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Bass Guitar

Fender Musicmaster Bass (1972 - 1981)

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

Fender · Musicmaster Bass 1972 - 1981

Price: 1.360 EUR – 2.500 EUR

Price history

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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 – 1.395 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.

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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: 1.360 EUR · Most expensive seen: 2.500 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.