Like the Ford, Fender’s Mustang became a mainstay of the line. Here are examples in Competition Red (1970)and Competition Orange (’69). Fender didn’t market a short-scale four-string until the Mustang Bass in ’66, which proved popular thanks to its comfortable 30″ scale, light weight, and body contours. They were initially available in red, white, and blue finishes. Each single-coil pickup was controlled with a three-way sliding switch on the upper bass bout the middle position engaged neither pickup, while either end changed polarity, creating six in-/out-of-phase tonal combinations. To meet the escalating post-Sullivan demand for electric guitars, Fender quickly followed by introducing a new guitar based on the car.Įssentially a Musicmaster/Duo-Sonic with a different pickguard and shiny chrome plate under the Volume and Tone knobs, Fender’s Mustang also brought a rosewood fretboard, two scale choices, and the new Dynamic Vibrato.įor a “student” guitar, the Mustang was pretty sophisticated. And while it was busy upgrading its student models, Ford Motor Company was busy upgrading its sports-car offerings in March of ’64, the Mustang began to roll off the line. Two original Mustangs – a ’65 in blue and a ’66 in red – along with a ’71 in Competition Blue and ’73 in Competition Red.īut, Fender was in California, where cars ruled. Neither had a thing to do with cars, or California, but after the Beatles appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in February of ’64, electric guitars became the surest of sure things. In the early ’60s, sales of acoustic guitars surged under the influence of folk music, then, by ’63, pop was all about a new sound out of Liverpool. Colors also evolved from Desert Sand (beige) and sunburst to red, white, and mahogany. Both did well enough that they acquired rosewood fretboard options by ’59, and in ’64 they were offered in 221/2″ or 24″ scale. The Musicmaster had one pickup, the Duo-Sonic, two. Both were “three-quarter-sized,” slab-bodied double-cuts with maple fretboards, anodized aluminum pickguards, and small, adjustable bridge/tailpiece assemblies. Fender introduced its “student model” Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic in 1956 to compete with Harmony and Kay – an optimistic move long before the electric guitar was a guaranteed success. So it’s no surprise that Fender built the Competition Mustang, a guitar marketed to players who might also be excited by the thrill of Monte Carlo and Formula One. Just flash back to those mid-’60s Fender ads showing surfers and guitars on the beach. Cars and the California lifestyle are inextricably intertwined… and of course, guitars figure in, too. Fender Mustang: Michael Wright/VG Archive.

Fender racing stripes