FACTOIDS & TRIVIA

The Musicmaster was Fender’s most basic student model electric guitar. It was introduced in 1956 along with the dual pickup Duo-Sonic. The Musicmaster of the 1950s was a bit different from the one shown here. The older version had a maple fingerboard with a 1 5/8 inch nut width and a gold anodized aluminum pickguard. The early 1960s version had a rosewood fingerboard with a 1 1/2 inch nut width and a plastic pickguard. The short scale student model Fenders were made to the same high standards using the same quality materials that Fender demanded for its more expensive instruments. As such, pre-1964 Musicmasters and Duo-Sonics are very well made. In 1964, the Musicmaster metamorphosed into the Musicmaster II which was really more akin to the Mustang than to the original Musicmaster.

 Body:  Solid, alder

 Finish:  Maroon Burst, nitrocellulose lacquer

 Neck:  1-piece maple, bolt-on

 Fingerboard:  Brazilian rosewood; clay dot markers

 Number of Frets:  21

 Pickguard:  Single-ply white plastic

 Bridge:  Fender steel, chrome

 Nut:  Plastic

 Tuners:  Kluson Deluxe, enclosed, nickel

 Pickups:  One, Fender single coil

 Controls:  Master tone, master volume

 Scale Length:  22 1/2 inches

 Neck Width at Nut:  1 1/2 inches

 Body Width at Lower Bout:  12 inches

 Body Depth:  1 1/2 inches

 Weight:  6.8 lb