I have had this guitar since 1978, it has not been out of the case for probably 10+ years. I was looking up info on the Mustangs and found this site. After a few hours reading posts and looking at all the great pictures I was inspired and pulled it out of the back closet and I am planning on getting it working again.
I also took some pictures. This is a 1972 model, I think, but after doing some research I found some discrepancies in the date. The neck code is a 16 NOV 72B, but in my research I found that Fender discontinued the pearl pickguard in 1972, so it may be a older pickguard or this was the last year they used it. I also read that Fender stopped using the neck dates by '72 and started using the codes, but this one has the neck date on it. The pickups are also dated '72. The F neck plate is in the 375000 range, and it has the enclosed F tuners and plastic squared tuning pegs.
All the electronics are original (at least from 1978), the only thing I am missing is the tremolo arm...will a reissue arm fit? Any ideas on cleaning or replacing the switches? I would like to keep it as original as possible.
i had a 72 with exactly the same features (mike now owns it) so i'm sure yours is normal. it would have had a red, blue, or (less likely) orange finish with a competition stripe. there's probably traces of the original paint in the cavities i'd imagine.
Stewart, I guess the Mustang did not come in natural in 1972? I pulled the pickguard off and the wood under looks unfinished, but there was some red paint on the pickguard, but I thought thought that might be from sticking a pick behind it, its just a little spot between the screw holes. I may pull the guard off and look a little closer....thanks for the replies!!!
nah, i think they used the competition finishes into '73. there's always a bit of crossover with that period but given the neck date and other features on yours i'd say it's 99.9999999% certain it was a competition model.
my old one has a neck stamp dated just a month before yours:
Fender did make some non-competition Mustangs in the early 70s, so it's possible it could be stock - but that particular color doesn't look like anything I've seen before. The rest of the features all correspond with a 72 era Mustang though.
If you remove the three screws that hold the control panel in place and carefully (slowly) lift it out and have a look, you can accomplish two things: You can see if there's any residual paint inside the control cavity of a different color, and you can write down any codes that are stamped into the volume and tone potentiometers. They have date codes that we can use to further authenticate the age of the guitar.
As far as the switches go, go down to Radio Shack and buy some Caig (sometimes marketed by Hosa) DeOxit. Spray or put a drop or two into the switch from the top side, and then switch it back and forth to distribute the contact cleaner into the switch. That usually helps... if not, it's time to either disassemble and repair the switches (a somewhat tricky job) or replace them with new ones. If you DO replace them, hang on to the originals!
Yeah DGNR8, I am happy I found this site, its a good project. I am working on it and an old P-Bass. Phil, I do see some red on the back of the pickguard. I was able to clean up the switches some with some contact cleaner and I am getting some sound. Hopefully with a little playing and some of the deoxit it will clean up. I am still looking for a trem bar for it.
robmc5 wrote:I have had this guitar since 1978, it has not been out of the case for probably 10+ years. I was looking up info on the Mustangs and found this site. After a few hours reading posts and looking at all the great pictures I was inspired and pulled it out of the back closet and I am planning on getting it working again.
I also took some pictures. This is a 1972 model, I think, but after doing some research I found some discrepancies in the date. The neck code is a 16 NOV 72B, but in my research I found that Fender discontinued the pearl pickguard in 1972, so it may be a older pickguard or this was the last year they used it. I also read that Fender stopped using the neck dates by '72 and started using the codes, but this one has the neck date on it. The pickups are also dated '72. The F neck plate is in the 375000 range, and it has the enclosed F tuners and plastic squared tuning pegs.
All the electronics are original (at least from 1978), the only thing I am missing is the tremolo arm...will a reissue arm fit? Any ideas on cleaning or replacing the switches? I would like to keep it as original as possible.
