Mustang with Cobain customizations

N

Nikos

New member
What's up nice ppl! I'm gonna start a new project with my Luthier.
I wanna build a Fender Mustang with Kurt Cobain customizations (the one he used during In Utero tour)

Tips that I alrady know are:

- Bridge change for: Gotoh or Tune-O-Matic
- Dimarzio Super Distortion or SeymourDuncan JB in the bridge
- 10-52 strings
- The tremolo system was blocked

So I have basically 2 questions:

1) Is there another customization (besides the ones I've listed before) that I should know?

2) About the Mustang's shorter scale (24'')... what are the pros and cons? I'm asking this because yesterday, when I was talking with my Luthier, he suggested to make it respecting all Kurt's customizations, but the Mustang's shorter scale. He actually suggested 25.5'' or at least les pauls scale (24.75'')

THANKS FOR THE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Re: Mustang with Cobain customizations

I suggest you go and play a Mustang or at least the 24 inch scale guitar before you get started...

FWIW, Mustangs are odd guitars in more ways than one and Stangs and jags (both being 24 inch scale guitars) take some getting used too if you are used to more normal scale guitars...
 
Re: Mustang with Cobain customizations

Hi, I'm Brian. I'm a mod over at LiveNirvana.com. So I can tell yo to do your research and know exactly what you want.

Here is the info your require.

http://kurtsguitarsnow.blogspot.com/2009/03/fender-mustang-in-utero-tour.html

http://www.kurtsequipment.com/

"2). The March 1995 issue of "Guitar World" magazine mentions Kurt sent out 4 new, stock, Mustangs to be routed for humbuckers (32). Three were sonic blue and one fiesta red (41). The way Earnie modified these guitars is as follows:

First, the nut had to be cut for heavier strings, then the neck shimmed for a better bridge angle with the cardboard backings from hotel stationery pads, and a Gotoh Tune-O-Matic bridge was installed. Earnie also had to modify the tailpiece to block the vibrato, which Kurt hated. He would remove the two springs for the vibrato bar, add washers to the posts beneath the bridge plate, which locked it down to the plate. Lastly, Earnie would flip the tailpiece around allowing the strings to feed directly through the tailpiece, not under, and the ball ends of the strings would fit in the tailpiece's recesses (41).

- Fiesta red Mustang (seen 1). Kurt received this guitar right before the first Roseland show. It came with a red swirl pickguard with white pickup covers. Earnie Bailey replaced the red tortoise pickguard with a white pearl pickguard from Chandler. It was used during the In Utero tour, most often seen with the white pearl pickguard. For the first Roseland NY show, Earnie switched the bridge pickup with a Seymour Duncan JB Hot Rails model in white, which is a fairly unusual pickup. When he received the Chandler pickguard, he decided black pickup covers would look better with the pearloid. This guitar was to be Kurt's first Japanese Mustang to get routed for a humbucker, the stock neck pickup only had the cover changed (59), and was fitted with a Seymour Duncan JB. Kurt later wanted all of his Mustangs routed for the JB., that is, except for the '69 competition (41).

- Sonic blue Fender Mustang with a full-sized humbucker in the bridge (seen 15, 7). There were three of these guitars, two of them set-up like below (41), one of them had the serial # 0 016988 (59). One had a red-swirl pickguard (seen 7), another a matte red pickguard. These two were sent out for the In Utero tour. The third one was never set-up or modified and stayed at Kurt's house. It never came out of its box because the "In Utero" tour people were waiting for the other Mustangs to be broken, which they never were. Earnie also never swapped out the 250k pots to 500k's when the humbucker was added as he didn't expect these guitars to last very long (59).

Courtney gave one of these guitars to a young man named Bobby Costello in Florida. Last I had heard, the family was looking to sell the guitar and supplied me these pictures:
Note from Courtney, Pic #1, Pic #2, Pic #3."

Any nirvana/cobain guitar questions you can message me and I can maybe ask Earnie Bailey. The IU Tour Guitar Tech for nirvana and still The foo's tech sometimes...-B
 
Re: Mustang with Cobain customizations

Nikos said:
What's up nice ppl! I'm gonna start a new project with my Luthier.
I wanna build a Fender Mustang with Kurt Cobain customizations (the one he used during In Utero tour)

Tips that I alrady know are:

- Bridge change for: Gotoh or Tune-O-Matic
- Dimarzio Super Distortion or SeymourDuncan JB in the bridge
- 10-52 strings
- The tremolo system was blocked

So I have basically 2 questions:

1) Is there another customization (besides the ones I've listed before) that I should know?

2) About the Mustang's shorter scale (24'')... what are the pros and cons? I'm asking this because yesterday, when I was talking with my Luthier, he suggested to make it respecting all Kurt's customizations, but the Mustang's shorter scale. He actually suggested 25.5'' or at least les pauls scale (24.75'')

THANKS FOR THE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
I would put a Dimarzio Superdistortion S or Fastrack II in the bridge and a JB Jr in the neck. I would leave the guitar unmodified and I wouldn't bother cutting the pickguard or routing the body. You can emulate his setup without creating a direct copy. Mustang's are butchered far too often only to have people dump them after they figure out they don't like them, so I would try to leave the guitar in an easily resalable condition.

Mustang's can sound dark due to their short scale and rosewood neck. Clarity and definition suffers on shorter scale instruments, so your tech does have a point. However you can remedy darkness and a lack of clarity with the right pickups. I have a 22in Duosonic and I use SSL5's and they are perfect for that guitar. It can cover any musical style with no problems.
 
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Re: Mustang with Cobain customizations

wow

"I'm gona pay a guy to build a guitar like one some dead guy used to use. Does anybody know what they play like?"

i mean that would make sense if you played a few stock Mustangs and fell in the love with the feel and now you want one with humbuckers

but it doesn't make any sense if it's gona be the first mustang you ever hold
 
Re: Mustang with Cobain customizations

LoFiBrian said:
Hi, I'm Brian. I'm a mod over at LiveNirvana.com. So I can tell yo to do your research and know exactly what you want.

Here is the info your require.

http://kurtsguitarsnow.blogspot.com/2009/03/fender-mustang-in-utero-tour.html

http://www.kurtsequipment.com/

"2). The March 1995 issue of "Guitar World" magazine mentions Kurt sent out 4 new, stock, Mustangs to be routed for humbuckers (32). Three were sonic blue and one fiesta red (41). The way Earnie modified these guitars is as follows:

First, the nut had to be cut for heavier strings, then the neck shimmed for a better bridge angle with the cardboard backings from hotel stationery pads, and a Gotoh Tune-O-Matic bridge was installed. Earnie also had to modify the tailpiece to block the vibrato, which Kurt hated. He would remove the two springs for the vibrato bar, add washers to the posts beneath the bridge plate, which locked it down to the plate. Lastly, Earnie would flip the tailpiece around allowing the strings to feed directly through the tailpiece, not under, and the ball ends of the strings would fit in the tailpiece's recesses (41).

- Fiesta red Mustang (seen 1). Kurt received this guitar right before the first Roseland show. It came with a red swirl pickguard with white pickup covers. Earnie Bailey replaced the red tortoise pickguard with a white pearl pickguard from Chandler. It was used during the In Utero tour, most often seen with the white pearl pickguard. For the first Roseland NY show, Earnie switched the bridge pickup with a Seymour Duncan JB Hot Rails model in white, which is a fairly unusual pickup. When he received the Chandler pickguard, he decided black pickup covers would look better with the pearloid. This guitar was to be Kurt's first Japanese Mustang to get routed for a humbucker, the stock neck pickup only had the cover changed (59), and was fitted with a Seymour Duncan JB. Kurt later wanted all of his Mustangs routed for the JB., that is, except for the '69 competition (41).

- Sonic blue Fender Mustang with a full-sized humbucker in the bridge (seen 15, 7). There were three of these guitars, two of them set-up like below (41), one of them had the serial # 0 016988 (59). One had a red-swirl pickguard (seen 7), another a matte red pickguard. These two were sent out for the In Utero tour. The third one was never set-up or modified and stayed at Kurt's house. It never came out of its box because the "In Utero" tour people were waiting for the other Mustangs to be broken, which they never were. Earnie also never swapped out the 250k pots to 500k's when the humbucker was added as he didn't expect these guitars to last very long (59).

Courtney gave one of these guitars to a young man named Bobby Costello in Florida. Last I had heard, the family was looking to sell the guitar and supplied me these pictures:
Note from Courtney, Pic #1, Pic #2, Pic #3."

Any nirvana/cobain guitar questions you can message me and I can maybe ask Earnie Bailey. The IU Tour Guitar Tech for nirvana and still The foo's tech sometimes...-B
Click to expand...

LoFiBrian: Thanks Man!!! that was precise!!!! Exactly what I was asking for!

Anyways, i would like to thank all of you for your help!!
 
Re: Mustang with Cobain customizations

Empty Pockets said:
wow

"I'm gona pay a guy to build a guitar like one some dead guy used to use. Does anybody know what they play like?"

i mean that would make sense if you played a few stock Mustangs and fell in the love with the feel and now you want one with humbuckers

but it doesn't make any sense if it's gona be the first mustang you ever hold
Click to expand...

I've played a few stock Mustangs a couple of times. But I don't want to modify a FENDER MUSTANG. I wanna build a clone of the Mustangs that "some dead guy" used tu use. (btw, that's prolly the coldest definition of Kurt I've ever heard)
It's only a guitar project.. and a tribute to a great musician and human being.

Tks.
Peace love empathy
 
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