Mustang Guitar Repair

[taylornutt]

My Mustang was in need of some repair.

My objectives were:

1) Fix a spinning screw(s)
2) Check the guitar ground wires
3) Move the Vibrato Springs to the middle Setting
4) Raise the Pickups after I had raised the bridge before.

Mustang Guitar Repair by Joey, on Flickr

1) I had one spinning screw on the Vibrato plate though I ended up repairing 3 of them.

I just used the toothpick/qtip fix with some glue and they tighten right up. The screw on the tip of the control plate also needed the same treatment.

Mustang Guitar Repair by Joey, on Flickr

2) I was glad to find that the control plate and the pickups were soldered to vintage ground plates but I was missing a connection to the bridge.

I drilled a hole from the pickup cavity to the tremolo cavity, soldered one end to the vintage ground plates and folded the other striped wire end under one of the bridge thimbles. Now the buzz goes away when I touch the strings.



3) I couldn't get the springs off the Mustang Vibrato posts so I will try it next time I restring the guitar.
Mustang Guitar Repair by Joey, on Flickr

4) Raising the pickups was super easy and now it sounds better since I raised and loctited the bridge.
Mustang Guitar Repair by Joey, on Flickr

Overall, everything went well and the guitar is playing much better.

It's always a fun afternoon when you get to work on a guitar.

[sunshiner]

Well done, I have always liked this kind of relatively small but well documented/photographed projects. Unfortunately in the days of earning at least some kind of money through uploading videos people moved away from the old fashioned forum posting, which isn't bad but has its own but altogether different aesthetic to it.

Also, I'm still curious whether your Stang still has the sunburst under the black finish or not. Could the previous owner just spray the black over it to make it look "cooler" by the 80s/90s standards?

[Hurb]

Awesome work. Up until recently the Mustang trem had be baffled. I couldn't ever get it to keep tune like my jag/jazzy's but finally got it working great last month.

Did you try taking the spring off the hook end first? Found that the easier way.

[Doog]

Great work, love that B/W 'Stang and all

3) I couldn't get the springs off the Mustang Vibrato posts so I will try it next time I restring the guitar.

You can always totally unscrew the posts from the 'cigar' with the right allan key in the top, and reposition the springs while stuff is dismantled?

[taylornutt]

Well done, I have always liked this kind of relatively small but well documented/photographed projects. Unfortunately in the days of earning at least some kind of money through uploading videos people moved away from the old fashioned forum posting, which isn't bad but has its own but altogether different aesthetic to it.

Also, I'm still curious whether your Stang still has the sunburst under the black finish or not. Could the previous owner just spray the black over it to make it look "cooler" by the 80s/90s standards?

Someone had hacked up the front with some Ibanez style pick guard and the next person filled in the mess and then painted the front black.

I found the original project thread and found a picture. (The horror)

IMG_3824 by Joey, on Flickr

[taylornutt]

Awesome work. Up until recently the Mustang trem had be baffled. I couldn't ever get it to keep tune like my jag/jazzy's but finally got it working great last month.

Did you try taking the spring off the hook end first? Found that the easier way.

I did unscrew one post and put it in a vice. I just was not able to pry it off. I was worried I might break it.

I am going to adjust the height of the tube to see if it will lean forward more.

I am trying to get the vibrato arm to sit more level with the strings.

I usually have to lift up on the Vibrato arm to get it to return to tune.

Untitled by Joey, on Flickr

[taylornutt]

Great work, love that B/W 'Stang and all

3) I couldn't get the springs off the Mustang Vibrato posts so I will try it next time I restring the guitar.

You can always totally unscrew the posts from the 'cigar' with the right allan key in the top, and reposition the springs while stuff is dismantled?

Thanks. I unscrewed the one post and those springs are really crimped around the posts.

Mustang Guitar Repair by Joey, on Flickr