Fender ‘65 Mustang Reissue Electric Guitar
July 29, 2007 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment
Surf’s up! For right at $1000, retail, you can relive the mid sixties beach scene with a Fender ‘65 Mustang Reissue electric guitar. Available in Daphne Blue or Dakota Red with a white pearl pickguard, or in Olympic white with a brown shell pickguard, this is one groovy guitar. The Mustang was originally designed as a student model, and it is not really suitable for metal. But if you are into lighter sounds, this makes a nice addition to your arsenal.
Fender electric guitars have been on the market since they released the popular Telecaster in 1951. The first Mustang came out in August of 1964, and had a new type of tremolo arm designed by Leo Fender. There are not very many of the very first ones around now, and collectors will pay thousands of dollars for them.
The first student models Fender released were called the Musicmaster and the Duo-Sonic. The Duo-Sonic differed from the Musicmaster in that it had two pickups while the Musicmaster only had one. These both came out in the fifties.
The Mustang had a slightly offset waist, much like the Jaguar and Jazzmaster that were released about that time. You could order any of these with a shorter, 22.5 inch neck with 21 frets. This is also called a 3/4 scale neck. The larger size was much more popular, and there are not many examples of the shorter scale guitars around now.
Fender also issued a bass guitar in 1964 that they called the Mustang bass, which had some of the same features, like the short scale. Various changes were made from year to year, with similar guitars being called names like the Bronco and the Bullet.
The Fender Mustang was one of the neglected, offset-waist Fender models that made a comeback during the nineties, with almost a cult following among alternative rockers. Kurt Cobain of the band, Nirvana, is a well-known fan of the Fender Mustang.
Advantages: The 24 inch neck makes the Fender ‘65 Mustang Reissue electric guitar a good one for people with smaller hands. It also makes the tremolo arm work better for upbends. The tone knob works really well and is very effective. The on/off switches are a handy feature, too. It has great sustain and decent pickups, but you might want to upgrade them.
This is a beauty of a guitar, too, with its vintage styling and cool color combinations. The neck is fast and smooth.
Disadvantages: Like some of the other Fender models that are modeled after the vintage originals, there are switches above the strings. You may find yourself bumping them when strumming enthusiastically. Also, some have had problems with the set up in order to reduce fret buzz and lower the action. It is small and light weight and might not sit well in a guitar stand if you are switching guitars around in that important gig. The tremolo is the floating type, and it does go out of tune fairly easily if you use the whammy bar very much.
It can be hard to find a good sounding distortion setting on the Fender ‘65 Mustang, but if you fiddle with your knobs you should be able to find something. It is not for playing heavy metal, so if that is your style, you probably need something else. This one is good for surf music, though (of course!) And you can make some good alternative rock noise with it.
Fender ‘65 Mustang Reissue Specs:
- Poplar body in vintage correct styling
- “C” shaped maple neck with gloss polyurethane finish
- ‘65 Mustang headstock and bridge plate logos
- “F” neck plate
- Fender/Gotoh vintage style tuning machines with white buttons
- 3-Ply white pearloid pickguard on Daphne Blue and Dakota Red models
- 4-ply tortoise shell pickguard on Olympic white model.
- Rosewood fingerboard
- Fingerboard radius, 7.25 inches (184 mm.)
- 22 vintage style frets
- 24 inch (610 mm. scale length
- 1.625 inches (41 mm.) wide at the nut
- Mustang single-coil pickup at the neck
- Mustang single-coil pickup at the bridge
- Chrome hardware
- One master volume control
- One master tone control
- On-Off slider switch for each pickup
- In-Out Phase switch for each pickup
- Floating bridge with “Dynamic” vibrato tailpiece
- Vintage appropriate gap between the control plate and the pickguard
- Super 250R, NPS strings in .010 to .046)
- No case included
Get Info / Buy Online: Fender ‘65 Mustang Reissue
Other resources:
- For collectors of vintage guitars, this page tells all about the Fender Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic student model guitars and shows some pictures.
- To exploit the cult following enjoyed by the vintage Mustangs, Jaguars, and Jazzmasters during the nineties, Fender released a guitar that was a mix between a Mustang and a Jaguar. It was available between 1994 to 2005 and was called a “Jag-Stang.” Click here for more info about this guitar.
