1964 Fender Mustang resources

[Mark Cearlock]

Good morning all! I just received what I believe to be a 1964 Fender Mustang to repair , however I have some concerns about the headstock decal and the tuning keys..(The neck plate denotes that it's a 1964) if anyone knows of a solid resource for this year of mustang ( complete with detailed measurements and pictures if possible) I would be greatly appreciated if you would share that info with me. I have not yet had this guitar apart to verify the penciled dates on the neck and the body and the dates of the pots.. I will post some pictures when I have time . thank you for any and all help

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: 1964 Fender Mustang resources

Definitely need pictures and taking off that neck would be huge.

64 was when they were introduced, in 65 the headstock blew up and they got F keys. Some in 64 came with 21 and some with 22 frets, so that adds to the confusion alot as well.

Headstock numbers (early '64): DES. 186,826 PAT. 2,960,900 2,741,146 & PAT. PEND. http://www.fendermustangstory.com/gphotos/mustanglogo.jpg
Headstock numbers (late '64): DES. 186,826 PAT. 2,960,900 2,741,146 3,143,028 & PAT. PEND.

Headstock numbers: DES. 186,826 PAT. 2,960,900 2,741,146 3,143,028 2,817,261 & PAT. PEND.

 

[Mark Cearlock]

Re: 1964 Fender Mustang resources


This is all I have time for at the moment, will get it apart later this week.

 

[jeremy]

Re: 1964 Fender Mustang resources

thats awesome! i have a mij reissue that is lots of fun to play but yours is waaaay cooler

 

[Mark Cearlock]

Re: 1964 Fender Mustang resources

thats awesome! i have a mij reissue that is lots of fun to play but yours is waaaay cooler

Thanks, Jeremy. It's my nephews, he got it on a trade, and hasn't played it much since. The previous owner stripped and painted it. I am just trying to get the electronics in order, and set it up to be enjoyed again.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: 1964 Fender Mustang resources

*cough* neck pictures *cough*

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: 1964 Fender Mustang resources

Not the correct decal at all; pickguard looks a bit "new" as well, white pickup covers were usually found with tortoiseshell pick guards/white finishes, one or both of those things have been replaced as well as the paint. That's a great find though; 24" "full" scale, if it's a true '64 then that's a bit rare, I have seen a lot more 22.5" scale Mustangs from that year.

As stated, tuners should be white oval button Klusons; are those trapezoid F-tuners? they could be from a later Mustang, or something else entirely, as the slots look funny to me. The neck will be stamped, no pencilled date.

Mustang wiring guide: http://www.shortscale.org/wiki/index.php?title=Wiring_A_Fender_Mustang

I love Mustangs, but a lot of the stock pickups are anemic; by their nature they're not very resonant guitars and the design of the pickup mounting and covers along with the relatively high bridge often means they can never be raised to a proper level, so they benefit from hotter pickups; don't remove original pickups though The guys at Offsetguitars.com know a lot about these.

Aside from the funny decal, the headstock is the earlier, smaller '64/early '65 shape as mentioned; see my '66 , much more bulbous :

(Half the decal on my '66 is reproduction (the "Mustang" portion, "Fender" is original,) and some person added a string tree at some point But this is more like a standard decal shape at least, although an actual '64 decal is different, and different still from the 70s/early 80s decal.)

 

[Mark Cearlock]

Re: 1964 Fender Mustang resources

Yeah, the decal was a dead givaway that it is wrong.. and the non white klusons had me wondering also. I plan to disassemble it in a few minutes, and I will document everything. Not looking to do a restoration per se, just get it playable again.

 

[Mark Cearlock]

Re: 1964 Fender Mustang resources

More pics on my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/cearlockcustomwiring

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: 1964 Fender Mustang resources

Looks very realistic 'A' width (narrow) neck, again, many early Mustangs were so equipped. Vibrato is stock too, I believe the only 'Pat Pends' were '64 - '66 guitars . Appears to be later F/trapezoid Klusons that are at least correct for a later Mustang or other Fender (I know from experience that you can put original Klusons on and it covers most of the holes.)

The trem on mine works/floats well to an alarming degree, though mine required a bit of smoothing out the pivots from years of burrs... Very cool guitar, hope your nephew appreciates it.