Mustang - Bullet or Classic Vibe?

monquixote

On my increasingly epic quest to find my son (6) a fun guitar to play with I've decided to follow the advice of lots of people and sack off bothering with 22" scale guitars and go with something 24" on the grounds that it will be nice and easy to play whilst also being possible to keep in tune in E standard.

I want to go as cheap as possible without buying anything total crap with the main criteria being that it needs to be something cool to a small boy and as small bodied as possible.

I asked him what a cool guitar would look like and he said "Blue with skulls and flames on it". This would imply a James Burton Tele, but they are £1.3k so that aint happening.

So I've settled on a Squier Mustang as it's small, light and short scale and also cool because Kurt Cobain (he likes AC/DC and Queen, but close enough).

The contenders are:

Bullet Mustang:

https://www.reidys.com/images/squier-bullet-mustang-hh-imperial-blue-p7200-9667_zoom.jpg

At the insane price of £109

or Classic Vibe Mustang:

https://www.gak.co.uk/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,width=1500,height=1500/https://58eca9fdf76150b92bfa-3586c28d09a33a8c605ed79290ca82aa.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/squier-classic-vibe-60s-mustang-laurel-fingerboard-sonic-blue-807564.jpg

Which is a much pricier £299

That's quite a bit over budget, but I know CVs are meant to be an epic guitar for the money so maybe would be worth the extra.

Thoughts. alternatives?

ThePrettyDamned

If you were lucky you might find a duo sonic from Mexico for £300...

I'd be tempted by the cheaper one if you can try first - is that an option? 

Jackobean

I’d spend the extra. The CV will still be a good guitar in ten years time. Hardware and electronics will be far better out of the box, and you’ll have less fettling and set up work.

rossi

The twin bucker  Bullet is a rock machine but also does decent jazzy bluesy sounds.It does need a fret polish usually .Great value .My one never gave the impression of dying after 10 years  and you  can shove lots of so called  upgrades in over that time inc coil splits etc  .

monquixote

rossi said:

The twin bucker  Bullet is a rock machine but also does decent jazzy bluesy sounds.It does need a fret polish usually .Great value .My one never gave the impression of dying after 10 years  and you  can shove lots of so called  upgrades in over that time inc coil splits etc  .

That actually has some appeal.

Half the reason I want it is just so there is a "beater" guitar I can keep in the living room. The kids often want to play with my guitars (including my 2 year old), but I've got a PRS, 2 US Fenders and a Martin so unless very closely supervised it's tricky to let them. 

I fully expect my son to not really be able to do much with the guitar for maybe another year, but I want him to have it around and be something he likes. Doing little projects on it would be something we could do together that he might quite enjoy.

monquixote

ThePrettyDamned said:

If you were lucky you might find a duo sonic from Mexico for £300...

I'd be tempted by the cheaper one if you can try first - is that an option? 

I don't seem to be able to find anything secondhand. There has been pretty much nothing short scale on the classifieds for ages and Reverb and Ebay seems to be full of people trying to sell secondhand stuff for more than the new price. 

Where should I be looking?

I guess probably Facebook which I don't have.

YellowLedBetterMan

Use Farcebook Marketplace at your own peril. I'm currently fighting a 16 year old little scruff from Yorkshire over a Blackstar Amp that he was happy to take my money for but never actually had any intention of selling.

Barquentine

I'd be inclined to go for something without a trem. 

sofasteve

Bullet Mustang all the way. Thin body so light for a youngster. Frets are a bit scratchy at first but that soon plays out. They do one with the go faster stripes too.

ICBM

Bullet Mustang with skulls & flames stickers .

The CV is possibly* a better guitar, but it has a trem and thus inevitably more tuning issues than the hardtail Bullet no matter how well set-up it is, has awkward and not very useful pickup switching, and I suspect that although to me it looks cool, to a 6-year-old it's a 'dad's guitar'.

(*But I'm honestly not sure. It's a bit more complex, but the Bullet is astonishingly well-made for the money.)

meltedbuzzbox

Go cheap.

monquixote

ICBM said:

Bullet Mustang with skulls & flames stickers .

The CV is possibly* a better guitar, but it has a trem and thus inevitably more tuning issues than the hardtail Bullet no matter how well set-up it is, has awkward and not very useful pickup switching, and I suspect that although to me it looks cool, to a 6-year-old it's a 'dad's guitar'.

(*But I'm honestly not sure. It's a bit more complex, but the Bullet is astonishingly well-made for the money.)

I found the thread where you were modding one and that was one of the things that convinced me.

munckee

I bought a classic vibe jaguar, its a lovely guitar but I had to get the nut sorted and a set up for it to be great - was an added expense.

PonchoGreg

"Blue with skulls and flames on it"

6 year-olds have a knack for dropping some knowledge.

DrJazzTap

The cvs are great, but as a first guitar that bullet looks like stonking value for money. 

guitargeek62

Bullet for sure, but budget for a fret dress if needed.

I’ve had both (and still have the Bullet), but can’t really fault either from a VFM point-of-view. The Bullet is a fantastic starting point for mods etc, but really isn’t too bad outta the box either!

UnclePsychosis

monquixote said:

ICBM said:

Bullet Mustang with skulls & flames stickers .

The CV is possibly* a better guitar, but it has a trem and thus inevitably more tuning issues than the hardtail Bullet no matter how well set-up it is, has awkward and not very useful pickup switching, and I suspect that although to me it looks cool, to a 6-year-old it's a 'dad's guitar'.

(*But I'm honestly not sure. It's a bit more complex, but the Bullet is astonishingly well-made for the money.)

I found the thread where you were modding one and that was one of the things that convinced me.

@ICBM did the work on my Bullet so it may well have been that one. 

I've been umming and ahhing over selling it - i have too many guitars and it's probably my least played - but then I realised that for the money I'd get for it I'll quite happily hold onto it for the rare occasions I want to rock out. 

It did need work when I bought it, but you'll struggle to get anything better without spending lots more.

FWIW the imperial blue finish is really impressive in the flesh. The sparkle looks very expensive. 

McSwaggerty

+1 for the Bullet. I have had some great fun with mine.
Well decent out the box, just a wee bit intonation adjustment.... And it was good to go.
I fired 11's on mine, but if l remember correctly it came with 9's, which would probably be ideal for the wee fella.

monquixote

UnclePsychosis said:

monquixote said:

ICBM said:

Bullet Mustang with skulls & flames stickers .

The CV is possibly* a better guitar, but it has a trem and thus inevitably more tuning issues than the hardtail Bullet no matter how well set-up it is, has awkward and not very useful pickup switching, and I suspect that although to me it looks cool, to a 6-year-old it's a 'dad's guitar'.

(*But I'm honestly not sure. It's a bit more complex, but the Bullet is astonishingly well-made for the money.)

I found the thread where you were modding one and that was one of the things that convinced me.

@ICBM did the work on my Bullet so it may well have been that one. 

I've been umming and ahhing over selling it - i have too many guitars and it's probably my least played - but then I realised that for the money I'd get for it I'll quite happily hold onto it for the rare occasions I want to rock out. 

It did need work when I bought it, but you'll struggle to get anything better without spending lots more.

FWIW the imperial blue finish is really impressive in the flesh. The sparkle looks very expensive. 

Interesting.

If you want to shift it let me know.

Fiftyshadesofjay

Bullet! Sh**ts all over my Musicman.

Also I wouldn’t advise a Mexican Duo or Mustang, they’re short scale but have relatively chunky necks.

The Bullet has a tiny neck, smaller string spacing and a flatter radius.

mark123

I think you have your answer
as you said earlier it will be living in the living room with kids running allover ...so hand on heart here's 2 senarios....
 classic vibe £300 he knocks it off the stand or drops it and a chunk out the body or headstock ..oh no

Squier bullet few stickers on , chunk out .. rock n roll !  its a relic !no sweat!  its a £100 basher ...spread jam on it ! paint it ! 
 you get my jist ?