I voted for 3. Amazing how great Squiers sound these days.

I love the sound of the P-Bass, but I reaaally liked the feel of the Mustang’s shorter scale length, as someone who primarily plays guitar. So the PJ Mustang got me really excited.

Argument for the PJ: I am 5'5, can only comfortably play short/mid scale basses, and I want a Pbass sound without having to buy a bass thats too large for my frame. Identity crisis or not it's a solid solution until Fender US starts making short scale P's.

the bronco as a DIY platform is amazing! i got one for 150 last black friday and did a full refinish on the body and neck, and routed a bridge pickup and it SLAPS! so many options and a great mod platform to really experiment with.

I have that exact Squier CV Mustang, same color and all. I bought it about last March and strung it with flats -- and that Mustang took me everywhere. I stumbled onto your video upon researching the Mustang, and your videos pushed me to get it. The comfort of that neck inspired me to keep playing bass, so damn good! I played my first gig with it at our school library, and stuck with it all the way to a huge local festival. One instrument can take you so far, and for me that instrument was my little Mustang. I just wanna say thank you Philip -- in a way, I wouldn't be in the same place musically if I hadn't stumbled into your content and bought that bass. Please keep making videos for us!

I picked up my Squier Bronco on a whim in store and was super impressed with the build quality (no crunchy knobs, no sharp fret ends, good feel), wound up buying it. I REALLY like it. I have plans to replace the pickup (probably a hot rail so I don't have to do any body routing or pickguard replacement) and I would absolutely LOVE a video (or two, or three...) by you on modifying the Bronco. Awesome bass for the money. Plus, it's pink! :)

So appreciative of your analytics on Mustang basses. In fact, I’m waiting for a shipment of JMJs to arrive at my retailer in about 2 weeks to pull the trigger on a blue one. What test result I found remarkable was how the most expensive bass was not even a competitor to the JMJ and Vintera. Thank you for being a source of reliable information for the bass community.

P bass pickups in a Mustang is for the exact reason you mentioned at the start of the video - you want the P bass sound, but injuries prevent you from playing a full scale bass.

I have the blue JMJ; as a guitar player with a home studio I wanted a short scale bass for recording purposes. I also have an American Special Jazz. The JMJ has become my “secret weapon.” Not only does it add a character & thump that is unique it’s so much fun to play. The flatwounds changed the game for me, I never would’ve considered them before the JMJ.

I own a JMJ in blue myself. Apart from the unconvincing (and IMO unnecessary) body relic job, it really is great. I also played a Vintera II the other day and it was a great instrument. The fit and finish was spot on.

I just picked up a used JMJ as my first bass, and it is really inspiring me. I'm a huge fan of six string Mustangs too, so I was really excited to find one locally.

I owned the Classic Vibe, and with your help, I replaced the pickups with Curtis Novak pickups and added Mustang Flats. I sanded the neck and felt like it made it closer (not exactly) to the JMJ. They are great basses!

American Performer Mustang is my main bass. Built great and has the best neck out of all my basses but I had to change the pickups due to the thinness you identified here. It’s got two Nordstrands in now and sounds fat

Great video, I feel like the score card gave it a Wes Anderson vibe and the track was wonderful. Whole thing makes me want a shorty.

Using flats changes the entire character of the sound. You can probably put flats on any of these basses and get the sound that it seems to me you prefer in this video. For instance, I have a Mustang pj and put la bella flats on it, and it sounds stellar. I just switched it back to rounds for the first time in 3 years, and it's a completely different instrument with a completely different vibe.

KZfaq just recommended me this video, and I'm blown away by your production, man. Everything in this video is well crafted. I own a Mustang PJ (pre-Player Series, but it's basically the same thing) and as my only bass, I love how versatile it is. But now I'm thinking about that Squier, and the Vintera as well. I mean, I'm mostly a keys/guitar player, so I don't need a lot of basses, but maybe owning a "true" Mustang is not a bad idea at all! Great content. Subscribed!

Hi Philip, great video! The way I interpret the Mustang with P bass pickups is similar to what happens with guitars. If you like the look and feel of a SG you can get it with humbuckers, one or two P90’s. Nonetheless, I also think the JMJ is the winner. Cheers.

I picked #6 . Cool and smooth low end. It was the only bass that wasn't "mid range" heavy.

Point of order so far at 8:20 The PJ has a place here for people that are recovering from a hand injury and can't play their full scale P-basses. It will give them back their distinct sound as opposed to a Mustang sound. I think it's similarity to an actual P-bass is it's strength, rather than a downside.

Thanks! This was great I own a P Bass, Left handed and I love it! Waited for 40 years to have it! With that being said, I enjoyed learning about these basses. The roking Rabbi.

The sonic bronco is a fantastic mod platform...hipshot bridge and tuners, bone nut, lace sensor red with a good wiring harness in mine...now it rocks

These come from the factory with different strings. The JMJ comes with flats. I put flats on my Performer, which came with rounds and the sound improvement was amazing.

Mojo is definitely something you must think about when buying a bass. When I was searching for a P-Bass, I stumbled upon a 2012 American Standard in incredible condition for a fair price, but when I played it, I thought it was just fine. Nothing wrong with it, but it felt a lot less inspiring than a particular Mexican P-Bass I'd played before. Ended up settling for a MIJ RI62 and I'm super glad I did. Sometimes, even though build quality is better, some particular basses just don't really match with you

I have both JmJ and AP. The AP has “Greasebucket” tone circuit. It really isn’t active with volume turned up full. Back off volume and tone control is more active. Additionally, pickup height of front split pickup was too low on mine when I received it. After proper adjust must , tone was much fuller. With the combination of j pickup, tone is really nice and articulate.

The jmj is a special instrument. Fender really nailed it with that one. I love the look of the vintnera II. But the attention to detail on the JMJ is top notch! Great video! Enjoyed it

I thought #2 sounded the best, you can hear how well the American Performer is setup, it adds to the tightness along with minimal buzz, and the way it cuts through and articulates notes is pretty rich. I thought #4 sounded the worst, everything else honestly had a muddiness to the sound except for the performer.

Fun shootout. Number 3 sounded best to me, but certainly not by a landslide! 1 and 6 came in close for me.

I own that Squier classic vibe, but in the same Capri orange colour with the red stripes as the Vintera II in your comparison. This was actually my first bass, coming from guitar. Great instrument. Put flats on it a few months ago and it sounds absolutely amazing.

I own the JMJ and a Player PJ, and could pick them both out in the blind test, my favourite sounding blind was the Vintera. The PJ bass sounds great, using just the P pickup. I use it quite a lot. The Jazz pickup in it is next to useless, weak, uneven, quiet, it really brings nothing’s to the party. I like the p pickup though, it sounds like a decent P bass, which is why I use it, I get your argument about get a P bass (I have 2) but when I’m playing live, I don’t like to junp between short scale and regular 34 inch scale, so the Mustang that makes P sounds is great when I want that sound live and I am swapping from the JMJ. I really want to buy a Vintera now though

The Classic Vibe would be my pick. Love the look and sound, and that value

My top three sounds were actually 6,5, and 1. I like the PJ because it's three in one. I find that appealing. But I love that you did this shoot out! Cheers

Thank you for your work and passion. I can really feel it. I've seen this episode hundreds of times. And you convinced me to buy a Mustang. It's the Squier and I love it so much!

I felt like 2 was clearest, 6 was muddiest, 1 3 4 and 5 were about the same but with increasing output levels and decreasing clarity. Visually, all I want is a black/white/rosewood Mustang without a jacked up finish. The JMJ is so close, yet so far.

great video! two thoughts: 1) i used to own the Mustang PJ and yeah, it's kind of a hybrid Precision/Mustang thing, but it's so usable and so comfortable to use. about 20% of the bands you see on KEXP have one of these, they are cheap, and sound great, and are easy and cheap to upgrade with some high quality PJ pickups. yeah, they don't sound exactly like a mustang but they get the job done if you want a good short-scale bass to play gigs. 2) honestly, i'm a bit terrified that the JMJ used to cost about 1.000 bucks 3 years ago. that's a huge price increase.

I chose #2 and #6. They both spoke to me. But in a month I would more than likely hear them differently. Zesty video and I really enjoyed it. Fun watching you battle your thoughts. Must be kind of overwhelming receiving so many basses at one and yet having to send them back. Thankee.

I was a P guy for years. I love my Precision bass. It always has a place. It's THAT sound, and it's unmistakable, versatile, and there. However.... I always loved the look of mustangs, and I tried a couple, both guitars and basses, both Fender and Squier, but I never found one I loved. But the JMJ is it. It's the epitome of what I was hoping for out of the Mustang. The sound, the look, the feel--it's all there. The sound holds up against something like the P. Fender nailed the neck...it's absurdly playable. Now that I've had something with a nitro finish, it might be difficult to go back.

And every one of them will feel and sound better with a set of LaBella Deep Talkin' strings.

I have a 2008 MIJ Mustang, bought it new. I put in True Custom Shop vintage style pickups and strung up with Labella Deep Talkin flats, I absolutely love it. I prefer the vintage sound personally. Thanks Philip

My JMJ is almost closer to a precision bass than a "regular" Mustang and I love it. Wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Thick, thumpy sound that can growl if you want it too.

I thoroughly enjoyed this video. I have spoken.

I disagree with you on the PJ. For me, first and foremost, short scale is top priority for its playability, and having the ability to blend between J and P bass tones is pretty amazing. P and J basses are known for sounding incredible. Whats wrong with having both options in a smaller form factor? Not to mention the PJ stang's natural finish is by far the most beautiful instrument you tested.

My favorites were the Classic Vibe and the PJ. If I were going for a traditional Mustang sound, I would pick the Classic Vibe. If I were just picking based on my own sonic preferences, it would be the PJ. I agree with you that the American Performer sounded the worst. I wasn't as fond of the JMJ as you were. The pickups almost sounded "overdriven" to me. That's a cool sound. But I'd rather start with a clean sound and be able to add the grit later. The Vintera looked the coolest. But I thought the pickups didn't have enough top end. It almost sounded like you had the tone knob rolled back.

One of the basses I have is a mid-2010’s Mexican Mustang PJ that the previous owner did custom relic work to, and in that same spirit I eventually decided to have it converted to fretless with flats on it. I really like how it turned out and how unique it is in my collection now, and since I have small hands, the short scale length makes it much easier than it otherwise would be to play in tune without frets. I do wish it had actual Mustang style pickups instead of the PJ configuration, but it’s still a ton of fun to play. Much love for mustangs, always punk as hell.

LOVE the Mustang bass! It's the only bass that has been on our recordings to date. Our first bassist had a 71 Mustang bass that ended up just being perfect for us, and when he left, the only thing we could get that nailed what his bass did was the JMJ, so that's our sound. I love it for the studio, since a lot of bassist already have something they like, so if we need something different, the JMJ is typically quite different from what most bassists are going to bring, and the short scale is great for all the non-bassists who need to get an idea down.

My former American Performer sounded so so so much better with LaBella flatwounds; the stock .40-.95 Fender strings were disappointing. Overall, the AP Mustang was a great sounding bass having a variety of useful tones with that bonus J pickup. It scores well in versatility. The Vintera II looks terrific and sounds sweet. Would be curious to hear the 60s Vintera side by side.

Love that Vintera II. Didn’t think i would but i just love that sound a ton

After the first play through, I like 3 and 5 the best.

Love the shirt! Athens, GA gang!

Interesting Squier & Fender Basses you've got there

Love the bronco riding footage in the background. Excellent video!

I'd probably buy the CV, but I really, really loved pretty much everything about the Vintera. So I'd play the CV and secretly lust after the Vintera. 'Cause racing stripes add roughly 4.28% more tone. :)

I had the Player PJ and was heavily leaning towards trading it in for the JMJ as I absolutely loved the sound of it. This video finalized my decision. Now just patiently waiting for the JMJ to arrive 😍

I tried the American Performer and the JMJ over an amp in a band setting and must say that my preference there is the opposite: The harshness you describe sounded great there and gave the bass more transparency in the mix. Having the option to going somewhere completely different soundwise with the additional J-Pickup is also nice.

one of the best comparison vids I've ever seen. A++. NOICE!

I “blind” voted for 3, 5 and 6. I picked up an American Performer Mustang B-stock for about $1k 18 months ago as my first bass coming from guitar after learning about Mustangs from Phil’s channel. At that time I could not find a Mustang locally and just went for it. I like blending the Performer’s pickups, the satin finish neck and have enjoyed my short time with it. I don’t like relic models so that ruled out the JMJ for me. Really enjoying Phil’s content, insights and the community he is building here. Well done!

I also had a gnarly hand injury and am buying my first mustang bass. This was just the absolute best video. Thank you for doing this!

so happy I have a first run JMJ!!! always a good time.

One detail you didn’t get into is body style. I didn’t realize I would not like the slab body until I got a JMJ. I actually returned it on that detail alone. Even with a short scale bass, I have a strong comfort preference for the later body contour. That’s how I ended up with my ‘70s Mustang. Luckily I got it before the price of ‘70s Mustangs went nuts! So for me, I’d proabaly have chosen the Vintera. It would be fun to compare it with ‘70s vintage!

I’m a MASSIVE Mustang fan, and having owned and/or played all off Fender’s Mustang offerings, and (IMO) believe it or not the best Mustang currently on the market isn’t a Fender. The day I got my Nash MB-63, I knew I’d found my primary/forever bass. I owned and rode a Suzuki 450cc motorcycle for 10 years. I loved that bike, and I often couldn’t afford to make repairs on a my car back then, so i had to ride that bike to work even through November. Living in the Northeast, it was rough! When I finally got a job that allowed me to upgrade, I got a reliable car and used Harley. Playing that Nash for the first time was just like my first ride on the Harley. I could feel the quality, the builds were solid.

The best sounding bass I have is my Supro I with flat wounds. Super easy to play, and beautiful. I had a II and III but they are more than I need. I have the Vintera but it's my 4th or 5th favorite of what I own. It's my favorite on this list.

The JMJ is probably the best short scale I've tried out, been GASing for one for a good while now. The bronco is underrated as hell too for the price. Would love to see a similar rundown for Precision and Jazz basses!

The BIG PROBLEM with the Vintera, as far as I can tell from the video and the photos on Sweetwater, is that there is no easy access to the trussrod. That's right, you have to remove the neck to adjust the trussrod. The same is true, BTW, for the Japanese-made Hybrid Mustang (not included in this review). Stay away from the Vintera unless you're happy to remove the neck every time you want to adjust your trussrod.

I really liked 1 and 4, I was really surprised that the Bronco was on that list lol. I actually own one that I put a Curtis Novak pickup in and now it sounds killer. The American one was kinda my least favorite, my favorite was the 4th which was apparently the JMJ.

Convinced me to get the Squier. Sounds good. I had a Bronco and actually really liked it. Feel like I need a good, affordable, short scale in my collection!

The only thing I can really see all across the web is that Squier models are literally kickin' asses to a lot of more expensive basses out there. The reason is the raising quality of the instruments at an affordable price. I agree the player PJ is nonsense. Great video!!👍🏼

1 and 6 were my favorites.

Jesus I am not even a bass player but watching this makes me wanna pick up the jmj. It just looks too sexy for me to resist.

i bought the bronco a while back with plans on eventually upgrading components but honestly i fell in love with it right out of the box. i've never owned a short scale bass before this but because i have small hands i feel like it was instantly easier than the p's and j's i've owned before. it's pretty great that these days one can spend a relatively small amount on a squier and have a super solid instrument :)

#6 the Vintera was my favorite sound. Funny because that one has the best ergonomics for me when I tried it out at Sweetwater. I used to have a player pj but I sold it because I didn't play it much and the neck was a bit too thin for me. I enjoyed the slightly thicker neck on the Vintera

Of course I liked the two basses with J bass pups installed. Great video and well thought out and put together.

You are very lucky to have a wife that supports your video footage. Mine doesn’t :(

I was heartened to see that you and I agreed on the ranking by sound. Agreed also that the Performer is the big letdown. For that price I would expect something much more distinctive. The JMJ probably deserves its win overall. I would never buy one, because I cordially detest relic finishes. The Bronco is a cool cheap bass, and nowadays a good modding platform, but it isn't a Mustang. I think you may be looking at the Player PJ 'from the wrong end', as it were. It isn't a Mustang with Precision and Jazz pickups - it's a PJ with a short scale that happens to have a Mustang-shaped body. Again, not really a Mustang for people who actually want a Mustang; more for players want a a PJ-style, but who - for whatever reason - struggle with a 34" scale. The Squier would be my choice, with the Vintera second. If the Vintera were cheaper, it would be my first choice - even though I don't like the tacky stripes. But I can't really justify the extra cost of the Vintera, given the extreme simplicity of this one-pickup instrument. In fact, I struggle to see how any Mustang should cost more than $1,000.

🚨 There is a scammer pretending to be me in the comments. Please report them. The winner will be contacted via email and announced on a livestream next week. I’m sorry for the confusion. 🚨

I really liked 3 and 5. Been looking at a short scale so I'm super thrilled about 3. This really helped!

I've have a 1968 Fender Mustang Bass I bought for $125 in 1982. Found it at a pawn shop here in Detroit. It's got all the original parts on it, Candy Apple Red with 2 white stripes. I vote for the Vintera 2 Bass. It looks like and reminds me of MY 1968 Candy Apple Red Mustang Bass.

Fantastic video! It gave me the information and confidence to finally get one. As the proud owner of the lovely Classic Vibe Mustang Bass, I can say it is everything I wanted!

3 and 5 were my favorite sounding initially. Groovy playing.

JMJ and I sold all my other basses. It may seem hardcore but day after day it became the one I was always using, the one that felt special, the one for me.

Bass #3 sounds great!!

Really like number three and number four but overall went with number six thought it sounded fantastic! How do you not love those stripes!

I have the PJ. Changed the switch for a blend pot and had it setup. Nice fun all rounder. I chipped mine though, only minor, but now the price has gone up because it's basically a vintage relic.

3 has the vibe for me .

Ref.the switch on the PJ Mustang, a couple of small drops of a certain spray lubricant, (supplied in a yellow and blue can), can help the switch to fully throw its the contacts. Use with the supplied fine red tube attached, to enable one small drop in from each side of the switch “handle”. Other spray lubricans are available, but this one works for me. Used it about 3 times over the last couple of years to good effect.

Great video. I think you nailed the whole comparison video format. By the way,… absolutely love the vintage rodeo footage!

I own the JMJ, and didn’t care for the factory flats fender shipped it with, so I changed them out to La Bella Mustang flats which made a major difference. I’ve played those flats for about 6 months and was ready for a change. I just restrung it with DR Sunbeams, and WOW, just WOW! You gotta give these a try! I’ve fallen in love with this bass all over again! It’s never sounded so good, and the strings feel great!

I’ve owned a JMJ and I agree 100% I loved the flats also. The relicing was just the right amount 👍🏻

I respect how you approached this video. Very cool! And also, I agree about the JMJ because that’s my bass too!

A great shoot-out which validates my life choices. Earlier this year I got a slightly used blue JMJ and not only is it a blast to play, but it "sparks joy" every time I walk into my music room and see it. The Vintera II has the '70s Mustang cosmetics down and that ergonomic back carve-out -- but the JMJ's '66 body profile is just like a little surfboard, man! It has vibe for days and it delivers the sound. And yeah, the flats are a superpower on that bass.

As usual, you're one of the most honest, educated, competent and professional content creator. Sound-wise I initially picked 3 as my favourite trying to figure out which bass might have a sound that would tick all the boxes; the slightly broader spectrum could be useful to cut through a mix you know... Then I figured out the JMJ had flats, so I had to put that as number one. Just for fun I tried to put my '78 beat up Musicmaster with a swapped out pickup into the mix and obviously (bias...) it came up top (I had to rely on your scores for the "feel" section obviously) but I feel like had that score card included a score for "reliability" or something like that the new well-made instruments would have everything to overcome a vintage instruments with some age to it. Great comparison btw!

What a great video! Love all your content Philip, but this one is an absolute beauty for us Mustang lovers! Here’s my two cents…(hope it helps anyone that reads this get to where they need to quicker than it took me!) I’ve had the Squier Classic Vibe for around 3-4 years now. When I bought it it was £350 (If I’d had the extra money I’d have bought the JMJ but I didn’t at the time so decided to upgrade the Squier over many birthdays, figuring that I’d probably end up spending the same as if I’d bought the JMJ but that it would be more affordable for me to do it that way) So, to cut a long story short, this is what I did. Firstly, I changed the strings to Labella Mustang Flats which as many of you will know, have a lovely thumpy old school vibe. I replaced the pickup with a Nordstrand Vintage NM4 - this slots straight in using the existing Squier pickup covers. This cost me £100 and really beefed up the tone of the bass. I shielded the cavities with copper tape and replaced the pick guard with a lovely white perloid one. This cost around £50 I replaced the pots with CTS and added an orange drop .47 cap. This cost me around £25 I sanded the neck with wire wool to remove the stickiness of the gloss finish. This worked really well and it’s now a lovely smooth, playable neck which retains the vintage look. I replaced the tuners with Hipshot Licensed Ultralites. This cost £100 but was worth it for the tuning stability and also went a long way to reducing the neck dive on this bass, which was a bit annoying. These were all great, and I would argue, necessary mods (for me at any rate) to get the bass playing, sounding and feeling as I wanted it. However, I could never get an evenness of volume and thickness of tone over the 4 strings until I changed the strings once more… I read a review of the Medium scale Chromes (ECB81M) on Thomann which described my problem perfectly. It was as if the tone control had zero effect on the sound of the bass, despite the high quality pots & cap replacement I’d made. They said they’d tried these Medium scale Chromes and were so impressed by the evenness of tone across all strings and their new found use for the tone knob that actually now had a dramatic effect on the tone of the bass. I can confirm that I am now 100% happy with how the bass sounds. It’s now my go-to instrument and I absolutely love everything about it. I spent about £675 in total on this project but that’s still cheaper than the new price of a JMJ and I now have the bass exactly as I want it.

Been playing bass for a decade now, have an aerodyne and Squire VI, but fell in love with the idea of owning the Vintera ii and got to try the American performer in guitar center and now I know I need a mustang!! Thanks for sharing this video Philip! Subscribed!

I got a Mustang FSR Player series in Sherwood green earlier this year for similar reasons to you Philip. I had an illness that affected my mobility and the Mustang is so much easier to navigate.

i bought a bronco over the summer just to have something different than my P-Bass. what a great mod platform! throw a cool low output strat pickup in it, sand the neck down, and put some good strings on it. it’s a super cool bass, and to be able to have it modded and everything for about $300 it’s a great deal.

I’m just starting to learn bass and have a Squier Affinity P Bass. So far, I love it. Keep up the awesome content. They all sound great to my neophyte ear.

I picked up a used PJ with flats on it. I love it to death. I did feel a little burned by fender that it's the entry level fender model and doesn't use Mustang pickups, but over time I've really come to love the sound of the instrument. I will definitely be buying another Mustang in the future, but I'm very happy with my PJ for now.

Number 2 - American Performer, I like that high end tone. Sure, it's thin and not low but I dig. Number 3 - Squier 60s Classic Vibe sounds good too.

5 is my favorite sounding EDIT: I assumed it would be the AM Performer, but it was the Player PJ. I think I gravitated towards it because it sounded a lot like a P-bass and I'm a huge P-bass guy. If I were to get one though I'd go with a JMJ, because if I'm getting a Mustang I'm getting a proper one (and it was my second favorite).

Really enjoyed this video. Entered in the contest as I’ve been wishing for a mustang for a while. You got a new subscriber!

Definitely do the bronco mod videos.

Philip!! Loved this video! Your commentary and chill vibe is awesome