ShortScale.org

first of all, hi to all! this is my very first post on this board, and i'm really glad that there's a place like this. not like i already know everyone here but you people seem very fun and cool and hope i won't bother anyone much in here, and, maybe, will be even helpful sometimes =)

so, here's the deal...
i've never had a shortscale guitar before, and currently i've been playing my lovely strat and enjoying it. but recently i've had an intercourse with some LP replicas, and i noticed some nice difference except weight and sound of tha thing. it was kinda easier to play for me, espc the chords! so, as i've got to know, it was a bit shorter scale neck. this was the time when i remembered being adviced to get a strat instead of mustang long time ago, because "it has unusual short scale and thin neck" so, i'm now where i was starting again

i always loved the looks of mustang, but when i started considering get a short scale to replace my strat, i've been looking into every possibility. Jaguars seemed very nice to me, particularly their so-called "space ship control panel", which i really like, myself being a software developer but after i checked the prices on that, i've got back to that mustang.

so, what would be your advice for me? get a new mustang, or used? if i get it off online store, could it be a not very good one, or are they of pretty consistent quality? or shuold i get a used MIJ jag?

i have currently only looked at the ebay and online stores. am i missing something else? there are occasional jags at ebay for reasonable price (like 700-800 + shipping), but such are really rare. should i wait for something good to come up? or should i just get a new '65 reissue mustang? it's not like i could just check some stores, or buy one and then get it back if i don't like it.. i'm living in post-communistic european country, and we don't have any mustangs here! not even saying about jaguars.. tho i came across a guy once who was selling a '64 vintage jag for $3000. but i'm not a collector, i'm player, so i don't have any objective reason to pay 3000 for a battered, but probably nice sounding thing...

well, anyway, thanks for reading and i'd be very glad to get any help with this..
and nice to meet you

Welcome to the board! Which country in Eastern Europe are you in?

Ebay might be your best option. If you're patient, you can find the best deals, and considering the fact that most online stores only ship to the country they are located in, ebay might be the only place you'll find somebody willing to ship to your country.

You can often find used Japanese '69 reissues for around $400 on Ebay, and used '65 reissues for around $500, sometimes cheaper, for instruments in good condition. Vintage mustangs from the 1970s are also affordable, I've seen several of them sell in the $600 to $750 range.

blacktaxi wrote:recently i've had an intercourse with some LP replicas

hot damn, this was going to be a killer joke until i realised english isn't your first language. i feel cheated.

there's some other eastern europeans on the board, they could maybe help you with info on stockists. (izodiak? downer? i'm sure there are a couple more on here)

stewart wrote:

blacktaxi wrote:recently i've had an intercourse with some LP replicas

hot damn, this was going to be a killer joke until i realised english isn't your first language. i feel cheated.

there's some other eastern europeans on the board, they could maybe help you with info on stockists. (izodiak? downer? i'm sure there are a couple more on here)

haha, that "intercourse" was intended ;P
thanks for the info.

astro wrote:Welcome to the board! Which country in Eastern Europe are you in?

Ebay might be your best option. If you're patient, you can find the best deals, and considering the fact that most online stores only ship to the country they are located in, ebay might be the only place you'll find somebody willing to ship to your country.

You can often find used Japanese '69 reissues for around $400 on Ebay, and used '65 reissues for around $500, sometimes cheaper, for instruments in good condition. Vintage mustangs from the 1970s are also affordable, I've seen several of them sell in the $600 to $750 range.

thanks! i'm from Ukraine. (that's where the Chernobyl is)
it is no problem that shops won't ship to europe, we have a local service here which deals with such thing. they have "their" people in USA, GB, Germany, Japan, etc so it is possible to buy stuff even if it isn't shipped international. thanks for your insightful info, i've been monitoring ebay for a week (well not that tight, let's say checking it every evening..) and never seen any 'stang go for $400. so i guess i should wait.
also, there's one thing i don't like about '65 reissues - they don't have cutouts at belly and hand places, i'm really used to these with my strat.. not even saying about matched headstock i was already set with that i won't get a mustang with cutouts (what's the appropriate name for this anyway? sorry for my english...), but now as you've replied i guess i'll just have to wait some more. thanks again

some more replies would be still helpful =)

Welcome! Make some noise. I will write more later.

I'd go that extra mile and buy a used CIJ Jaguar dude. Dont get me wrong, i love my Mustang, its a beautiful lightweight guitar and very comfortable but... the Jaguar is definitely in a higher league.
It feels more pro, the trem is way better, the sounds are better, upgrades are readily available and it is the sexiest guitar known to man.
Welcome.

blacktaxi wrote:i've had an intercourse with some LP replicas

I'm totally stealing that bit!

From now on, ANY interaction with a sexy guitar will be referred to as "intercourse"

"I went to the gutar shop today and have had intercourse with several beautiful specimens"

Fran wrote:I'd go that extra mile and buy a used CIJ Jaguar dude. Dont get me wrong, i love my Mustang, its a beautiful lightweight guitar and very comfortable but... the Jaguar is definitely in a higher league.
It feels more pro, the trem is way better, the sounds are better, upgrades are readily available and it is the sexiest guitar known to man.
Welcome.

thanks!
i agree with you that jag is higher league, and i think i'll get the jag some time later after i get a 'stang ;D you know, the pro stuff is for pr0's.. but i don't agree on the point about sound. i think the both guitars sound awesome! some different, but both are great. althought, what is surely better about jaguar is the "control panel", it is really pro

at the moment what i want is light weight, comfy, nice and pretty guitar.. mustang that should be i guess =)

by the way, am i right that i'll be able to get strat'ish sounds in neck position? if no, i wouldn't really be sad about that anyway..

laterallateral wrote:

blacktaxi wrote:i've had an intercourse with some LP replicas

I'm totally stealing that bit!

From now on, ANY interaction with a sexy guitar will be referred to as "intercourse"

"I went to the gutar shop today and have had intercourse with several beautiful specimens"

hi 5 man ;D

can't wait for the intercourse i'll be having with my shortscale.. ^_^

blacktaxi wrote:

Fran wrote:I'd go that extra mile and buy a used CIJ Jaguar dude. Dont get me wrong, i love my Mustang, its a beautiful lightweight guitar and very comfortable but... the Jaguar is definitely in a higher league.
It feels more pro, the trem is way better, the sounds are better, upgrades are readily available and it is the sexiest guitar known to man.
Welcome.

thanks!
i agree with you that jag is higher league, and i think i'll get the jag some time later after i get a 'stang ;D you know, the pro stuff is for pr0's.. but i don't agree on the point about sound. i think the both guitars sound awesome! some different, but both are great. althought, what is surely better about jaguar is the "control panel", it is really pro

at the moment what i want is light weight, comfy, nice and pretty guitar.. mustang that should be i guess =)

by the way, am i right that i'll be able to get strat'ish sounds in neck position? if no, i wouldn't really be sad about that anyway..

If the lightweight factor and comfort is main criteria then go for the Mustang. They are a breeze srsly, effortless to play and great to handle. I'd own 10 if i had the money.
Strat tone in neck? You may have to upgrade some parts, i cant hear that myself.

Here we go:

$680 US BIN
Lake placid blue
matching headstock
Contours (cutouts)
fitted, I am told, with what sounds a little bit like Strat pickups


http://cgi.ebay.ca/RARE-Fender-Japan-66 ... dZViewItem

laterallateral wrote:$680 US BIN
matching headstock
Item location: tokyo to your door !!, Japan

sounds like a decent deal

http://cgi.ebay.ca/RARE-Fender-Japan-66 ... dZViewItem

yeah, saw this one, pretty nice! also i just noticed that i wouldn't need to use local shipping service guys becuase item can be shipped to my country (otherwise, it would be shipped to USA/etc, where it would be picked up by service person and sent to Ukraine for $250.. yeah, it sucks to live in Ukraine ). btw, it is being listed for auction at least for the second time, have no idea why nobody bought that. maybe because people have no clue...

also, looking forward to this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/FENDER-MUSTANG-65-R ... 286.c0.m14
'65 RI mint + hard shell $560.

so, to make things clear, are the 65 RI mustangs kool or should i get a vintage one? i'm pretty paranoid about all this stuff 'coz i won't be able to return it, and really doubt i'll be able to resell it locally if something goes bad! because 90% players here aren't even aware about anything else than strats and teles

The '65 reissue feels and sounds exactly like what I imagine my '67 did when it was new. They are extremely well made and accurate guitars. Personally, I wouldn't bother with vintage unless you want MOJO.

(that's where the Chernobyl is)

why hasn't a band named themselves "the chernobyl" yet ?
think of all the cool tshirts and logos you could make with nuke plants on them and if you were a death metal band you could make posters of mutated shit.

btw welcome to the boards. thanks for the new band/project name

okay, here goes some necroposting, but it is worth it.

i finally received my first shortscale today!!! yippie! ;D
it is a '99 jap 'stang, model name is MG 65-86. it is painted in very sexy "deep sonic blue" color. everything is pretty much like '65 RI, except the pickguard isn't "shrunken". it is in mint condition (not a single ding, the only thing i noticed is little piece of finish layed off at the rosewood part of the neck), and also has been very nicely shielded (didn't have time to look inside yet, but that was implied by the seller:)). the pickups are original i think, and so far the thing sounds killer, and very "noiseless" for a single coils! i very liked the neck so far, it is some more comfortable than my strat. to summarize, i like everything about this guitar. this all might sound over-emotional, but hey, it's my first shortscale!

thanks again everyone for yer advicez...

the only little problem i have so far is the trem.. i need to set it up properly, coz it goes out of tune really fast. is there any general guide how to setup mustang trem for a n00b?

oh, almost forgot. will put up some photos tomorrow!

i think this probably covers what you need to know-

http://www.jag-stang.com/forum/viewtopi ... =1&t=14552

okay, a bit later than i implied, but anyway...

stewart, thanks for the link, that guide really helped me. when i disassembled the trem i was a bit amazed how clever the idea behind it is. i liked how the bridge is floating forward and backward on two sharp bolts (how are these called anyway?), didn't notice this until disassembly. previously i've owned hard-tailed stuff, strat-like trem and one floyd-rose, so mustang trem was really interesting.
so, it gone really well.. i had nothing except dunlop string conditioner to use as lube, but looks like it did the job. i lubed almost everything - trem posts, springs, all the threadings etc, except the bridge saddles.
now, i'm not sure if it is how it's intended, but it works fantastically. it does detune a bit on some occasions, but getting it back in tune is as easy as rocking the trem back and forth, and everything returns to correct pitch! really like this trem... what's also very nice is that it can be used without whammy bar.

now, here go some pics. (sorry for some blurriness, used shitty phone cam)


the color doesn't seem right, but i think you get the idea.


just a regular poly finish.




neck finish is thick and glossy - do like


very liked the tuners, they are also in great condition.


sucky wire is used, think i'll replace it some time later with something better.
also, the pickguard is sticked with some shiny foil, i guess this is the "shielding" that had to be there..
looks just same as on my deluxe player strat. do mustangs also come with this? if yes, then seller was not very truthful about this guitar. well i'm happy with it anyway...


regular fender pickups, not potted. sound nice tho.


250k pots.


odd marking on the neck. looks like is was originally "MG-69" and then fixed to "MG-66".


i'm almost certain that body is 2 pieces. there's a visible "stitch" on the back right in the middle.
i was expecting basswood, but this looks like poplar to me. also smells very nice, it reminded me of wood classes

that's it!
the shit sounded nice clean, now i put some .11's on it and it is even better now, also sounds good overdriven and even on hi-gain (tho noisy). so far best guitar i ever owned...

Nice one! That's an MG66, nicer tahn the MG69 in my opinion as you get a Pearloid scratchplate instead of ugly tortoise. Congrats!

Blacktaxi, congratulations on the hotness of your Mustang, and congratulations on the hotness of your Prime Minister.

oh, that's really nice, dude. congrats!