NGD: The Firebird Mustang has landed...

Discussion of vintage Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Bass VIs, Electric XIIs and any other offset-waist instruments.
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JSett
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NGD: The Firebird Mustang has landed...

Post by JSett » Wed Jul 07, 2021 2:33 am

Some of you might have seen the story behind me getting this over from the US to the UK and dealing with CITES (viewtopic.php?f=41&t=119779). Well, a full calendar month and a load of fees later, this 1964 Mustang landed into my humble hands...

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Came with a little note explaining the controls situation:

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The box managed the full 3400 miles with barely a mark on it. FedEx. I'm impressed:

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Good amount of extra packaging in the case:

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It sounds great. Just like a mustang on steroids - absolutely delightful into a Rat. Despite the nut being rather small (A neck) the thickness is a nice depth and considerably fatter than my '73 Mustang B neck. It's perfectly worn in from decades of playing too. Looks like something I could imagine Sonic Youth fucking with.

Today is a good day.
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Re: NGD: The Firebird Mustang has landed...

Post by windmill » Wed Jul 07, 2021 2:53 am

Been following this.

Glad to see it arrived safely.

Even better that you like the way it sounds


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Re: NGD: The Firebird Mustang has landed...

Post by Trout » Wed Jul 07, 2021 2:55 am

:-*
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Re: NGD: The Firebird Mustang has landed...

Post by MechaBulletBill » Wed Jul 07, 2021 3:05 am

how many A necks have you got now??? lucky bugger!

what case is that? is it a strat one? or have they updated the modern mustang cases? (given they sell a lot of new mustang-shaped things at the mo)

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Re: NGD: The Firebird Mustang has landed...

Post by JSett » Wed Jul 07, 2021 3:12 am

MechaBulletBill wrote:
Wed Jul 07, 2021 3:05 am
how many A necks have you got now??? lucky bugger!

what case is that? is it a strat one? or have they updated the modern mustang cases? (given they sell a lot of new mustang-shaped things at the mo)
I've got this one and the other 64 that I'm trying to refinish and ressurect, both are A necks. The '73 is a B neck.

This is the new updated Mustang case apparently. It's very nice quality for the money actually, comparable to the AVRI cases. Over here they're about £150 but with the exchange rate I paid more like £100 and it wasn't declared as extra value which was nice.
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Re: NGD: The Firebird Mustang has landed...

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Wed Jul 07, 2021 3:24 am

Hell yeah, looks like a keeper to me!

"Mustang into a RAT" brings back some sweet memories, even if mine did have stock pickups.

The slightly wonky neck pickup bothers me though. What's that all about? ???
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Re: NGD: The Firebird Mustang has landed...

Post by JSett » Wed Jul 07, 2021 3:28 am

PorkyPrimeCut wrote:
Wed Jul 07, 2021 3:24 am
The slightly wonky neck pickup bothers me though. What's that all about? ???
Hah, who knows. When I get around to taking it all apart and looking (which I'm not going to do until it gets a fresh set of strings) I'm sure more will become apparent. I kinda like it though, not sure why. Adds to the charm
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Re: NGD: The Firebird Mustang has landed...

Post by Amon 7.L » Wed Jul 07, 2021 3:50 am

Congratulations, Johnny!
Super cool Mustang you've got there :w00t:

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Re: NGD: The Firebird Mustang has landed...

Post by Bradley-Jazz » Wed Jul 07, 2021 4:48 am

What a beauty! Double Mustang week or so! Even more reason, if it were needed, for the other one to be blue!
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Re: NGD: The Firebird Mustang has landed...

Post by debudavid » Wed Jul 07, 2021 4:58 am

Very nice guitar. :-*

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Re: NGD: The Firebird Mustang has landed...

Post by s_mcsleazy » Wed Jul 07, 2021 6:12 am

i'm curious how it's wired up. but glad it arrived safe
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Re: NGD: The Firebird Mustang has landed...

Post by gishuk » Wed Jul 07, 2021 8:02 am

This is sick, looks to be worth the delivery saga!

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Re: NGD: The Firebird Mustang has landed...

Post by Embenny » Wed Jul 07, 2021 8:17 am

Glad it arrived safely! Looking at the neck pickup, it appears there are holes you could use to set the neck pickup straight instead of askew. Any plans to try those out? The slightly angled neck pickup is the only thing I don't love on this whole guitar. It's perfect otherwise.
s_mcsleazy wrote:
Wed Jul 07, 2021 6:12 am
i'm curious how it's wired up. but glad it arrived safe
He posted a photo describing it.

It's just a standard Mustang wiring with each pickup's slider going to a standard three-way. If you park the sliders on and in phase, the 3-way works like a JM. If you park the toggle in the middle, the sliders work like a Mustang. If you start mixing and matching, you get the expected dead spots.
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Re: NGD: The Firebird Mustang has landed...

Post by JSett » Wed Jul 07, 2021 8:27 am

mbene085 wrote:
Wed Jul 07, 2021 8:17 am
Glad it arrived safely! Looking at the neck pickup, it appears there are holes you could use to set the neck pickup straight instead of askew. Any plans to try those out? The slightly angled neck pickup is the only thing I don't love on this whole guitar. It's perfect otherwise.
I did take a quick look at those. There appears to be top ones but not bottom ones so straightening it out isn't a simple 4-screw-adjust-done procedure. When I get inside it maybe there will be a reason it was done like this. We'll see. Like I said, I kinda like it a little wonky - even though it does appear to give people anxiety 😂
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Re: NGD: The Firebird Mustang has landed...

Post by Embenny » Wed Jul 07, 2021 10:21 am

johnnysomersett wrote:
Wed Jul 07, 2021 8:27 am
mbene085 wrote:
Wed Jul 07, 2021 8:17 am
Glad it arrived safely! Looking at the neck pickup, it appears there are holes you could use to set the neck pickup straight instead of askew. Any plans to try those out? The slightly angled neck pickup is the only thing I don't love on this whole guitar. It's perfect otherwise.
I did take a quick look at those. There appears to be top ones but not bottom ones so straightening it out isn't a simple 4-screw-adjust-done procedure. When I get inside it maybe there will be a reason it was done like this. We'll see. Like I said, I kinda like it a little wonky - even though it does appear to give people anxiety 😂
Yep, I'm the kind of person who gets physically uncomfortable when a picture is hanging off square :fp:

This is really such a great score though. I love vintage Mustangs, I love Firebird pickups, and ai love firebird pickups in shortscale Fenders (I've had two guitars with similar setups!).

I basically think all Fenders with humbuckers should come with Firebirds standard instead, or PAF-sized firebirds. They have all the advantages of humbuckers but with a more Fender-like string attack and top end. They're also just as cheap to produce as PAFs, since you just need bar magnets and not the much more expensive threaded magnetic poles like a WRHB. It would set Fender's humbucker guitars apart, too.
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