So I got the mustang today.... and overall I'm pretty impressed.
I wanted to take some better day light photos but I've only just got home, so bulb lighting it is. Didn't dwell too much on composition as a result etc....
Anyways, going to repeat a lot of what others have said already, especially from the offset camp.
The strings are dire.... I've never seen string in such dire shape. Windings coming loose, random kinks and bends... perhaps this is where they saved the money. I replaced them with my usual Elixir 11s and was much improved.
When I plugged it in it seemed noisier than expected... I took the guard off pre-restring and investigated further, hence the lack of pickguard screws. I think by shuffling the guard on and off as you do I managed to lose a solder joint, so I re-soldered that wire up and pondered some more. I compared it with 2 other mustangs in the shop, one was very quiet and the other like mine. I'm still trying to decipher whether it is an issue or not. Shame mine wasn't the quiet one is all I'm thinking. I plugged it just now and compared with my japanese jag and there' just about on par noise-wise. Gaining distance from the amp sure helped of course. I personally think there is build differences between models, and some will just be quieter than others.... more conductive paint etc. The guitar seems to be grounded properly, from what I can fatham. Either way I'll be outing the bridge pickup with a mini humbucker so I can investigate further then.
Again, during all this I took the time to shim the neck. In between the neck and joint, there was a lot of little wood shavings, which had consequently indented one another. Not really issue, but kind of makes me wonder how quickly they do actually put these together.
The finish is really nice, I love the Pale Sonic Blue, however some of the edge body curves in one area is just slightly flattened off. Again no biggy. and a little patchy around the neck, but very minimal.
When taking of the guard the screw holes are splitting the paint up a lot in and around the hole. Quite common for base wood I believe, the same happened on my Jagstang.
Everyone seems to be complaining about the tort but I think it's fine, doesn't really bother me that much. It could be improved of course, but no one has perfected the modern tort anyways, so Squier has done good.
The switches are recessed which is nice result, ala Cobain Stang.
Got to say I'm really impressed with the fretwork, I was expected this to be the biggest down side judging by some of VMs but it play nice without any chocking. They could do with a polish or just a lot of playing.
The fretboard as mentioned yt just about everyone needed the Lemon oil treatment.
Control seems little low to the butt of the guitars aesthetically, and maybe not enough of a spike on the guard, but purely cosmetic of course.
Eventually I'll probably change the nut, never liked Squiers nuts... very soft and plasticy but I'll give it a chance.
Pickups, sound nice... like I said earlier I would prefer the bridge humbucker, but for you more traditional Mustang players I think you'll like them.
Trem and bridge feel good also. Bridge required some adjustment of course... with the shim the strings can come very close if not touch the saddle screw / rear of the bridge if you're no careful, but shouldn't cause issue with some attention.
Errr..... what haven't I covered ?
Oh yeah, big surprise for me was the neck was quite chunky !!! Not what i usually like but feels nice on my hands at least. I'm sure it could put a few off perhaps. Jags and jazzys more tradition in that respect. Or perhaps a '65 era mustang do have a chunkier neck, I don't know ?
So that about it. Sorry for the hap-hazzard ramplings but it's been a very looooooong day and I'm really very tired.
For what you pay it's a killer guitar, really great. Originally I was going to buy all models too but I think I'm going to stick with the one and enjoy it for what it is. I have a Japanese jag and original Jazzmaster, so this fits in nicely to the mix... and price point wise. Personally there seems to be shallowness in sound that exists with many Squiers; a lack of depth... that you wont find with a higher spec guitar, but it sure is a lot of fun. It's a keeper I reckon !!
I'm sure there will be more observations as time goes on as I've only just got the thing.
Any Qs, fire away. Good night. ZZZZZZzzzzzzz
