shorty basses

[timiscott]

Does anyone play a Squier Jag bass, Fender MIM Standard Jag bass or Fender Mustang bass? Was wondering what they are like...

[burpgun]

I've got two Squier Jaguar short scales. One's got rounds on it, the other flats. They're not my main basses, and I got them years back when I was recovering from a broken wrist and wanted something low stress to ease back into playing.

The Squier Jags are lovely basses and incredible value for the cost. I've also got an American Standard Jaguar and a '75 Precision, and feel the Jag shorties are completely legitimate basses, especially if you're into short scales. For a short while I owned a Gibson SG shortie the cost four times as much, and honestly, while it felt great and was well made, it sounded shitty and was a one-trick pony. Can't say that about the Jags.

Now for the bad. As widely remarked upon elsewhere, the Jazz pickup is kind of worthless as its volume is lower than the P pickup. Also, these things can vary quite widely on weight, so if that's important to you, try before you buy. I personally think a heavier one feels a little more balanced.

Never played a Mustang, and for reference, that MIM Standard Jaguar is long scale.

[sears]

They don't have the power of a long-scale or the even articulation of a medium-scale. They have a tidy sound in the lower frets. They are really good up the neck. Lines like "Day Tripper" which is mostly played on the 7th fret and above are made for a short scale bass. You can put really heavy strings on them.

[Iheartreverb]

I used to own a Japanese Mustang and a 70’s one. The difference in sound has obviously been discussed here but I feel it’s less obvious, sure if AB’ing them you would be looking for it but there’s so many things I found out was played on a short scale that I wouldn’t have know by listening to it.
If size is a concern where buying a bass then by all means, the ones you’ve listed are all good. Just buy the best your budget will allow.

[Embenny]

I play a Bass VI which is of course 30" but a big of a different beast, but also a 4-string Ibanez Mikro. I did a head-to-head of the Squier SS Jag and the Mikro and liked the ergonomics of the 28.6" Mikro better. The jag was a great bass, but I wanted the extra upper fret access the Mikro offered. The SS Jag was fun as heck too though, if you're not needing the uppermost frets (which the vast majority of bass players won't use).

I love, love, love short scale basses. My Stingray and Ric knockoff sit in their cases while my VI and Mikro get all the play time currently, despite low disproportionately low sticker price of the shortscales.

[classicallybc]

Not quite a Mustang bass, but I play a Squier Musicmaster (30inch scale length), and a Fender Starcaster bass (32inch...or 33 if you factor in the gigantic headstock). I love both of them! Great chunky low end, and I find I can swing them around a bit more onstage than larger basses.

I've played the Squier short-scale Jag bass in store as well, terrific little bass.

[armyofbees]

wish I could find a short scale lefty bass! does anyone know if Fender ever made any?

[kinetic]

I own a recent (2017) model Mustang PJ bass. It's a great axe, really fun to play.

I also owned a Squier Bronco bass. Felt like it was made out of reenforced cardboard.

[Marc]

I've owned two Japanese Mustang basses. As a guitarist, I love the short scale and skinny neck. Very easy to play - a friend of mine who plays full-scale basses tried mine out as he had never played a short-scale and he loved the feel of it and what he could do so easily compared to 34" scale.

A fair few of my favorite bass players played Mustangs and sound great on record - early A Certain Ratio (before he got into the MM Stingray 'Zang'), Tina Weymouth from Talking Heads, Bill Wyman (check out Altamont!). There's a whole bunch of players who probably got them as their first 'real Fender' and stuck with them.

The first one I owned was from around 2001, the one I have now is a 2016 build. The one I have now is slightly better build quality.

The 2001 had an obvious line in the join on the body and the colour, which was supposed to be Fiesta Red was a very orangey red but I think all the Japanese Fiesta Reds from this era had this. It also had a very high action and badly cut nut. Once it was set up and the nut recut it was fantastic. I think it was just a slip in QC on that one and was easily sorted out. Having said that I only paid £180 for it in 2005 and was in mint condition with protective plastic still on pickguard so was a complete bargain. Sadly I had to sell it along with all my other stuff when I got divorced in 2008.

Fast forward to late 2016 and my life was much better and had already acquired two great guitars and amps and needed a bass for recording. I tried out-full scale basses but knew I needed another Mustang. The Japanese Mustangs are imported into the UK every now and then and I saw one hanging up in PMT Music in Bristol for £599 which was a great price. The build quality was better on this one with no visible body join line through the finish and the setup and the intonation is spot-on. I haven't needed to adjust anything on it.

The pickup is good on these basses but lacking in character - it doesn't have that woody 'gronky' quality the originals had. I got a used Fender USA Bullet pickup (same as Mustang) for peanuts off eBay and when fitted it instantly gave the sound I wanted. It was a pig to fit because the originals use imperial dimensions and the Japanese are metric. I've kicked myself since because when I sold the bass I left the USA pickup in and I should have fitted the old one back in. I've looked over the last couple of years for a vintage Bullet/Mustang pickup for the 2016 model I now own but they rarely come up and when they do they go for at least £130.

There are a few pickup makers that do Mustang basses but I'm reluctant to take the risk at the moment - The Aero and Norstrand models are redesigned. They have larger poles or double the number of poles but the demos to me sound pretty much like the Japanese model only beefier in a hi-fi kind of way. Not at all like that woody sound I want. They don't have 'The Gronk'!

Novak and Duncan also offer vintage replicas but I haven't heard one and, after shipping to the UK plus import duty it's a big risk to take without hearing one first.

I'm sure there are dozens of these original pickups discarded in parts draws around the world as upgrading the pickup in these basses was pretty common if you look at non-original vintage models that come up for sale now and then.

So unless I get to hear a Duncan custom shop model or a Novak I will wait until an original comes up for sale.

That really is the only thing I want to do on mine and even that isn't super essential. I would strongly recommend these Japanese reissues.

The Pawn Shop Mustang bass model with the huge Gibson EB-O style 'mudbucker' looks great but no longer available. I have a feeling that the 'Mudbucker' would also be its weakness and would be a pricey upgrade. I would get one and fit a better 'Mudbucker' if I had the funds they look great.

Same story with the new Mexican Mustang with the PJ pickups - I bet they are not that great... will do the job 100 per cent but lack character. Perhaps someone could comment on these?

There are a lot of 70's Mustang basses on the vintage market which go for anything between £800 and £1400 depending on mods, custom colour etc. I think the necks on these are a bit beefier but not certain. I remember a Lake Placid Blue late sixties model with Comp Stripes was on sale for £450 in a local shop and took years to sell! Time change. I would say with these vintage instruments shouldn't be bought without trying first or a good return policy as the QC during this whole period was variable. Also worth considering is the Fender Bullet Bass (basically a Mustang from left-over parts but they also did a 34" scale version). Also the Musicmaster Bass - a Mustang Bass but a two saddle bridge and a 'straight' pickup. The Musicmasters were commonly modified badly - if you got one of these for a good price you could get a Japanese or USA Mustang bridge on it and maybe fit a second Musicmaster pickip if the body has already been repainted or routed. The original 70's Musicmaster pickups are commonly on sale on eBay.

In my quest for the 'woody/gronky' tone I want I've considered ordering a custom pickguard and fitting two original 70s Musicmaster pickups and a 'blend' control but as it would involve routing and pro help I will probably hold off unless I cannot find an original Mustang pickup.

A side-note. I think Fender put these cheaper pickups into these cheaper instruments to define a stronger difference in the quality of sound between Mexican, Japanese and USA models because the build and playability on these cheaper instruments are so damn good it would be hard to justify the extra money. A good example of this would be on the few Mexican models Fender does actually put USA pickups in. I compared the '60s Baja Telecaster (Mex), the '64 reissue Tele (USA) and the 60's Mexican Classic Telecaster. The first two both have the '64 Pure Vintage bridge pickup while the Mexican Classic has '60s style' budget pickup in a plastic bobbin. The Mexican Baja sounded identical to the USA model and was fantastic quality, pretty much the same guitar except poly finish and some fancy wiring options. The Mexican 60s Classic was well built but lacked the character in the pickup department... easy and cheap to upgrade. There was nearly £800 difference in price compared with the USA model but soundwise they were almost identical comparing Baja with '64 USA reissue.

Long post - as you can probably tell I'm a big fan of these basses! Good luck!

[George L]

A Squier Shortscale Jaguar bass is in my wish list the last two years.
I know it's cheap but I always spend all my money on guitar parts, pedals, a new amp
Now I want a camera and the surfy bear reverb pedal
but I think it's time for the bass
most online reviews are positive
The CAR with black pick guard and black headstock is so beautiful
I want one like this

[dylanafghjkl]

i have a pawn shop mustang bass but i got rid of the original humbucker thing because it sounded like butt and put novaks in it and it sounds wonderful and its super comfortable to play and sounds kind of like a p bass but with more of everything that makes the p bass sound better than a j bass

[ThePearDream]

I have one of the Squier short scale Jaguars as well. I'm not a bass expert, but it's lots of fun. I use it to play along with hip-hop, funk and disco songs when I need a change of pace. I agree that the J pickup is a weak point, but that's an easy fix. It's hard to do better for the price.

[timiscott]

Picked up a new Mustang from Wunjos in Denmark Street today. Very happy. Plays beautifully, sounds spot on and looks great - photos really don't do it justice at all! Stunning. Really small too, lighter than my Fender jag or JM. Seriously nice bass. Ignore the pound shop professors who talk shite about shortscales!

[vistavision]

I know you're looking at the Fender/Squier short scale options but a wonderful competitor to the Squier Jag SS is Ibanez's Talman short scale, the TMB30.
I've been looking for a short scale also and had thought seriously thought about getting the Squier. Instead I'll be getting the Ibanez. First of all it's $179 and very well reviewed. Secondly, since I want it sonically differentiated from my '04 P-Bass Special, the Ibanez body is mahogany. That plus some flatwounds should get me into the sound I'm looking for.
Totally worth reading through the reviews of this bass. And it's still an offset!

[George L]

I know you're looking at the Fender/Squier short scale options but a wonderful competitor to the Squier Jag SS is Ibanez's Talman short scale, the TMB30.
I've been looking for a short scale also and had thought seriously thought about getting the Squier. Instead I'll be getting the Ibanez. First of all it's $179 and very well reviewed. Secondly, since I want it sonically differentiated from my '04 P-Bass Special, the Ibanez body is mahogany. That plus some flatwounds should get me into the sound I'm looking for.
Totally worth reading through the reviews of this bass. And it's still an offset!

I ike TMB30 very much! the body is not mahogany it's poplar though
http://www.ibanez.com/products/eb_detai ... ries_id=58
Both basses look great and both have nice reviews