Fender Mustang Discussion

Discussion of vintage Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Bass VIs, Electric XIIs and any other offset-waist instruments.
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Re: Fender Mustang Discussion

Post by luau » Wed Mar 16, 2022 7:05 am

I like the 70s models. I've played a few 60s models and never really bonded with them but I've never owned one. I'm not a fan of A necks.
TomGuitar wrote:
Mon Mar 14, 2022 10:53 am
This site I follow, the Local Pickup, carries a bunch of vintage guitars and recently got in this sweet '72 "Competition Mustang." I hadn't heard of that type of Mustang before and was wondering if y'all had any insight or experience with a Fender Competition Mustang like this.
https://thelocalpickup.com/product/1972 ... n-mustang/
I have a red '72 just like that and love it. The one you've linked looks to be in beautiful shape and that's a wonderful piece of maple.

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Re: Fender Mustang Discussion

Post by Jaguar018 » Thu Mar 17, 2022 7:40 am

I have a pre-69 body that is part of a parts mustang. Really great guitar. I like how it has its little variations with the Jaguar.

I have this completely subjective distaste for plastic tuner buttons so I had avoided them forever. :mellow:

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Re: Fender Mustang Discussion

Post by JSett » Thu Mar 17, 2022 11:08 am

I've had 3 vintage Mustangs in the last 2 years, and kept one. Two 1964's (both with A necks) and a '73 with a B neck

The '73 had a much thinner neck profile than the 60's ones (very modern feeling) but I preferred the roundness of the '64's. I don't mind the A neck nut width but it does feel a teeny bit cramped at times. A combination of the pair would be great. I liked the contours of the '73.

In the end I kept my '64, sold the other '64 to gishuk on here ad the '73 went to a nice older gentleman up in Corydon. I don't miss either of those really.
Jaguar018 wrote:
Thu Mar 17, 2022 7:40 am
I have this completely subjective distaste for plastic tuner buttons so I had avoided them forever. :mellow:
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Re: Fender Mustang Discussion

Post by Maggieo » Sun Mar 20, 2022 12:55 pm

I love my '64. It loves pedals, too.

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1965 Fender Mustang, September 12, 2017 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr
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Re: Fender Mustang Discussion

Post by WSquires » Tue Mar 22, 2022 6:24 am

Wait. So do all '64 Mustangs/Duo Sonics/Musicmasters have A necks? When did Fender start offering B neck Mustangs/Duo Sonics/Musicmasters?

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Re: Fender Mustang Discussion

Post by JSett » Tue Mar 22, 2022 12:12 pm

WSquires wrote:
Tue Mar 22, 2022 6:24 am
Wait. So do all '64 Mustangs/Duo Sonics/Musicmasters have A necks? When did Fender start offering B neck Mustangs/Duo Sonics/Musicmasters?
Let's just say it'd would be extremely hard to find one that wasn't an A neck. These were student guitars remember, designed for children and teenagers with smaller hands...it's us big dumb idiot adults that are using them wrong :D
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Re: Fender Mustang Discussion

Post by Iheartreverb » Tue Apr 19, 2022 1:08 pm

I’ve recently picked up a ‘75 Mustang and I must say, I’m sold!
There has been points where I assumed buying a modern guitar would be “better” than something of this era, given some poor opinions of them and underwhelming experiences I’ve had in the past (non-offset).
But playing it you just realise how wrong Fender (or anyone) get it recreating these things. The ‘75 plays and sounds amazing, very specific at times and does it’s job well.
Sure everything creaks when I tune it and I can imagine the neck isn’t for everyone but the pickups sounds unreal.
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Re: Fender Mustang Discussion

Post by panoramic » Mon Apr 25, 2022 8:08 am

WSquires wrote:
Tue Mar 22, 2022 6:24 am
Wait. So do all '64 Mustangs/Duo Sonics/Musicmasters have A necks? When did Fender start offering B neck Mustangs/Duo Sonics/Musicmasters?
from 65 on the B necks were more common than the A from my experience. I've only owned 1 64 and it was a B neck but it was end of the year production. There is a website out there the details this stuff pretty in depth, the musicmaster and duo's had more A necks I believe
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Re: Fender Mustang Discussion

Post by Jonesie » Mon Apr 25, 2022 11:01 am

I got to fool around with my friend's 66 Mustang this past weekend, and while it was a fun guitar and sounded really cool, man, it looked hilarious on me. Just so teeny. The bridge pickup is a replacement and he has no idea what it is. It has a raised pole piece on the B string, so I'm not sure if that would give anyone an idea of what it could be. Judging by the holes in the pickguard it looks like a previous owner may have installed a (backwards?) Tele bridge pickup in it? Anyway, here's a picture or two of it:

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Re: Fender Mustang Discussion

Post by Maggieo » Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:03 am

Looks like a Rio Grande.
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Re: Fender Mustang Discussion

Post by X-Ray Spex » Wed Apr 27, 2022 2:30 pm

Kinx wrote:
Tue Mar 15, 2022 12:00 pm
I bought a red '65 in the US couple of years ago (I was buying for a friend), he already had a blue '66 he fell in love with. The blue one is a bit more lively sound wise (a tiny bit hotter pickups, maybe a little more resonant body & neck), however they are identical in terms of feel. What's funny tho is that my '65 mangled "Van Mustang" (a 65 that somebody tried to turn into an EVH guitar in the 80s) smokes them both :D

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs69GaMlX11/

I suppose copious amount of wood putty in its body is to blame.

a friend of mine used to have natural '76 mustang with maple fretboard. I didn't like it, no matter how hard i tried :(
I love the Van Mustang so much, the heavy duty G&L bridge complements it so well.
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Re: Fender Mustang Discussion

Post by sir h c » Tue May 03, 2022 6:06 pm

The pickups in my Mustang are 8/64. There were three colors at the time, White, Blue, and Red. Mine was white. $150 back in the day, stripped but it is awesome. This is the guitar that goes to my grave, I love the feel, I have big hands, but it works. Mine is not a "true" A neck as I played an A neck Mustang that I wanted to love and buy, but it was like playing a Jazz bass with two more strings to make it impossible. I was depressed for days, but such is life.

I think the later ones are loved more for the cool racing stripes and all that. But I have two mutants and am happy to have them.

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Re: Fender Mustang Discussion

Post by WillyNelson » Sun Aug 27, 2023 4:40 pm

Hello all! Hoping there are some Fender mustang experts who can answer a question my dad has about a Fender Mustang he bought over 50 years ago. He searched the serial number and the manufacturing details state that it was produced in Fullerton CA in 1963, though as far as we know they started being made in 1964. Also, the body of the guitar is natural wood, rather than one of the classic colors. He is joking that he thinks he may have a “Frankenstein”— that it might have been built from a bunch of different parts but wondering if anyone here might have any different ideas about its origin or known anywhere else we should go looking for answers? Thank you!

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Re: Fender Mustang Discussion

Post by Kinx » Sun Aug 27, 2023 10:07 pm

WillyNelson wrote:
Sun Aug 27, 2023 4:40 pm
Hello all! Hoping there are some Fender mustang experts who can answer a question my dad has about a Fender Mustang he bought over 50 years ago. He searched the serial number and the manufacturing details state that it was produced in Fullerton CA in 1963, though as far as we know they started being made in 1964. Also, the body of the guitar is natural wood, rather than one of the classic colors. He is joking that he thinks he may have a “Frankenstein”— that it might have been built from a bunch of different parts but wondering if anyone here might have any different ideas about its origin or known anywhere else we should go looking for answers? Thank you!
It's difficult to tell without pictures. Please post some here so we can have a look! However, no natural finished mustangs were produced during 63, so it seems likely that it has an older neck plate from a different guitar and it was stripped from it's original finish (this was done to a lot of guitars during the era).
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