Factory Original Long Scale 1972 Fender Mustang

[CVBassVI]

Oh, and here is another neck made by Xavier Armenta from 1972 and stamped "Special" in red:



Note that it is a true Stratocaster 25.5 neck with 21 frets and a rosewood fretboard, but unlike yours, it has the skunk stripe. Xavier Armenta worked at Fender starting in the mid-50s and is well known as a maker of really good Fenders. Anyone can make a mistake, but it's hard to believe that he really built a 25.5" Mustang neck like this and stamped it with his stamp and then "special." But here it is.

His son is apparently a member of the Strat forum.

[CCOffset]

Another bit of information is that the case is 41" long. I asked around and received measurements from four other Mustang cases which were all about 40.25" long. Does anyone here have a Mustang case that measures 41" long? A custom length case would appear to rule out a factory error.

[JSett]

Note that it is a true Stratocaster 25.5 neck with 21 frets and a rosewood fretboard, but unlike yours, it has the skunk stripe. Xavier Armenta worked at Fender starting in the mid-50s and is well known as a maker of really good Fenders. Anyone can make a mistake, but it's hard to believe that he really built a 25.5" Mustang neck like this and stamped it with his stamp and then "special." But here it is.

Necks weren't just made by one person...it was an assembly line. If you notice his stamp is underneath the finish...that means the lacquer and decal, would have been put on afterwards. He didn't build a neck, he signed off on a 25.5" (probably Jazzmaster) neck that then went on and likely got badged incorrectly when being pulled off the rack of finished necks to be attached to a body. I don't know why you're finding it so hard to believe...this sort of thing happened a lot across the entire Fender amp/guitar/etc range (and still happens to this day).

...is well known as a maker of really good Fenders.

He was part of an assembly line, this statement is fundamentally flawed. Every guitar with his name on it probably had 30+ people work on it over the course of it's production. This is the kind of nonsense myth started on TGP or Strat Talk to try and put extra gravitas to particular instruments (like the 'Woodcutter' Rat debarcle). Don't believe the hype. Fender wasn't like a Custom Shop, especially in the CBS years

****

To the OP, have you got a photo of the neck heel? If you show us that we can likely solve this mystery pretty quickly.

[JSett]

Another bit of information is that the case is 41" long. I asked around and received measurements from four other Mustang cases which were all about 40.25" long. Does anyone here have a Mustang case that measures 41" long? A custom length case would appear to rule out a factory error.

This small a difference could literally be accounted for in foam degradation

What's the code/date on the neck heel?

[CCOffset]

Another bit of information is that the case is 41" long. I asked around and received measurements from four other Mustang cases which were all about 40.25" long. Does anyone here have a Mustang case that measures 41" long? A custom length case would appear to rule out a factory error.

This small a difference could literally be accounted for in foam degradation

What's the code/date on the neck heel?

This is an exterior length measurement. I don't believe that plywood shrinks that much.

[CVBassVI]

Note that it is a true Stratocaster 25.5 neck with 21 frets and a rosewood fretboard, but unlike yours, it has the skunk stripe. Xavier Armenta worked at Fender starting in the mid-50s and is well known as a maker of really good Fenders. Anyone can make a mistake, but it's hard to believe that he really built a 25.5" Mustang neck like this and stamped it with his stamp and then "special." But here it is.

Necks weren't just made by one person...it was an assembly line. If you notice his stamp is underneath the finish...that means the lacquer and decal, would have been put on afterwards. He didn't build a neck, he signed off on a 25.5" (probably Jazzmaster) neck that then went on and likely got badged incorrectly when being pulled off the rack of finished necks to be attached to a body. I don't know why you're finding it so hard to believe...this sort of thing happened a lot across the entire Fender amp/guitar/etc range (and still happens to this day).

...is well known as a maker of really good Fenders.

He was part of an assembly line, this statement is fundamentally flawed. Every guitar with his name on it probably had 30+ people work on it over the course of it's production. This is the kind of nonsense myth started on TGP or Strat Talk to try and put extra gravitas to particular instruments (like the 'Woodcutter' Rat debarcle). Don't believe the hype. Fender wasn't like a Custom Shop, especially in the CBS years

****

To the OP, have you got a photo of the neck heel? If you show us that we can likely solve this mystery pretty quickly.

You have no clue whatsoever whether or not he built that neck. None. Don't pretend that you do as if you were there. I've read the books too. You want to talk to his son about it? I've included a link to another forum in a previous post. And going off on Fender in the CBS years is lazy. The same people were working there -- including this guy -- as before. You think they started making shitty instruments just because CBS asked them to? Grow up.

[JSett]

This is an exterior length measurement. I don't believe that plywood shrinks that much.

Ahh, I thought you meant internal. Either way it'd need to be bigger than an extra 3/4" I'd have thought. But I cant be sure. My '64 Mustang case is in the Attic and I'm not going up there while it's 100deg outside

It's faint, but I can see the first "2" from the neck heel, which would be "22". What you have there is a Stratocaster neck I reckon...but the lack of stripe is odd if that is the case.

[countertext]

This thread’s tone has turned sour rather suddenly. Everybody ease up and be nice! This is OSG!

[JSett]

You have no clue whatsoever whether or not he built that neck. None. Don't pretend that you do as if you were there. I've read the books too. You want to talk to his son about it? I've included a link to another forum in a previous post. And going off on Fender in the CBS years is lazy. The same people were working there -- including this guy -- as before. You think they started making shitty instruments just because CBS asked them to? Grow up.

Calm down kiddo, I was just pointing out the illogic in what you said. It's a known fact that all Fenders were made on a production line, and each part touched by many people. Saying "he made good Fenders" about one dude who stamped a bunch of necks is naive and fickle - or do you think he selected the wood personally, carved it, glued the fretboard down, put in the inlays, sanded, painted and put on the decal one by one all by himself? I mean, there's literally TWO other peoples names in the neck pocket alone.

It is also known very well that CBS were in the business of churning out as many guitars as possible, ramping up production levels many times over to make their investment pay off (and expanding the workforce many times over to fill the gaps). Standards slipped. You can see that in the sloppy neck pockets, rats-nest amp wiring and mislabelled necks, among other things. That link you posted, that helps my case somewhat as the code on that Strat neck is also a "22". The lack of stripe and bullet is weird though.

But still, yes, they literally made shittier instruments because CBS told them to. They were told to forgo quality in favour of volume. I like CBS Fenders, for their many faults later on.

This thread’s tone has turned sour rather suddenly. Everybody ease up and be nice! This is OSG!

Yeah, I don't know why this dude feels the need to get all angsty. 15 posts in and he's going all 'Strat-Talk angry' on us Facts are hard to swallow sometimes I guess.

[marqueemoon]

Another bit of information is that the case is 41" long. I asked around and received measurements from four other Mustang cases which were all about 40.25" long. Does anyone here have a Mustang case that measures 41" long? A custom length case would appear to rule out a factory error.

I don’t this this was an error either, but to me the best explanation for why Fender slapped together an unplayable guitar is because it was for show and didn’t need to be playable.

Here's a 1972 Mustang from Reverb. Looks to have a little more wiggle room in the case with the shorter neck.

[Fiddy]

I think the issue is that the OP wants to make this a special guitar when most likely is just a factory fuck up

[JSett]

I think the issue is that the OP wants to make this a special guitar when most likely is just a factory fuck up

This was my thinking as well.

The fact it's so clean is probably indicative of someone buying it and never being able to play it properly.

For the OP, I just went and measured my '64 mustang case... 40 7/8" long.

[CCOffset]

I think the issue is that the OP wants to make this a special guitar when most likely is just a factory fuck up

This was my thinking as well.

The fact it's so clean is probably indicative of someone buying it and never being able to play it properly.

For the OP, I just went and measured my '64 mustang case... 40 7/8" long.

Thanks for the opinions here folks, but my question was not whether or not this guitar was special. I posted in hopes of finding other Mustangs with long scale necks. It appears that this has not been seen before by anyone who has responded to this thread so far.

I appreciate the case measurement. That doesn't match any of the other lengths I've measured which have been quite consistent.

[Fiddy]

^No such a thing.. If a factory error.

This isn't a long scale Mustang. This is a regular Mustang body with the wrong neck, but with the right decal.

[andy_tchp]

For the OP, I just went and measured my '64 mustang case... 40 7/8" long.

Whoa, super special in-between length case!