Why shouldn't I buy this '59 Musicmaster

Discussion of vintage Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Bass VIs, Electric XIIs and any other offset-waist instruments.
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MrLambyLamb
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Why shouldn't I buy this '59 Musicmaster

Post by MrLambyLamb » Wed Dec 18, 2019 10:20 am

Hey all, I'm a seasoned veteran of guitar buying, but I am thinking about making my first vintage purchase. I don't really know what to look out for, so I figured I would see if I'm missing something serious.

I'm considering buying this heavily modded '59 Musicmaster:

Image

https://reverb.com/item/26889591-fender ... board-1959

I like the mojo it has. So, I'm not concerned about that. I'm aware it has the 3/4 scale. That's fine too. There is life left in the frets. Is there some glaring issue I might be overlooking?

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nanamour
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Re: Why shouldn't I buy this '59 Musicmaster

Post by nanamour » Wed Dec 18, 2019 10:33 am

Cool guitar! I had an all original ‘61 Musicmaster (rosewood fretboard, desert tan finish) that was a wonderful instrument and I miss it dearly.

That said—I get that there’s going to be a bit of a markup for an earlier maple board, anodized guard model, but I feel that $1300 is pretty heinously overpriced for such a modded/non-original instrument. I bought my all-original 61 for just under $1200 and had a bit of a time reselling it at that.

But this looks like a fun, unique instrument, and at the end of the day it’s worth what you’re willing to pay for it.

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Re: Why shouldn't I buy this '59 Musicmaster

Post by HH1978 » Wed Dec 18, 2019 2:18 pm

I agree with everything Nanamour said.

I'll add two things :

1) the neck looks really beautiful!

2) Be aware that it's not only about the 3/4 scale. The nut width is substantially smaller too, and those necks feel really thin in the hand. I had two of those necks, but they really felt too small for me. I built a guitar for my son with one of them, and sold the other. In comparison, my Magnatone Zephyr has an even shorter scale (20" I believe), but feels good in my hand. The profile is not chunkier, but the width is bigger.

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Re: Why shouldn't I buy this '59 Musicmaster

Post by mgeek » Wed Dec 18, 2019 4:15 pm

Cosine on 'madly, insanely overpriced'. Unless they are willing to knock at least, say 600 off that

Maybe put a partscaster together?

BTW ebay 'sold' is always good for current going rate...it's way more enlightening than all the grifters with their pie in the sky pricing. I'd want to be paying significantly less, and also have the original pickup and ideally tuners.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R ... =1&_sop=16

*edit* one other thing, I remember when geeking out before i bought the '56 one I had, people saying jumbo frets really don't work on guitars with that short a scale, and whilst it's hard to tell from the single pic, they look quite wide to me.
Last edited by mgeek on Thu Dec 19, 2019 4:50 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Why shouldn't I buy this '59 Musicmaster

Post by Wil_66 » Wed Dec 18, 2019 4:24 pm

The fact that it has been routed for a humbucker and there's only one pic of the guitar would scare me away... I've seen nicer examples in the same ballpark price wise. But if ya gotta have it, then ya gotta have it 8)

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Re: Why shouldn't I buy this '59 Musicmaster

Post by MrLambyLamb » Wed Dec 18, 2019 6:29 pm

Thanks everyone for the comments. I’m waiting on some additional pictures before I make the call.

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Re: Why shouldn't I buy this '59 Musicmaster

Post by MrLambyLamb » Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:08 am

I opted to pass on this. In part because I never got the pictures. And in part because now I'm looking at a vintage Jag . . .

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Re: Why shouldn't I buy this '59 Musicmaster

Post by windmill » Sun Dec 22, 2019 1:06 pm

MrLambyLamb wrote:
Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:08 am
I opted to pass on this. In part because I never got the pictures. And in part because now I'm looking at a vintage Jag . . .
Where are the pics of that ?

:)

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Re: Why shouldn't I buy this '59 Musicmaster

Post by MrLambyLamb » Tue Dec 24, 2019 6:12 am

Here she is . . . 1965, pre-CBS, custom color Olympic White, and a matching headstock. This is going to scratch the issue a lot better than the Musicmaster.

Image

Image

Image

Image

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Re: Why shouldn't I buy this '59 Musicmaster

Post by Danley » Tue Dec 24, 2019 6:57 am

Wow - what a great score. I remember maybe a decade ago you could still get good examples of the early Musicmasters/Duos well under $1000 , and that still didn’t make a convincing case for me buying one. Cool guitars, but a bit too compromised for me. The 24” ‘II’s have much more appeal to me (CBS or not.)
King Buzzo: I love when people come up to me and say “Your guitar sound was better on Stoner Witch, when you used a Les Paul. “...I used a Fender Mustang reissue on that, dumbass!

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Re: Why shouldn't I buy this '59 Musicmaster

Post by MrLambyLamb » Tue Dec 24, 2019 8:15 am

Yeah, everything has shot up in the last 10 years. It's kind of crazy. But I really wanted a piece of Leo history. I'll post a new thread when I get the guitar and have a chance to go through it.

I've been tempted by those duo sonics, because I love Mustangs but have had bad luck with tuning stability.

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Re: Why shouldn't I buy this '59 Musicmaster

Post by Danley » Tue Dec 24, 2019 8:21 am

MrLambyLamb wrote:
Tue Dec 24, 2019 8:15 am
Yeah, everything has shot up in the last 10 years. It's kind of crazy. But I really wanted a piece of Leo history. I'll post a new thread when I get the guitar and have a chance to go through it.

I've been tempted by those duo sonics, because I love Mustangs but have had bad luck with tuning stability.
Early G&Ls work well for authentic ‘Leo’ on the less expensive end - an early SC series might be up your alley ;)

I have two Mustangs (vintage projects with sixties trems.) I admit it took a LOT of setup work and making sure the pivot points were all in perfect shape before the vibrato would stay in tune under regular use - due to the looseness of the springs even set on max stiff, double-stop bends are 100% out of the question; bending a string might as well be a substitute for using the arm, more than any other guitar.
King Buzzo: I love when people come up to me and say “Your guitar sound was better on Stoner Witch, when you used a Les Paul. “...I used a Fender Mustang reissue on that, dumbass!

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Re: Why shouldn't I buy this '59 Musicmaster

Post by MrLambyLamb » Tue Dec 24, 2019 10:10 am

Oh, for sure. I'm a big G&L fan. (Robert Poss's mods are the coolest.) But I wanted a real-deal "golden age" Fender.

I've more or less written off the vibrato on my Mustang. It generally holds a good tune as long as I don't touch the vibrato. Last time I messed with it, I tried all the tricks (tightest spring tension, 11s, lubed nut and saddles, etc.). Strung it up, first attempt I push the vibrato down, and it doesn't come back at all. It was a disheartening moment.

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Re: Why shouldn't I buy this '59 Musicmaster

Post by windmill » Wed Dec 25, 2019 3:11 pm

Nice looking jag

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Re: Why shouldn't I buy this '59 Musicmaster

Post by JDawg0427 » Mon Dec 30, 2019 2:30 pm

You shouldn't buy this '59 Musicmaster because I want it :)
Edit: I read the rest of the post and you should definitely not buy the Musicmaster because that Jag is beautiful :?

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