1978 Fiesta Red Musicmaster Project(Pics/Video pg7)

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Sat Aug 14, 2010 6:55 pm

hotrodperlmutter wrote:damn, that looks awesome. what's up with stew's neck? too pricey?

He needs to sell it not to buy a vintage Jag. So he can't really brodeal which I completely understand. The price is fair considering it's the exact same year model of the body I have and it even has the tuners. He also had a pickup too. If this had happened next month I could swing it just not at this moment. Timing is everything. Just wasn't meant to be I guess.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Sat Aug 14, 2010 6:59 pm

good way to look at it. you should totally just break into haze's house and gank his $50 neck. he'll only be out $50!!! grab the white set-neck tele and mail to:

555 Ronrey Rane
Tuscaloosa, AL 55555

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Sat Aug 14, 2010 7:36 pm

I know which Tele you speak of. I think he might get a little suspicious if his neck went missing and I magically had one appear of Steal-bay:)

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Sat Aug 14, 2010 8:30 pm

i'm actually thinking i'm going to keep the F tuners, or at least hold off selling them for a while. if i get the jag i'm bidding on i'll need them. but that means i've got to sell even more shit...

yeah, bad timing i suppose. it's just unfortunate i need top dollar for the parts in this instance.

66blonde · Post by **66blonde** » Sun Sep 12, 2010 10:25 pm

GREAT COLOR. E

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Tue Jan 04, 2011 5:07 am

Sorry for the long pause...I have been focused on jazzmasters and family lately. I am hoping to get this project back on track despite low funds. right now. I currently need :

neck
tuners (F Tuners preferred)
pickup (with black cover)
neckplate and screws
pots
jack
strap locks

I am looking for bargains on the pickup and neck. I would love an original 1978 Musicmaster pickup, but I will look at other cheaper options including reissue Mustang pickups. I want to keep it as vintage correct as possible, but I might have work with what I can afford for now and swap out things later as money becomes available.

I will probably do the wiring myself on this one since it's straight forward and would be good practice for me. What is the best kind and size of wire to use? Does the Musicmaster use 250K pots?

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Thu Jan 06, 2011 10:22 pm

Can someone give me a parts list I will need to wire up the Musicmaster myself? What type of pots and wiring?

SKC Willie · Post by **SKC Willie** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 6:17 am

To wire it up you would need a 1/4 inch input jack, two 250k pots, a .047uf cap, and some wire.

I actually don't know anything about those guitars and what they used in what years but that would be a guess considering most Fender/single coil guitars will use those. And I have a '72 music master neck on my Mustang and it is delicious. You can't have.

Haze · Post by **Haze** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 2:36 pm

Two 250k pots, audio taper
a cap, 0.05uf
Jack!

its pretty simple stuff. If you want I ran across a spare set of full sized solid shaft 250k pots i recall getting from guitarfetish that went unused. May even have a suitable cap. It wouldn't hurt to look into a treble bleed circuit as well, with one pickup I find I'm constantly changing the volume [more so than usual] to adjust gain, and treble. Something to keep in mind: My Musicmaster is quite jangly, sometimes too much so. Lowering the volume cuts off a bit of the highs and that can work to your advantage in some ways. A treble bleed will keep the high end intact when you lower the volume and you can use your tone pot from there.

I'd like to offer you that set of pots and wire it all up for you. Pots, cap, treble bleed [your call] jack. That way you can just wire your pickup in and rock! I've really enjoyed watching your projects progress and your passion for building the instruments you play is awesome. I have a spare set of neck screws I can send your way too, my only foreseeable project is my Jazzmaster and I already have screws and an F plate for it. They are supposed to be shorter than average screws, meant for shortscales because the bodies are thinner. A fellow shortscaller [can't recall, dropped off after a while, good guy though] sent them my way for free so I might as well pass them along.

DO AN MUSICMASTER!

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 5:43 am

Haze, you are extremely kind and generous. This community has been very supportive of me and inspired me to even attempt building guitars. I do have passion for it and I am glad it comes across that way.

Thanks so much for your offer. It's great since you have been down this road already. I would really appreciate the wiring help and lets go with the treble bleed you suggested. I can pay for the parts if you need me to.

Do you need me to send you the pickguard? I am planning to use the Bronco knobs I bought from you and I want to make sure they will work on those pots.

I bid on a broken vintage pickup on eBay, but got outbid at the last minute. I found a 1978 MM pickup for $125, but I am still looking around. Also trying to find a neck and tuners.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 6:05 am

i think you should put a cool, modern strat pickup in it. like a middle position or a neck pickup, maybe vintage noiseless.

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 6:10 am

I found a 1978 MM pickup (output of 5.62) for $125 and a 1978 Fender Mustang (output of 5.73) for $99 on eBay.

Both are the right year and similar output.

I also found a 1966 Duo Sonic II neck for $225 thats a little pricey.

robroe · Post by **robroe** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 6:24 am

dumbasses

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 6:51 am

robroe wrote:dumbasses

Did you mean to post that on this thread?

Haze · Post by **Haze** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 8:27 am

Toss a basic alnico strat pickup in the thing and go. Get a Neck sorted first, pickups shouldn't cost that much, keep looking. I got my entire loaded nos pickguard for $160, thats with the pickup, og pots, jack, knobs etc. So don't go paying more than a bill for one just because its the period correct one. I've got a spare strat pickup I'll send your way that I'll wire up to the electronics. No need to send me a pickguard, I have mine for reference if need be. All you'll have to do is mount everything and place the ground wire [i'll mark it] under your bridge. I'm pretty sure Bronco knobs are a perfect fit for the pots, I've got loads

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 2:31 pm

There is already a ground wire in the body, so I could solder it to the wire assembly. Does it need to be soldered to the bridge?

The wire has one end touching under the bridge and the other is in the cavity.

Mo Law-ka · Post by **Mo Law-ka** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 3:10 pm

The ground wire does NOT need to be soldered to the bridge in most cases. Usually on Fenders, it just sits sandwiched between the bridge and the body

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 8:40 pm

Here is a pic of the body and you can see the ground wire. The wire is positioned to make contact with the flat bottom of the bridge.

Haze, you can just tell me where to solder the ground wire and we can use the one on the guitar.

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 9:36 pm

Haze wrote:Toss a basic alnico strat pickup in the thing and go. Get a Neck sorted first, pickups shouldn't cost that much, keep looking. I got my entire loaded nos pickguard for $160, thats with the pickup, og pots, jack, knobs etc. So don't go paying more than a bill for one just because its the period correct one. I've got a spare strat pickup I'll send your way that I'll wire up to the electronics. No need to send me a pickguard, I have mine for reference if need be. All you'll have to do is mount everything and place the ground wire [i'll mark it] under your bridge. I'm pretty sure Bronco knobs are a perfect fit for the pots, I've got loads

How similiar would the alnico strat pickup be to a 65 RI Mustang pickup? I am tempted to buy one and that could work until I find a vintage replacement. Then I could use the 65 RI pup in my Mustang project down the road. Mustang RI pups are only about $25 on eBay.

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Fri Jan 14, 2011 5:43 am

I am on the hunt for parts. Found some neck prospects but we will have to wait and see. Also found some pickups but neck is first priority. Planning on putting F tuners on it. If all goes well with getting a neck then this project could finish up quickly.

Haze, when do you think you will wire the harness? I know you have other projects going on so just let me know.

1978 Fiesta Red Musicmaster Project(Pics/Video pg7)

What kind of pickup should I put in my Musicmaster?