Okay, the Fender Mustang experiment didn’t work. At all.

Jenny needed a good short-scale bass and loved the look and feel of her new Mustang at rehearsal. But you never know how a piece of musical equipment will perform until you gig with it. First thing we noticed is no headroom due to weak PJ pickups. The Mustang would only generate about half the volume my Vantage bass does (also with passive PJ pickups) at the same amp settings. And the front pickup was cutting in and out.  I wasn’t thrilled with the setup either, and had to adjust the neck and intonation to make it playable.

It went back to the dealer, and assuming it was a factory screwup, she brought another Mustang home. Same deal. Weak pickups and one cuts out. That one went back to the dealer too, this time for a refund.  Pretty disappointing for a Fender guitar.

Today we ordered a Map Bass from Eastwood. 30.5″ scale, HOT-10 humbuckers, chambered mahogany body. Nice detail features. More expensive, but if it plays and sounds like the great reviews it gets, it will be worth it.

And if it doesn’t, it’s going back too!