Fender Mustang Bass Player Series - Review and demonstration of sounds (stock roundwounds)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ค. 2024
- This unsponsored video will feature the Fender Player Series Mustang PJ Bass. Made in Mexico and featuring an alder body, maple neck, pau ferro board and PJ pickup configuration, this short scale bass plays and sounds great!
A demonstration of available sounds both solo'd and in the context of a drum track is featured.
For best audio results, headphones or quality speakers are recommended.
The bass was recorded direct through a Line6 Pod Go with my usual GK800RB settings.
No EQ or compression was added in post.
00:00 Intro
01:54 Sounds
04:52 Sounds with a drum track
07:19 Discussion
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![I can't believe this Fender! | Player Series Mustang Bass [Review/Demo]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/86Ur5-qPSoY/mqdefault.jpg)
Excellent review. The best I've seen. Real bass playing and examples. Thank you from Ireland.
You're so kind! Thanks for watching from across the ocean and for your positive feedback!
I will certainly agree that the Mustang pj bass is the best short scale around today. Out of US model, Mexican model, I must say made in Japan models are the best in craftsmanship and valve, and it is the lightest too.
Thanks for watching and commenting! I had a white MIJ mustang and it was great (featured in my 3 different mustangs video). The prices on the MIJ models have gotten a little crazy though. I’d love to get a green one with a racing stripe!
I must say, having owned a couple of Fender Japan basses, and tried quite a few more - I've not played a Fender Japan guitar which I didn't like. Across the years, they seem to have been able to produce consistently high quality instruments.
For sure! I recently made a comparison video between a Japanese mustang and a schecter Japan mustang. Both were a pleasure to play! Outstanding quality.
Great demo, thanks.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Fantastic sound and demo!
Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
I was hoping for a vid like this! I've had my eye on this bass for a little bit, looking for either this or the Squier Mustang to be my next bass
Thanks so much for watching. Having played both those models, there isn't a night & day difference, but I've had a great experience with my 1st gen MIM PJ, so that would get my vote!
Amazing value and tone,.
For sure! My red PJ mustang remains one of my favourite basses. Thx for watching!
Absolutely love mine (Surf Green) - Mods: Aguilar Pickups, removed pickup switch, added 2 stacked V/T knobs, new custom Noll Pots/Caps, Pearloid mint green pickguard, Hipshot Style A Bridge, Strap-Locks and Pyramid Gold Flats
Crazy awesome setup. Bet it sounds great! Thx for watching!
@@jonathanwong458music Thanks, it was a fun project and it does sound great!
Great video!
Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
I just got one of these in Firemist Gold. Great bass. Like yours, the intonation, especially on the E and A strings were slightly sharp as I went up the neck. Easy enough to fix. Just loosen the strings, get a small point Phillips screwdriver and turn the screws to move the saddles back toward the bridge (clockwise on the screws). About 3-4 turns of the E screw and about half that on the A and the intonation is pretty close to perfect now. String height was good enough that I didn’t mess with that at all. The J (bridge) pickup was not as loud as the neck right out of the box. Not sure what changed, but it seems as if maybe the switch wasn’t making good contact. After a few days of playing and flipping the 3 way switch one day, they were both very well balanced. It almost seemed like some gunk may have gotten in the switch. When I change strings (thinking of trying flats) I will pop the pickguard off and spray some contact cleaner in the switch. Overall, well pleased with it. With my aging and arthritic hands,the short scale was quite welcome.
Thanks for watching! You’re definitely not alone regarding the switch. I know of several people who have had reliability issues with it. Bad contacts. It is also very long cabling that runs up to the switch then back down. On my 1st gen, I’ve completely bypassed the switch.
Hi Jonathan, new subscriber here. Really enjoyed this video as I just purchased the exact same bass. I have a Gibson Les Paul bass and a Fender P bass and had a huge problem playing them. I'm not a big guy, 5'6", with small hands. So this Mustang is perfect for me and has changed my approach to playing bass.
Thanks for watching and subscribing! I am all for finding the right scale length to make playing more comfortable! That's what got me into short scales.....finger reach and stretch was getting more difficult on 34" basses with my arthritic/inflamed hands. Glad you're enjoying the mustang!
I only just caught up with this video. It's a nicely filmed & put together informative video - thanks. I have one of these which I bought 2nd hand, here in the UK. I agree, it's a great bass, and super value. The sound from those P/J pickups is awesome. However, the one thing I would recommend, is changing that pickup selector switch. I was looking for one of these, and the guy I got mine from had already had that done! Result! It now has a potentiometer instead of the switch - so you can blend between the P and the J pickup. I usually set mine around slightly more P pickup than J, but there are times when I want more of the Jazz sound. It's much more flexible like this. I usually play upright, or 34" scale - but I really like my P/J Mustang. It sounds as good as, or better than more expensive basses. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Jonathan
Thanks for watching! I completely disconnected the bridge J on my 1st Gen PJ, so I’m just using the P. Shorter wires. I really love mine. So much so, I modelled aspects of my custom F Bass build after it!
Thx for watching from across the pond!
Better yet, a stacked vol/vol pot in place of the stock volume knob. Then you can bag any control on the other side of the pickguard. You can also do a vol/tone and vol/tone for each pickup (like a '60 J-bass). Again, that would bag the knob or switch on the other side of the pickguard. I've done both on my PJ Mustangs and both work great. I didn't really mind the original switch. But the vol/tone, vol/tone is so much cleaner looking and does give you some new tonal variations with the separate tone controls for each pickup. Of course... my main bass is a stacked knob '60 Jazz bass, so I'm a bit biased. I think that control layout has several advantages over the typical layouts.
@@christocr Stacked knobs are awesome! I know some players who find concentric or stacked pots more difficult to fit in certain cases (too tall), but otherwise you're right in terms of versatility! Thanks for watching and commenting!
I have a 2008 MIJ Mustang which I absolutely love. I played a player series but didn't much like the pickup switch, a separate bridge pickup volume would be much better like I run my Aerodyne, with neck pickup wide open and bridge about 80%, tone 50-60%. Also I much prefer the traditional Mustang string-through bridge. Thanks for the review and demo Jonathon.
MIJ/CIJ mustangs are fantastic! I’ve a few videos with one. Agree, the PJ’s switch is not great. On my 1st Gen PJ, I’ve completely removed the switch and J pickup from the circuit. I’m only running the P and that does the trick for me!
Thanks for watching and commenting!
y'know, I was thinking the jaguar was also short scale when
i asked that question so I think you can disregard that.
It's a very confusing naming system. It has the Jaguar body shape, but there have been lots of previous generations that still hang out on reverb and ebay in different scale lengths and switching options.
Thanks for watching!
I have this model and love it. One thing I've noticed on mine is the J is much quieter than the P. Have you found the same or do you think it needs some adjustment to the pick up height?
Same thing here! It's the nature of PJ setups in general - Most of the time, there is a volume drop when running both pickups compared to the P alone. In addition, the noise/60Hz hum from the single coil bridge J bugs me. On my 1st gen PJ mustang, I have completely disconnected the switch and the bridge J and I only run the P. I think it sounds way better and open that way! Otherwise, the Player PJ is among the best value short scale out there. I'd take it over the Sire and others at that price point. Prices have really gone up on these, unfortunately - over a $1k CDN at time of writing.
Thanks for watching and writing!
@@jonathanwong458music great to hear from you. Really enjoying the content you are putting out. I managed to get a near-mint condition one for £450 (UK) from a local seller. Very happy. Had to do some minor adjustments to get the intonation right but apart from that loving it.
Also mainly using it with one of the Fender Mustang Micro headphone amps which are great when hooked up to Spotify. Jamming along to my favourite songs
Great find! Right on! Thanks for the encouragement!
Do you have an opinion as to whether the jaguar player bass is as good or not as good as the mustang player bass (n I have a feeling the answer is not as good)?
Hi! There have been a few different generations of Jaguars, so it's a bit of a trickier question, but I can certain give an opinion. Some people think of the Jaguar as a medium scale 32" (some have a MM style pickup), but there was also an older 34" version with J pickups with lots of switches....but there was also a Squier Jaguar 30" short scale with PJ pickups, just to further the confusion!
The old 30" Jag looked cool with the black headstock, but it was known to have quality control issues, so you never knew what you were going to get. They were in the $200ish US range. If you had a good one, a pickup swap could potentially get you a great bass. But QC issues at the time made things a bit dicey.
As i understand it, the current Jaguar player series is a full 34" scale and doesn't have all the toggle switches of the previous generation. The naming really makes it very confusing!
Thanks for watching and asking!
...so if a player never drops the tone below 50%, there's scope for the potentiometer value and/or capacitor to be changed out; to offer a more usable/precise range of tones?
I think these come stock with 250k pots and the standard 47 cap. A smaller value cap would give you less high end roll off with the same counterclockwise tone knob turn. The quality of the pots would influence the taper and how precise it would be. Is that what you’re asking?
Thx for watching!
PS. Of the times I messed around with different cap values and pot values, I’ve personally never liked the changes and have gone back to 250k and 47 caps. There’s something about that combo even if you don’t use the whole range. (For me)
Jonathan, do you think this can be modded to get close to the sound of a stand-alone P Bass?
Thanks for watching! I think so! I have modded my own PJ mustang to do just that - I have completely disconnected the bridge J pickup from the circuit (sounds more open to my ears), got rid of the extra wires and the switch and put TI flatwounds on it. Here is a video comprising my modded mustang to a precision.
th-cam.com/video/Iwd-f9s0No8/w-d-xo.html
Excellent cello on that linked video! Very Pet Sound-ish. Do you find that you're missing something having given up the J pickup (or do/can you compensate via the use of a good EQ pedal)?@@jonathanwong458music
@@gregorystevens5173 Thanks!
Re J pickup, I'm a P bass guy 85% of the time, so from that tonal aspect, I'm perfectly content without a bridge p/u. In fact, I don't get on with most PJ setups (the EMG PJX being the exception). I find there is typically a volume drop running both pickups and it sounds 'confused' to me.....neither a jazz nor a P. For whatever electrical reason, I find taking the J out of the circuit opens up the P pickup sound. Slightly more clarity. Maybe it's a pickup loading type effect.
On most short scale basses, I also find that there is not enough string orbit/movement at the bridge and as a result, the bridge J p/u sounds too thin. My Atelier Z J being an exception!
I typically run straight into an amp or my Line6 without other effects, so no EQ pedal. So I try to setup the basses to sound as good as possible by itself.
Thanks for asking!