Fender Mustang Electric Guitar
In this photo, John Frusciante's red Fender Mustang can be seen next to him. In an interview with Vintage Guitar, he says: > I also ha... more
> "No, I own a ’66 Jaguar. That’s the guitar I polish and baby - I refuse to let anyone touch it when I jump into the crowd. [laughs] Lat... more
According to a Bonhams auction listing, Jimi Hendrix played a Fender Mustang electric guitar, in a Daytona Red finish. John Mitch Mit... more
"This is a great Mustang for anyone looking for a cool looking Mustang. It plays better than any Mustang I’ve ever used! And i’m not just... more
Reviews
Trusted musician and artist reviews for Fender Mustang Electric Guitar
Based on 18 Reviews
killer guitar with some drawbacks
I have two 1965 Mustangs, both in Dakota Red; one has a 24" scale and the other has a 22.5" scale. The guitars are very easy to play for me; I have small hands and the spacing of the frets on a full-size Fender sometimes makes it hard for me to play certain chords. On the Mustangs I can easily make chords that were out of reach on my 25.5" Stratocaster.
The downside is the guitars sound a bit thin when you play clean, as they are small and have single coil pickups. But when you play through distortion this is not a problem.
What is a problem, however, is the placement of the pickup switches just above the areas of the pickguard where a guitarist will be moving his or her hand back and forth while picking and strumming. This can result in a sudden accidental silencing of the guitar, if you have one pickup turned off and then accidentally knock the other one into the off position.
Sounds like good motivation to tighten up that right hand technique. Great review. Do you use the out-of-phase sounds much?
I haven't much -- my favorite sound on the guitar is the neck pickup only, or with a bit of the bridge blended in. But the out-of-phase option is seriously honky. I would like to find a use for it at some point.
Yes: the awkward placement of the switches provides great motivation to control the right hand more. But I really like to just sort of rest the side of my hand down in that area where those friggin' switches are, and you have to be pretty careful about that as well. All in all, it's a less-than-optimal design.
Update: Now I also have a 24" scale 1966 Dakota Red Fender Mustang with a slab "B"-sized fretboard -- very nice guitar, and the fretboard is quite substantial compared to that on my other 24" scale Mustang (which has an "A" neck).
1966 Daphne Blue
" I have a vintage daphne blue mustang ( 1966 ), it's my main guitar, 100% original, I've just put a "staytrem" on it, now the vibrato is perfect, I love it "
Wow!
I've got a 1966 mustang and its the best guitar I've ever played.
I remember as a teen running into a 65 or 66 mustang and really loving the tone but having trouble with the short scale (I have long fingers). I am still kicking myself for not buying it, because it was udner a grand and I woulda turned a huge profit selling it later. Alas. But yeah, fender got the mustang sounding damned good back in the day. Love the wiring scheme and simple 3 ways to control it. Even the reissues sound nice, but the old ones have that certain somethin'-somethin'.... enjoy yours, cheers to being able to contain your fingers on the tiny fretboard!
I picked mine up for $500 it needed work but after i got it fixed up its a real player. Its definitely my best purchase to date.
great surf guitar
amazing guitar that i acquired at a great price. Great tone on the single coil pickups, great in/out of phase sounds. my only complaint is the terribly loose tremolo system and the fact that it is a pain to string.
http://staytrem.com/Staytrem-for-Mustang-and-Jagstang
This is the answer man, I have it on my mustang, cause I use vibrato a lot, it's amazing, as cool as my jazzmaster's vibrato
72
embodies that 'Fender jangle' sound. can't wait to replace the pickups with something a little hotter though
but they are wired in series, man, that's like a superwide humbucker when you wanna get all hot
Just cool.
I have had many different guitars, including the most popular ones, but the reason I love the Mustang is that I love the short scale size (especially as a gal), dig the comfortable curves (like a Strat, not just a block body), drool over the possible pickup combinations (out of phase Tele sounds!! And love how you can turn the pickups off so you can flick the switches to cut your sound in and out), and honestly just think it looks so cool. I have the fiesta red (FAVE Fender red...looks amazing in person, like it's a salmon-y/orangish red that has been faded after 50 years.....sigh) Kurt Cobain model. ALSO, I love how the switches don't stick out as much and also love the hot Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge. Can I say love more?
Toy guitar
This and the duo sonic are more of toy guitars to me to play around on nevertheless awesome.
I've always thought the Mustang was a very cool, edgy guitar. I have a thing for vintage Fenders, and would LOVE to get a 1965 (pre-CBS) all-original Mustang in Dakota Red. Don't really care about the condition - some nice wear, dings, and scratches are cool with me.