Fender Mustang bass Rewind

[big_teee]

I have a Fender Mustang bass coming in this weekend that needs a rewind.
Any experience or advise you can give me.
Like How many turns, and what Ballpark DCR I should end up with?
T

[David Schwab]

My notes say 12,000 turns of 42PE per coil. I don't know how accurate that is, but the P bass is 10,000 turns per coil, so it's probably right. Those bobbins are a little narrower.

You can try weighing a bobbin before you remove the wire, and then see if the rewound coil matches. Either way it wouldn't sound bad in that ballpark.

[big_teee]

Thanks David!
That jives out with the Seymour Duncan note 319 I found.
301-325 - Seymour Duncan
Not a lot of info on the Mustang bass pickups.
In the pictures the mustang bobbins look taller than a pbass, so that would allow a lot more room on the bobbins.
I will let you know after I'm done.
T

[Justin Thomas]

Hey Terry,

If it's any help, 1967 Mustang Bass (mine) pickup dated 4/14/67 measured 10.35k DCR. I didn't disconnect it, just measured across the two wires. If you need me to unsolder it, I can do it tomorrow...

Justin

[big_teee]

Thanks Justin!
They usually measure less when they are connected to the pot.
If you want to lift one side that would be great, if it's a big hassle don't bother.
How does yours sound?
That is the pickups that look like a mini p-bass?
https://www.google.com/search?q=must...0-%3B500%3B365
T

[Justin Thomas]

Yeah, it's the mini P-bass. I don't pay attention to how it spunds compared to other basses; I'm a 3-instrument guy. The most cokmon remark I get is that it's got a "growl" to it that people don't hear in other basses. Another comment I get is that it sounds "angry." But that could also be cuz I play with roundwound GHSes through a Bassman 100 or BF Bassman cranked up at least halfway. And I beat it up pretty hard - sometimes the strings flop off the neck, short-scale and all... the D string seems a little weaker than the rest, but it could also be an issue with the neck. It's original except for the frets, nut, jack, and strap buttons.

I made a note to remeasure tomorrow.

Justin

[Justin Thomas]

Hey Terry, got those measurements for ya. E-A coil was 5.4k, D-G coik was 5.5k. total from end to end was 10.87k, adds up close enough.

Justin

[big_teee]

Thanks Justin!
You've been a big help.
To recap?
Each coil should be wound with 12,000 turns on each bobbin with 42PE, or 42SPN.
Hopefully the end result should be 5.4-5.5k Ohms DCR per coil, or both coils in Series should sum 10.8-11k ohms DCR.
Thanks again,
T

[big_teee]

Justin, can you check to see if one bobbin is south up and one north up?
These were both south up and wired in series.
Don't think these could have been hum canceling.
They had output on the finish at the G string the Starts were tied together, and the finish at the E string was grounded.
I plan on wiring it the same but making one of the bobbins north up, not both south up?
T

[Justin Thomas]

Hey Terry,

I know vaguely what that means, but have no idea how to check! If I take the two coils and stick them face to face and they stick together, that means that one is North up and the other is South up, correct? I couldn't tell which is north and which is south from a technical standpoint... I'm not sure if mine is humbucking or not. If it's noisy, I deal with it. It's never awful or dreadful, but any buzzing could be from grounding issues.

I actually don't have much besides a soldering station & meter for test equipment; I just like getting the off-beat quality gear that's not particularly valuable for really cheap, and my Mustang Bass was one of those. And I got it before they shot up in price.

Justin

[big_teee]

Hey Terry,

I know vaguely what that means, but have no idea how to check! If I take the two coils and stick them face to face and they stick together, that means that one is North up and the other is South up, correct? I couldn't tell which is north and which is south from a technical standpoint... I'm not sure if mine is humbucking or not. If it's noisy, I deal with it. It's never awful or dreadful, but any buzzing could be from grounding issues.

I actually don't have much besides a soldering station & meter for test equipment; I just like getting the off-beat quality gear that's not particularly valuable for really cheap, and my Mustang Bass was one of those. And I got it before they shot up in price.

Justin

Thanks Justin, your doing fine.
Don't worry about it, I went ahead and made one north up and one south up.
I just got them rewound potted and put in the pickguard.
I will test it all tomorrow.
Yours is stouter than these.
I wound each coil to 12000 turns like the spec call for and they both measure 5.15k and 10.3k total.
I will give them the old play test tomorrow.
Thanks again,
T

[David Schwab]

Yeah, it's the mini P-bass. I don't pay attention to how it spunds compared to other basses; I'm a 3-instrument guy. The most cokmon remark I get is that it's got a "growl" to it that people don't hear in other basses. Another comment I get is that it sounds "angry." But that could also be cuz I play with roundwound GHSes through a Bassman 100 or BF Bassman cranked up at least halfway. And I beat it up pretty hard - sometimes the strings flop off the neck, short-scale and all... the D string seems a little weaker than the rest, but it could also be an issue with the neck. It's original except for the frets, nut, jack, and strap buttons.

I made a note to remeasure tomorrow.

Justin

I love the sound of Mustang basses. It upsets me to see people take old ones and put P bass pickups in them. They have their own voice.

[big_teee]

Here is the Mustang Bass I rewound the pickups for.
The pickups showed it to be a 73, or 75, had trouble reading the numbers.
It does appear to have been many a mile, and the pickguard is all warped and mangled.
It looked like someone poured a 2 litre bottle of Coke classic, down the pickguard.
I don't know if that was with or without the Jack Daniels.
It actually sounds pretty decent, and with the .500" inch tall bobbins, it is not too dark sounding.
All strings sounded good.
T

[Justin Thomas]

Nice little bass! Were there any stamps on the neck or body to date it? And what color is it? Kinda hard to tell from the pic... Always loved Fender's inconsistency with thumb rest placement...

Justin

[big_teee]

That is a silvery blue metallic.
On the dating all I looked at was the pickups.
I'm sure the owner knows more about it.
T