Fender 'Mustang' Questions

[swingtoneman]

I have recently bought my first ever,new, solid guitar a Fender 'Mustang'--after many years playing acoustic guitar--different animal!

Two questions for those in the know:
a) Is the Fender 'Mustang' made in Mexico good quality?
b) Would you do any upgrades to it for better performance?

[citizenk74]

My first "name" guitar was a Mustang I got from a pawn shop for 50 bucks. It needed a little*work. A couple of years ago Mrs k and I were in one of our favorite shops and the ever-alert Missus spotted a gently used MIM Mustang in Fiesta Red. It is now mine and is essentially flawless. An almost invisible ding in the back is its only demerit and hardly merits a mention but for the fact is saved us a lot of dough. Its black soap-bar P-90s are quite hot enough, thank you, and it intonates perfectly. The neck is Pao Ferro, I believe, and fits my out-size mitts quite comfortably (Fenders with dark fretboards are a serious chink in my armor). The short-ish scale takes a little getting used to, but worth the effort. Controls are smooth and quiet. 10/10 would buy again.

As for improvements, a pro set-up is always a good idea. A bone nut, perhaps. Strap locks, for sure. And a wide, soft strap. Its weighty. Not quite '55 Les Paul Custom weight, to be sure. Still, the pretty lil' thang is dense, in a good way.

Enjoy yours! A couple of pix would not be amiss....

* ...and by a little, I mean a lot. The frets were brass, IIRC, and worn to the board. Almost. I was younger then, and un-daunted by such trifles. These days I avoid such toil assiduously.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I have recently bought my first ever,new, solid guitar a Fender 'Mustang'--after many years playing acoustic guitar--different animal!

Two questions for those in the know:
a) Is the Fender 'Mustang' made in Mexico good quality?
b) Would you do any upgrades to it for better performance?

I've had a soft spot for the Mustang since I bought one in 1969 as a backup guitar. The MIM models are decent value, and their quality is up to or better than anything I've seen in their price range. The hardware is typical of lower priced instruments, but it's all serviceable. The tuners seem up to the task, the pickups are straightforward single coils (fairly low output, as I recall), the selector toggle switch is way ahead of the dumb little sliders that were on my original, and the bridge seems well enough finished so as not to break strings.

I don't think it's a guitar worth investing more than the purchase price, except for a good setup if it didn't come to you playing well. If you feel any fret ends when you run your finger up and down the edges of the board, hear any fret buzzing, find the intonation to be off etc, it's worth paying a luthier or tech to make it as good as it can be. A MIM Mustang should play very well. If I had to, I could use one on almost any gig - I used my original to play a few weddings, and it was fine. Unless you have a very good reason or an irrational desire to do so, I wouldn't spend the cost of upgrading pickups, bridge / tailpiece, tuners etc.

Remember that it's a short scale instrument (24", as I recall). I'd play it for a while and get to know it - they're fun little guitars. If you find yourself wanting more from your electric, you'd probably be better off upgrading the guitar itself than parts on the one you have. Give it a fair chance and it'll probably please you immensely.

[mr. beaumont]

Fender's Mexican made guitars are of high quality, and offer a lot of bang for the buck.

I wouldn't change a thing until you really get to know the guitar.

Post pics, lets see it!

[Litterick]

Yesterday, I sauntered into a local guitar shop and learned that an American Professional Jazzmaster costs thirteen hundred New Zealand dollars more than a Mexican Vintera 60s style Jazzmaster. The Mexican is prettier as well: ice-blue metallic with matching headstock, not sunburst.

[Herbie]

I don’t have experience on modern Mustangs but one from about 1965 (so did the seller say). I bought it in about 1985 and very soon found out that it sounded thin and did not stay in tune.

I thought that the reason is too thin body. So I had made a body which was other wise similar but the thickness was in the standard stratocaster measures.

In that version I gave up the vibrato system and ended up in a stop tailpiece.

Now it was better. Soon I realised that I can have made a neck too, so I can sell the vintage guitar and get some cash back.

But something was still wrong. Sound was still a bit thin. Some years later I found P90-pickups and routed room for them. Now it sounded a lot better. But still some frequencies were too much.

So about five years ago I tried to put some cheap humbuckers (Duncan 59 models) in it. Wow! Now the guitar had found its capability!

After some tweaking the neck hb has now Alnico 3 magnet and the bridge pickup is a Classic 57. Perfect sounds!

You asked suggestions. Maybe I can’t suggest anything from these tinkerings but maybe this is a couragement for tweaking different kind of solutions in Your guitar.

Congrats for Your new instrument! Remember that John McLaughlin plays a Mustang in Silent Way album!