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Candy Apple Red, Sea Foam Green or Fiesta Red?

Phil O'Keefe

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Loobs Newbie

Loobs

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There are two scale lengths 22.5" and 24". I think 22.5 is pretty worthless, except to start an 8 year old off with... but 24" isn't all that "short" - it's only 3/4" shorter than a Les Paul. And remember - Fender's top of the line instrument circa 1962-66 was the Jaguar, which is also a 24" scale length.


Part of the appeal is the slightly shorter 24" scale length. It's just enough to make the neck a bit more comfortable for someone like me who has slightly smaller hands. On my Duo Sonic, I can "reach" things I see my friends doing comfortably / easily on Strats that I've always struggled with when I do it on a 25.5" scale neck.


The body is also slightly differently shaped on a Mustang / Duo Sonic. It's about as long as a Strat, but it's narrower across the top. If you're short (I'm 5'8"), it "covers" less of your body, and it may "feel" like it "fits" you better. Plus, some of us actually like the way those guitars look...


Another BIG advantage is that they're inexpensive relative to other vintage Fenders. You can get into a 60s era Mustang, Duo Sonic or Musicmaster for under two grand - sometimes under a grand. Try that with a 60s era Tele. Some "collector's grade" 60s instruments, or early 70s Competition Mustangs might fetch three or four grand, but again, those prices are WAY lower than what a Strat or Tele in similar condition from the same era would cost. Sonically, they're Fenders. Quality wise, they're Fenders. Same assembly line, same materials, same builders. They're the most affordable way to get into vintage Fenders available.

 

 

How's about sound? What's so great about the sound of them, if anything?

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ibentmywookie Newbie

ibentmywookie

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I have long and thin fingers and find the 24" scale very comfortable. It just allows me to reach further notes without shifting my hand, which is useful for hammer ons between two notes further away than usual. Also, I enjoy the feel and playability of thicker strings and the shorter scale allows them to be less tense than a 25.5" scale. Just a personal preference.

 

6'0", 125lbs, wat.

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Phil O'Keefe Rookie

Phil O'Keefe

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How's about sound? What's so great about the sound of them, if anything?

 

 

Well, it really depends a lot on what pickups you have in them, but it's definitely a "Fender family" type sound. Stock Duo Sonic / Mustang pups tend to live in the 5.5-6k range, so they're not terribly high output by any stretch of the imagination. They also have "flat" polepieces, as opposed to staggered magnets like most Strats.

 

However, on mine, I have some CS / Abagail Ybarra wound Strat pickups in it, and they're a bit hotter and "bigger" sounding. In the bridge, it's somewhat similar to a Tele, and in the middle and neck pickup settings, it's a bit more Strat-like; but still a bit "different" from either one.

 

Strat pickups will fit into these guitars, so you can drop in anything you want without having to route the body at all; including stacked single coil sized humbuckers and "hot rails" - both of which are fairly popular with people who want to use a shortscale for heavier / rawk music.

 

The Duo Sonic and Musicmaster definitely sound different than a Mustang too because of the hardtail vs vibrato bridges. Mustangs have more "sprong" in their sound due to the vibrato springs. A bit more "surf", if that makes any sense.

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Loobs Newbie

Loobs

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That makes sense...and very cool. Your SFG Duo Sonic with the Strat pickups looks hella cool. I always think they look ace with Strat pickups.

 

God damn it Phil, now you're making me want a 60s Duo Sonic like yours.

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Phil O'Keefe Rookie

Phil O'Keefe

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Btw, Fiesta is the perfect complement for SFG or sonic blue.



Yeah, that's kind of what I'm thinking. Check this out:

mustang-jaguar.jpg

That's robroe's (from www.shortscale.org) 65 RI Mustang and AVRI Jaguar. He's got a Bronco that has just been refinished in aged SFG, and as soon as he gets it reassembled, he's going to take a similar picture of it sitting next to the Jag...

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Phil O'Keefe Rookie

Phil O'Keefe

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Btw, your SFG Duo has a 'stang neck on it?



Yeah, the saga of the necks was epic. :facepalm::lol:

The neck it came with was the stock '75 Musicmaster neck. It has 6105 frets, but they've been beveled a bit too far inwards - that, plus the nut that's on it places the high E string a bit too close to the edges of the frets, so I was frequently pulling it "off" the side of the fingerboard. It feels GREAT otherwise, so I'm going to hang on to it, and will eventually get it refretted and have a new nut cut for it. Like the rest of the guitar was when I got it, it is also completely stripped, so it needs to be refinished and it needs a new decal too...

Due to the amount of work involved, I decided to try to find something that was "ready to go". I found a gorgeous original slab board '65 Mustang neck and bought it and put it on for five minutes, but I knew almost immediately that it is too "chunky" in the "shoulders" of the neck for my tastes. Too "U" shaped, and not enough of a C profile for me. So I took it off and looked around... after a ton of research, I found out that the '94-99 MIJ Mustang necks were supposedly the thinnest (followed by the 2000-2005 era Mustang necks, with the current '65 RI's being the thickest), so I looked around until I found one on Ebay, and THAT'S what's on the guitar now. The frets are a bit smaller than my preferred 6105's, but they're not bad at all, and I may eventually have Dennis Galuszka do a refret on it for me. The important thing IMO is that it "fits" my hands perfectly, so I'm a happy camper... with two spare necks. :facepalm:

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Phil O'Keefe Rookie

Phil O'Keefe

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OK, I'll post here, and I'll C&P and send it to you in a PM:

 

As I mentioned above, I only tried it on the guitar for a few minutes, but the '65 is just too U shaped for my hands. I DID already find something that I really like, and I am quite happy with, so I don't know if I really want to do a trade.

 

I'm considering selling the vintage '65 slab board neck for what I have into it, which IIRC, was around $425, not counting shipping. I'll double check that if you're interested. We can still meet up if you'd like, and I'm willing to look at your neck and consider a swap, but it would really have to knock me out in terms of feel and dimensions in order for me to consider a straight swap.

 

I'll send my phone number in the PM so you can call me if you'd still like to meet. If I'm in a session and you get my voicemail, please leave a callback number and mention the neck. I'm pretty busy with sessions all week, but I do have a meeting on Friday, so maybe some time Friday would work, if you're available in the early afternoon, or early evening... my meeting is in the late afternoon (4-6PM).

 

:wave:

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Phil O'Keefe Rookie

Phil O'Keefe

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Well, I'm sending out an order for paint today - I'll probably see it in a couple of weeks, and will get started when it arrives. While it's not too late for me to change my mind on the color (I can do that right up until I actually finish the prep work and primer), it's too late to change my decision on the color I'm ordering...

Thanks for voting everyone. :)

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