Fender Mustang Ben Gibbard signature?

[Wucan]

I got the chance to play one. It was a B-stock that was $400 CDN off the original price so it was a lot more palatable as a potential purchase.

Liked it quite a bit. Wimpy pickups that are good with effects/OD as typical of Mustangs. Very well built and easy to handle. Selector is kind of a hassle but you could get used to. Bridge seems to give it the same tone as any other Mustang, but weird that it's hardtailed. Also, it's got contours unlike the Vintera/Player/Am Special.

The neck was quite chunky, a bit bigger than usual I thought. Main reason why I ended up passing on the guitar but I'd imagine quite a few posters here would prefer that.

It's worth a shot if you're into Mustangs imo.

[Pacafeliz]

Yeah when I played one I also found the neck to be too chunky for my taste (small hands)

[Maggieo]

Yeah when I played one I also found the neck to be too chunky for my taste (small hands)

Hummmm, I like chunky.

[tdbajus]

Yeah when I played one I also found the neck to be too chunky for my taste (small hands)

Hummmm, I like chunky.

A friend of mine just got one, and I find the neck shape to be delicious. Kind of a bummer that they went with a maple neck, though.

[Pacafeliz]

I LOVE maple necks

[Maggieo]

I LOVE maple necks

If the neck is on a guitar or an attractive woman, I love it.

[brianmbremer]

Got mine a couple days ago. Overall reviews:

-$1100 seems like a lot for this, but I've listened to Gibbard for at least 20 years of my life at this point so...take my money.
-It's pretty fun to play, though. Came nicely set up out of the box.
-Sounds like ben. I like the no-frills approach
-The neck is a literal louisville slugger.
-Not sure what the story is with the 3-piece body; is that done for the 'chambering' or did I just get a body made out of smaller cuts they had laying around?
-In classic Mexican Fender style, the pots go from 0-100 when they are turned from '1' to '2'. This has always driven me a bit nuts

I have this guitar and like how it looks and feels. But...

On the issue of the volume taper, does anyone know if it's an easy swap with a better volume pot? I looked at mine briefly and it has stamped 'A' which I think tells me it's an audio pot (vs. linear), and I would expect a more even volume taper. But mine is definitely the camp of only changing volume from 1 to 2, then nothing happens from 2 to 10. Really disappointing. I use the volume knob all the time on my other guitars, and the volume changes over the whole range. On this Gibbard model, it acts more like a tone control, with highs rolled-off as you go from 10 to 1.

Can anyone with this model recommend a different volume pot?

[Pacafeliz]

Sorry I can't answer that, but I constantly keep going back to checking these out as the price is slowly dropping...

[Surfysonic]

Fender specs say the 9.5" radius neck has a "Modern C" shape yet terms like "Louisville Slugger", "Baseball Bat", "Chunky" have been mentioned here in this thread. Terms not usually applied to a "Modern C" neck.

Anyone know what are the depth measurements are at the 1st and 12th frets?

[Pacafeliz]

Yeah it's definitely too fat for my taste... but then again, so is my main Mustang's ('76) too

[Pacafeliz]

psa: Musicstore is apparently trying to get rid of these at €899 now

[Surfysonic]

According to the Fender Specs - https://www.fmicassets.com/Damroot/Orig ... USTANG.pdf (last page) - neck profile is .865 @ first fret, .935 @ 12th...

Those measurements work for me and maybe I'll get a Mustang Ben Gibbard Sig neck for my Vintera '60s Mustang along with a 9.5" radius StayTrem 9.5" radius bridge I have on hand.

Just bought one.

Updated for posterity...

[Pepe Silvia]

I saw Death Cab and Postal Service last night and was surprised Ben Gibbard played Strats the entire Death Cab set. He switched to what looked like his sig Mustang for Postal Service.

[Jonesie]

I saw Death Cab and Postal Service last night and was surprised Ben Gibbard played Strats the entire Death Cab set. He switched to what looked like his sig Mustang for Postal Service.

To be fair, during the Transatlanticism era he was mostly paying those strat-like Japanese Fender Bullets. So it could be trying to recreate the sound more accurately?

[Pepe Silvia]

I saw Death Cab and Postal Service last night and was surprised Ben Gibbard played Strats the entire Death Cab set. He switched to what looked like his sig Mustang for Postal Service.

To be fair, during the Transatlanticism era he was mostly paying those strat-like Japanese Fender Bullets. So it could be trying to recreate the sound more accurately?

Ah ok. I thought he was playing an ASAT at that point. That would make more sense now.