Fender '69 Competition Mustang Reissue

2002 Competition Mustang ('69 reissue), Lake Placid blue w/ racing stripe, made in Japan. 22 frets, 24" scale, thin, rounded neck. 3 way sliding switches (in, out, off) for each pickup plus volume and tone knobs. Vibrato tailpiece. Stock single-coil pickups.

I've been playing on a Fat Strat, using the bridge humbucker exclusively for a very trebley, cutting tone. I've always liked the high-end tone of the Mustang for indie-rock, but when I got this home, I was shocked by just how much treble this bad boy puts out. I tried all the pickup settings and decided that the bridge coil pickup was just too much, even with the tone rolled back a bit. My biggest problem with the sound is that the output level is so low, I have trouble saturating the tubes in my Twin Reverb, hence it's a little too clean for the music I play. I'll likely replace the pickups with something a little more full-sounding. While I'm in there, I may as well replace the slide-switches and pots (pretty cheap). Otherwise, I really love the twang this guitar can make and it sounds absolutely awesome through distortion pedal with pickups out-of-phase.

I have fingers like sausages, so the thinner neck helps me out a lot. The action is pretty low, which kinda sucks, only because the slide-switches for the pickups get in the way and I accidentally turn them off all the time when I'm thrashing about live. That's why duct tape was invented, I guess. The vibrato design is pretty awkward, but I never use it, so it's kind of a moot point. The finish is stunning. The metallic sparkle gets a lot of oohs and aahs, and the pearloid pickguard and racing stripe are nice touches. My girlfriend said it looks like a tuxedo. Classy...

I've heard a lot of bad things about some of the electronics (namely the switches and pots) and wiring. I'm pretty rough on guitars, so we see how it handles. The finish is pretty tough. I've only had this thing for a week, dropped it a half-dozen times and not a scratch. I probably wouldn't rely on it without a backup (because of the vibrato design, if you pop a string you're screwed), but I always have a backup, anyway.

I haven't had to deal with Fender.

I like the Mustang a lot. I haven't had a new guitar in almost 7 years, so it was quite a treat to pick this up. I know it's not perfect; I'm going to have to sink some money in it to make it sound right, but it looks great and it feels fantastic. This will be my primary guitar for a while, at least until I win the lottery...

2002 made in Japan -- true to the original it is modeled after, to a FAULT. mine WAS (hint, hint) lake placid blue with the creme competition stripes. no gig bag or hadrshell case included ;P .

i have smaller hands, so the neck felt just great and the small body was comfy and easy to sling around when things got cookin'.

i have a couple of major issues with the design of this guitar.

1). the only thing fender got right with the virbrato* is the name. at the time, i think Ralph Nader called the original design "unsafe to play at any speed" (ask you parents). the two fulcrums have no point of reference, so there's no way they can land in the same place after you've used the virbrato bar. i know it's not a floyd-rose system, but i'm not trying 80's style dive-bombing either. just a little surfy 1/4 or 1/2 step warble makes the the thing go out of tune. just as i was learning to live with it, i broke a string. this just threw all of the remaining strings way out of tune (like so out of tune, you'd not be able to finish a song/set). even how the bar clamps into the stop piece is a crapy design; there's a set screw, that doesn't allow for it to swing away freely. keep the set screw too loose, and the arm just falls out. locking tuners would be akin to re-arranging the deck chairs on the titanic. i thought of just locking down the tail piece, but i really wanted to be able to have a little virbrato on the palette.

2). the switches that govern the on-off-on of each pick up have a problem. they can "jam" between the off and on position while strumming, causing the pickup have no output. a better designed switch would help, but is not likely, due to the guitar's low, low price.

*remember: tremolo=volume oscilation -- virbrato=pitch oscilation.

one word: Fun.
the switching could create a great woody neck sound to a double pickup thump-swagger to a bright bridge sound worthy of blistering double-stop rock and roll, or an out-of-phase sound that you could just get plain wacky with.
yeah, gibson types would prolly call it "lo-fi," but it does what it does quite well.

the finish was a 7... deep & sparkly. someone got a little slopy with the glue around the nut but no big deal.
the action was exactly as planned. a short scale length of 24" and a really tightly curving fretboard radius made for a neck that felt as good as a broken in doc martin.
i did have quite a problem with the two outside strings (high e & low e) strings sliding off the fret board. i realize that my poor technique, the lighter string tension (due to the short scale length) & curved fretboard has something to do with this, but a poor fret job didn't help any. i even went up in string guage to .11's, but it didn't help.

the neck pocket was nominal.

it was interesting... i basically disassembled the guitar just to see how it was made and to plan for modifications. i was very pleasently surprised to see foil shielding under the pick guard. also, there was a ton of this powdery rubbing compound in all the routs. it has no effect on the guitar's functionality, but just a quality touch (guess it costs just too much to just blow some compressed air in there before putting on the pick guard & control plate).

my biggest concern here is the basswood body. one of the funest things to do with a mustang is to customize it to make it truly yours. it wouldn't take long before removing & replacing the pick guard/control plate/virbrato plate screws would cause the soft wood to strip, no matter how careful you were. i'd also worry about the strap buttons pulling out.
the pickups' slide switches seemed of marginal quality. (see an earlier review that had some interesting things to say about the pots & electronics).

this was from musician's friend. i know that these big wholesale houses get a bad rap, but i was very successful in acquiring & exchanging my mustang. let it be said that i followed all the rules on my end, too (returned it within 45 days, in 9+ condition with the plastic velum still on the pick guard, packed in all the original boxes, etc).
i followed the rules and didn't get screwed.
i also did a TON of research on what kind of guitar i wanted (thanks harmony-central.com and all those who contribute to it), found an on-line retalier that had it IN STOCK and with free shipping at the time. yeah, i had to pay return shipping on the return, but that's a small price to pay to not have to go through the frustration of dealing with the 'ole "local music store."
as far as fender... i have no idea.

i've played since the early 1980's & my current #1 is an 1997 epiphone dot (see review elsewhere on this site).

i was looking for a single coil #1 and tried a mustang because of its short scale and surf-a-licious look (compared to say a tele).

the H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E design of the virbrato & the fretwork amplifying the strings falling off the fret board issue made this not a #1 for me.

it is what it is; a replica of a student model, stylized & tempermental. if you're willing to put up with all of its idiosyncrasies, you can have a ton of fun with it.

i returned it for a cyclone, and one mod with solder iron later, i found my single coil #1.

it was made in japan last year. it has 22 vintage frets (custom). i think it has a polyurothane coat over the top of the finish, which is lake placid blue(like Kurt's at the holywood rock show). there ar two great in-out-phase switche located above the pick-ups and 1 vol. and 1 tone pot on the control plate. i was one of the lucky one who actually managed to buy one with a set of black fender lace sensors which soud amazing. again i think the elctronic are passive. the body is made from basswood and the neck from maple with a round-laminated rosewood fingerboard and large lam. headstock w/ transition decal. the body style is a dual cutaway and offset. the tail-piece is 60's vibrato with a tune-o-matic type bridge piece and tele style sadles. the tuners are fender vintage slot-in tunig pegs. the neck is quite thin 24' scale. i cheated the store and got a bargin which included the mustang it'self and the original silver tolex mustang case, delux black/ silver cable and strap as well as the two (free) hex key for adjusting the tail piece and truss rod.

i mostly play rock (alternative) and a bit of blues (only somtimes though)and the mustang fell just right for both styles. i think this might be a bt abvios but i'm a massive Kurt Cobian and Nirvana fan so thats what i tend to play but also play hendricx stuff as well. i currently i am using a fender stage 100 head into a MESA/Boogie 4x12 cabinet. the fx i'm using are a pro co rat, E-H big muff russian, electro harmonix stereo poly chorus and small clone, boss ds-1 jim dunlop rotovube and crybaby a pitch shifter and an echo pedal al on a pedal board. i dont actually write down the settings so i couldn't really say but when ever i use them it always sounds revolutionary with the mustang and is never too noisy and also creates some cool feed back (a la Kurt). because the mustang is so bright sounding it is realy easy to mess around with the sound and create new ones but i much prefer the clean/cleanish bright tone trough the poly chorus or small clone like on Drain You and Teen spirit(Big Yawn). the variety depends on the style but i'm happy with the in-out phase sitches to fiddle around with and try a bit of funck like the chili's. like kurt i am bised against any other guitar apart from fender's so this one is best left to the imagination. the mustang has a woderful and much apreciated unique sound.

i don't know how it was set up at the factory because the store i bought it from very generously included a full set-up saying that the a ction was the lowest possible without any fret buzz what so ever, i timed the sutain(how sad) and got sick of waiting for it to finish. the pick-ups fited perfectly into the routed area of the body and were not lose. the guiar arived at the store in pristine condition and thats how it stayed. all the hardware is nickle paled so it didn't corrode or oxidise on its journey from japan and is perfent now. every thing on the guitar was perfect.

i am only 15 and have been playing live since i aquired my mustang and have used it for every gig, since then i'v completely hammered it and luckily it's lasted. i'v knocked it and droped it and there is not a blemish in sight on the body,neck,headstock or fingerboard. again i dont realy know about the strap button because i had jim dulop strp locks so the strap didn't come with all the thrashimg about like kurt did. i think the previous says it all, i totaly depend on it and don't use anything else although i do take my hendrix vodo strat with me incase of and string breakages.

not needed it - fucking brilliant

iv'e been playing 5 years and as i've said i only like fender and own a hendrix voodo strat. if it were stolen or damged i would definetly buy another (even if it isn't). i totaly baby this guitar and don't let anydody touch it(not even family). however i am going to buy another and get it refinished in sonic blue with a tortoise pick guard and white pick-up covers. one last thing i would like to mention fender fucking RULE! the guitar industrie.

A '69 reissue it has got to be the best guitar i have ever owned and the fact that i idolize Kurt Cobain makes it that much better

It is an awesome guitar with many different capabilities. I dont have any real dislikes about this guitar, only good things to say about it

This guitar came strait from the factory so i am the first owner. It is in excellent condition

This guitar would not only withstand live playing, it would blow all other guitars out of the water the only other guitar i can think of that can beat the Mustang is the Kurt Cobain Jag-Stang also made by Fender

I'm definitely going to buy another one in the near furture but maybe in a custom sonic blue finish

This is the 2002 Competition Reissue in blue - made in Japan. All the standard features: vintage tuners (also made in Japan), two inexpensive single coil pickups (more about the electronics later), two pickup switches, basswood body, awkward vibrato, 24" scale, etc.

A lot of people are all fired up about the basswood body. Yes, Fender misadvertised it, but to me it's a moot point. Basswod sounds fine, it was even used on some Strats in the 50's.

One thing I really don't like though - the pickups, wiring and pots. The pickups have molded plastic bobbins with magnets pressed into them. The wire used is 24 awg stranded stuff. Very thin and prone to accidental breaks (see durability). The pots are the dime-sized miniature type with a weird taper, not my favorite. If you want to replace them you will find that the holes in the control plate are too small and need to be re-drilled. The capacitor is a pleasant surprise, though. It's not a cheapo ceramic disk like in most guitars, but rather a metalized film cap.

The knobs are not true to the original. They look similar but are smaller and press onto the splined pot shafts. The real deal used J-bass knobs with solid shaft pots.

I enjoy playing dirty, lo-fi rock, Sonic Youth, noise, and anything with tons of reverb a la Mazzy Star. They set their reverbs to 11, not the volume. The Mustang suits these styles well. There are four possible combinations for the switches (actually 9 but some are doubles). The stock pickups are pretty cheap and quite trebly. I have to turn the highs way down on almost every amp. My friends who tried the guitar and weren't expecting it said that it was unbearably trebly on what might be considered "normal" amp settings. The tone control helps to cut some of that, obviously, but it still seems odd. I do not doubt for a second that this guitar would sound much better with a set of good aftermarket pickups.

Having said all of that, after the propper eq-ing, the neck pickup can sound very sweet, the bridge can do a nice icepick Tele thing. The combination in phase is very nice and jangly and I use it a lot, partly to eliminate the hum of a single pickup. The out-of-phase combination is pretty interesting. On a clean setting it souds pretty dry - usefull sometimes but not my favorite. Overdriven, though, it has a very cool hollow sound with the midrange all sucked out and a lot of harmonics all over the place.

I have used it through a variety of amps including Fender Twins, Blues Juniors, Marshalls, a Vox AC15, a Crate VFX5112, and some crappy practice amps. You can get decent sounds from all of them. My favorites are the Fenders and the Vox (clean and mild overdrive). Amps with saturated, toneful distortion sound okay, too. Ultra-heavy distortion is not the Mustang's strong point, nor is it mine, so I don't care. I can't figure out why every user review of any piece of gear always says "sucks for metal" at the end. When did metal become the standard for critiquing gear? "Sucks for metal" means I'll probably like it.

When I got the guitar it was set up pretty well and was even in tune. I was surprised. The fretwork was very nice and the action was fairly low.

The vibrato stayed in tune fair enough, but it seems to bend the pitch too much for the amount of movement on the arm. I removed the springs and locked the tailpiece down. Tuning stability is great.

The odd little bridge was made to move around with the trem. I don't like that, so I wrapped the studs with electrical tape to keep it from moving. Quick, cheap, and effective.

To compensate for the low string tension of the short scale I strung it up with a set of .011 - .058s and adjusted the truss. It helped out a lot.

The guitar itself was beautifully finnished and assembled. Japanese Fender gear would be on par with the American models if not for the cheap electronics.

I think this guitar will last. It feels sturdy and I would play it live. The vintage strap buttons have been replaced with Schaller locking buttons. I'd hate to drop it, though it wouldn't hurt the guitar much.

When I first took of the control plate I broke one of the tiny wires just by turning the plate over. I fixed it myself in five minutes(goodbye warranty!) but it should not have happened. When I replace the pickups I will replace the wiring and pots, too.

Fender is sometimes helpful, sometimes not. It depends on the rep you speak with, or at, as the case may be. 50-50.

All in all I love this guitar. It suits me very well. A few minor problems aside, I think I got a good deal. Since this guitar will have little resale value I don't mind changing out some of the parts to make it into the guitar it could have been from day one. If for some reason I ever find myself without this guitar I would want another.

CIJ 2002. Lake Placid Blue w/Stripe. 22 Frets. Volume and tone controls. 2 3-way switches. 2 single coil pickups (stock). Basswood body. Included gig bag. If someone doesn't give you a freakin gig bag when you buy a brand new guitar go somewhere else.

I could write an essay on the sound of this guitar. I use a Marshall and play all kinds of music. I love the pickups. I will not change them. This guitar really is great. The only difference I notice in the new Mustang and old is that the new one doesn't go out of tune every other song like the old one (when you're playing the hell out of it).

Guitar arrived in PERFECT condition. The factory did a wonderful job. I really was suprised that I didn't have to do any mods at all.

The only question I can answer in this section is whether I would use it on a gig without a backup. The answer is a definite yes. Time will tell how durable it is, but it is a Fender so I think it'll be fine.

I called Fender about the Basswood/Alder issue. They were very courteous and apologetic. At first I was kind of pissed about this, but I'm over it. Besides it was just the fact that it was advertised as alder. I don't really care that much. Basswood is much lighter anyway and that'll be good on my back.

All I have to say is this; When my tax return gets here I'm buying a red one and another blue one. I know I'll have three but who's counting

I have a candy apple red one. It has a rosewood fingerboard and a basswood body. Alder would have been nice, but what can you do. It has 2 single coil pickups and 2 3 way switches. It also as the trem tail piece.

The pickups produce a nice single coil sound. I like them, I uses the bridge pickup a lot. I don't have any plans to cahnge them as I like single coils.

The finish is very nice, the neck smells really good. It looks like it will last for years and years.

It's a Fender.

Overall this is a good guitar, while the sound is not asrich as my American Strat it still gets sound good sounds. The 3 way switches are nice, and offer a wide range of sounds. If anything ever happened to shis guitar I would get another one.

When fender first announced the new mustang ri, they said it had an alder body. It was all over the namm reports, and a lot of stores still sell the competition mustang with the 'old' spec shied. Cause it seems like fender suddenly decided to change the specs on their website. I don't know when this happened, but if you're one of the suckers -like my friend- who wanted to have this guitar the minute it was available, you've probably been screwed. All of a sudden the mustang has a basswood body. What's up with that?

My buddy ordered his mustang 'cause he thought it had the same tonewoods as the original american mustang, and that's why he payed more then what the older '90s mustang reissues went for. Sorry for the rant, but this is a big f***ing deal. Basswood isnt even a friggin hardwood, it's squire material just like polar. And we're not talking about a small time no-name guitar builder here, the reason why fender keeps fucking with it's customers is beyond me.

2002 japanese fender competition mustang. lake placid blue with ridiculous looking racing stripe (hell, the only reason i have this guitar is i orded the wrong colour by mistake. i actually wanted the sonic blue one, but nevermind). pearloid scratchplate, black pickup covers, chrome hardware. machine heads are exactly the same (in my view) as the vintage fender/gotoh one's off my MIA 62 reissue jaguar. neck is almost identical to the jag as well, it and the body are obviously polyurithine finish though, nitrocellulose would have been better. bass wood body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard-looks just like a jagmaster fretboard and not dark and er....creamy like the jaguar (by the way sorry if i keep comparing it to the vintage jaguar it couldn't possibly live up to that for the price). if you don't know by now its an 'offset contour body', but does look stretched. fender probobally thought if it was any smaller it would be percieved as a students guitar, as the neck is 24", when they designed it all those years ago. didn't come with a gig bag, but i think that is because the company i bought it off are incompetant, you should expect one with yours, if you buy one. came with 2 allen keys, one for the bridge assey, one for the tremolo.

when i get some flatwound strings on it i'm sure it will sound great! the pickups are very bright. although one problem i have is that when only one is turned on there is a sort of interferance noise, and when i turn them both on (which luckily i would always do) everything is clear. to be honest i don't really understand the different sides of the off switch. to the left is supposed to be louder i think, but i haven't noticed any difference. i'm told the guitar is very limited in the variety of sound it can create......what the hell does that mean???? just get on and play!!

when i first recieved the guitar it was literally freezing. delivered in a cold english winter in the back of a van. when it finally warmed up (left to slowly warm up so as it didn't warp i may add) it was obviously slightly out of tune, but i believe half a step down. hmmmmm how strange. intonation perfect. but action a little high for my liking. truss rod adjusted perfectly, although i suspect all that will have to change when i put thicker flatwound strings on it. and you know what that means? yes taking the f-ing neck off about 4 times!!! as the truss rod on the jag/mustang/jazzmaster is located at the opposite end of the neck, although i wouldn't have it any other way.....because it looks better....vanity.

i suspect it will be reliable. i don't know if the electics are made with case hardened steel, i doubt it. my only problem may be the location of the pickup switches. they may be caught with my strumming hand, i wonder if this is why the action was so high?

N/A

not got alot to say really. i wish i had the sonic blue one to be honest. but i'll have to keep this one, anyway its mechanically the same. i love the size and weight of this guitar, it must be great to play live! i do compare it to the jaguar actually, although as i said it can never compare. being honest i would never have bought this if it wasn't for kurt cobain. i remember seeing him use one mtv's live n loud. i don't think i'll be routing this one for humbucker though!

2002 MIJ Candy Apple Red Competition Mustang - "Limited Edition" (probably not going to be that limited). Basswood solid body, not alder as they advertised: called Fender and cleared this up, 24" scale, 22 fret rosewood fingerboard on a maple neck with vintage Kluson style tuners. Two single coil pick ups, two slide switches, one volume and one tone pots, Fender "Dynamic Vibrato" tail piece. Rating would be better if Fender would have advertised as it is. Otherwise, the guitar has all the features of a vintage and other reissue Mustangs.

I play mostly punk rock. It suits me fine when appripriately modified. Even though I use humbuckers, I was pleasently surprised by the output of the stock p/u's. Not my thing but they may good for a lot of people: remember all these comments are all subjective. The slide switches allow you to turn off the p/u's, turn each on individually, use them both in-phase or out-of-phase creating a thin metallic sound. Very versatile pickup arrangement!

Well, first of all it was a big disappointment for me to call Fender regarding discrepancies in information between Fender's site, where they advertise alder body, and Musicians Friend and Sam Ash, where the guitar is advertised as basswood. When I called Fender customer service it was cleared: it is basswood. None the less I still ordered. The pickups were well adjusted, the neck was straight, paint job is flawless and pretty as hell. But... there were two frets that were not properly set, a bit loose, the slide switches are cheap, cheap, cheap, they feel like they are going to break apart on you. The Jag-Stang's and the previous Mustang reissues had the better slide switches: very similar to the original 60's and 70's. The pots are 250K mini pots that always run into trouble over time. The hardware is the standard Mustang type which lasts, the fretwire looks good and the tuners, well thay are the standard Kluson type with the slot which holds tuning and last.

Basswood is light, but seems to hold a fair amount of use. The finish looks thick enough. I always change the strap buttons to Schaller strap locks. Again, the slide switches are not an amusing joke by the folks at Fender Japan and the mini-pots are crap. I recommend you change them as soon as possible.

Well, at least they were honest to tell me that the website info was wrong. Very easy to get a hold of, and have been very helpful on other occassions

I love the Fender Mustang. I own a '69, '75, '78 and a hybrid; Fender reissue Mustang neck with a Warmoth competition blue alder body. The '69 had no electronics so I placed DiMarzio Fast Tracks, and aftermarket 500K pots, slide switches, control plate, knobs and pickguard (All Parts): it has the original tuners, the neck was immaculate and the body is the yellowed, cracked white, and 60's patent numbered tremolo. The '75 is refinished in white with red pickguard, DiMarzio full sized white X2N humbucker in the bridge position and a white Fast Track in the neck position, aftermarket slide switches, control plate, 500K pots, knobs, pickguard: original tuners, neck is also immaculate and patent numbered original tremolo. The '78 is completely original in black, it's a beaut. The warmoth body is all aftermarket except the Fender reissue neck and the reissue tremolo: p/us are a black X2N and Fast Track also with 500K pots. . So... what about the reissue comp. Disappointment regarding the wood, we should take this as an issue to Fender. The slide switches were gone the day I got it and replaced with aftermarkets from AllParts, which are very similar to the originals, The control plate was drilled for full sized 500K pots with aftermarket Mustang type knobs, the pickups were replaced to single coil sized humbuckers: Razor from All Parts: let me tell you they are cheap but they kick ass, frets were leveled. All in all it has potential, but I think Fender should try to be more honest regarding advertising, and make an effort to use quality electronics, because honestly they SUCK.