Well, the new guitar day was two days ago actually, but I wanted to do a video which took me some time. Anyway, I was thinking what's the most affordable option to own a genuine pre-CBS Fender guitar and I started to look for a Musicmaster and Duo Sonic models which can still be quite expensive, so I decided to get some vintage parts and combine it with some modern parts as I wanted a players guitar and I could live if parts like pickguard and knobs aren't vintage.
So I tracked down a 1963 Musicmaster neck locally as I remembered a few years ago my guitar tech made a full scale replacement neck for a costumer that couldn't get used to the short scale. After contacting the costumer he said he's willing to sell it as it's been sitting in the corner since the replacement. It has original tuners, nut, string tree and probably even the frets. I initially wanted a maple neck, but I don't mind the veneer rosewood.
The biggest expense was a 1959/60 Musicmaster/Duo Sonic body, that I couldn't get locally and the sellers in EU weren't too responsive so I ordered it from the US which was quite an expense due to shipping and import costs, but still an ok price for me.
For now I went with a DiMarzio Virtual Vintage 54 pickup that sounds pretty good and it's hum-cancelling which I really appreciate. Vintage pickup would be perfect, but I can still change it later. I love the simple one pickup option as I play the neck pickup almost all the time anyway.
Other parts (pickguard, knobs...) are aftermarket.
So I tracked down a 1963 Musicmaster neck locally as I remembered a few years ago my guitar tech made a full scale replacement neck for a costumer that couldn't get used to the short scale. After contacting the costumer he said he's willing to sell it as it's been sitting in the corner since the replacement. It has original tuners, nut, string tree and probably even the frets. I initially wanted a maple neck, but I don't mind the veneer rosewood.
The biggest expense was a 1959/60 Musicmaster/Duo Sonic body, that I couldn't get locally and the sellers in EU weren't too responsive so I ordered it from the US which was quite an expense due to shipping and import costs, but still an ok price for me.
For now I went with a DiMarzio Virtual Vintage 54 pickup that sounds pretty good and it's hum-cancelling which I really appreciate. Vintage pickup would be perfect, but I can still change it later. I love the simple one pickup option as I play the neck pickup almost all the time anyway.
Other parts (pickguard, knobs...) are aftermarket.
