It was made in Japan in the same factory as Kurt's actual Mustangs he got made for him. I'm a huge fan of Grunge music, and in particular Nirvana, so it was a pretty obvious choice.
Kurt Cobain Mustang
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on november 09, 2012 2 of 4 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 950
Purchased from: Sam Ash
Features: Bought this baby a few months ago, a true beauty!. The guitar is a Japanese Fender, which is actually made in the same factory Kurt's Mustangs were made (which is awesome). The guitar features a nice 24 inch scale (even though I'm like 6'3, it's really comfortable even with big hands), a mahogany fretboard with 22 frets, C-shaped neck. The body's alder (feels perfect, not too heavy, not too light). I got mine in Lake Placid Blue with the Comp stripe, looks great with the pearloid pickguard. The guitar features a classic Fender Dynamic Vibrato trem system, and the standard Fender Mustang style bridge (though I'm not sure about the bridge, maybe it's the Adjust-O-Matic), and two pickups - a standard Mustang pickup in the neck, and a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge. The controls feature one volume knob and one tone knob, and the classic 2 Mustang pickup switches (3 modes for each pickup - In phase, turned off and out of phase). The tuners a classic Vintage Mustang tuners, which stay in tune great (if you don't use the trem system). The guitar came with only the whammy bar, no case/gigbag or whatever. The only complains I do have is that the pickup switches aren't so great "on the fly" (especially if you need to switch pickups), and that the trem system keeps getting out of tune (which isn't so bad for me cause I don't use it). // 8
Sound: Ah, the sound. This baby is absolutely amazing, the humbucker gives it a crunchy and heavy tone, and the single coil gives it a smooth clean tone, which are fun to combine (especially with the great pickup configuration). I play lots of styles, everything from Blues and Rock N Roll to Heavy and Thrash Metal, and although she's mostly heavily distorted, this guitar sounds sweet when clean as well. I use the small Line 6 Spider IV 15W for now, and although it's a cheap amp, I can still hear the 1000$ worth of guitar through it. The neck pickup is a tiny bit noise when distorted (as do all single coil pickups), but the Duncan JB simply kicks *ss! You can really get a great, heavy tone out of it (such is Metallica, Megadeth, Maximum The Hormone and more), as well as the bluesy, BB King-ish tone. The pickup configuration is what makes the guitar truly amazing - if you put the two of them in "out of phase" mode, you'll get the twangy Telecaster sound! The 9 options available with the 2 pickups selectors makes it a truly versatile guitar! And of course, this one nailed the Cobain sound really well, and it's great for Grunge as well. // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar came with a bit a tiny buzzing sound (which you can only hear if you pay attention, and play with no amp. With an amp, you won't notice it). The pickups were adjusted just right, no complains there. Otherwise - it's a great guitar, pretty well set up and ready to rock. The wood and finish of this guitar feels amazing, you can really move smoothly across the neck without any problems. I have nothing else to say but one thing, that this guitar truly pays off. // 9
Reliability & Durability: I haven't played this one live yet, but I'm sure as hell it's not gonna break anytime soon. The hardware seems solid, no wobbling or anything like that. The strap buttons are rock-solid, and seems like they'll hold anything. I'd definitely use it without backup (although it's always good to have a backup, no matter how good your guitar is), this one is easily studio-recording material. The finish seems like it's gonna stay there for ever, though I haven't given it a really bad beating so I can't be sure. Overall great finish, great durability! // 9
Impression: Overall - this guitar fits just perfect, the setup, the finish, the pickups, everything seems great! I've been playing for a few, and I've had my share of bad guitars, so this guitar is a few levels above what I used to have. I don't think there's something that I wish I've asked before, I watched pretty much every review of it and read every article before buying it. If it was stolen I'm not sure I'd buy it again, I mean sure I'd buy a Mustang again, but probably the Japanese 2-single coiled version in Candy Apple Red (I'm planning on buying it anyway someday, but that's somewhere in the distant future).
I love almost everything about this guitar, the pickups, the tuners, the finish, everything's great. My favorite feature is probably the versatility of the pickup selectors, and the humbucker-single coil combination. The only thing I dislike is the fact that the Trem system gets out of tune fast (a few swings of the whammy bar and that's it), and the tiny buzz it has (though it can be fixed easily). I haven't really compared it much with other guitars in the same price range, mainly because as soon as they announced it I was fixated on it, but I did compare it with the Gibson Les Paul Studio, and the Fender American Telecaster, who are both great guitars, but they are too... Common, plus I love the "offset" Fenders, such as the Mustang, Jaguar, Jazzmaster and more. Only thing I wish it had was the matching headstock, to really go with the one Kurt used to have (although his Comp-stripe blue didn't have a humbucker). // 9
Kurt Cobain Mustang
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on november 09, 2012 3 of 15 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 999.99
Purchased from: Sweetwater
Features: I'm actually reviewing the Kurt Cobain Mustang in Sonic Blue. It was made in Japan in the same factory as Kurt's actual Mustangs he got made for him. It has 22 Vintage frets with a rosewood fretboard and a maple neck. Its an Alder body, not poplar like the 65' re-issues. The finish is superb and the colour is awesome! It has your typical Fender Dynamic Vibrato featured on most Mustangs nowadays. I've only used it a few times seeing as I have only had it a week and with the new strings it sends it straight out of tune. It also has a Fender designed tune-o-matic bridge for more stable tuning and it has the Vintage tuners to match. Electronic wise it has a Seymour Duncan JB humbucker in the bridge and a Mustang Single coil in the neck. It has recessed slider so when your strumming hard it is harder to hit them and shut the whole guitar down by accident. // 9
Sound: I play alot of Grunge, Punk, Rock, Metal etc and this guitar is very versatile. I'm still tweaking my pedals and amps to get the perfect tone for it but the humbucker matched with a single coil gives you the best of both worlds! Its nice and heavy when playing on the humbucker and nice and twangy when using the neck pick up! As with most single coils, it gets really noisy if you run it with heavy distortion but it handles slight overdrive really well, suiting it for bluesy playing and even some classic rock! I'm running it through a Randall RG75G3 with a DigiTech RP-55 and a Boss OS-2, but seeing as I have only had it for just under a week, I haven't found my favorite tone for it yet. // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: When I got the guitar out of the box, it was perfectly set up (even though it had come half way across the world to Australia from the USA) I needed to raise the neck pick up a tad just to get the volume nearly the same as the humbucker, which I can't see as being possible considering a single coils output is a bit less than that of a humbucker, but I've got it relatively close to even. The action was nice and low and it plays very fast because of the short scale neck (24"). Nothing was loose when I received it and there was not an imperfection or scratch anywhere to be found! // 9
Reliability & Durability: I haven't been in a band for ages but if I did start gigging in one, this guitar could defiantly stand up to the job! The hardware is all top notch, but as with all my guitars, I prefer strap locks over stock strap buttons, just to be on the safe side. It can definitely be used without a back up but I always take another guitar, seeing as I have a guitar more geared for metal loaded with EMG's. It seems like it has a nice thick finish and I plan on wearing through it as I don't plan on selling it any time soon! // 8
Impression: For my styles of music, this is a perfect match. I'm a huge fan of Grunge music, and in particular Nirvana, so it was a pretty obvious choice. I've been playing for nearly 5 years and this is my first Fender and I'm quite happy with it, I plan on getting more Fender guitars further down the track. It there is one thing this guitar had, it would had to have had a case come with it. When I ordered it they had no cases instock to fit it so I just got them to triple box it with extra padding and it made it here fine. I just don't like the fact that Fender Australia stung me $240 for a case! If this thing was stolen, I'd find the guy who took it, and hit him on the head with the butt end like Kurt did at one show, except he wont be swinging back at me. If it broke down on me, I'd either get it repaired or replace it for sure! I've never played any other Mustangs so I can't really compare it to the re-issues or the vintages ones, but I'd probably love all Mustangs because of this one! I wish it also had standard Fender tuners as the Vintage ones aren't as easy to fine tune with! This guitar is definitely worth the money and its a very versatile axe! // 10
This is a hideous looking guitar (especially in Sonic blue), that is over priced and is Fender's way of squeezing a little more profit out of some dead dude's name. For the price you paid, it's hardly going to be the greatest guitar going. Really bad review.
All tens reviews should be saved for things like replica frankenstrats and the like.
Finally! Been drooling over this guitar ever since NAMM. Not a Nirvana fan at all but a Mustang fan on behalf of that. Gonna get this axe as soon as I get the money.
i hate these freaking retarded comments,the guy just expressed how he feels about the guitar,if you want to really know what its like go play it in a store
and if you want your opinion to matter to anyone and to be heard youre gonna have to in fairness listen to the other side also and give its chance and its voice. dont be a prlck
I got me one of these 'cause Fender hasn't made regular lefty Mustangs for the US market in 17 years, and I didn't want to pay $1,500.00 for a Japanese import. If you like 24" scale guitars you might like these.
Why they decided to include the "Dynamic Vibrato" with a tune-o-matic bridge is just stupid, whether the Grunge King had one on his guitar or not. Speaking of the bridge, its one of those skinny cheesy cheapo TOM's with the little metal brackets holding the saddles in. Thanks for the high value for the money Fender. Phucking capitalists.
I remember I've already wrote it somewhere, but signature guitar is so not Kurt Cobain or Nirvana.
From what I've heard online, it's a good guitar.
VIVA LA GRUNGE!
i hate these freaking retarded comments,the guy just expressed how he feels about the guitar,if you want to really know what its like go play it in a store
Then what is the purpose of review? Its purpose is not to express my feelings, it is to inform others about the quality of a guitar and this is not very informative at all!
Finally! Been drooling over this guitar ever since NAMM. Not a Nirvana fan at all but a Mustang fan on behalf of that. Gonna get this axe as soon as I get the money.
It's like $30 more than the '65 re-issues were going for. That's not bad given the stripe, the countour, the recessed switches, the non-Fender bridge, and the humbucker.
Of course it goes out of tune when you use the whammy. In addition to having them swap bridges, he had his techs immobilize the trems 'cause he hated whammy bars. That bridge wasn't made for tremolo. He also had them flip the tailpiece so that the strings would go straight through instead of wrapping underneath.
Even a real Mustang won't hold tune well after use; expect this one to be worse.
It probably was setup perfectly. That's one of the best advantages to buying from Sweetwater. They know what they're doing and they do inspect and set up every guitar they sell.
As for the case, Mustangs don't fit in 99% of "universal" cases. Ironically, the neck sticks out up to a couple of inches past where others do and the upper horn is too big. So unless you want to keep it in a bass case, you gotta shell out for the Fender Mustang case. Mine cost me $180 US about a year ago.
Don't know what renrie's talking about WRT not available for lefties. Maybe not where he/she lives, but it is for sure in the US.
I know that my Mustang and Duo Sonic both fit in my Tele case beautifully. Also my Mustang is one of the new Squier ones, and it actually arrived to me almost perfectly setup with only a minor adjustment needed on the low E saddle, and funny thing is I got it from guitar center.
Funny thing is, Kurt himself has never played guitars this expensive..
OK, so adjusted for inflation, you think the custom Mustangs Fender built just for him for the In Utero tour didn't cost more than $1000? Or the one-off Jagstang didn't cost more? Hell, he smashed vintage Fenders that cost more than this. Sure, he smashed a lot of cheap Fernandez and MIM Fender Strats, but when he lost control he smashed some really nice Stangs and Jags, too.
Righto guys, seeing as your hating on me for giving a guitar perfect 10's let me try and get some of this crap cleared up. I have since worked on the vibrato system AND to the wanker who said to not touch the tremelo bar, you obviously did read the fact it had new string on it, so of course its gonna go out of tune. Sure i should have reviewed it within week of owning, but i have seen absolutely no reviews what so ever from you guys. So before having a stab at me for what i think is a great guitar, play it for yourself. Quit being keyboard warriors.
And just because i rate the guitar with perfect 10's doesnt make the information i give invalid. Draw from what information you need, and if you have any issues or problems regarding tremelo arms and inotation etc etc go play it in a shop and find out for yourselves. Atleast you Americans actually can actually go try this guitar instore. It isnt even in Australia yet.
Not a Nirvana fan!? Are you a fan of tampons and dooshbags?
Being no Nirvana fan doesn't mean I would hate them. They have some cool songs (no, I don't mean Teenage Spirit) but I would still consider myself as a fan.
LOL! I just got a warning from UG for posting a simple "i like the guitar" on this article. They say it's spam. I mean come on, wtf? Is there any other way to express that I played it once in the shop, I liked the handling, the sound, the colour, I just liked the guitar. I don't know what kind of people are moderators at UG and let comments like "kurt cobain would hate this" just be as they are, but give warnings and threats to close an account for thinking this guitars a cool one.
You internet thugs are soooo tough.
When are you going to realize that a rating of "10" means "great" not "perfect", you morons are pathetic. Any one that would buy a guitar based on a review is just dumb anyway. So why are you so upset if you don't like the review? You would or wouldn't buy this guitar based on the review? Stupidness.....
Finally, someone who sees the purpose of a review. Its personal, and not written to make everyone happy. draw from what information you need from it. If you buy a guitar based on a few little ratings, you must have some serious issues.
You'll come across as more credible when you learn that new strings need to be stretched on any guitar to attain tuning stability whether you use a trem or not. You're not really done with a string change until you can tug on the strings without them going flat.
Don't feel bad; I've seen a lot of "pros" in national touring bands struggle with this too on big stages. And no, it's not just a matter of getting slack out of the windings--same thing happens with locking tuners or a locking nut--new strings just need to be stretched enough in order to stay in tune.
I don't know why anyone wouldn't stretch the strings on a brand new guitar before they even started playing it after getting it home, unless they just didn't know better.
I generally stretch my strings every restring, and i didnt know how long the strings had been on the guitar, but i dont really think that my review should be written off because i gave some parts perfect 10s. Ive never played a frankenstrat or what ever the other guys were going on about, ive only played lower end guitars in my small lifetime as a guitarist. I believe i have some credible information in that review. Sure i may have botched up a few numbers, but would a few numbers make this review useless? Im not directing this soley at you but im quite disappointed that some people have to find some small detail and try and derail my review. I guess the forum trolls gotta find something to bag out.
I generally stretch my strings every restring, and i didnt know how long the strings had been on the guitar, but i dont really think that my review should be written off because i gave some parts perfect 10s. Ive never played a frankenstrat or what ever the other guys were going on about, ive only played lower end guitars in my small lifetime as a guitarist. I believe i have some credible information in that review. Sure i may have botched up a few numbers, but would a few numbers make this review useless? Im not directing this soley at you but im quite disappointed that some people have to find some small detail and try and derail my review. I guess the forum trolls gotta find something to bag out.
Dude, learn from it and move on. Quit fighting the people on your side.
You internet thugs are soooo tough.
When are you going to realize that a rating of "10" means "great" not "perfect", you morons are pathetic. Any one that would buy a guitar based on a review is just dumb anyway. So why are you so upset if you don't like the review? You would or wouldn't buy this guitar based on the review? Stupidness.....
The simple thing is that if you Americans keep abusing anyone who writes a review you don't agree with then there ain't gonna be any reviews for you to spit out your vile abuse on. Grow up! You don't like his review so ask him why he gave it what he did... don't write a load of abusive rubbish. And, one last thing, get over the fact he gave it tens; he obviously loves the guitar and isn't that the point of owning them???
Funny thing is, Kurt himself has never played guitars this expensive..
Incorrect. Cobain had several vintage-era guitars that he treasured. His modified Nervermind-era Jaguar was from 1965 and wasn't a cheap guitar when he got it.
Sure he was rough with some of them, and he played cheap stuff he knew he was going to trash and the end of the set - but he valued his quality gear.
A Kurt Cobain custom guitar? That's my favorite rockstar anyway so color me interested in this one, 10's or no 10's. Thanks for reviewing something I'm interested in, btw. I too am broke as a joke and my most valuable guitar is an old vintage 50's Guild that needs to be fixed, so the nicest thing I currently play is probably my Jackson that's valued somewhere around $400-600. Yep, I'm not ashamed. If I weren't interested in this or didn't like it, I wouldn't comment; manners, people, manners. But keep in mind saying it's a problem with Americans is just about as ignorant as the people saying things in the first place.
^@sewoo55 
, but it's a shame it isn't available for lefty's 
