Old Mustangs never die, they just become...

I'm sure your son will be very happy. 8)

Funny this thread came up - I'm currently looking for one for myself. I know that Fender made some reissues of these (well actually I believe they might have been the Duo-Sonics). I also see that Squier is currently offering a reissue as well. What scale length is yours, err, your sons? Yours looks very nice!!

a 64 Mustang was my very first guitar. it was light blue.
I wanted a strat, but 250 $ was too much money.

Funny this thread came up - I'm currently looking for one for myself. I know that Fender made some reissues of these (well actually I believe they might have been the Duo-Sonics). I also see that Squier is currently offering a reissue as well. What scale length is yours, err, your sons? Yours looks very nice!!

It's 24" (scale) with the popular 22nd fret, and I've always confused that, or related it??? to a 22" neck, while the scale is indeed 24", or about 3/4" less than a Gibson.

Here's a cool link, I think, which tells the story more accurately than I could - now I see why I've been so confused over the years, and it's not just about size and body contours, and when the 3 Color Sunburst came in, I guess it was 1974.... but there's facts on the pickups, with the rear being reverse wound, and trying to keep up on these things just drove me nuts as I got older, and more mentally challenged. :roll:

http://fendermustangstory.com/default.htm linked to from this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Mustang
Plus there's this: http://fenderduosonic.blogspot.com/2008/04/fender-duosonic-scale-length.html and this: http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Fender_Mustang_-_History/id/5044278 . They're so rich in history and utility, or performance.

My white and tortoise '66 is represented here by another, which the guy says is '65. Mine had maybe over 300 chips & dents (which were priceless IMO :D ) in it because it was originally owned (and killed) by the school band (class) and I bought it from them, or actually provided them with a working electric guitar, more of a Superstrat when they were popular; since the Mustang was diagnosed as 'terminal' by a pro fixer/luthier/appraiser. And the School had no money, or no way of dealing with it, so I got me that Mustang as a finely reliced vintage piece, and surprisingly fixed it with no parts or expenditure. The stupid thing was that I traded it for a thinline Tele. But it was a novelty and new! And I already had a '64 Jaguar, that I thought was the king of Fenders, above Strats, (uhh.... the Blue book said so, but probably not now!!! :wink: ) which ironically, also went for another thinline, and that I will always regret.

But my daughter had a Jagstang by then, adding more confusion to the scale length, we had a 22.5"; I had replaced my Mustang with the one at the centre of this post, and got matching new, first-year (1998?) Cyclones and a Toronado to try to replace the Jag, identical color and feel (black & tortoise); except the Toronado was for my son and his lessons, but he gave it back because the Toronado/Jag body and neck didn't mean anything to him, with no prior sentimentality. Confusion again, I think the Toronado is a 24.75".

http://www.shortscale.org/wiki/index.php?title=Fender_Toronado

I think, but am not sure, that this was all before the re-issue craze. I played and customized my Cyclone, and sold it rather modestly to a jamming buddy, put the Toronado away as given to my son, still new, and will give it back to him sometime (12 years have passed) and as for the Jagstang, we feel that we made it a potent, knockdown machine, with a stacked 'bucker in the neck, and Seymour Duncan Tom Delonge Invader at the bridge, yet sold it, first because we hated the thin neck or nut-width and it couldn't be played properly, and it got to be worth a fair heap of change, when returned to it's pre-mod state, and the Squier '51 came along (see http://forums.guitarnoise.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=46015 ) and got the mods w/Jagstang's displaced pickups, but a few more switching options as well. And the '51 the same vintage vibe as the '74 Mustang, so goooood, we're back to where we started in this exhausted, post long-weekend ramble. :roll: :lol:

a 64 Mustang was my very first guitar. it was light blue.
I wanted a strat, but 250 $ was too much money.

Nice reply. :D

Here's someone else's Light Blue, and so pretty too.

They are stunning, and just so cool in that shade, I've seen a few. All 22.5" scales.

Once again, absolutely beautiful!

Great story Blue Jay :)

My love for short scale guitars all came by accident. We purchased our very young daughter (at the time) one of them Squier mini's with the 22.5 (or so)" scales. The guitar has been in the family for a few years already when my main guitar (strat) needed to go into the shop for some repair. I was recording some tracks for hire at the same time and needed to get them done, so I grab the Squier mini thinking that it just won't work, but I still needed to try. Needless to say I was hooked and have been using that little mini ever since. I've been keeping my eyes peeled for that just right Mustang, Musicmaster, Duo-Sonic, or the like but still haven't found the one I want. I would like to get an original but I feel that I may need to settle for a re-issue. The Squier re-issue seems like a good deal and not too expensive until an original comes my way.

A friend of mine had a broken Mustang that he decided to repair himself. He bought a new neck from Fender and spent weeks lovingly putting everything back together, new pickups, locking tuners, etc.... It's now snow white with a white pearloid pickguard. He contacted Fender to get the actual Fender decals to put on the headstock as the finishing touch. They asked him for the number on the neck that they had sent him, which he sent to them, they replied that it wasn't one of their numbers. He said, "Well, you sent it to me, are you telling me that you sent me something that you don't sell?" Anyway, they went around and around and around about those numbers and decals and Fender finally said that "OK, for $57 we'll send you the decals." He said "The hell you will!" So I'm now in the process of making him decals that say "Blender Frankencaster", since they put him through such a bunch of garbage, when all he was trying to do was re-build his Mustang (using all Fender parts). So, he will have the one and only "Blender Frankencaster" in the world!!
:D

Shame on Fender! Still, a Frankencaster is more original :)