Rat Mustang project - finished at last!

[JVG]

My keenness to put together a Mustang is reaching boiling point, and I see myself acting on it very soon! I've already done some preliminary investigating.....after reading some positive reviews I'm probably gonna give Tonebomb a go for the body. Most likely a MK neck.

At this point I'm torn between two options:

1. The "classic" Mustang design, colour undecided as yet,
or
2. A variant with a 1.75" thick body, arm/tummy contours and a Jazzmaster tremolo (which Tonebomb have told me they can accommodate at no extra charge). Pickups in this scenario would probably stay as per standard Mustang, though Novak "Narrow Range" are tempting.

I'd be interested to hear ideas as to why I should stay on the "classic" path, or venture down the road a little less travelled. I'm also open to other ideas, unless they involve Floyd Rose trems and active pickups

Cheers!
J.

[kdanie]

I recently did a 'stang with Rose "American Beauty" strat type pickups & a JM trem. I LOVE it. I also have a more traditional 'stang with lipstick pickups that's pretty great too. I guess it depends on the sound you are after. I would definitely go for the JM trem.

ken

[JVG]

How far back did you place the trem? Standard Jag distance? Does it work aesthetically?

Cheers!
J

[FightingPlankton]

My personal opinion is 75% of what makes a mustang is its unique bridge; Otherwise it's just a cyclone.
the 3-way selectors is another must-have in my opinion.
I'm far more flexible on pickup swaps as long as those 2 boxes are checked.
that's just me. I'm sure others will rattle off how unstable/poopy the Mustang bridge is...but just remember, people used to hate JM bridges until they realized they offered tones other units dont.
as for colour, I've always loved Daphne blue on stangs. Or the darker shades of sonic blue.

[kdanie]

How far back did you place the trem? Standard Jag distance? Does it work aesthetically?

Cheers!
J

I mounted it the same distance from the bridge as a JM, you decide if it works aesthetically for you... I love it.



Here's the 'stang with strat size lipsticks, it's pretty damn good too.



ken

[Embenny]

Here's the 'stang with strat size lipsticks, it's pretty damn good too.



ken

Interesting that you put a JM bridge on a Mustang - an ironic twist, one might say!

I like that you went with black lipsticks to keep the vibe of the traditional aesthetics.

[kdanie]

That one was inspired by the P-51 Mustang fighter from WWII, hand cut brushed aluminum guard & control plate.

I really hadn't realized the overtones the JM trem adds, the light weight & VERY resonant chambered alder body really brought that out.

ken

[dren68]

I'll second the Mustang with Jag/JM trem idea, especially if you can have one made to your specs. That's a little harder to come by. I have a few custom made Stang-Masters (as I like to call them), and I really like them. To me, it combines all of the best elements into one. I have a traditional Mustang, too, but for some reason, I just prefer the ones with the Jag/JM trems. Plus, they just look cool to me.

Here's one of mine:

[JVG]

Some really nice stuff there, thanks to you both for the images. The last pic of the blue one really sold it to me. The proportions looks very nice, I like where the trem is sitting.

My main hesitation with making a modified Mustang is that I already have a Cobain one, so was think maybe I should do something more standard. But that trem looks right at home....

Cheers!
J.

[FightingPlankton]

[JVG]

I finally settled on the details for this project.

Went to the Musikraft site to order a 24" neck, and found that they've temporarily removed a LOT of options, including the short scale options. There's a note on the site, explaining they've done this to get through a backlog of oem and custom orders which had piled up. I'm just hoping they bring back some of the options soon!

Thought I'd mention this in case anyone else was planning a Musikraft build. The basic options are still available, but nothing fancy like inlays or binding. No finishing either

I guess my project will be waiting for a neck for a while!

Cheers,
J.

[dren68]

I finally settled on the details for this project.

Went to the Musikraft site to order a 24" neck, and found that they've temporarily removed a LOT of options, including the short scale options. There's a note on the site, explaining they've done this to get through a backlog of oem and custom orders which had piled up. I'm just hoping they bring back some of the options soon!

Thought I'd mention this in case anyone else was planning a Musikraft build. The basic options are still available, but nothing fancy like inlays or binding. No finishing either

I guess my project will be waiting for a neck for a while!

Cheers,
J.

Yeah, I was actually about to order a 24" scale neck from them, too, and saw that on their website yesterday. Needless to say, I was really bummed as you were also. They've actually done that before. I think it was around a month or two before the short scale option was back, but I hope it's not that long this time. I'm really anxious to get this next project completed.

[JVG]

I figured I wasn't the only one. Now you mention it, I do recall a couple of years ago they went through a period of not offering blocks and binding, so it seems to be a semi-regular thing.

I understand their reasoning and I don't want to put shit on them, because they've made a bunch of awesome necks fore me, but it's a bummer all the same.

I guess I'll have to exercise some patience! Haha.

Cheers!
J.

[JVG]

So, I got around to getting this thing started!

The body is from Tonebomb (Canada), who were very accommodating with options. It was my first experience with them, and a good one, despite taking a little longer than initially planned. In particular I give them high marks for prompt and polite responses to my emails. I hope they keep up this form!

I chose an alder body - asked for a nicely bookmatched 2-piece but they offered 1-piece at the same price, so I'm not complaining! Additionally, i needed 1-3/4" thickness to safely accommodate a Jazzmaster trem route. Other options include an angled neck pocket and body contouring.

It's a beautiful looking piece of wood, of medium weight.

(I also got a guard from them too, but you can see from the pic it's a bit odd on the horn area, and has some unusual screw placement. I think I'll get a different one.)

The body:

[JVG]

Slow progress on this one, but it's coming together.

For the body I oxidised the surface by rubbing with a solution of steel wool dissolved in vinegar. I've done this before, and quite like the results - it gives the wood a grey/brown tinge. In artificial light it almost looks like a walnut stain, whereas in natural light it takes on a more grey tone.

I sprayed on 3 very light coats of clear nitro, just enough to seal the surface but not fill the grain. I sanded back with 800 grade wet & dry, then buffed to a dull sheen.

In a way I'm deliberately making the body look like a home-job. I want it to look like one of those 1970's efforts, like some teenager got given his dad's 1966 Mustang, and during school holidays impulsively decided to strip it back to a wood finish. Yeah, most of us cringe when we see such things done to vintage instruments, but there's something about the irreverence of it that appeals to me. It's rock and roll!

Anyway, I got a neck from Musikraft. Roast maple (which smells AMAZING...), with binding and their "Coney Island boardwalk" fretboard wood, which has a nice red/brown colour. Only has a sealer coat of nitro. Really like this neck.