I just came across this '67 Fender Mustang on CL and I'm wondering what some of you think of it in terms of (damage done) modifications (pickups - being kind here) and overall value. Here's the text of the ad, my BOLD:

This is a 45 year old Fender Mustang, not a newer reissue. It's in good condition for it's age and it plays fine but does have some minor dings and some pitting on chrome parts as well as crackling of the finish (gives it that cool vintage look). The pickup selector switches sometimes need to be wiggled to work, maybe just in need of a cleaning? The original pickups were replaced in 1998 with "Fender Texas Specials." The new bridge pickup was larger than the original so the pickguard hole and body cavity had to be made a little larger. It comes with it's original case (shown in picture).

And here's the link for pictures:

http://waterloo.craigslist.org/msg/3151107696.html

I'm wondering if it is worth this kind of money or if the value has been diminished greatly by the hacking done on the guitar?

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

Looks cool - in a DuoSonic kinda way.

Bloomy liked 'em :
http://www.mikebloomfieldamericanmusic.com/mbbio4.gif

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

I think so

I think its fairly common for old mustangs to have had their pickups changed, isn't it?

I definitely like the idea of a mustang with telecaster pickups, but you could probably talk him down a fair bit in the price because of it.

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Rated "M" for meaty.

The instrument could be cosmetically restored back to its original Mustang configuration but the enlarged rout for the Telecaster pickup is an irreversible mod. Thus, the guitar could only be regarded as "player-grade". That said, a bargain might still be possible if the price were $650 or less.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Thanks for the input. I've thought about acquiring one of these guitars off and on for years. I will send an inquiry out and see about a meet. We're less than an hour apart geographically. Money wise, of course, we could be a lot further apart.

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

I agree with Retroverbial, as soon as a potentially vintage guitar has been modified to irreversible status, then the ask price has to reflect that mod in a much lowered price.....

On the other hand, how much do you want it and even though it seems in great shape it is still a Mustang.
Personally this is another model which I don't care for, the easthetics I find don't appeal to me so i'm probably biased in my viewpoint...
But I would bargain as low as possible due to the mods....That is where I would insist on a renegotiation of price - $600.00

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Methinks he`s asking a bit much its gonna cost extra dinero`s if you want to try and put it back into a Vintage stock instrument...which by the way I have seen many going for between 6-800 bucks (canadian) . Guess it depends on how much you want it. I had one years ago and didn`t really get used to the short scale so I traded it in on something else

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Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancin'

I'd like to see the under pickguard pictures--but $650--as mentioned above--would be a great price if it plays well. Even a bit higher...

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It wasn't Willy-Nilly, it was at crows.