Generic depiction of the instrument model, not the specific item offered on a linked platform.

Bass Guitar

Fender Musicmaster Bass (1972 - 1981)

Name: Fender Musicmaster Bass (1972 - 1981)
Brand: Fender

Fender · Musicmaster Bass 1972 - 1981

Price: 1.305 EUR – 2.588 EUR

Price history

Cheapest seen Most expensive seen

Availability: 9/10 (Common)

Fender's economy student bass of the 1970s: a short 30-inch scale, a body and hardware built largely from spare Mustang parts, and an unusual single pickup that was actually a six-pole Stratocaster guitar pickup under a solid cover.

Where available? Go to the best price – 1.305 EUR About this instrument

About the Fender Musicmaster Bass (1972 - 1981)

The Musicmaster Bass was Fender's lowest-priced bass through most of the 1970s, built at a short 30-inch scale and assembled largely from parts shared with the Mustang line - a genuine cost-saving measure rather than a deliberate short-scale design choice made from scratch. Its single pickup is a distinctive detail: rather than a purpose-built bass pickup, Fender used a six-pole Stratocaster guitar pickup under a solid plastic cover, a pragmatic substitution that nonetheless gives the bass a recognizable, slightly different tonal character from purpose-designed bass pickups of the era.

Hardware changed over the production run in ways collectors use to date individual examples: earlier-1970s models carry triangular tuning keys, while later examples use different tuner hardware. Body wood was typically alder or poplar depending on the specific production year, finished simply in keeping with the bass's budget positioning.

Where to buy

Reverb 1977 Fender Musicmaster Bass 1.305 EUR Best price View details
Reverb Fender Musicmaster Bass 1978 Black 1.390 EUR View details
Reverb Fender Musicmaster bass 1978 - black 1.394 EUR View details
Reverb Fender 1980 Musicmaster Bass Short Scale Black 1.399 EUR View details
Reverb Fender Musicmaster Bass 1978 — USA Vintage 1.450 EUR View details
Reverb Fender Musicmaster Bass 1978 Black 1.490 EUR View details
Reverb Fender Musicmaster Bass 1978 Olympic White Vintage USA Jazz Bass Pickup w/ Gig Bag 1.533 EUR View details
Reverb Fender Musicmaster Bass 1974 1.553 EUR View details
Reverb 1978 Fender Musicmaster Bass Black 1.576 EUR View details
Reverb 1978 Fender Musicmaster Bass Red 1.576 EUR View details
Reverb Fender Musicmaster Bass 1977 Black Vintage USA w/ Gig Bag 1.576 EUR View details
Reverb Fender Musicmaster Bass 1978 Custom Black 1.600 EUR View details
Reverb Fender Musicmaster Bass 1972 - 1975 - Dakota Red 1.600 EUR View details
Reverb 1978 Fender Musicmaster Bass - Black - Light Weight - OHSC 1.700 EUR View details
Reverb 1976 Fender Musicmaster Bass Olympic White Finish w/Gig Bag 1.762 EUR View details
Reverb 1980 Fender Musicmaster Bass Short Scale Vintage Bass Olympic White 1.766 EUR View details
Reverb 1975 Fender Musicmaster Bass - Dakota Red - OHSC 1.800 EUR View details
Reverb 1978 Fender Musicmaster Bass with Original Fibre Hard Shell Case 1.900 EUR View details
Reverb 1975 Fender Musicmaster Bass white 1.900 EUR View details
Reverb Fender Musicmaster Bass 1975 - 1981 - Black 1.926 EUR View details
Reverb 1978 Fender Musicmaster Bass - White - One Owner - Perfect! - OHSC 1.950 EUR View details
Reverb Fender Musicmaster Bass 1978 - Olympic White 1.952 EUR View details
Reverb 1979 Fender Musicmaster Bass black 1.973 EUR View details
Reverb 1980 Fender Musicmaster Bass black 1.973 EUR View details
Reverb Fender Musicmaster Bass 1978 Natural Refin 1.988 EUR View details
Reverb Fender Musicmaster Bass 1978 1.988 EUR View details
Reverb Fender Musicmaster Bass 1972 - 1979 - Olympic White 2.092 EUR View details
Reverb Fender Musicmaster Bass 1975 - Olympic White 2.199 EUR View details
Reverb 1979 Fender Musicmaster Bass sunburst 2.500 EUR View details
Reverb Fender 1974 Musicmaster Bass 2.588 EUR View details

Some links below are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Source: https://reverb.com/item/90781302-fender-musicmaster-bass-1978-natural-refin

Sound character of the Fender Musicmaster Bass (1972 - 1981)

A single pickup, short 30" scale, and simplified student-model electronics give the Musicmaster Bass a mellow, warm, somewhat modest voice - the short scale in particular softens attack and rolls off some low-end punch compared to a full-scale bass.

Mellow Warm Vintage-voiced

Technical data for the Fender Musicmaster Bass (1972 - 1981)

Body	Alder or poplar (by year)
Neck	Maple, bolt-on
Scale length	30"
Pickups	1x six-pole Stratocaster-style single coil, solid cover
Tuners	Triangular keys (early 70s), later revised hardware
Produced	1971-1981

Price history for the Fender Musicmaster Bass (1972 - 1981)

Cheapest seen: 1.305 EUR · Most expensive seen: 2.588 EUR

Cheapest seen Most expensive seen

The history of the Fender Musicmaster Bass (1972 - 1981)

Fender introduced the Musicmaster Bass in 1971 as a student-oriented, budget instrument built substantially from existing Mustang components to keep costs down, production running through 1981. Earlier-1970s examples, with their triangular tuning keys, are generally considered more desirable by collectors and players than later production, though the model as a whole remains an accessible entry point into vintage Fender basses.