Vintage Musicmaster II's
In addition to my Jaguar collection, I also have a handful of other very cool 60's Fender short scale models, including a nice trio of mid-60's Musicmaster II's. The Fender Musicmaster was the first of their 3/4 scale guitars. With a single pickup and no vibrato system, it was a basic but functional instrument. Officially introduced in 1956, The Musicmaster was re-designed to match the newly introduced Mustang in 1964, and dubbed "Musicmaster II" for the remainder of the 1960's. The guitars shown below all feature the optional 24" scale length (22.5 was also available) and are a good representation of Fender's "entry-level" electric guitar. Although priced at the bottom of the scale, these guitars offer a fit, finish, and tone on par with Fender's higher priced instruments such as the Telecaster and Stratocaster. Check them out below! -JB
1965 Fender Musicmaster II
1965 Musicmaster II 'Ol' Smokey'
This is a cool piece if I do say so myself! While I'm usually partial to clean, well cared for Fenders, this one actually attracted me due to its obvious wear. Believe it or not, this was originally bright Olympic White, but has turned to the current "yellow" hue after being constantly exposed to smoke filled bar rooms for decades. The finish is 100% original Fender applied nitrocellulose lacquer, and shows lots of weatherchecking, finish nicks, scuffs, etc, yet remains in excellent playing condition. Even the original Kluson "double-line" white plastic tuner tips have aged to a dingy tan . Aside from the obvious finish wear, this guitar plays incredibly well, and it's no surprise why it saw so much use. I wish I knew more about it's history, as I'm sure it would have 1000 stories to tell. I know it's a long shot, but if anyone out there recognizes this old battle axe please contact me, as I'd love to hear from you.
1969 Fender Musicmaster II
1969 'Dakota Red' Musicmaster II
On the other end of the spectrum is this 1969 "Dakota Red" Musicmaster II. This one is as clean as a pin, and probably was never played outside of the original owner's home. Aside from a few tiny marks on the finish this could almost pass for "new old stock"... its just a beautiful original Fender, and a joy to play. This has some interesting and somewhat unique details, as most 1969's I've seen have the later/revised block letter "MUSIC MASTER" headstock logo, whereas this one has the early style Musicmaster II logo and gold Fender script usually not seen this late into the 60's. The heel date on the neck confirms this is indeed a '69 though, so its an oddball for sure. 100% original, including the pickup, wiring, pots, pickguard, Kluson tuners, etc. In fact, the first time this one was ever opened up was just prior to my purchase of it. After confirming it had never been modified it was put back together and received a professional set-up. It plays amazingly well, and although it exibits similarities in feel to "smokey" above, this one has more attack and a noticibly different overall feel. One of the neat things about these old Fenders is that every one is different, and every one has it's own musical personality.
1966 Daphne Blue Musicmaster II
1-owner 100% original '66 Daphne Blue Musicmaster II
This one is almost too good to be true, but it is! It's a 100% original 1966 Fender Musicmaster II in Daphne Blue that was purchased new in 1967 for a 10 year old girl's Christmas gift, along with a Mel Bay Beginner's Guitar Manual. Apparently the little girl preferred her acoustic to this electric, and it was basically put in a closet and was untouched and unplayed for nearly 40 years. I bought it from the girl's son in 2010, and aside from a couple minor spots where the dried out nitro has flaked off due to age (not wear) it remains in pristine condition. The frets have absolutely zero wear, the original lacquer on the neck is still as glossy and new as it was in 1966, and the chrome hardware looks as though it were plated yesterday. I put a fresh set of strings on it and plugged it into my '65 Deluxe Reverb and it instantly came to life! Beautiful rich tone, with absolutely no static or scratchiness in the pots or pickup. This one is as close to new as any vintage Fender i've ever had the chance to play, a true time capsule guitar with no fading, no greening, and no corrosion. The white pearloid pickguard is bright with no yellowing, as are the original plastic tipped Kluson "double-line" tuners. Even the original case is in excellent condition, with perfect latches and hinges, and a totally unfaded and unsoiled bright orange lining. I' can almost guarantee this photo shoot was the first time this guitar was ever exposed to natural sunlight! Check it out...
Early 1970's Music Master
Let me start off by saying I LOVE this little guitar! I originally saw it posted for sale online in early November '13 and before I could get the scratch together to make a deal on it the seller changed his mind about parting with it... which I totally understood and have been there before when offering my stuff up for sale. in any case, I told him if he ever decided to part with it to please let me know... and about a week later he PM'd me saying he decided to sell.
I was very excited to get it, and when this one arrived I felt immediately familiar with it. While it's not 100% original, it was built using all vintage parts with the exception of a repro set of F-tuners and pickup, although the cover is a vintage piece. The body finish is original, and has aged to the perfect shade of custard...yes, that is the original white paint! It's got plenty of checking and chipping to give it lots of character. The neck dates to 1971, as do the pots and wiring. The pickup is an alnico of unknown origin, but it sounds fantastic! Just right for the neck position of the Musicmaster, with enough output to have some bite with the tone cranked up, but mellows out the way it should when you dial back the controls a little... And the neck is perfect, a nice C profile that's just right, with original frets that have plenty of life left. It's a longer 24" scale length, so it's very easy to play, and stayes in tune perfectly due to the lack of trem. This is total simplicity.... one pickup, one tone, one volume... Everything you need and nothing you don't!
I was very excited to get it, and when this one arrived I felt immediately familiar with it. While it's not 100% original, it was built using all vintage parts with the exception of a repro set of F-tuners and pickup, although the cover is a vintage piece. The body finish is original, and has aged to the perfect shade of custard...yes, that is the original white paint! It's got plenty of checking and chipping to give it lots of character. The neck dates to 1971, as do the pots and wiring. The pickup is an alnico of unknown origin, but it sounds fantastic! Just right for the neck position of the Musicmaster, with enough output to have some bite with the tone cranked up, but mellows out the way it should when you dial back the controls a little... And the neck is perfect, a nice C profile that's just right, with original frets that have plenty of life left. It's a longer 24" scale length, so it's very easy to play, and stayes in tune perfectly due to the lack of trem. This is total simplicity.... one pickup, one tone, one volume... Everything you need and nothing you don't!