Mustang - Great Fender, or Greatest Fender? (love thread)

[aphasiac]

I wonder if Fender has any plans to make a "Classic Player Mustang Special HH" edition along the same lines as their Classic Player Jaguar Special HH?

Fender Cyclone HH was close enough so i doubt they'd bother:

[astro]

Not really unfortunately. The reissues can be got for £499 online, and around £600 in stores.

Vintage Mustangs start at around £1,000 and can be extremely overpriced, BobArsecake and I were in Denmark St (I know) yesterday afternoon and there were a couple of 60s Dakota Red Mustangs (in fairly scrappy condition) for £1,500+. One of them even had a massive gouge out of the front. On ebay they still command a great deal, you got an Excellent deal on Hurb's Duo Sonic II, which would have normally gone for £800 in non trying times.

Best option is to buy vintage in America or from America on ebay.

The 70's fenders are still cheap, but their prices are starting to rise. I got my '76 stang for $750 on Fleabay last winter. It wasn't mint, but it's in pretty good shape.

I know a lot of people think that all Fenders from the 70's are tainted goods due to some curse from the high priests of CBS, but all the Fenders from that era that I've either owned or played have been solid instruments. Thankfully this belief has kept prices low on Fenders of this vintage, but this won't last long as the older stuff continues to spiral upwards in price and out of reach of more and more people.

we've had this conversation before- our 70s mustangs are almost identical in spec and condition. but what you paid in dollars i paid in pounds... which means mine cost twice as much! mind you, costs of living in canada could be ridiculous, i dunno.

and i've also played a few 70s fenders and always found them fine. i picked up the mustang last night for the first time after getting the duo-sonic on friday, and found it reassuringly chunky. i like them all!!!

True, I was thinking of the difference between 60's and 70's fenders in terms of their price over here. The 70's ones are half or less than the cost of older ones. I know they're more expensive in Europe and the UK, but aren't the 70's Fenders proportionally cheaper than 60's ones there as well?

Speaking of European prices, why do you guys get so badly screwed on guitars? I guess I can understand that there are trade tariffs on American goods, but why are Asian made guitars more expensive as well? We have to import those too.

Guitars used to be WAY overpriced here in Canada. In the past year, however, they've come down considerably. Our dollar is at parity with the American greenback, and with internet competition the stores have had no choice but to lower their prices. It's still more expensive here (maybe +10%), but a few year ago it was a massive ripoff... MIM strats used to sell for $800! Now they go for about $500.

[stewart]

True, I was thinking of the difference between 60's and 70's fenders in terms of their price over here. The 70's ones are half or less than the cost of older ones. I know they're more expensive in Europe and the UK, but aren't the 70's Fenders proportionally cheaper than 60's ones there as well?

Speaking of European prices, why do you guys get so badly screwed on guitars? I guess I can understand that there are trade tariffs on American goods, but why are Asian made guitars more expensive as well? We have to import those too.

Guitars used to be WAY overpriced here in Canada. In the past year, however, they've come down considerably. Our dollar is at parity with the American greenback, and with internet competition the stores have had no choice but to lower their prices. It's still more expensive here (maybe +10%), but a few year ago it was a massive ripoff... MIM strats used to sell for $800! Now they go for about $500.

ah yes, i see what you mean. they are proportionately cheaper, like mike said a 60s mustang is probably £1500+ at dealer price and a 70s one probably around £1000. but it varies-
here's some current examples i've found: 1966, 1973, 1969.

we get screwed on everything in this country, not just guitars. stuff sells for what people are willing to pay, presumably.

[Fran]

The 70's models were made up of several 'unmatched' (if that is the right word) pieces of timber. That's why all the sunburst models had that horrible finish where you cannot see the grain. I'm sure someone like Aug or rob(og) stripped a 70's model and the body was made from like 4 pieces of timber. Things like this will reflect value.
It seems apparent that Fender dropped the ball in the 70's and quality slipped, but then, is'nt that common knowledge?
I can't ever imagine me buying anything off Denmark St, i know they dont dictate market values but how they can justify a 70's Mustang costing £1,000 when you can buy something like a late 70's Yamaha SG2000 for same price mystifies me.

[Jagermeister]

@Fran...

As for the LPJr.s, I'll always respect the P90 for giving the ultimate "rawk" tone, but find it limitted to that... I suppose someone who wants that and only that will pay thousands of dollars for a Junior or a Special, but I think the Mustang has a bit more versatility. Fender didn't skimp on woods for its "student" line either (at least preCBS), and we get a bit more than a bar of metal as a bridge If the Mustang is a student axe I'd still find it a better student axe than a Junior or such

The 90s MIM Duo REALLY feels like a student axe though, with its even dinkier body and the 3/4 scale.

Though technically I think the Melody Maker line might have been the one more aimed at Fender in general than Jr.s and Specials...

[Fran]

@Fran...

As for the LPJr.s, I'll always respect the P90 for giving the ultimate "rawk" tone, but find it limitted to that... I suppose someone who wants that and only that will pay thousands of dollars for a Junior or a Special, but I think the Mustang has a bit more versatility. Fender didn't skimp on woods for its "student" line either (at least preCBS), and we get a bit more than a bar of metal as a bridge If the Mustang is a student axe I'd still find it a better student axe than a Junior or such

The 90s MIM Duo REALLY feels like a student axe though, with its even dinkier body and the 3/4 scale.

Though technically I think the Melody Maker line might have been the one more aimed at Fender in general than Jr.s and Specials...

Oh yes, i'm not disputing they are over priced. My point was its limitations are one of its attractions, using the guitars volume and tone can create a lot of varied sounds. In the Juniors case none of them bad.
On the face of it the Mustang has more versatility, totally agreed, a tremelo system that a minority like and some out of phase positions that no one ever talks about using. I cannot think of many famous Mustang players that have'nt modified the pups either.
Btw, the Junior has been used in Blues and Jazz as well. Its not all 3 chord anthems ya' know.

[stewart]

The 70's models were made up of several 'unmatched' (if that is the right word) pieces of timber. That's why all the sunburst models had that horrible finish where you cannot see the grain. I'm sure someone like Aug or rob(og) stripped a 70's model and the body was made from like 4 pieces of timber. Things like this will reflect value.
It seems apparent that Fender dropped the ball in the 70's and quality slipped, but then, is'nt that common knowledge?
I can't ever imagine me buying anything off Denmark St, i know they dont dictate market values but how they can justify a 70's Mustang costing £1,000 when you can buy something like a late 70's Yamaha SG2000 for same price mystifies me.

i believe they call it 'teh kurdtz'?

and not all the bodies were made like that in the 70s, certainly not my one. even my musicmaster is only made from 2 pieces. i'm sure they made some duffers then, but they probably made some duffers through the 60s too.

oh, and i was looking at a 1968 mustang on the vintage & rare guitars site just before i bought the hag & duo-sonic the other week, and it was £895. when i looked today to get those links it's suddenly £1250.

gay. as. fuck.

[astro]

Gibson hasn't been shy about pushing the Junior towards a more upscale image. They even make fancy-shamncy custom shop American made models, and IIRC even some signature models.

Fender, on the other hand, has pretty much neglected the Mustang. If it weren't for the Japanese, Mustangs wouldn't even be made anymore. And yet I think a lot of guitarists (not just us Shortscalers) have warm and fuzzy feelings for the guitar, not to mention those who like it because they have Teh Kurdtz. If Fender made a Classic Player mustang or a Highway 1 Mustang, or any kind of mustang with more modern options (e.g., hotter pickups), I'm sure people would buy them. Hopefully now that they've FINALLY realized that people like Jags and Jazzies, they'll start offering new options of our favourite wild horse.

I think maybe Fender was trying to modernize the 'stang when they made the Cyclone, but they removed all the things that made the guitar unique by adding a thicker body, longer scale, and (gasp!) a Strat tremolo. And then they never even bothered to promote it, so of course they never sold well.

[stewart]

On ebay they still command a great deal, you got an Excellent deal on Hurb's Duo Sonic II, which would have normally gone for £800 in non trying times.

meant to say before, i know i got the duo quite cheaply, and it's an exception rather than the rule. my top bid was higher than £800 though, so it's not like i wasn't prepared!

[citizens_X]

I love this guitar.

[Mike]

65RI.

Lovely.

[downer]

did anyone of you come accross a MIJ mustang in FIESTA RED??
is so, where was it?

[serfx]

its safe to say i'm a fan

65 stripped and finished
71 in black
74 red, body only, but getting a duo sonic neck soon