Another Mustang thread

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Sun Feb 15, 2015 1:48 pm

I picked this up in a trade, mainly as I hadn't tried a Squier version yet. I also thought it couldn't hurt having a spare 24" scale neck for future projects.

OK so first impressions, it has a way better fit and finish than the Squier Jazzmaster I had. It feels much sturdier and the neck is of a better quality. These Squiers are so good for the money, once again this is a Squier I got mainly for the parts but it plays too well to justify breaking down for parts. This is at least as good a guitar as the Japanese 69 comp stripe Mustang I used to have (I actually think this may be a little better, especially the neck). This guitar also already has a few upgrades, Fender non-gappy non-rattlesome bridge (however it is a 7.25 version so it will have to be shimmed or swapped out anyway) The tuners have been upgraded (OG white button ones also included) and Fender Lace sensor red in the bridge position.

The neck on this is great and the larger frets/radius is a really good combo on it too.

Things I don't like/am not sure about.

1. The pickguard is horrible. I may try to pick up a black one for it. I actually had one buy gave it away a few months ago as I didn't think I had any need of it.

2. The colour. Well it might be fine with a black guard or white/ mint with black Robroes. Or I may just respray the bloody thing.

3. The jack needs rewired (hardly worth mentioning)

I'm up for some suggestions/feedback on the colour/guard because I'm at a loss to decide. Here's a pic as it is right now.

Fakir Mustache · Post by **Fakir Mustache** » Sun Feb 15, 2015 2:07 pm

There are a lot of nice alternatives to the scratchplate: red pearl, blue pearl, black/white/black, black/red/black and so on, but the vintage kind don't fit, they are 1 mm longer where there tailpiece and control plates are (I filed mine and it took hours).

I do like that cream finish.

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Sun Feb 15, 2015 2:17 pm

I think if I keep it cream I'll def go for a BWB guard. So vintage guards don't fit... Does anyone know if Japanese or USA ones will?

If anyone has a black guard they're not using please let me know.

Fakir Mustache · Post by **Fakir Mustache** » Sun Feb 15, 2015 2:24 pm

Well, that's what I meant by vintage, it was a newer pickguard with vintage USA dimensions. The only modern USA Mustangs have two humbuckers.

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Sun Feb 15, 2015 2:30 pm

Ahh, gotcha. Cheers for the info.

Rox · Post by **Rox** » Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:33 pm

The Squiers are great little Mustangs. But like most Squiers certain corners are cut to keep them cheap. However with Squier they are cut corners you can fix. Wiring and pickups mostly. But also that fake ass laminate tort. These guitars to me are like a good 69RI alternative. I had a 69RI that looked like your Squier. In fact reading this thread makes me want to buy one. They're dirt cheap. And good!

singlepup · Post by **singlepup** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 11:38 am

Thomas, interesting to hear that you like the Squier neck so much... Especially the larger frets and radius.

When I had a Squier Jaguar, I loved the neck on it. Now that I have a Jag-Stang, I'm really enjoying the vintage frets and radius again. I'd like to A/B a Squier and a 69RI... unplugged!

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 12:04 pm

I like most 7.25" radius guitars. The only one I ever had with a really bad neck profile was the 70s Bronco. It had a proper beefy D profile to it and I hated it. It reminded me of those super cheap 70s wall hanger guitars you find in pawn shops for Â£15. I only had it for a little while and I quickly sold it off. For me most vintage guitars have a better neck carve and better quality finishing with quality fret wire. That combined with years of play wear makes them super comfortable.

With 9.5" necks I really need a combination of beefier frets with a good neck profile (medium to shallow C style). With this radius I also need good fretboard edges, most of the time I roll them myself however some of the recent Squiers have been absolutely perfect.

For me the biggest shock I ever has neck wise was the Joe Trohman Tele. It actually has a 12" radius and I love it. For me it's still the best quality Squier you can buy. If you can find one online get one. Its the best Â£140 you'll ever spend.

I think I've said on here before that I think a lot of Fender 9.5" radius guitars had an unfinished feel to them which was a combination of average fretwork with poor quality fret wire, non rolled fretboard with a harsh edge and super basic neck profiling.

If you compare one of these new Squier guitars Like a CV Strat Vs a 90s Mexican standard you'll see just how garbage those guitars were. The current stuff is great though and I wouldn't give up my Baja Tele for anything (also 9.5" with a beefier neck than I usually like but it's carved perfectly so it's super comfy). Thinking back on it now, the Squier Mustang neck is very similar in feel/finish to the Mexican CP Jaguar. That guitar had the first ever 9.5" neck that I really loved. I only sold it because I had too many Jaguars at the time and was selling off all my reissues that I had vintage versions of.

Something to bear in mind with the Jag-Stang neck that everyone loves is that it was a new style production neck based off a particular vintage guitar so it should be a bit different/better. I found the Standard 69RI to be thoroughly average. Not bad just nothing special. When I got the vintage Mustang it beat the pants off the RI to the extent that I never ever played it so I sold it off. I find the Squier way more playable.

This doesn't mean I'll end up keeping it. I really just wanted to try it out. Off the back of this I'll probably try out a Squier Jaguar at some point too. It'd probably be a good thing to have a guitar or two that's non-vintage just for taking about the place that cover the same ground as my favourite guitars. If they get damaged/stolen it's no big thing. If I ever lost my main Jaguar I don't know that I could justify buying another one at the current price.

singlepup · Post by **singlepup** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 4:12 pm

Some very interesting and helpful observations here. I was under the impression that the 69RI neck was pretty similar to the Jag-Stang neck. I was thinking to get a 69RI as a back up for the J-S. Now I'm thinking I should just wait around for another J-S and perhaps buy a Squier Jaguar as well!

Regarding neck radius, I've really gone back and forth over the years. The main reason is that I started with one of those 90s Mexican Strats you loathe. I've had mostly good experiences with 7.25 Fenders, but the Squiers have me second guessing everything...

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 5:17 pm

Yeah the quality Vs price has really had a serious shake up with the recent Squiers. There's a different range every hundred and fifty pounds or so. Great for choice but it really muddies the value Vs price. How do you really compare an Indonesian or Chinese Squier With a Fender from the country/factory. It's just like the days when Fender Japan were doing Squiers and Fenders at the same time, to the same quality and the only difference was the decal on the headstock.

On the other hand the second hand market is now full of guitars that are amazing for the price. My LPB CV Strat was Â£80 or something. I traded that Columbus 335 I picked up last year for this Mustang. The dude I traded with was super stoked. I never played the Columbus so I was happy to get rid of it as it was just taking up room.

I can see myself picking up a few of these Squiers over the next few years.

As for the 69RI neck Vs the one on the JS I really have no clue as I've never played a Jag-Stang. From what I've heard the necks are supposed to be quite different.

Rox · Post by **Rox** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 7:27 pm

A lot of folks say the necks on the Mustangs are of different radius . To be honest I can't tell the difference between my KC Mustang , My 69RI and even my Jaguar Special.. It's like all the CIJ/MIJ stuff is the SAME specs . Maybe a slightly different nut. Finishes can vary but if I were to steel wool the necks on all three I really think I wouldn't be able to tell the difference .
The Squier is VERY much like one of my older 69RIs I had but with some chinsy hardware .

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 7:49 pm

Having owned 4 Japanese Jaguars and a Vista Jagmaster at the same time. I can say that all of the necks were pretty different on them. They seemed to change depending on the year. The Jaguar Special was the most drastically different what with being the only one with 9.5" raduis. It was my least favourite by a country mile and was subsequently the first to get sold off.

The later matching headstock models were also narrower at the nut the same as the Mustangs that were released at the time. These were the ones in the UK market that were surf green, sea foam, daphne blue etc. All the cool non-metallic colours.

I'm not sure about the age of the 69RI I had. As I said the neck wasn't bad just average on it. Due to the popularity of the Mustang in Japan I'm sure there's loads of versions.

The early Japanese Jaguar I had I never should have sold. It was dead on like a vintage, great neck profile, fit and finish. Back then the Japanese models even came with the proper brass shielding.

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:02 pm

Does anyone know if a regular robroe cover still fits on a lace sensor? I was thinking of changing to this colour scheme

jagsonic · Post by **jagsonic** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:30 pm

Wow, this looks ace!!!

SherwoodJim · Post by **SherwoodJim** » Thu Feb 19, 2015 5:42 pm

White pickguard looks great