OffsetGuitars.com

I was offered this guitar, as far as the seller told me (he's not 100% sure) it's a '65 slab board neck, neckplate and bridge, and a 1972 body, pickups and electronics. Don't know about the case. Would you agree?

I do think the pickguard it's original to the body because the paint on the back matches perfectly to the body.

I like the guitar a lot but I'm still not sure, I do have 2 other mustangs and I was not on the market for another, but hey, you know how it is.

that body is screaming 70's to me. the red on the burst.

s_mcsleazy wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:36 am

that body is screaming 70's to me. the red on the burst.

Yes, the seller did say he thinks the body is from 1972....and I gotta say I really like that burst.

It checks out as described. Those late 65 mustang necks are chunky and feel wonderful. If the price is right, get it!

That's a nicely quartersawn maple neck.

Body is non-contoured, so indeed early 1970's, the case is the typical orange/grey Fender Shortscale case, dating it will depend on the shape of the Fender-logo on it, as the materials were the same from 1965 to the mid 1970's.

I believe 1972 was the first year Mustangs came in Sunburst. And you have the same 'crossover' pearloid pickguard that seems to only be on 72/73 guitars. I have a '73 just like this and the unfaded paint under the guard is the exact same shade of red in the burst. Mine has it's original neck though and it's way thinner than my '65.

Good catch

MrFingers wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 31, 2021 10:31 am

Body is non-contoured, so indeed early 1970's

Looks pretty contoured to me...

The presence of the faux stitching on the case handle makes me think it's an earlier 60s case rather than a later early 70s case. I'd also guess your latches look like the bottom one rather than the top one in this picture, although it looks like maybe yours have been replaced so who knows.

The seller sent me a few more photos and I would like your opinion on something.

The heel has a very "round" shape that doesn't seem right, none of my fenders ever had such shape.

I also noticed that the numbers on the headstock don't match with any other 1965 Mustang on the web.

Here are the pics:

Wow, I just found out that there were different headstock numbers in the mid 60s...

Your headstock PAT and DES numbers match up with the 1965-1966 numbers. You can cross reference here:

https://www.fendermustangstory.com/

The heel is indeed a weird shape, totally different from both my 64 and my 73, but they were carved by hand so who knows.
The back of the neck seems extremely glossy too, not at all like old nitro.

Yes, besides since posting this I found another '66 neck with the same kind of shape. He also sent me this photo where neck doesn't look that glossy: