service by our luthiers at the Vintage Instrument Workshop, and includes a 3 year warranty.The Fender Musicmaster bass was a new instrument for the 1970s, being launched in the second half of the first year of the decade. The electronics and other hardware are original and correct, including the pearl pick guard that is only found on first year Musicmaster Bass examples. It is our opinion that this guitar was most likely refinished at some point in its life and the finish is in fact non original, however it certainly looks fantastic and lends a real unique quality to the instrument. As such, it is particularly difficult to authenticate these finishes in terms of their originality, as the same processes used on standard Fender custom colour finishes are not present. Fender did offer custom colour sparkle finishes, although these were outsourced to a local garage for spraying, with the finish not being applied in the Fender factory.
Musicmaster bass guitars were original offered in flat Red, White & Blue finishes. The beautiful Red Sparkle finish is the real draw on this particular instrument. These basses are renowned for their punchy, rounded sound and are often praised for the way they cut through the mix in a recording setting. With an Alder body and Maple neck with Rosewood fingerboard, the Musicmaster Bass features a single coil pickup as opposed to the split coil found on the Mustang bass, along with a shorter 30" scale length. This 1971 Fender Musicmaster Bass is a fantastic and unique example of the model from the first production year. Starting at the end of 1962, the neck pocket should have an area on the bass side void of any paint (but still stained yellow before painting) where the stick. The Fender Musicmaster Bass was introduced in 1971 to serve as a stripped down, entry level version of the Mustang bass, much like the 6 string Musicmaster guitar had been in the 1960's.
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