Installing a humbucker in a Mustang. What to get?!

Austy009

New member
Hey guys. Ive got a 1965 Dakota Red Mustang body with a Squier neck (no electronics) that I just bought off of a friend. It has a humbucker space carved into it and I want to put in a pickup for a loud and aggressive pop-punk kind of sound. (Blink-182, Green Day, Sum 41, etc.) What would be best for an alder body guitar with a rosewood fingerboard neck? I was bouncing between the JB and the Invader. (I use JB's in most of my guitars, but I've been curious on giving the Invader a look) Any thoughts?
 
Re: Installing a humbucker in a Mustang. What to get?!

Woah, there. What scale length is the Squier guitar neck?

The original Mustang scale length was 24". (You might get away with the 22" scale found on some Fender student models.) Any typical 25.5" Fender scale length neck will create serious intonation issues on the Mustang.

The messy option is to relocate the bridge awaay from the neck pocket. The tidy solution is to source a 22" scale length neck.
 
Re: Installing a humbucker in a Mustang. What to get?!

^ Thanks dude. Yeah Its 25.5" but im going to try and have a Tune-o-matic installed soon. (just bought this today) Would this work? Or do I need to hunt for a new neck?
 
Re: Installing a humbucker in a Mustang. What to get?!

Here is my opinion.

Relocating the combined vibrato/tailpiece assembly on a vintage Mustang is awkward. A Tune-O-Matic style bridge will require post holes drilling in the correct positions and with EXACTLY the correct pitch angle correction factored in.

Underneath the vibrato/tailpiece assembly, there are some deep holes to accommodate the moving parts of the bridge. You might need to fill some of these. Refinishing would then be advisible. Expensive.

The range of adjustment offered by a ToM style bridge is not nearly enough to correct for a 25.5" scale length neck - especially not one mounted into a neck pocket intended for a 24" scale length. (Try comparing Jaguars and Jazzmasters.)

Ordering a 24" scale length neck from the usual mail order sources will not be cheap but it will be infinitely less hassle than mangling a vintage guitar body.
 
Re: Installing a humbucker in a Mustang. What to get?!

Ok cool. I'll try and find a mustang neck sometime tomorrow online and order one. Also after thats taken care of what do you think the best humbucker would be for that kind of guitar for a pop punk sound?
 
Re: Installing a humbucker in a Mustang. What to get?!

Depends upon several factors including the body wood, the neck thickness, the fingerboard wood, your amplification and how firmly you play the strings.

Short answer, based on your influences list, SD Invader, Distortion, DiMarzio Super Distortion, Gibson Dirty Fingers. For a leftfield suggestion, consider the Gibson Tony Iommi siganture humbucker.
 
Re: Installing a humbucker in a Mustang. What to get?!

the JB is the pickup you want for that sound

it's insane how JB the JB sounds
 
Re: Installing a humbucker in a Mustang. What to get?!

are you sure the body is Alder ? Mustangs were usually Poplar and very rarely Mahogany.
 
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