Fender Mustang

A Fender Competition Mustang made in Japan 2002. Features two tone and one volume, and two single coil pickups. Basswood body, maple neck and a rosewood fingerboard with 22frets.

The neck is thin and nice. I really love it.

It sound ok to me. It's a little bit noisy. I'm using a Fender Twin Reverb and it's sounds good togther. I don't think it's the best solo guitar on the market, but it's ok.

I've been playing it live a couple of times and it has never let me down. I can depend on it and i know i can use it live without a backup. The finish seems to be good and i think it will last for a couple of years.

I bought it a couple of months ago and it's my first Fender guitar. I've been playing on a Squier Strat for some years, but nothing beats my Mustang.

I owned at one time three USA made Fender Mustangs '64, '65, and '66. I sold the '64 because it had an "A" size neck which was too small for my hands. The '64 and '65 have "B" size necks which are wider at the nut and I love 'em! Although they have 22 frets they are SMALL scale guitars. Some reviewers think that scale length is measured by number of frets but the true measure of scale length is in the scale length...duh! In other words measure from nut to bridge. This distance on the Mustang is significantly shorter than the Strat by more than an inch. If you have a "regular" length neck on an original Mustang body you must sound like crap because your intonation (and neck joint) must be seriously compromised. My dream is to put a Mustang Vibrato on a "regular sized" Start body but until I get a wood shop I'm "stuck" with a small scale, not that I mind much. Although the small scale has no real effect on tone it does affect the "feel" of the guitar. It results in easier chording if you have difficulty stretching to reach frets on a Strat (or similarly scaled guitar), and easier string bending (the shorter the string the less distance you have to bend the note to alter pitch). If you play many guitars you may find you need a slight period to adjust to the different scales. Some people with large hands may even have difficulty fitting their fingers into a chord. The soft radius is extremely comfortable but not real good for bottleneck or slide playing. The two slide switches are effective but poorly placed and too small for quick changes. The single volume and tone knobs are hard plastic (The '64 even had metal knobs like on a Duosonic or Telecaster)and are fully functional. They're mounted on a metal plate similar to a Fender Bass. The "offset waist" bodies are made of basswood slabs glued together and are more attractive than the Strat. In fact they are the most classically beautiful electric bodies I've ever seen. The arm contour on the upper body was not available until the '69 Competition Mustang (the one with the stripes). The fretboards are slabs of nice brown rosewood that feel wonderful. The frets are low and comfortable with no sharp edges and the adjustable action is set fairly low. You may find a higher action will help if you get a string buzz with heavier strings. Some guitars BEG for heavy strings but the Mustangs really don't. Again, that's the beauty of the short scale. I've got two string trees on mine but they may have come with only one. The "dynamic vibrato" is also one of the high points of these guitars. The direct pull makes for a soft even response and the rounded "lipstick tube" anchor makes for a great palm rest. The tremolo arm does not screw in, it just sets in place in the anchor. If you move around a lot when you play you may just find yourself reaching for something that's no longer there. I (and almost everyone else I've talked to about it) feel there's absolutely no need for the arm itself. Vibratos are easily expressed by shaking your palm on the rounded anchor. The tuners are replacement Schallers that are effective. I did have the original tuners on the '64 and they were fine too.

The Mustang has two single coil pick-ups. They are noisy but fully sweet toned. A bit trebly but back off the tone and volume a tad and you'll find a NICE big sweet spot. People who associate the Mustang with Kurt Cobain aren't really appreciating the guitar's tonal characteristics. Kurt himself was dissatisfied with the bridge single coil for his grunge style, prompting him to replace it with a humbucker. I like the sound of the single coil but it does lack the punch for high gain playing. Instead it offers up a variety of smooth mellow single coil sounds with the distinctive "phase" options. John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers is a more appropriate Mustang user. His playing highlights the complete separation of individual notes within a chord. Although he uses it in a rock setting, it is most utile in jazz, r&b, and country. In short, it is a soft subtle guitar meant to be heard, not overdriven. It is not for everyone but if you like lots of clean sounds with less brashness than a Strat, this may be the guitar for you.

The Mustang has a truly unique vibrato. I have heard many complaints about it but I LOVE it! Some people say it won't stay in tune but I gotta remind you it's not meant to be used as a dive-bomber. I have never had any problems with tuning and I use the vibrato often (but maybe more subtly). The replacement tuners might help, but even my '64 with original tuners had no such problem. It raises or lowers the pitch evenly and effectively. The frets are clean, well rounded, the neck, smooth and fast. Electronically the guitar needs help with the grounding. A short bit of wire from the pickup to the metal control plate will help reduce the noise. The pick-ups are non-adjustable but the bridge is. Originally the Mustang came with strings wrapped around the bottom of the "lipstick tube" anchor but many people modified it by turning that anchor around and running the strings directly through. Tonally there is no difference except for maybe more stretch in pulls with the original set-up due to a longer string length. The modified set-up does aid in string changes if you change strings "en masse". The vibrato needs some string pull to keep the anchor off the body to allow the ball end to slip under it in the original set-up. Since I change strings one at a time I have never had this problem. The slide switches are crappy. They don't set into their positions cleanly and no amount of "cleaner" will help that. Live with it.

Despite it flaws (I call them quirks!) this is a reasonably reliable guitar. The bummer is the switches, which may prevent you from making a lot of mid-song changes in pick-ups or phasing. Everything else is solid and durable...after all, these guitars are ALMOST as old as I am and still working well! In the appropriate setting there is no need for a back-up unless you need a humbucker's crunch. There is a wide range of clean single coil sounds...phased or not.

These guitars are rare (at least in Northern New England). I brought my '64 to Daddy's Junky Music Store in Portland, Maine and they thought I had a Japanese rip-off. Of course the salesman was half the age of the guitar so he didn't know any better. In fact, he had never seen one before. The epitome of lousy customer service, he didn't even refer me to a manager who might have done some research on his own. He just said "No, we're not interested" and went on to the next person. Feeling humiliated, I returned just as they were closing up and tried to slip him some information under the door but by then he must have been feeling threatened by my outrage. On the other side of the coin, I had the pickguard replaced on my '65 (the original had shrunk)at Buckdancer's Choice in Portland, Maine. They did a magnificent job. In short, don't bring this guitar to a "sales" shop if you need work done on it. They WON'T know what to do with it. Instead bring it to a "service" shop. Even they may not know what to do with it but your chances are much better. The phase switches and wiring are fairly complex and the common modifications to the vibrato make this guitar harder to work on than other guitars...leave it to the pros...if you can find one. I have found some parts available through catalogs, but I haven't been able to find any in stores.

This is an awesome guitar for beginners, people with small hands, and experts who like a variety of clean sounds. I think it's the best sounding guitar I've ever played but I also realize it's limitations. Depending on your style of playing this guitar can either be the greatest guitar ever made (which it is for me) or the lousiest dog in the closet (which it would be for a metal head). It plays fast, bends easily, has a great light body, and a FANTASTIC vibrato. It is tremendously comfortable standing or sitting and has accessible frets due to the double cutaway. If you're about flash and gain, effects and crunch this guitar is not for you. However if you like style AND substance and a pretty set sound, this guitar can't be beat! It is rare, well-made, great looking and great sounding. I LOVE the Mustang.

Mine's a 1970 USA Mustang, with 'competition' stripes. It's a lovely blue. The exact same guitar as seen in the 'teen spirit' video all those years ago... how I smiled on seeing it for the first time. :D

It's all original, barring one rewound pickup and a new scratchplate (the original expired after inadvertantly setting fire to the guitar).

The features are entirely adequate for a range of uses. I particularly like the choice of phasing between pickups; adds variety to the tone. Switchgear isn't the best quality, but is supremely functional.

Crap noisy pickups, if I'm being honest. Otherwise, it's lovely. I've used it with many amps over the years, but it sounds best with a nice phat valve amp. Plug it into a Fender Hotrod Blues Deville for more volume than is really decent, and a tone to die for.

The neck and action of this guitar has defined what I look for in terms of playability. I've never played anything as pleasing.

Having a very small radius neck makes this guitar *hopeless* for slide guitar, but that's ok... just get another for that kinda thing :)

Compared to my '76 Strat (despite it's superior pickups), this wins every time. Hint: it's not the Mustang I'll be selling when I next trade up. For context, I should add that the Strat is *lovely*.

The bridge is still showing rust, but no sign of real deterioration; it's always been like that.

Has been gigged numerous times, on many occasions finding its way into the drumkit at some speed... *nothing* can destroy it. It just keeps going. Never considered a backup, cos I knew it'd do the business.

As indicated above, I did have to get a pickup rewound after about 5 years of ownership, but (as also noted) they were cheap pickups in the first place.

The paintwork has taken a battering, and has flaked or worn away in the usual places, but overall the guitar was made to last. It's marginally older than I, yet in considerably better shape. :)

As noted above, I did once accidentally set fire to the instrument. The scratch plate was totally destroyed, but otherwise the guitar seemed not to notice...

No idea about Fender themselves. I did deal with Arbiter, the spares distribution company in the UK, when I needed to replace the scratch plate. I have no real recollection of whether they were any good or not, so I guess they were adequate.

I learnt to play 17 years ago, aged 15, and bought the Mustang at 18. At the time I wanted a Jazzmaster (and I still do!), but the Mustang has seen me through in splendid style.

I should really fit some decent pickups, get it re-fretted, and respray the body, but it's hard to justify the expense... i rarely play electric guitar these days. :(

I shall never sell it.. I'm sure there are finer instruments, but it's got a special place in my life.

mine is an original Leo Fender 1965 pre-CBS Mustang
22 frets (not that short-skale thing)
got a Tone and Volume control and two 3-way- switches fpr the PUs
Two Single Coils

I bought this guitar in used condition and first time I played it, I was very unsatisfied.
But then after I adjusted the Neck, the Stings, the Frets and all other stuff this guitar ist great!
Turn on both PUs and you get a full sound, with lots of Bass, Mids and Treble. Great for playing without Effekts, just directly into my ProReverb. The bridge PU gives a thin sound with less Bass and lots of treble, great for Tube-Distortion and my 70s BIG MUFF.
The Out of Phase is great for playing hard distortion. I get that chonk, but it doesn't sound muddy. Even Metallica Songs can be played with that setting! (Marshall Drive-Master + Tube Distortion)

The only guitar that could make me happy like this is the Fender Jag-Stang.

Well, it's an original Leo Fender guitar.. nothing to complain about!
I got an original old neck, an old non-contour-body and everythings really old and original ! Be shure that you don't got those lousy late '65 Models which were produced under CBS, they got a bad finish.

hmm.. 1965-2005 = 40 years.. I think this is pretty fine for a guitar :) and it is still alive and will hopefully be there for me in 20 years, too. :)

Every part of those old guitar can still be bought through the Fender All-Parts Service. I had to replace my 3-way-switches but couldn't find some at different electronic-stores. Then I found Fender All-Parts and: I could order those switches. But very exspensive..

I'm playing this guitar for one year now and fell in love after the first week. I wish I had bought it earlier.
If this one would be stolen or lost I could kill myself!
This ony is mine and no other can make me happy like this one.
The fantastic Dakota Red, nearly no dings or dongs. This one is in really perfect condition!!

Mine is a '65 with a slab body. Everything original except the scratchplate, I think. Two single coils, short scale neck, cool floating tremolo, Kluson tuners. Oh, yeah, the white finish is not original either. Good basic guitar that makes the most of two single coil pickups.

I like indie rock/alternative and this guitar fits the stuff like a glove. I traded a '74 Gibson SG to a friend to get $400 cash PLUS this guitar. The SG is a great guitar, no doubt, but I was looking for character and this guitar has it in spades. The sound is somewhere between a snarl and a twang if you play it just slightly overdriven with both pickups in phase. This is my fave sound, though the neck pickup alone is as smooth and bluesy as any other Fender neck pickup. The tremolo is great for authentic surf or 80's goth and is superior to the Strat trem. People going out of tune must be pulling a Steve Vai. This is not your everyday guitar. It strays from the more standard sounds of the Strat or Les Paul, but that's why I like it. It's unique enough, but I think, by now, it's becoming a classic in its own right.

My god, I got this in bad shape! It was so neglected before I got it, plus it is 40 years old! I fixed it up a bit, but my crackly switches need to be replaced and my neck needs adjustment. The action needs help. This is wear and tear, plus I'm foolhearty enough to put 12's on it! I used to go with 10's, but I'm pretty much used to 12's now (I got it in summer of 2004), plus 12's sound great. All things considered, this is a servicable guitar, but I hear the necks have a tendency to bow back, which I hope I can fix. Anyway, it's still my main axe, all the same.

I'm optimistic. Once this guitar is set up again and has new switches, it ought to last another 40 years without incident. It's playable after up to forty years of neglect! Everyone knows old Fenders are built like tanks.

I play this through an Ibanez Tube Screamer and old Boss delay into a 100 w Fender Performer (bad amp, I know!). I've played for twenty years. Aside from my early love of Iron Maiden (I still have a soft spot for 'em!), this guitar would have been a perfect guitar for me if I had gotten it as soon as I started playing! It would have been great for all the classic rock I liked while I also liked Maiden(!), the punk rock I got into after that, the 80's alternative I got into after that, the 90's grunge and alternative I had been waiting for up to that point, and it's great for a lot of new stuff like the Hives, Modest Mouse and Franz Ferdinand. From the beginning, I played in my own bands, doing our own music, and a lot of that time, when I wished my sound was a better balance between the typical finesse of the Fender sound and a more aggressive growl, this would have been the guitar that would've made me happy. Not for everybody, but worth giving a shot if one comes your way. It may have that extra "something" you're looking for. Plus, I have a pre-CBS Fender for $600 cdn (I paid $1000 for the SG)! My main guitar for life.

my mustang is from 1965 it has the original single coil pickups.
i absolutly love the simplicity of this guitar,and the fact that
you can bypass the pick ups by putting the selector switches in the middle cause lets just face it most vintage fenders with original wireing are a bit noisy. My mustang has a full size neck instead
of the smaller scale and its very similer to an old strat,the neck is very worn and smooth and makes for very fast playing abality,the action is very low and flat and makes playing very effortless. It has the original standard white plastic fender tuners and for some odd reason they keep my guitar in perfect tune at all times even with the floating tremelo. the butt of the neck is stamped dec.65.
the only real problem i have with this guitar is,i have difficulty
using the pickup switches and playing at the same time however its just something i am getting used to,i have played this guitar for 2 years and it will be my main guitar at every gig for the rest of my life.

this guitar is so versitile!..its so easy to shape the sound of the guitar into what i want,the single coil pick ups in this guitar are very powerfull,i own a gibson sg that i mess around and play from time to time and it cant touch the tone of my mustang. and im not really a gear head or anything like that i like to keep it very simple this is my rig setup(please dont laugh) =).
1. 1965 fender mustang
2. 1967 sunn solarus 100 watt head (all tube)
3. 1960A marshall 4x12 cab
4. prescption electronics yard box fuzz pedel.

i get massive amounts of tone bottom end and a nice bled of trebel as well with this setup. i wouldent suggest using any kind of pedel with a lot of trebel in like an mxr distortion plus or anything cause mustangs have massive amounts of twang and highend.
i have the bass on my amp all the way up and the bass on my yard box
almost half way up so really to get a classic,rich tone from these guitars your just gonna need a pedel with some balls. and some time to spend tweaking your amp =)

my mustang has the orginal finish and looks like it has been to hell and back. it used to be white and now over the years it has turned to a nice shitty yellow. this is prolly the most beat to crap insterment i have ever seen in my entire life! sometimes paint falls off of it when i am giging with it! the bridge is slightly rusty all the screws are rusty and the back of the tuners are rusty i think rust is holding the damn thing together! people laugh at this guitar and my amp at every show my band plays..untill they hear it,then they always ask me about it. i think fender did a crappy job with the finish on these guitars even though mine is a pre-cbs i just dont think they really gave a rats ass about it. but i wouldent have it any other way..

you could throw this thing off a building pick it up and play war pigs and go about your buissness,this thing is a freaking tank. it has been the most dependable guitar i have ever owned and i swear by this guitar. i will never gig with out it and it someone stole it i would kill myself.

i have had no experiance with these people. i have never had to call them for any reason.

i have been playing for 13 years
i absolutly love this mustang
i will say they are not for everyone
but i will be burried with mine.

1968 USA Competition Mustang (matching head)
22frets
original pick ups.
This is my main axe. Don't laugh! Because I make it sound better
than my Gibson SG & Gretsch Duo Jet. I've been using it for 6 years. This guitar is my signature. It creates cheap vintage sound and bandmates and most of musicians/sound engineers love this guitar
over SG & Duo Jet when I play.

Sounds little thin when it's plugged directly to my '65 Twin and 60's
Ampeg Jet. But with Pro Co Rat makes it dirty! Fuzz? oh yeah!!
Small Stone phaser gives warm and rich fat tone! Even the powerless single coil of this guitar can make sweet sound. You have to find a niche. Try not to sound too trebly. It is trebly to begin with. I use vintage pedals and amps to play with this. If you want to play safe,
I do not recommend Mustangs. If you are adventurous, you can spend some time with it and find distinctive sound of your own. With right
effects & an amp, you can appreciate the underrated guitar such as
Mustang. Style of music matters to this guitar. I play funky, dubby
Spacy with Envelope filtered freaky stuff. Also good for alternative
music.

With a small hand like I have, it's perfect to play chords.
Tuning is pain.... It's so hard to tune with floating bridge.
I luckily found this one in great condition. Many scratches but
neck was straight and everything was working great.

Because of light and very simple features, you can bang this guitar
on stage and throw it on the floor, it doesn't break. ha ha. Even if
it breaks, it's easy to fix. I wouldn't do that to Gibson or Gretsch.

Not for everyone, but for me, this Mustang is very special.

USA, 1966. I bought it in a wave of nostalgia. 30 years ago I dropped my gibson sg and the head broke off. ( Before strap locks that I always use now.) Gibsons still have the same flaw!
I paid too much and had to refinish it. I played it and recalled its lmitations, the vibrato is crap, the tuners are crap and the pickups are too quiet. It however light and " has a sound" as my studio guy says.I'm being gentle.

It has substandard pickups. However it is light ( poplar body folks!) and the neck is great. It has been refinished in nitrocellious oxide and looks good now. It hangs on the wall as a tribute to the refinisher. I would never use it live.

Leo has it figured out when it came to mass production. This was an entry level guitar and the components are cheap. It has rusted a bit but it still sounds like a mustang. It has a nice clean sound, no sustain and no distortion sound. Add a few million pedals and it might open up. It hangs on the wall and I use teles and les pauls for playing live.

It is already old. What you hear is what you get. I understand Cobain used these as they were cheap and he used to destroy his guitars at the end of the gig. i could never do that. Remember I used to play one live. However I would never do that again. It hangs on the wall. It has held up very well for what it is, an entry level guitar. At least is in not made in indonesia or korea. It is not up to snuff.

The guitar is so old no one may remember them. I love fender and what this has it great playability and good intonation. It looks good on the wall where it will stay until I sell in on ebay.Original tacky orange case too! Shite.

I've played professionally for 30 years. I keep this guitar because i used to use it as a main axe at 17. Nostalgia, not sound.
All I can say is thank God for teles and les pauls. The after market prices for these is insane. There is no " holy grail" of vintage guitars. There is a hum and poor action in most of them. Buy a faded les paul ( fantastic value) or a tele. Don't lust after old fenders, as that is about as logical as wishing to get it on with a grandmother. Skip this one unless you need a conversation piece.

Made: September 1966, USA
Bought: 1998, Istanbul
Originally Dakota Red (badly done), but stripped to natural wood w/ thin matte finish (looks great, but you can see that the body is 3 pieces of wood glued together, but what would you expect?)
(I am of the opinion that there are only two great colours for a guitar: natual wood & black, with candy apple red as a distant third.)
Original bridge, but saddles replaced.
Light as a feather.

The original pups suck - have little to offer, but then they were cheap in 1966. So now they are just 40 year old cheap pups. Kinda jangly but no power - makes it difficult / impossible to switch guitars onstage. The band complains about the tone when I bring it to practice.
This will be a before and after review, as I am about to change both pups, probably get all new wiring too. BUT, love the pup switches, they are so out of the way that I never hit them (well, once). With the original pups, the out of phase setting is the best sound, but the hiss this generates makes it impossible to record.

Second-hand: the poor thing had bee abused and left to die, especially the bridge. Had to cut a new nut - the original was so badly cut, can't imagine why it was still there after 30 years. Tuners were about as cheap as you chould get - and were replaced immediately. Set up is fine now but still a bit low for me. Pickguard is totally warped, bubbles up along the edges b/n screws - propably has since the 60s. Paint job was crap too.

This guitar (despite its faults) was built to last. Probably give it to my daughter one day...and she's only two years old.

After reading everything above, you might think I hate this guitar. Wrong. Bought as a backup for my Tele, I never had great expectations. HOWEVER, the neck is to die for, while the body fits like an old lover. This guitar is the most comfortable I've ever owned. Also own a 68 Mustang bass, which is just as comfy. If it were stolen, I would hunt down the SOB and beat him about the head with my Tele (more wood, greater skull damage). Plus, I will never be able to afford a real vintage guitar, so this is as close as I'll ever get. If you can find one, buy it. DO NOT SETTLE FOR A JAPANESE RE-ISSUE: GET AN ORIGINAL. Be prepared to modify it, but in the end you will fall in love.

Look below for lots of the details. One thing not mentioned is the neck radius of 7.5 and the extremely narrow head nut and the 24.75 inch scale. Very important aspects of this very poorly made guitar. Lots of cheep slip switching that produce one and off and reverse polarity that creates an awful sound. I like the tremlo, lots of fun.

Single coil at it's worst. Don't even think that the polarity switches are of any use. Noisy and painful

Set up from the factory with 10s. You can't use anything lower so if you like light gauge strings (I don't, but I understand your position). Good action and nice playability for lead work. This would be an excellent guitar for lead playing if the pickups were humbuckers. This guitar is a failure for it's target consumers, the beginner guitar player. It was designed to be a 1st guitar/learning guitar with short scale and narrow neck. It fails because the neck radius makes it impossible to play bar-chords easily and the narrow neck makes it very crowded. I have small hands and it's hard for me to play this guitar. There's a good reason why this guitar disappeared for almost 2 decades only to resurrected from the trash by some grunge players. One last important note, adjusting the neck is no simple task on this guitar, go to one of the many Mustang websites to find out how before you buy this guitar, all guitars need adjust sooner or later and this one is no simple turn of the screw.

It's a Fender so it won't give you any problems with the exception of going out of tune. The tremlo is really neat but has been abandoned for a reason. If you use it much, expect to be out of tune soon.

Fender sucks when it comes to support so buy a good product like a MIA Strat

I'm bored and I like play guitars. I've been playing for 20+ years. I've played everything. The best guitars I've own have been my 1969 MIA Strat and my 2002 MIA Strat. Fender does put out some very bad guitars, look at the late 70s and 80s and look at this Mustang series. There is no reason for a guitar costing over $400 to be garbage. I have already sent this guitar back. It's a poor design in guitars and frequently disappears from production for a good reason. In a year this guitar will go out of production again until some "rock-star" starts playing it again and the production line will start of again. I have no idea what the other guys on this review section are talking about when they give this guitar a good rating. I believe that they are from another plant or something. There is no reason to pay more than $150 for a guitar of this quality. Go buy an Ibanez, Epiphone, or even a crappy low end Squire Strat before you waste money on guitar.