In terms of finish quality, which bass is better?

All things being equal, if you were looking at a recent Fender American Standard P Bass (2008-2012) and a 1978-80 Fender Musicmaster Bass, which would you say would be better quality in overall finish work, i.e. polished frets, fretboard, overall finish, etc. ?

I know, I know...the Musicmaster was intended to be an inexpensive, short-scale, "student" bass with a cheap guitar pickup, but I was just wondering if the quality workmanship that was put into those inexpensive basses 30-35 years ago was better than they put into today's American Standard Precision Basses that are turned out by the gazillions.

Anybody have any experience with both? Thanks.

Yes I've had experience with Music Master and Mustang Basses from that era as well as PBasses and JBasses and no the quality wasn't better. In fact just the opposite. By the late 70's the overall quality of Fender Basses was dropping rapidly and by the early 80's it was atrocious as CBS tried to wring out every last cent of profitability and window dress the P&L before they sold the company.

The current MIA products are probably as good as any they've ever made in their history. You'll always be able to find exceptional examples from any era so you may find some who have had great success with earlier instruments but on average the modern production techniques are far superior to those of 30-35 years ago.

I agree 100% with soulman969. Don't let nostalgia cloud reality.

Thanks, folks. That helps immensely.

Fender is turning out product today that is way better than what I was playing in the 70's and early 80's. It's just about on par with Made In Japan Fender from the 80's and early 90's ... Which IMO is some of the best they have ever made.