Fender Mustang Antigua Owned by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco Model Solid Body Electric Bass Guitar (1978), made in Fullerton, California, serial # S813031, Antigua shaded polyester finish, alder body, maple neck, black tolex hard shell case.
This 1978 Mustang Bass shows just minor wear but is super retro-cool looking in its distinctive Antigua livery, a perfect Fender oddity from the end of the '70s. This bass is a fine player in all original condition, the next "oddball' finish model years after the end of the run of the "Competition" Mustangs in 1973. The Antigua finish was an extremely short-lived option offered in from 1978-80, one of the least common finishes for these fretted Fender ponies. This specialized shaded finish was originally offered on hollowbody Coronados in the late '60s but inexplicably revived on Fender solidbodies for a short time at the end of 1970's. The creamy polyester hue with greenish edges was very eye-catching, if not to everyone's taste! It also often does not stand up particularly well in actual use, the painted pickguard being especially prone to wear; this one survives in better shape than many.
Another notable change from earlier Mustang Basses is the one-piece maple neck and fingerboard, an original Fender feature that came late to the Mustang just around this time. The then-new serial number decal on the headstock designates this as a 1978 model. The original pots date to the 32nd week of that year. Aside from the maple fingerboard, Poly finish and the thumbrest mounted above the strings, most other features remain similar to later 1960s models.
The Mustang Bass was introduced in 1966, Leo Fender's last original design for the company that bore his name. Although originally intended for students, the instrument is so well-designed and laid out that many professional players have used it extensively including "back in the day" Bill Wyman and Tina Weymouth. Ideal for guitar players or bassists with smaller hands, the Mustang remains one of the best short-scale basses ever designed, well-balanced and comfortable with a very punchy and surprisingly fat sonic signature. They are more popular in the 2020s than ever, seen with a large number of modern bassists in many styles. This super rare Antigua bass has survived the decades very well, recently resident at the Wilco loft and is now back out in the world ready to gig again!
Overall length is 42 1/8 in. (107 cm.), 12 1/4 in. (31.1 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) deep. Scale length is 30 in. (762 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.)., 8.69 lbs.
This bass shows light general wear but remains all original. The body is quite clean overall with minor scuffing and a few dings, dents, scratches but no large areas of wear. The only really notable scarring is a screw hole on either side of the bridge where someone mounted a Jazz Bass bridge cover long ago. There is a small area of discoloration on the lower back probably from contact with a vinyl strap.
The neck finish is also quite clean with just a few very small dings. The pickguard has one paint chip in the center and some chipping by the truss rod. but overall this is a nice original bass without any intrusive wear. All hardware is original and unaltered except the foam mute pads are long gone. The original frets have been crowned down a bit but still have plenty of life in them. At 8.7 Lbs. this is not the lightest Mustang but still a super pleasant bass to play, certainly the coolest 4-string Mustangs from later in the decade we have had and of course super distinctive looking! It resides in its nicely preserved original black Tolex Fender hard case, with the Wilco loft markings on the bottom end of the case confirming its stay there. Overall Excellent - Condition.
