The Matsumoku factory had been producing guitars for export for some time, but the 1820 bass (alongside a number of guitar models and the 5120 electric acoustic bass) were the first Epiphone models to be made there. This was scratchplate mounted in a fairly central position, resulting in a pretty gritty midrange sound (listen to soundclips here) with just the usual tone and one volume controls to give a little variation - for the right band how much more would you need?īy the end of the 1960s, a decision had been made to move Epiphone guitar production from the USA (at the Kalamazoo plant where Gibson guitars were made), to Matsumoto in Japan, creating a line of guitars and basses significantly less expensive than the USA-built models (actually less than half the price). Although very simple, it does have some sturdy components, especially the bridge, and was certainly a more substantial instrument than many other 'entry-level' basses.Īlthough a good functioning bass, it could perhaps be considered a little limited tonally, having only one single-coil pickup. It was an easy-playing good quality, solid, reliable bass. The Musicmaster was Fender's least expensive bass model (in 1973, it had a list price of $139.50, compared to $293.50 for the Precision), and with the shorter 30" was scale perfect for student musicians. The only real difference is the position of the thumbrest, but then, this catalogue does re-use the image from the 1970 catalogue - the first appearance of the Fender Musicmaster bass. Have a look at the 1972 Fender catalogue, which has an almost identical guitar pictured. The bass pictured is completely typical example of an early Musicmaster. The Fender Musicmaster bass was a new instrument for the 1970s, being launched in the second half of the first year of the decade.
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