I have renewed interest in putting the Dimarzio back in and reviving this bass. I parked the bass for about 15 years due to an ever-increasing bass herd. Years later he took the Dimarzio out and put an import EMG select pickup in which I never liked. My friend wired it all up as that was way beyond my scope at the time.
FENDER MUSICMASTER WIRING DIAGRAM SERIES
Amongst the changes was installing a Dimarzio humbucker of that era complete with series / parallel switch.
FENDER MUSICMASTER WIRING DIAGRAM MOD
When I bought this bass, the in thing to do was mod the hell out of your Fender, so my friend & I did. I also totally agree on making sure the electrolytic capacitors are in good shape - this goes for any older tube amp.I have an old Musicmaster Bass that I have owned for decades. Another largely overlooked and thus relatively inexpensive but cool little amp that comes to life with a decent speaker to replace the tinny little thing they came with.
6AQ5's are the same power tubes as in the Crestline-era (ca. They must have made tons and tons of them and then designs moved to the 6BQ5.
I agree that good NOS 6AQ5 tubes can be found very inexpensively. NOTE TO Mike Schwartzman and Dave Mudgett:the other version uses 6AQ5 power tubes - NOT EL84's (6BQ5's)!Ībsolutely - I know that, that was a typo I'm so used to typing 6BQ5, it just slid off my fingers.īoth versions sound good, but I've had several of each over the years and I found the 6AQ5 version broke up earlier. But usually the original power tubes are still in great shape and will still last for decades! I have rarely had to replace them.ġ930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steelsġ921 Weissenborn Style 2 Hilo&Schireson hollownecksġ959 Fender 400 9+2 B6 1960's Fender 800 3+3+2 1970 Emmons SD10 Cuttail (Courtesy ReSound '65) However, they SOUND very close to the 6V6 version - and NOS 6AQ5 tubes are usually very cheap compared to NOS 6V6's and EL84/6BQ5's! This version can often be found cheaper because owners think the tubes are obsolete. NOTE TO Mike Schwartzman and Dave Mudgett:the other version uses 6AQ5 power tubes - NOT EL84's (6BQ5's)! Many buyers make the mistake of thinking they can use their existing EL84 tubes as replacemts, but they won't even fit - it's a smaller, 7-pin socket. With fresh caps and a new speaker (the original is junk for ANY instrument) these are great amps - the 6V6 version is known as the "poor man's tweed Deluxe when loaded with a good alnico speaker (NOT a so-called reissue Jensen, which are not close to the originals) but for bass you need a high-wattage (stiffer) ceramic magnet speaker. And you often have to TELL the tech to change them, as many will only do work to make an amp "playable" to avoid sticker shock. The amp may sound fine with original capps but can blow at any moment with zero warning - and take out the power transformer (I've replaced a bunch of them - and it lowers the value of the amp)Įvery one purchased used should go straight ot a tech unless the seller has documentation of proper service. Last time I gigged mine for slide, it was honestly too loud until I turned it around to face the side wall.Įvery one I encounter needs new filter capacitors - they have a service like of only 15-20 years and most owners do not know they need to be changed at that interval. These things are great for slide guitar or lap steel. Not a clone by any means, but similar in many ways. If you look at the circuit diagram, you will see many similarities to the Harvard. I think of these more like a tweed Princeton on steroids or perhaps a poor-man's tweed Harvard, and that is a very good thing for the right situation. With its totally open-back cabinet, it's pretty weak as a bass or pedal steel amp, but it is OK for really low-volume practice. That transformer-based phase inverter gives it a different character than a blackface/silverface Princeton or Deluxe, which is nice. If you push it, it will still break up but has enough headroom to not turn to mush. I replaced the tinny original speaker with a Celestion Vintage 30 and it's a great guitar amp now.
I personally prefer the 2圆V6 version and that is what I have now. I've had a few of these over the years, both 2圆BQ5/EL84 and 2圆V6 versions. Oh, I see the date, I was just out of the hospital, no wonder. I was gonna reply earlier but got distracted.
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