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Post subject: NGD! Fender Pawn Shop Mustang Special +Review
Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2012 6:36 pm
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Roadie
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It's my favorite kind of day. NGD!
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I decided to downsize my guitar collection a few months ago, and I put everything except for my Am Special HSS up for sale. After everything sold, I had a stack of money just burning a hole in my desk drawer, but I decided that I would not buy another guitar until I was really excited about one. On just about every occasion, I'd stop by the guitar store and goof off with a guitar. I had a few that I was really liking a lot, but finally I picked up the Mustang Special.

I wasn't looking for humbuckers necessarily, although I am kind of an HSS strat guy. I picked up the Mustang Special just to kill some time while a friend was goofing off in the acoustic room at Guitar Center. I plugged it in for maybe 10 minutes and was shocked at how great it sounded and about how easily it played. I had no intention of seriously considering it, but after I got home I realized that I just couldn't get it off of my mind. (You know that feeling.)

I went back a few times and played a few different ones. They are all fantastic. I wanted one of the Japanese ones instead of the mexican ones. (2011 are Japanese and '12 are Mexican made.)

I finally found the lake placid blue one on Craigslist. The guy who owned it said it was played for less than an hour. he still had the plastic on the pickguard. He had it professionally set up at one of the most reputable guitar tech's store in the Seattle area. He was asking 625. I offered 500 and after a while, he was cool with it.

I've seen a few used and demo ones go on ebay for 450ish, so I was cool with it. He wasn't kidding either, it is exactly mint condition, not one pick scratch even on the plastic on the pickguard.

Before I review it, I will tell you that I definitely love it. It is not for everyone, but it is pretty definitely for me.

Here's my Review:
(keep in mind that I am into heavy blues, classic rock, grunge and hard rock.)

The Design
There are really three distinctive features of this guitar that make it unique. These are all "love it or hate it" kind of distinctives. I personally love all of them. The short scale, the smaller mustang body, and the electronics.

The guitar compared to my hefty Am Special HSS strat seems smaller, sleeker and lighter in every way. I was not necessarily looking for a short scale, but I certainly do like it. With the short scale, the 10's that are on it feel like 8's. I have relatively small fingers, so that helps too. This guitar is extremely comfortable and light too. The heft of it along with the easy bending makes it feel like you can play all day.

The Neck
It has med-jumbo frets, which I should say are perfectly set up. (Granted, this was professionally set up before I laid hands on it.) I like a large headstock. In fact, I prefer it. both for looks, and I like a little more heft to the headstock, I feel like it helps vibrato. I should also say that the fret edges are perfectly rolled on the side of the fingerboard. They are perfect. I also love the tuners. They are the vintage ones, and they stay in tune perfectly so far.

The Pickups and Electronics
I had demoed a Tele Deluxe with the Wide Range humbuckers on it a while ago, and I loved them. When I first picked up the Mustang Special, I said that the pickups were the closest that I had heard to the Wide Range. I was shocked to hear that they are wide range humbuckers in a slightly smaller housing. I almost bought a Tele Deluxe because of these pickups, but didn't because I just don't like a maple fretboard.

So basically, you have the humbuckers, and you can split the coil to use the front coil or the back coil. (At least, this is how I understand it.) There is a separate 3 way switch with each humbucker as well as the 3 way selector that allows you to select which pickup you use.

They say that these are low-output humbuckers. They are articulate and they pick up the harmonics beautifully. But I will say this, they sound Fender-y. To me Gibson and Epiphone and PRS guitars can have some really generic humbuckers. These have a Fender character. I really don't know how else to describe it.

The bridge pickup can really pour out some rock. Turn up the gain and play Panama by Van Halen, it has that brown sound with more articulate harmonics. The split coil sounds are very usable too. They sound like single coil pickups. I'd liken them to a Texas special, but not so shrill on the attack.

The neck pickup is amazing as well. It is not necessarily a 'jazz' pickup like a lot of neck humbuckers. It has some growl to it. The humbucker sound is very full. I goof around with soundgarden, audioslave, and black keys sounds that use an overdriven full neck pickup for rhythm and lead stuff, and this pickup can totally do that. The shock on this pickup is the split coil sound. It is great. Very round low and kind of woody bass sound. Best split humbucker sound that I have ever used.

The combination of both pickups is really great too. I like to pair the bridge humbucker with the back coil of the neck pickup for a great rock tone. The combinations are really fun to goof around with. If you look at some of the demos online, the split humbuckers sound tinny and small. This is not my experience at all. They sound stratty and big on the neck and the bridge can get some nice tele sounds.

The big con of the japanese version of this guitar is that the truss adjustment is on the base of the neck rather than on the headstock. I don't set up my guitars, so I don't really care. I asked a tech about it and he said that he charges the same price no matter where the adjustment is.

Overall
This is a perfect choice for me. It is a quality built guitar and the pickups sound just unbelievably great for classic rock, grunge and hard rock. I am satisfied with the quality and I am over the moon with the tone choices available with the electronics.


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Post subject: Re: NGD! Fender Pawn Shop Mustang Special +Review
Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2012 11:37 am
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Roadie
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A little update...

I have had this guitar now for over a month, and I've never played so much guitar in my life. The small and light body just begs to be picked up and played. Just a very comfortable and player friendly guitar.

The sound from those wide range enforcer pickups is what is truly game changing for me. I still can't believe how great they sound whether you are playing with lots of overdrive or whether you are playing clean. It is absolutely the most versatile pickup that I have ever tried. And when you split the coils using the switches you can get a great strat or tele tone with fat sounding single coils.

This is truly the most fun guitar that I have ever played.


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Post subject: Re: NGD! Fender Pawn Shop Mustang Special +Review
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2012 11:14 am
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Congratulations! I agree these guitars are sweet. I played one at the store for a while, wasn't ready to spend that kind of money, ended up finding a good deal on a used Blacktop Jaguar but I'm kind of wishing I had just sprung for the Mustang. The thing felt solid, and the coil splitting switches and the tones they got were a lot of fun. Overall the quality of the thing just impressed me. The only thing that bothered me was the truss rod access location, like you said. Enjoy playing it.


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Post subject: Re: NGD! Fender Pawn Shop Mustang Special +Review
Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 11:38 am
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Hey congrats, beautiful guitar.

Has anybody compared the MIJ and MIM versions?

I'd love to buy one but I'm limited in what I can get delivered to this small island in the Caribbean. I was about to pull the trigger on one from sweetwater today but realized it was MIM and not MIJ. Now I feel like I'm back to drawing board...!

I'm also surprised to see that the price has stayed the same, shouldn't an MIM version be cheaper?

Any advice greatly appreciated. I'm torn between ordering the mustang or a Classic Player Tele Black Doves.

Cheers,
James


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Post subject: Re: NGD! Fender Pawn Shop Mustang Special +Review
Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 4:46 pm
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Location: Marysville, WA
jimmymc wrote:
Hey congrats, beautiful guitar.

Has anybody compared the MIJ and MIM versions?

I'd love to buy one but I'm limited in what I can get delivered to this small island in the Caribbean. I was about to pull the trigger on one from sweetwater today but realized it was MIM and not MIJ. Now I feel like I'm back to drawing board...!

I'm also surprised to see that the price has stayed the same, shouldn't an MIM version be cheaper?

Any advice greatly appreciated. I'm torn between ordering the mustang or a Classic Player Tele Black Doves.

Cheers,
James


Up until recently Sweetwater was selling the MIJ and the MIM's. The MIJ's were $50 more expensive.

I have played both the MIJ and MIM versions, but not in the same room or through the same amp. The MIM has the truss adjustment in the headstock while the MIJ's have theirs in the base of the neck (which is obviously more difficult to get to and use.) Not a big deal for me either way since the guy that sets my guitars up charges the same no matter where the adjustment is.

I can't imagine that the guitars have much of a quality difference at all. I don't remember feeling any problem with either guitar. I chose the MIJ model simply because I found a perfect one that was used and barely touched for much less than I had expected. The MIM guitar felt every bit as high quality as my MIJ.

I hope you can find one that will ship to where you live. I really do believe that the Mustang Special is a really unique guitar with a lot of sound options. I certainly recommend it very highly.


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Post subject: Re: NGD! Fender Pawn Shop Mustang Special +Review
Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 4:57 pm
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paztormike wrote:
jimmymc wrote:
Hey congrats, beautiful guitar.

Has anybody compared the MIJ and MIM versions?

I'd love to buy one but I'm limited in what I can get delivered to this small island in the Caribbean. I was about to pull the trigger on one from sweetwater today but realized it was MIM and not MIJ. Now I feel like I'm back to drawing board...!

I'm also surprised to see that the price has stayed the same, shouldn't an MIM version be cheaper?

Any advice greatly appreciated. I'm torn between ordering the mustang or a Classic Player Tele Black Doves.

Cheers,
James


Up until recently Sweetwater was selling the MIJ and the MIM's. The MIJ's were $50 more expensive.

I have played both the MIJ and MIM versions, but not in the same room or through the same amp. The MIM has the truss adjustment in the headstock while the MIJ's have theirs in the base of the neck (which is obviously more difficult to get to and use.) Not a big deal for me either way since the guy that sets my guitars up charges the same no matter where the adjustment is.

I can't imagine that the guitars have much of a quality difference at all. I don't remember feeling any problem with either guitar. I chose the MIJ model simply because I found a perfect one that was used and barely touched for much less than I had expected. The MIM guitar felt every bit as high quality as my MIJ.

I hope you can find one that will ship to where you live. I really do believe that the Mustang Special is a really unique guitar with a lot of sound options. I certainly recommend it very highly.


Thanks very much for the info, it's certainly going toward making my decision.

I'm still torn between the two guitars and now the new gibson LBJ (I know, I know...). I think the LP is the lowest risk for me in terms of resale here, I know if I got it and hated it I could easily sell it. I do have huge reservations about it as the last LP I had, I really didnt like much but figured I might be worth taking the plunge on something that probably sounds a lot different to everything I have right now.

Thanks again for the info, I think one way or another I'll have a Pawn Shop mustang in the near future.

James


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Post subject: Re: NGD! Fender Pawn Shop Mustang Special +Review
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 6:34 am
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Very nice guitar! Wanted to get one the end of last year, however the 2011 Japanese model was not available in Australia at the time. Got the Classic Vibe Duo-Sonic instead, which is also an excellent Mustang-shaped instrument.


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Post subject: Re: NGD! Fender Pawn Shop Mustang Special +Review
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 10:39 am
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Location: Marysville, WA
If, before I ever heard about the Mustang Special, someone had asked me to design a Custom guitar for myself using any parts from any guitar, I would have asked for:

-Fender Wide Range Humbuckers (The best sounding humbuckers I have ever used.) I tried them out on a Tele Deluxe. I didn't want the deluxe because of the maple fretboard.
-Rosewood Fretboard. I like the feel and tone of a rosewood board better.
-Vintage Style Tuners. I just like 'em. They are stable and easy to use.
-Coil Splits on both pickups.
-Shorter Scale, for crazy bends and effortless chording.

It's so crazy to me that the Mustang Special has all of that.

Not to mention the quality and feel of this guitar make it feel like something that a custom maker would charge you $2000+ to build.

What an amazing deal!


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Post subject: Re: NGD! Fender Pawn Shop Mustang Special +Review
Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 7:28 am
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Paztormike...with all that gushing, it would appear you have found your soul mate. Congrats on the guitar, it is a beautiful one!

T2

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Post subject: Re: NGD! Fender Pawn Shop Mustang Special +Review
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 7:47 am
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I have the same guitar and totally agree it is great. I would have been happier still, if it had a maple fretboard, jumbo frets, and easier access to the truss rod.


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Post subject: Re: NGD! Fender Pawn Shop Mustang Special +Review
Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2013 11:27 am
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Got a Candy Apple Red MIJ, I love it and after years of playing Strats and Teles my back and shoulder love it.
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Post subject: Re: NGD! Fender Pawn Shop Mustang Special +Review
Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 8:20 pm
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Congrats... its beautiful! I was looking for a used one but could not find one in the price range I wanted.. so I bought this and it is being shipped as of today...

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FSR Blizzard Pearl Blacktop Jaguar HH

Here is my newbie question that will probably elicit giggles: What exactly is "short scale?" I own an American Special Strat and it has 22 frets... my Jaguar in shipment has 22 (a surprise as I thought all Fender MIMs had 21 fret necks) frets. Both come standard with Fender 9s strings. What obvious thing am I missing here?

Again, I am a new player!

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my gear:

Jackson USA Phil Collen PC-1
Warmoth Custom-Build Stratocaster (The Andersong)
Fender American Special Stratocaster
Squier J. Mascis Jazzmaster
Fender Mustang GT40
Eleven HeadRush w/ two Alto TS212 FRFRs


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Post subject: Re: NGD! Fender Pawn Shop Mustang Special +Review
Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 1:36 am
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Tiger J wrote:
Here is my newbie question that will probably elicit giggles: What exactly is "short scale?" I own an American Special Strat and it has 22 frets... my Jaguar in shipment has 22 (a surprise as I thought all Fender MIMs had 21 fret necks) frets. Both come standard with Fender 9s strings. What obvious thing am I missing here?

Again, I am a new player!


In Fender terms, "normal" scale is 25.5" and short scale is 24". The scale length is the distance between the nut and the bridge (i.e. the playable portion of the string).

As a general rule, Strats, Teles and Jazzmasters are 25.5" scale and Jaguars and Mustangs are 24".


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Post subject: Re: NGD! Fender Pawn Shop Mustang Special +Review
Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 11:15 am
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Very cool. Always was interested in these but never saw one in person yet.


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Post subject: Re: NGD! Fender Pawn Shop Mustang Special +Review
Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 3:45 am
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BearBoy wrote:
Tiger J wrote:
Here is my newbie question that will probably elicit giggles: What exactly is "short scale?" I own an American Special Strat and it has 22 frets... my Jaguar in shipment has 22 (a surprise as I thought all Fender MIMs had 21 fret necks) frets. Both come standard with Fender 9s strings. What obvious thing am I missing here?

Again, I am a new player!


In Fender terms, "normal" scale is 25.5" and short scale is 24". The scale length is the distance between the nut and the bridge (i.e. the playable portion of the string).

As a general rule, Strats, Teles and Jazzmasters are 25.5" scale and Jaguars and Mustangs are 24".

Even Les Paul's, or this cool Vintage Modified Thinline Telecaster,
Image

are considered short-scales too, at 24.75".


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