I Found An Old Fender Bass...............

[archiennc]

......that's very new to me. Must be new to a lot of others because there is virtually no information of merit out there about the thing at all.

It's a 90's vintage MB-5 Fender Bass. Not the Squier knock off but the Fender version. It's a darnned nice bass too. Light weight. Well balanced body with deep cutouts well suited for playing solo lines up high on the neck. It's got a nifty panning/balance pot between the two J-style pickups. Single tone and Volume controls. The sound.........very articulate with the D'Addario Round Set I have on it (130-45). It sounds completely "Active" yet it is passive circuitry. I suspect it's a Japanese made piece-a distant cousin to the venerable Jazz Bass but with a lot more personality. I can't find any info out here about it though; not even on the Fender Website. Does anyone here have experience or any info on the specs for this thing? It is a killer bass with a neck to die for. Here is a pic:

[esquire09]

Is 90's is old?

[JohnS]

It is for eggs, cottage cheese and computers

[archiennc]

Originally Posted by JohnS

It is for eggs, cottage cheese and computers

I turn 50 on the 27th of the month so right now, everything past tommorrow seems old to me. (At least that's what my kids say.) In this technological age, everything over a day old is obsolete.

Yes, I am a dinosaur. :)

[Bluesbob]

I think it's a very attractive bass. What kind of pups?

[Veitchy]

Nice bass. How exactly did you find it?

[archiennc]

Originally Posted by Bluesbob

I think it's a very attractive bass. What kind of pups?

Well from bits and pieces I've been able gather, these were Heartfield Basses and I know the original Heartfields were equipped with some form of EMG's (that's strange for a Fender Bass) They produce a very complex bass tone for a guitar in the $650-700 range originally. Then on the other hand, they have the feel of a set of SD Antiquities I have on my Mex Fender Jazz right now. (A couple of posters on HC seem to think this bass came equipped with Duncans. The blacked out covers make me suspect EMG's.......

[archiennc]

Originally Posted by Veitchy

Nice bass. How exactly did you find it?

Long Story Short-I am a Music Teacher in a small rural community in NC. The local pawnshop also serves as the local music store for the area. I was in there looking at some band instruments. In the midst of a bunch of "pawnshop specials" (KONA's, Trinity Rivers, etc) I saw this od bass. What was odd about it for me was the "Fender" logo on this bass that was so un-Fender. Didn't buy it that same day but went home to try and find some info on it. There's nothing even on the Fender Website about this puppy. That spells R-A-R-E to me; maybe not monetarily but simply being unique. I read somewhere that it's thought that these were only run a couple of years. That by itself peaked my intrest and it was marked $200 and because I shop in there a lot for the school system, they let me walk out the door with it for $100.

[Stratotwanger]

That is simply the Fender MB-5 and yes it is made in Japan, you'll see that on the back of the neck by the heel. There was also the Squier version. No tie with the Heartfield line at all. These usually go for about $300.00 on the used market. Oddly enough, the Squier versions don't go for much less. There are still a few of these floating around out there.