COOL RAILS FOR BASS.

[azua.santiago]

Hello people as you can suspect I´m new to the forum so if I do something out of the rules don´t be afraid to scold me.

Here is the situation, I just got my hands on a '72 Fender MusicMaster Bass, which as some of you may know, comes with a rather awful guitar pickup, as I've been reading around I found some suitable replacement pickups, and many people, some claiming that Seymour Duncan himself, recomend throwing in a Strat Cool Rails pup, so thats what I went for, now the question, I'm doing a simple wiring, 1 volume, 1 tone, I´m adding a DPDT to switch series/parallel, I just can´t decide which potentiometer value would be better, so I wanna hear the infinite cumulative wisdom of the SD forum about it.

Thanks guys.

 

[jtougas]

Re: COOL RAILS FOR BASS.

I'd start with a 500k, see if that makes the bass too hifi; if it does, then switch down to a 250k, or maybe a 300k.

 

[ginormous]

Re: COOL RAILS FOR BASS.

Welcome! Don't be scared, we were all new once.

That's the 2nd year of MusicMaster Bass. It was an entry-level student model, so it's cool to have around.

As with so many topics here, the search button is your friend. A thread from 2006 (for perspective, I joined in '07, so this info is 'older' than I am):
https://forum.seymourduncan.com/sho...s-a-single-for-Fender-Musicmaster-bass-guitar

Check out The Bassment if you want more direct, bass related advice.

 

[azua.santiago]

Re: COOL RAILS FOR BASS.

Thanks for the welcome guys, I think I'm gonna do that, I'll get some 500k and 250k and do some tests, the pickup arrives next week, I'll post some picks and the pot test results, in case it becomes helpful in the future for any other dude trying to improve his musicmaster. there is some interesting info in that old thread, thanks for teaching me that ginormus.

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: COOL RAILS FOR BASS.

I used a $5 Belcat rails pickup I bought off ebay and it was a great improvement on the original.

 

[Pizzapits]

Re: COOL RAILS FOR BASS.

Hey Azua,
In the same situation as you and stumbled on your post. Was wondering how it turned out and if you have any suggestions after going through with your mod.
Also, did you use a cool rails neck pickup or bridge?
Thanks!

 

[dystrust]

Re: COOL RAILS FOR BASS.

Hey Azua,
In the same situation as you and stumbled on your post. Was wondering how it turned out and if you have any suggestions after going through with your mod.
Also, did you use a cool rails neck pickup or bridge?
Thanks!

My fiance has a Cool Rails bridge installed in a Squier Bronco bass which is very similar to the Fender Musicmaster. I think we stuck with the stock pots & caps, but I don't remember for sure. It's strung with La Bella 760FSS short scale stainless flats and it cops a rather convincing old school P-Bass sound. I picked the Cool Rails bridge because we wanted something hotter than the stock Strat pickup and because I thought the Hot Rails neck would be too mid-heavy. Several users on Talkbass had mentioned trying the Hot Rails bridge and finding it too hot to work well.

 

[Pizzapits]

Re: COOL RAILS FOR BASS.

I picked the Cool Rails bridge because we wanted something hotter than the stock Strat pickup and because I thought the Hot Rails neck would be too mid-heavy. Several users on Talkbass had mentioned trying the Hot Rails bridge and finding it too hot to work well.

Thanks for the info, appreciate the help! Can't wait to give this thing an overhaul. The stock pickup and flat wounds it came with have a fairly dull sound, so I am excited to get this thing up to snuff.

 

[Mincer]

Re: COOL RAILS FOR BASS.

Give us your thoughts after the upgrade- it might help others with the same issue.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: COOL RAILS FOR BASS.

I’d be curious to hear the results! I love rail pickups, working on a bass project right now using Bill Lawrence Rail pickups.