'65 Mustang Review

Fender's reissue of the '65 Mustang Electric Guitar, hearkens back to the first full year of Mustang production. This reissue Mustang has great color and cosmetic options, as well as a heightened level of period-correct detailing (body wood, logos, etc.)

Features:	10
Sound:	9
Action:	9
Reliability:	9
Impression:	10
Overall rating:	9.4
Users rating:	8.8
Comments:	25

overall: 9.4

Reviewed by: thewho65, on october 22, 2007

Purchased from: Sam Ash

Features: 2006 Made in Japan model (actually, all Mustangs are made in Japan) I borrowed. It has a rosewood neck with 22 frets and has those Vintage white-tipped tuners. The poplar body has two Mustang single-coils with their traditional slider controls. The guitar itself only has a master volume and master tone. // 10

Sound: I played this guitar with a Fender Champion 600 and it sounded great. Cleans were magnificent as usual. It handles overdrive very well too. I don't think it's capable of metal with it's stock pickups though. I also played it through a Vox Valvetronix and it sounds good with the effects on the Vox. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: When I got it the string were a little rusty. Despite this, it still sounded marvelous. The action on the Mustang is very comfortable and doesn't buzz at all. The slider controls are easy once you get used to them. The neck can get a little sticky though, that my only complaint. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This guitar is built pretty tough. All the hardware is in place and seems durable. The tuners probably are a bit more sensitive. I'd be a little more careful with it than a Telecaster, though. The strap buttons are solid and when playing with a strap, this thing feels almost as if it's hardly there. Yeah, it's that light. // 9

Impression: I like to play varied styles so the Mustang's versatility is good for me. Like I said, metal seems a little unreal but with the right pedals and noise gates you can pull it off (with the stick pickups). If this thing were stolen from me, well, let's just say they'd be dealt with. I think the only thing I'm not particularly fond of is the finishing Fender used on this guitar. Other than that, this guitar is great. // 10

Comments

[officially dead]

i have one and i'm madly in love with it, not that anyone cares. monkey see monkey do.

[TheFly_1990]

I Wish there were some stores around here that sold decent fenders and not just Squiers, i'd love to try one of these baby's

[crazyskater_533]

tried one, didn't sound/work to good.

[JakoSnako]

looks nice, but what about the wammy bar? the springs, if not placed correctly often screw up tuning after a short time, if anyone owns this guitar tell a litle bit about that

[mr.glavin]

and according to this its free

[CommBreakDown]

its not thats its free he just doesnt want to tell you how bad he got ripped off :p j/k

[Strat = Love]

JakoSnako wrote:

looks nice, but what about the wammy bar? the springs, if not placed correctly often screw up tuning after a short time, if anyone owns this guitar tell a litle bit about that

As with all Fender's, you can't go nuts on the whammy bar because it isnt a locking trem. They go out of tune fairly fast if you use the whammy like mad. Other than that though, they are fine.

[freshtunes]

Change the strings man, if they're rusty toss 'em.

[thewho65]

yeah, the Mustang tremelo in particular has been known to be the most unreliable whammy bar ever made

[a_string]

if you guys are complaing about the whammy bar just do what KURT COBIAN did to his mustangs and use a washer to strap it into place where it couldent move i dont know how he did it but i got this info from kurtsequipment.com

[ExtremeMetalFTW]

the p'up selector...
it perplexes me and when i think about it, i cant sleep...

[callum2903]

its an awsome guitar to look at sounds good, i have played a m8s jagstang and i think it looks amzing but hate playing it, the neck it reli slow and it just isnt a nice guitar to hold, although it feels more substantial than other fenders i still owuldnt buy one

[nirvanapwns]

mustangs rule

[psychedelic60's]

Ya sweet i got an actually 65 my father passed on to me when i started playin mines a usa model great guitar to start playin with.

[Weybl Himself]

ExtremeMetalFTW :
the p'up selector...
it perplexes me and when i think about it, i cant sleep...

It's really quite simple, when the slider switch for a pickup is in the middle position, the pickup is off, when it's in the forward position (towards the neck) it's on, and when it's back (towards the bridge) it's out of phase. With all 3 of those options for each pickup, it gives the guitar some pretty serious range as far as tone options go. I love my Mustang, one of the finest guitars I've played.

As for the vibrato system, it's there for just that, vibrato, not crazy whammy antics. If you stick to subtle use, then I've found my Mustang holds tune extremely well, better than my strat even. Only downside is that the tremolo arm itself doesn't lock into the bridge in anyway, it just sits in the hole ready to fall out and get lost at any moment.

[nirvanapwns]

i wish there was a cheaper mustang 700 is too much i´ll have to get a job

[†D3/\thRoW†]

i got one for graduation. it's a great guitar. i play ska and it sounds amazing.

[MerDeNoms1990]

I got this guitar a year ago, and I can honestly say there's nothing about it that I don't like...

[MerDeNoms1990]

I got this guitar a year ago, and I can honestly say there's nothing about it that I don't like...

[Mentalcase13]

I've always liked Mustangs, I think they're awesome guitars. I really need to buy one.

[lespaul#1]

nirvanapwns wrote:

i wish there was a cheaper mustang 700 is too much i´ll have to get a job

I know, same thing for Fender's Jaguars and Jazzmasters, look used my friend, look used.

[Tcoldsteel]

I was playing mine straight from the box.
Not just a beginner's model. I'm getting mine customised with a bigsby and painted black.
I agree about the price though, too much (£600 new).

[IggyMorrison]

I can't find one...

[Cedde7]

Hmm, I was just wondering, how well does this guitar cope with heavy use of distortion, like in grunge, alternative rock or punk?

[Devlinchild]

HELLZ YA!!!! I just got my paycheck so now i'm gonna buy one. not that anyone cares. but..... any tips on where to order one? i found a couple on sweetwater.com and my guitar lady says thats ok but she sounded aprehensive about it. so ya if anyone has any tips on a better place to be ordering.....