Looking at a 1977 Fender Musicmaster short scale bass for $1200. Looking for advice.
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My opinion: $1200 would buy you an outstanding new bass and mid to late '70s was a real crapshoot for Fender and Gibson quality control. Unless you know exactly what you’re getting in to I would spend the money on a modern instrument.
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Thanks for the info
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MusicMaster is a short scale bass with Stratocaster pickup. 1200 is pretty steep for a student model.
I bought a Sonic series Bronco by Squier and Modded the crap out of it and it sounds pretty darn good.
I got it on sales for maybe a buck and a quarter and put $500 of mods and a couple of hours and there it is.
here’s one of the famous MusicMaster player. He’s goofing off, he should have tried a little harder, 
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I also modded a bronco into a 51p style bass. It’s easy to do and doesn’t require special skills. With an EMG pickup don’t even have to worry about soldering.
On the higher end, Offbeat Guitars makes musicmaster inspired basses
This is mine with two Fralin strat pickups. My take on a jazz. Offbeat makes wonderfully crafted stuff, and if that’s a thought but the price is high, they often do deep discounts around the holidays. Mine was ~30% off (and the 4th is around the corner)
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Well, unless you’re heart is set on that particular guitar, 1200.00 will buy you a lot of short scale basses AND an amp along with it. I play a G&L Tribute Fallout short scale that is awesome. $575.00 from ProAudio about 2 years ago. I have a friend that found a Fender Mustang short scale for $200.00. I buy Fender Rumble and Ampeg Rocket Bass amps for less than $200 from marketplace, just be patient.
I don’t know if you’re experienced with instruments or not, but I wouldn’t be swayed or impressed with the fact is says Fender on it. Sorta like Harley Davidson motorcycles. People buy them because of brand loyalty more than anything.
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Yeah that was my point up there too. Agree with your whole post - vintage Fenders are things you buy because you want to pay extra for the brand history, not because they will be good choices for instrument quality.
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Another reason to do a Bronco upgrade is the Music Master bass pickup has six poles, as the bass used the same pickup as a Mustang guitar in the day, and the strings don’t line up over the poles. The Bronco does this too.
It’s a really easy upgrade to use a Strat pickup with rails instead, so poles are moot. Like my Fralin Strat pickups, but there’s many options.
I would never mod a vintage Fender. Even though the Strat upgrade was common in the day.
I went a different direction with my bronco. Fralin 51 p bass pickup. Also, sanded and refinished the neck. Also, new pots and jack. This thing sounds and plays awesome.
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nice 
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