Opinions needed on a 65' mustang neck

Wilson94

Wilson94 said:

Moss said:

That's not a Mustang

It's a Duo-Sonic with a Mustang neck

Whats the difference if you dont mind me asking.? In other words a scam lol

Should the next say duo sonic on it then I presume rather than mustang. Glad I posted it on here now

bbill335

I don't like that neck, the stamp is odd,  I dunno what the sharpie cross is doing there and the proportions of the headstock are weird (although that might be gumtree distorting the pics or something). The truss rod has been screwed in really far, the neck could be warped. Plus, without the original pickups, you're basically getting a beat up old guitar that sounds like a newer one so what's the point?

A mishmash parts guitar is a bit of a gamble, and I don't reckon that stuff together is worth more than £1k. A whole original guitar is a different story.

gusman2x

What's your USA special worth roughly? This Duo Sonic with Mustang neck, and non original pickups is prob only worth about £500-650 in parts. That's not to say it won't play and feel great, but it isn't worth £1,100. I reckon with careful looking you can find an original duo-sonic for around £750-850, or a Mustang for £850-900. If you're willing to go to a 70s guitar (and you need to be careful because they can be heavy), you can pick Mustangs up even cheaper.

JD50

gusman2x said:

What's your USA special worth roughly? This Duo Sonic with Mustang neck, and non original pickups is prob only worth about £500-650 in parts. That's not to say it won't play and feel great, but it isn't worth £1,100. I reckon with careful looking you can find an original duo-sonic for around £750-850, or a Mustang for £850-900. If you're willing to go to a 70s guitar (and you need to be careful because they can be heavy), you can pick Mustangs up even cheaper.

Sound advice, I love my short scales but you're right its overpriced for a parts guitar. Does look lovely though.

Lots of Mustang info here http://www.fendermustangstory.com/

ICBM

bbill335 said:

I don't like that neck, the stamp is odd,  I dunno what the sharpie cross is doing there and the proportions of the headstock are weird (although that might be gumtree distorting the pics or something). The truss rod has been screwed in really far, the neck could be warped. Plus, without the original pickups, you're basically getting a beat up old guitar that sounds like a newer one so what's the point?

I think the neck is OK - the headstock looks like the '65 shape which is different from the normal pre-CBS Jaguar/Mustang shape and also very subtly different from the later CBS one. The stamp is bodged - probably factory carelessness - but otherwise looks OK, and the neck does appear to be a B width. Not sure about the sharpie mark but it could have been done at any time.

The pickups aren't too big an issue, you can get more correct repros, or originals fairly cheaply - they're much less valuable than old Strat pickups.

But I wouldn't pay anything like £1100 for it...

guitars4you

only just picked up on this and you have good comments from above - It might still play well and feel okay and as it stands - If acquired at the right price it can become a good players guitar, especially with a good refret - think what K Cobain did to his guitar - but to me it is worth £500-600 tops for such a partsocaster

The problem on breaking it up for parts is that unless someone needs them for another Duo-Sonic or Mustang, they won't be worth to much, as they won't fit and be required for main stream guitars like a Strat or Tele were parts can fetch far more

Wilson94

Thanks for all the sound advice. I dont think it was intentional of them, they probably just assumed it was a mustang too as they do look pretty much identical. But alas I'll give it a miss, call me a snob but I'd rather have an actual original. Maybe aside from the pickups. Cheers again guys

bbill335

Wilson94 said:

Thanks for all the sound advice. I dont think it was intentional of them, they probably just assumed it was a mustang too as they do look pretty much identical. But alas I'll give it a miss, call me a snob but I'd rather have an actual original. Maybe aside from the pickups. Cheers again guys

If you want a mustang with different pickups, I'd just get an MIJ, de-gloss the neck and swap the pickups. There's no point going for an old one for the sake of 'old wood' or whatever coz the Mustangs were built to move. If you're worried about basswood vs poplar (you shouldn't be) but the MG65 model is made with poplar. Shit, MIJ mustangs have arguably better necks than the originals in some cases!