Fender '65 Reissue Mustang

Over the course of time, the Mustang is perhaps the most unique offering from any manufacturer. It has different pickups, different switching, a different tremolo system, it is inexpensive yet playable.

Having owned three vintage Mustangs, and having always been fascinated with them, and having always turned them out for some reason as unusable, I must say that the '65 reissue probably sets the new standard by which we should judge these instruments. In the future, we may well be looking back at the 2008 years as the definitive production of these guitars.

For whatever reason this guitar has corrected all the faults I found in the vintage guitars - perhaps the wood selection, fit and finish, straighter fingerboard, action adjustment, quieter (even though authentic) electronics, better fretting and production techniques.

The original models just never seemed to stay in tune as well, or 'feel' right, or seem 'ready to go' - this one DOES (but see my section on the factory setup???).

If you want to be a connoisseur of guitars and music in general, you don't go out looking for a guitar to make a 'blues' sound, or a 'metal' sound, or a 'classic' sound - you go out to find a guitar that has its own sound, work to understand it, and then play blues or metal or classic or whatever ON IT.

Suddenly, you are in demand because of the special instruments that bring life to your recordings, and people wonder how you make 'that sound' - but all you did was listen BEFORE you mindlessly played...

This reissue is just such an instrument - it has a unique sound that maintains a definite 'Fender-ish' quality. It is darker than a Strat, you can really bang on it and it holds up, it will quack or thump as required. While it doesn't have tremendous amounts of output or sustain, it's adequate with a good compressor or distortion. It's quirky, weird, chimey, gorgeous. It's OK to play it with a lot of attack.

The best feature might be the trem system, as I noticed another reviewer mentioning that he takes the arm off and uses his palm to rock it, and this is the way to do it - it yields a wonderful smooth warble and wobble that stays in tune and is ideal for many styles - it also keeps you from hunting around for the bar. I have often thought about what ways I might get my strats to have that sort of option...

This is probably NOT a general purpose guitar - but if you are a rhythm player or somebody who likes an arsenal of different sounds - you will find a place for this one. Get endless sustain from another instrument, but go ahead and play solos or slide, it WILL do it.

Run it through an Orange Rockerverb. Try the clean channel for the first time.

The neck and fingerboard are well done, familiar and comfortable. Body paint is great in the old 'Daphne Blue'. I already had three red ones...

PROBLEMS: Lest we give Fender too much credit, let me say the factory setup was CRAP! But easily corrected:

o Replace the Fender Bullets with anything else (D'Addario 10's).
o Adjust the bridge / action height to your liking.
o Mine did not require a truss rod adjustment.
o Adjust the height of the trem counterweight so strings don't rub on bridge.
o Adjust the tension on the trem so the counterweight sits about directly vertical on its supports.
o Tune, stretch strings like crazy and intonate with a tuner. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Repeat again the next day after everthing settles.

Having done all that - it stays perfectly in tune, sounds like a gift from God, and makes me happy. I rate it a ten since the guitar itself is very well made.

I'd play it live. Hardware excellent. Great Finish. Good strap buttons. Dependable. I would take it without backup. Slide switches possible weakness, but that's easy to deal with.

Who knows?

I have been playing for 40 years this June, and have owned or tried just about every guitar or amp or effect ever made. Now use an Orange 50 watter 6x12 stack (sorry Egnater, Fender, Marshall, Soldano, Randall, Roland, Vox) with Fenders, Gibsons, DeArmands, Ricks, Danos. The PRS I got rid of was a soul-less, characterless, toy instrument for people with limp wrists. Who cares if it sustains all day?

I play multiple styles, this guitar fits. While I like the stock magnets, the only thing I would like to try is some Lindey Frailing pups, not too hot, just enough to get a little more drive. I love to fuss.

My Mustang was made, sorry crafted, in Japan in early 2008. It is dakota red and, I must say, just a really sweet guitar. I love the retro F-key tuners and the large Fender headstock, the short scale 24" neck and the mother of lunch counter pick guard. In fact, when I went into the 12th Fret in Toronto, I had no intention of buying yet another guitar. However the unique styling caught my eye and after noodling with it for half an hour, broke out the ol' Visa. It's just a really cool, unique guitar with a very likeable tone. Fender Japan has done a great job with the detailing and fit and finish. When I first pull it out of its case, invariably folks comment on how compact/small/cute it is. It's just a really striking instrument. The tailpiece/bridge/saddles/tremolo are very cool and work well, and I love the vintage tone and volume knobs.

I was actually at the store to pick up some vintage, NOS Pyramid flatwound strings from the 60's that I bought on eBay, and so had a set installed while I was there. These are 13s, so between the short scale and relatively heavy strings, it's a bit of a chore for full blown bends, however the tone is fabulous. I would say it strikes me as a jazz sound first of all when played clean. Of course you can get it all grungy with a lot of overdrive, etc, but that says nothing; that's just effects. The sustain is acceptable, though not stellar, probably partly due to the short neck. This isn't a lead instrument first of all; more suited to rhythm I would say. The out-of-phase tone is cool and, again, unique. The signal drops considerably when you switch to this mode, but that can be compensated for. I wouldn't call this an all 'round, versatile guitar that could be used across all genres (a-la strat), although, like most guitars, it could be shoe-horned into service for most styles if necessary (perhaps least suited to shred/heavy metal). The single coils can be typically noisy when used alone, but, hey, they're single coils. I like 'em, and don't feel any real need to swap out the originals. I think this whole pathology of swapping out stuff (speakers, tubes, pots, switches, pickups, etc, etc) that we players feel compelled to do is kind of self-delusional. How many times do we read "before I switched out the (insert part here) I'd give it a 7, but believe me, after I worked my magic it's a 10+, dude!!!"? Overall, a nice, musical variety of tones. By the way, this guitar is very loud acoustically. This might be attributable to the heavier strings, I don't know. And it stays in tune very well if you don't abuse the tremolo.

The fit and finish can be best described as superb. I wouldn't expect anything less from the land of the rising sun. I also own a Japanese strat, and it too is extremely well made. The rosewood fingerboard grain is more porous/open than some others, but I just see this as the variances you get when you make things out of wood. This isn't a quality issue in my mind. The action is just how I like it. I had to have the G string groove cut a little more on the nut, but again, the strings are pretty heavy (it came with 10's from the factory). It would pop out when I would bend at the first fret. Not a quality issue, just standard fare on new instruments.

The mustang will absolutely stand up to live playing. It's a well-built machine that doesn't come across as the least bit fragile or unreliable. However, I don't think I'd use it without a backup simply because it wouldn't necessarily suit every style of tune I play. It remains to be seen how well the pickup switches hold up long term. Sliders in general can be finicky in my experience. I replaced the strap buttons with Schaller strap locks, which I've done on all my guitars. The ones that came on the guitar were fine quality-wise, but I've standardized on the Schallers. Also the longevity of the tuners is TBD. I love the styling and don't have any reason to suspect them; we'll see. A lot of vintage tuners weren't that great and go kind of sloppy over time.

Comes with a five year warranty, I think. I haven't dealt with Fender directly so can't comment on their support. However the 12th Fret's support is world class. I'd go to them.

I've been playing harmonica for 20 years and started on the guitar about 5 years ago (at 44). I used to fool around with guitar when I was a kid and so remember the old stuff. There was a lot of crap back then. My opinion is that, generally speaking, the stuff available today, North American or otherwise, is of much better quality and consistency. Although the notion of CNC machines, etc, isn't as romantic as a hand carved, hand tooled instrument, you can't argue with the results. I have a Les Paul, my Japanese Strat, a PRS SE Singlecut and the Mustang, plus a couple of Canadian-made acoustics. I generally don't buy the American stuff because I think it's too expensive for what you get. I recently sold a beautiful Rickenbacker 330 that was a piece of art, but not necessarily an incredible musical instrument. All three of my amps are US made, but that's because two of them are vintage low-powered units for my harp gigs (a '57 Magnatone and a '63 Premier). The other is a Peavey Classic 30 (US made, but reasonably priced).
I chose to buy the Mustang because it is a unique, very cool looking and sonically pleasing guitar. I tend to be pretty practical about my instruments and buy what I like. Strats and Les Pauls and pretty good guitars, but there is definitely nothing unique about them. The Mustang is unique and I like it. You may or may not.

This is your standard 65' RI mustang. Has 2 pick up switches, tone, and volume knob. It does have a lot of variables to change if you like modifying your sound through your guitar. Plastic tuning pegs, boo. Floating tremolo bridge.

For me it pursues a harder indie sound. With stock pickups it really can have a splashy sound. It sounds realistic. Not by any means a metal guitar. Tone is very bright, tinny if you let it be. It has a lot of character. Can be noisy when using only one pickup. Very common with single coil pickups

This Japanese fender does not strike me as something that took a long time to make. They have their assembly belt and there it goes. The first one i had was returned because the neck was assembled at an angle and the strings fell on the neck wierd. The next one was a bit better. The neck is slightly smaller than your average strat or tele.

One guitar that should make one a little nervous to hit the road with. You should have a back up guitar. The switches for the pickups are placed right where i strum so i can always count on turning one off. The tuners are wortheless. Two of the six have slipped, so getting the strings tighter rather than loser is a huge pain. they are plastic. Things you will most likely replace are the tuners. If you leave all of the functions open to use when you play(pickups, vibrato), dont be rough with it. It is fragile. In spite of these things....i love the tone. i will play with this for years maybe as a back up when i find something i am more comfortable with.

I had great customer support through the dealer. i havent experience fender yet.

If i had money to replace this guitar I would. I might try to get an older version of it and be kinder to it. Get a good service plan on the guitar. It has lots of little switches and knobs that will break if you are rough with it. I like it a lot though.

Based on an orginal 1965 Fender Mustang. Made in 2007 in Japan. I purchased this in Music Ground in Leeds which is a Vintage/Rare guitar shop aswell as your average guitar shop. I first saw it in the window and considering i only had a ??700 ($1,300) budget i thought that it would have been well out of my price range. However as i went into the shop and saw the huge amount of Gibsons and Fenders they had and after trying several telecasters, a strat, a les paul, 2 jaguars, a jazzmaster and an SG. One of the guys who worked in the store asked me if i fancied trying the Mustang in the window and after asking how much it was and getting a nice suprise with it being ??50 under my budget i was very happy to try it!
After trying all of these amazing guitars i had a tough decision, i was trying it through a Fender Blues Junior which is the amp i have myself. After deciding on how the jaguar and jazzmasters necks were too thick for my liking, the actions were too high on the telecasters, i couldnt get the tone i liked out of a strat and that a les paul and SG were too 'rocky' for me. I decided on the Mustang.
The Mustang is a pretty basic guitar, 2 single coil pickups with black pickup covers, a floating bridge with a tremelo which doesn't need any fitting unlike the strat tremelos. It just slips into the bridge and thats it although i would say that if it was a bit lower it would be easier to use and if there was some sort of nut you could put on the bottom to keep it in place it would make life much easier. However i don't use the tremelo much so it is not a major hang up. The neck is amazing! It's a very thin neck that is a good shape and very easy to play, the first time you pick it up however it may feel quite strange because it has a shallow profile and an odd shaped fretboard width however it is exceptionally easy and pleasnt to play.
The guitar is a 24" scale and although i'm 6 foot 3 so i'm not exactly one of the smallest guitarists around the scale is very nice although it may not suit some guitarists. However compared to my Les Paul and Firebird which both have longer scales, especially the Firebird, it is easier and more comfortable to play than both of them.
The 2 switches on the body are quite basic and easy to use, in the middle is off, left is on and right is phasing. Some people complain about the phasing switch however i like the versatility it gives.
Asthetically the Mustang is very pleasing, mine is in Daphne Blue with a white tortoise shell pickguard. I especially like the tuning pegs which give it a vintage look.
Overall the features are very good. Although i have given it 9 out of 10 due to the lack of features due to it being a no-frills guitar.

The sound is absolutely amazing. I normally enjoy playing through humbuckers but i like the good sharp sound the single coils the Mustang gives you, each note is defined and sounds very clear. Meaning you can get a very good acoustic tone through this guitar. There is no unwanted noise or buzz unlike the jaguar and jazzmasters. The pickups give a good driven sound aswell. Although i wouldn't say that the pickups would be suited for metal, however if you had the pickups replaced and played it through the right amp you could get a good metal sound.
This guitar is perfect for punk, indie, jazz, blues or country.

The action on this guitar is as close to perfection it comes, it is at exactly the right height. The only two flaws i can find in this guitar is the glossed neck which means it is quite sticky however it is not very sticky and i'm just being picky! Also the switches don't stay in the right place all the time, if you catch it on an upstroke you could turn the switch into the off position. The Finish and all other things are exceptional.

The durability of this guitar is very good, it has quite a strong build considering how light it is and the it is very very reliable, it very rarely goes very out of tune!

Fender are very good with customers as i found out when i had problems with my amp.

Great

2007 Fender Mustang '65 Classic Series Re-issue. Given that it's exactly like the original '65 I'm giving it a high rating. The tremelo system is real easy to use and can be bent both directions. I like the phase in/out. Some don't but I think it gives you a nice way to switch between rock and country. 2 single Coil pickups. I never really used the bridge pup on my strat so only having 2 is ok and allows me more time to explore the sound options with just the 2 single coils. I really like the 24" scale and the 7.25 radius. 1.625 nut width which is slightly thinner than normal. This size guitar definitely helps if you have small hands. I know because I've tried all different sizes and this is perfect feeling in my hands. I would say I've got very small hands for a guy. And the lighter weight is a plus. Oh yea I got the daphne blue. It's awesome looking. I used to be a sunburst only type of guy but this color really grabbed me.

The guitar allows for hard rock to county and even jazz. I would say you're better off elsewhere for heavy metal but with the right pickups and amp you'd be fine with metal as well.

The sound is very noise free. I was really surprised about this. The sound is really has a "dreamy air" sound that I love. It's like the perfect middle ground between the strat which I find to trebly and the humbuckers. I'm really shocked that I haven't read others really compliment the sound.

No need for upgraded picups whatsoever. Yes the output may be a little lower than other guitars but that's what the amp is for. Again very noise free and clear sounding. Notes ring clear. I can get an acoustic sound very easily on this baby.

It was setup correctly enough to eliminate any fret buzz. The action might be a tad high but it's fine for me and since there is no fret buzz I'm going to leave it be.

No flaws whatsoever. Way to go Japan!

I bought this at Guitar Center. I got the 2 year add-on warranty because I just want be worry free from any of the switch issues. I plan to experiment with the switches a lot and now I don't have to worry for quite a long time. I figure if i get 3 years of great life out of the guitar then the price of the guitar is cheap.

Other than that it's a Fender and crafted in Japan so I suspect the reliability will be fine.

Again the Fender standard warranty along with a 2 year Guitar Center warranty add-on. Fender is always great.

The best way to explain my overall feelings are this. I actually haven't been playing too long and I'm been trying all sorts of guitars. I had 2 Fender strats(MIM and Classic 60's) and 2 Shecters(C-1 classic/Blackjack). All 4 are goingup for auction on Ebay tonight. And I plan to take the proceeds and buy a 2nd Mustang. Probably the white one as a backup. The short scale and thin neck are perfect for my hands. There is no argument there and the sound is killer. Bottom line the guitar rocks.