NGD 1965 Fender Mustang in gold

[supersonicjazzmaster]

Ah, a 1965 Mustang found the way to me. Whooohoooo!

I got it for a good good price, incl OHSC (which is in bad condition, but original).
I found it "ebay classifieds" here in Germany. No one was interested, maybe because of the trashy bad pics, or the refin, not original Pickups,
pickguard looked bad non original, no trem arm, other tuners...?
So after a few weeks I contacted the seller and asked for a better price.
He told me the original pickups and tuners are with the guitar
So I got it for a good price, and I am very happy with it.
The pickups in the Mustang are David Barfuss pickups, special made for this Mustang.
I like them, but they are a bit too strong for me.

Really good to play, feels really nice all in all.

The pickguard is the original, you can see the red tort under the black painting on one area at the truss rod
No trem arm, but this is not a problem.

The screw what holds the trem arm is not removable yet. It´s glued in maybe. I have to check how I can get it out and movable. Maybe with heat?

All in all I want to get it back in better condition. Tuners and pickups should be no problem.

Pickguard: Hm, it looks handpainted... I have to check how can I get the black paint away without destroying the tort..
Some ideas someone? Or, what should I definitely NOT do?

I love the finish! Looks great in reality. Nice crackles everywhere. Kind of aztec?

The neck feels amazing, very thin! I have to check the measures.

So, here are some pics:

[Blomberg]

Very nice find.
Interesting paint job. Kinda needs a black pickguard, though, even if the tort might be original.
Also, looks like an A neck, love them

Regarding the vibrato arm set screw, I had a similar problem with my '66 'stang.
I did all the wrong things, though, and ended up having to buy a new (old) sausage.
I don't have any advice on that, other than to say that those can be massively stuck, and if you know an experienced metal worker, it might be worth getting an opinion from there.

[supersonicjazzmaster]

Hello,

meanwhile the golden Mustang is rebuilt into mostly original condition.
It plays fantastic! Sounds very good!

I have sanded the black pickguard by hand to original red tortoise. (a lot of work)
The screw which holds the trem arm in position I could only release with a professional welder...
I´ve bought a Japanese reissue trem arm which was too thick, I´ve filed it to the correct size.
The orig. pickups are intact luckily and sound really good! Nice and warm.
The slide switches have some contact issues sometimes.. Maybe I have to get new ones..

I am thinking about getting a white pickguard , or white pearl, or vintage white, or mint green... ahhhh...
What do you think about the body-pickguard combination Gold-Red??

Ah, take a look at the tuner of the deep E. There´s missing one part.. It still works but it looks not reliable. Anyone with experiences with such damaged tuners?
I play it with 11-50 D´Addario Chromes.

[Surfysonic]

Congrats, Ralf, nice find! I like the gold and original tort. Personally, I'd try to keep as much original as possible (totally understandable where not possible).

My blue sparkle '65 Fender Mustang (far left in photo) had Sperzel lock tuners on it when I bought it at a used shop. They are now on my Gretsch Astro-Jet build. I looked on eBay (before Reverb was around) and found a set of vintage Mustang tuners. The Mustang also had an aftermarket Allparts tort guard so I bought a pearloid Mustang guard to bring it back to it's original look. The blue sparkle is the original finish as it was a promotional/special order back in the day.

The tremolo screw was rusted stuck on my '65 Mustang as well. Luckily, my guitar tech was able to work his magic (and solvents, heh) to get it loosened.

[Pacafeliz]

Cool! I'd seen it but "meh'd" it, but now it looks like a good deal!!! I just hated the black guard and no pup covers too much... .
Congrats!

[supersonicjazzmaster]

Congrats, Ralf, nice find! I like the gold and original tort. Personally, I'd try to keep as much original as possible (totally understandable where not possible).

Ah, cool. Yes, I´ve noticed your sparkle blue Mustang somewhere else already. This is a really nice color.

What about this red Squier Mustang please? How is it compared to a ´65 one? Sound and feel?
Thanks.

[MechaBulletBill]

i'd have never thought it, but tort on gold looks really cool!

[Surfysonic]

Congrats, Ralf, nice find! I like the gold and original tort. Personally, I'd try to keep as much original as possible (totally understandable where not possible).

Ah, cool. Yes, I´ve noticed your sparkle blue Mustang somewhere else already. This is a really nice color.

What about this red Squier Mustang please? How is it compared to a ´65 one? Sound and feel?
Thanks.

The fiesta red Squier Vintage Modified Mustang (made prior to the current Squier Classic Vibe Mustangs) have a slightly chunkier neck (like a mid-60s "C" shape) than the vintage Fender Mustangs, current Fender Mustangs, and the Squier Classic Vibe Mustangs. I personally prefer the chunkier neck as my '65 is fairly thin, but tolerable. The '66 Mustang (white one next to the '65 in my photo) is a little fatter, so I am enjoying it a lot right now (also, just got it back from a refin job by guitar tech (see my post in Vintage Restorations section).

I replaced the stock Squier VM Mustang pickups with Lindy Fralin Split Rail Mustang pickups (hum canceling). It's a very nice upgrade and I am a fan of Fralin pickups (have some hum-canceling dogear P90 pickups on my Gretsch 5410T Rat Rod and Split Rail Telecaster pickups on one of my Telecasters. Great tone, no hum.

I can recommend also the Seymour Duncan "Myth for Mustang" pickups, as I had that on another Squier VM Mustang that I sold a while back (missed it so I bought this one, heh). A solid upgrade to the stock pickups, which to me, were a bit thin sounding.

With the Fralin pickups upgrade, the Squier VM Mustang now compares favorably with the vintage '65 and '66 in tone. Still, if given the choice, I'd always take vintage pickups over new pickups, hum-canceling or not.

[UC3]

The screw what holds the trem arm is not removable yet. It´s glued in maybe. I have to check how I can get it out and movable. Maybe with heat?

If the setscrew is not stripped - won't allow Allen to grip socket - then try the following.

Select a single Allen wrench of correct size and place in socket after cleaning thoroughly - think toothpick or narrow gauge wire.
Make sure it is inserted all the way and heat this Allen wrench with a plumbers torch, but not "red-hot" - not looking to discolor or damage finish. You are heating wrench and looking to transfer heat to setscrew in order to create thermal expansion and/or softening of adhesive. Spray with WD-40 or solvent of choice after heating. Impact always makes a difference. Enlist an assistant or use a vice with padding in effort not to damage chrome and tap top of Allen while attempting to turn.

If it is a straight-slot that is in good condition, follow previous steps with a newer straight-slot screw driver with a clean edge and proper snug fit.

If the Allen or straight-slot is stripped, you have two options. Take it to a machinist or take it to a machinist. Wouldn't recommend
one of many damaged screw extractors available on market.

Pickguard: Hm, it looks handpainted... I have to check how can I get the black paint away without destroying the tort..
Some ideas someone? Or, what should I definitely NOT do?

I used oven-cleaner on a mid-60's celluloid guard that had been painted and it worked well. In my case, there was paint on backside of pickguard and I tested there first, before applying to front.

NOVUS brand plastic polish works well afterwords.


Awesome find!

Regards,

Mark

[jaapbossen]

Love the Gold - Tort combo!

[BillClay]

I also have to jump on the gold+tort =winning combination. I think it looks fantastic, and love that it's a vintage original part of the guitar.

[supersonicjazzmaster]

Here are pics from the neck stamp and more.

[Teebz999]

Super cool find. I'm partial to a gold finish.

[Blomberg]

Here are pics from the neck stamp and more.

65A

Pity they ruined the radius