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Any thoughts? I really want to try one out, but I'm in college and there aren't really any guitar shops around. How are they compared to a tele (what I play now)? I've heard they're more mellow than most Fenders, which sounds great to me...I've been having a hard time taming the treble on my tele.

They're quality guitars for sure...if you're familiar with Japanese Fender quality it's up there with the rest of them.

As far as the sound goes it's probably more like a strat than a tele, but it has its own thing going on. There's different tonal options such as being able to put both pickups out of phase to get a real thin jangly sound.

Only thing I'd say to consider is if you've never played a Mustang before is that it takes some getting used to the switches being over the strings. Some people find them annoying, some people don't.

At college you can absolutely find someone who has a guitar with humbuckers. I think that might be the easier solution for you, based on the tonal qualities you're describing.

GlobalCooling wrote:Any thoughts? I really want to try one out, but I'm in college and there aren't really any guitar shops around. How are they compared to a tele (what I play now)? I've heard they're more mellow than most Fenders, which sounds great to me...I've been having a hard time taming the treble on my tele.

tone knob, dude.

use it. I never used the tone knob until I started playing teles, then I realized how crucial it is.

portugalwillie wrote:

GlobalCooling wrote:Any thoughts? I really want to try one out, but I'm in college and there aren't really any guitar shops around. How are they compared to a tele (what I play now)? I've heard they're more mellow than most Fenders, which sounds great to me...I've been having a hard time taming the treble on my tele.

tone knob, dude.

use it. I never used the tone knob until I started playing teles, then I realized how crucial it is.

Trust me, I've been messing around with the EQ on my amp and the tone knob trying to get a good configuration going. I think I might try to find a Highway One or American Special because they have the greasebucket tone circuit which supposedly only affects the treble. I think that kind of tone control would help me significantly.

I think given the bridge construction of the Mustang you will find it even more trebly, and certainly less bassy than a Tele. Have you considered brass saddles on the Tele, or lowering the pot values to 250k (if they're higher)?

I would describe a Mustang as low output but certainly not a "warm" kind of mellow.

I'd agree they got a mellow tone, but that depends on the attack of your picking. It's sensitive like that.
I used to have a 64 mustang with an A neck which for me was unplayable. Sold it. used some of the money to buy a 65 RI.
No regrets. It's an amazing guitar!

Owned one, loved it - missed it badly until I bought Stewarts Competition Mustang off him.
Apologies this one is a little out of tune
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Telecaster for comparison
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I don't think Mustangs really sound anything like a Telecaster, they're more of a Strat/Jaguar hybrid sound if you ask me, in many ways it's a unique sounding guitar. I love mine.

If you can get a good deal on the 65 RI hit it and don't quit it. Great guitar, if a bit overpriced these days. They used to be good value at £499 and now are something like £570.

Mike wrote: I don't think Mustangs really sound anything like a Telecaster, they're more of a Strat/Jaguar hybrid sound if you ask me, in many ways it's a unique sounding guitar. I love mine.

I definitely agree, although I was surprised to hear a lil bit of twang on the bridge pup of my 65 RI. It's a welcome and very usable tone! much more so than a strat bridge pickup alone...

The baja sounds really nice, do want one.

mtotallywired wrote:

Mike wrote: I don't think Mustangs really sound anything like a Telecaster, they're more of a Strat/Jaguar hybrid sound if you ask me, in many ways it's a unique sounding guitar. I love mine.

I definitely agree, although I was surprised to hear a lil bit of twang on the bridge pup of my 65 RI. It's a welcome and very usable tone! much more so than a strat bridge pickup alone...

Oh you'll hear no argument from me on that front - an untamed Strat bridge pickup can be uncomfortably bright with some dirt, whereas the Mustang bridge just eats it up and spits it back out again.

I'm playing the Mustang with my band at the moment every week and I'm very much loving it.

ploppy - the Baja is the best Telecaster Fender make. When they used to sell them for £389 it was a ridiculous steal.

Mike wrote:

mtotallywired wrote:

Mike wrote: I don't think Mustangs really sound anything like a Telecaster, they're more of a Strat/Jaguar hybrid sound if you ask me, in many ways it's a unique sounding guitar. I love mine.

I definitely agree, although I was surprised to hear a lil bit of twang on the bridge pup of my 65 RI. It's a welcome and very usable tone! much more so than a strat bridge pickup alone...

Oh you'll hear no argument from me on that front - an untamed Strat bridge pickup can be uncomfortably bright with some dirt, whereas the Mustang bridge just eats it up and spits it back out again.

I'm playing the Mustang with my band at the moment every week and I'm very much loving it.

ploppy - the Baja is the best Telecaster Fender make. When they used to sell them for £389 it was a ridiculous steal.

I definitely wish I had caught the Baja when it was cheap. Everytime I see a picture or vid of a baja, it makes me want one. Furthermore, it really makes me miss my old tele that was stolen back in 2009. It was just an American Standard, but I'd had it since I was 16-17, stolen when I was 26. Alas, it disappearing is what lead up to me getting into Fender offsets, modding, and ultimately building/repairing guitars, so perhaps it was a blessing in disguise.

OR

a curse, because I spend far more time oogling, acquiring, fixing and dreaming about gear these days than I do writing songs!

mtotallywired wrote:I definitely agree, although I was surprised to hear a lil bit of twang on the bridge pup of my 65 RI. It's a welcome and very usable tone! much more so than a strat bridge pickup alone...

If you make the Strat bridge go through a 250k, and I suppose you could always put a Mustang pickup in there, I doubt you'll know the diff. Nowadays, you have a lot of Strats with pretty brittle bridge pickups, many are ceramic, and they still don't go through a tone knob. I think only a really warm Strat bridge pickup really can afford to go without a tone knob.

I never really thought the bridge pickup of a Mustang was that unique. But I think the neck is very unique. It's placed in a very unique spot thanks to the slanted nature. Also it is somewhat closer to the bridge than the necks on most guitars, so there's that too.

I think the in-phase position of a Mustang and the middle position of a Tele have a lot in common. Both chime for days, and the sound is suitable for every situation in the world from leads to rhythms, from cleans to triple rectifier face melting. As opposed to, you know, a Strat, which quacks rather than chimes, though that can easily be fixed.

Mike wrote:
ploppy - the Baja is the best Telecaster Fender make. When they used to sell them for £389 it was a ridiculous steal.

+100. It was Mike's demos with his Baja tele that inspired me to build my own daphne blue Baja Telecaster. It's like the Jaguar of Telecasters. It has 6 tones which include the out-of-phase like the Mustang and the Series options. It loves fuzz pedals. My Eau Claire Thunder just loves the Baja Tele.

Not as good as Mikes, but it's the only tele I will ever need....though I could take CV Tele too
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If you can get a Mustang, I would jump on it. I am building two Mustangs right now after I fell in love with my Musicmaster. So comfortable to play and I have large hands.

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