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Old 07-06-2021, 05:53 AM
jonfields45 jonfields45 is offline
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Default NGD Squier Mustang HH (MF $150 when on sale)

This NGD and review got buried in my Stewart travel guitar thread... With just a little work, it’s a great travel or backup guitar, and a good choice for a beginner. I also bought a Fender 610SS 10mm padding short scale gig bag. It was shipped tightly tri-folded which creased the padding. It's OK for the price. The bag is probably big enough for a Strat and not a super tight fit.

At its price point I expect some compromises and here is the list of things I fixed or noticed.
  1. I spent 10 minutes with a fret dressing file rounding sharp fret ends.
  2. The neck is built with a forward relief, and it came with the truss rod only snug. I tightened the truss rod.
  3. There are two small hairline finish cracks at the corners of the neck pocket (not unusual for any bolt-on neck guitar) and a few minor tool marks on the neck. Interior wood work and wiring is clean and neat. There was some dirt on the pickguard edges and bridge. Overall, not Mexican Fender quality but still pretty good.
  4. The action was set to 3/32” across all strings at the 12th fret. I lowered it to 2/32” e/B/G/A, and 5/64” A/E. The intonation was set correctly. I replaced the factory 9s with 10s.
  5. I replaced the bridge (StewMac Golden Era). I did make the stock bridge stop buzzing by setting all the height adjustment screws just right and then I thread locked them with cyanoacrylate glue (otherwise a few screws were loose enough to vibrate into the saddle during play). In hindsight, had I shimmed the bridge up a bit and got more of the set screw into the saddles, I would have had a cheap fix without glue.
  6. The POTs are 250K not 500K.
  7. The pickguard is white single layer, and the tuners use the modern Fender two post attachment instead of screws (the MF picture is a three layer laminated pickguard and tuners with screws).
Now for the good stuff,
  1. The guitar is less than 6.25 lbs., and its body is 1/8th inch thinner and fully beveled (tummy and arm) compared to the Fender versions. It is VERY comfortable.
  2. The stock humbuckers sound good, and the POTs/switch work smoothly with no noise.
  3. The probably bottom of the line tuners are smoother than my PRS 594.
  4. A little fretboard oil brought out a very pretty grain.
  5. I’ve always wondered why Leo Fender set the Mustang overall length the same as a Strat and essentially moved the bridge towards the neck to achieve the shorter 24” scale (maybe to share body blanks with the Mustang bass). BUT I am really liking how this guitar sits in my lap and where it places the neck.



Upgraded Bridge

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Last edited by jonfields45; 08-01-2021 at 05:49 AM.
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Old 07-06-2021, 07:40 AM
jricc jricc is offline
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Nice work Jon. The grain on the fretboard IS real nice. I've always liked Mustangs, usually with single coils, but the humbucker option sounds pretty cool.
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Old 07-06-2021, 10:46 AM
Ralph124C41 Ralph124C41 is offline
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I'm glad you like the pickups. I didn't ... because I just couldn't get them to sound clean enough. I bought one and I've tried at least three others in the stores and they all sounded pretty much the same ... very "hot" and just not if you like pristine cleans.

I have other guitars with humbuckers that cleaned up a lot better than my Mustang.

Eventually I threw in the towel and gave it away as a wedding gift.
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Old 07-29-2021, 01:59 PM
jonfields45 jonfields45 is offline
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I wondered why the tone control on the Mustang only worked when the volume was on 10, and that rolling back the volume to control the distortion with my Mustang Micro Headphone amp sounded muddy. It turns out the pickups are wired to the selector switch and the switch is connected to the wiper of the volume pot, along with the lead to the output jack.

This circuit reduces volume by loading the pickup and causing voltage drop across it's internal resistance AND INDUCTANCE! Also as you turn the volume down, the tone control network properly attached to the volume control hot side gets isolated from the output.

I checked on-line pictures and forums, and sure enough this is they way Fender wants it wired, along with the unusual selection of 250K pots for humbuckers. I saw one forum post where the individual moved the tone control network to the volume pot wiper...not how I would do it. I moved the switch output to the volume control hot lead. It sounds better and the tone control works regardless of the volume setting.

I've got an afternoon gig in direct sunlight tomorrow and I'm bringing the Mustang. No reason to perspire all over my US PRS.

I also ordered some items to dress it up a bit, however sticking with the cheap as possible beater formula; chrome covered alnico vintage output pickups and a single piece tortoise pickguard. I've already returned one low end set of pickups as they came poorly packed, dented, and the bridge one buzzed out at 15K ohms which is hardly vintage spec. The pickguard looks really nice, but has no shielding tape. I'm wiring completely in shielded cable with two (500K) volume controls and no tone. The shield should not be important.

This might be the first time I've used vintage cloth insulated pushback shielded wire. What a pleasure to work with!!!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124740009570

https://www.ebay.com/itm/293764840801?var=592550564600
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Last edited by jonfields45; 07-29-2021 at 02:10 PM.
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Old 07-29-2021, 03:51 PM
jricc jricc is offline
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Jon I admire your electrical skills...
Lets see pics when you are finished!
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Old 07-29-2021, 08:27 PM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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I'm wondering how you're going to like your guitar without a tone control. I guess it's going to come down to how good the pickups you put into are going to be. I have rewired hundreds of guitars, and I have found with two humbucker guitars, I need a tone control, it's the only way to get the woman tone (rolled off tone pot). And, with the lower output pickups I like (PAF style), I generally like the tone control rolled back a bit on the bridge pickup. I like the ideal of using 500K pots to brighten things up though. I would have done the same thing although using the second pot as a tone control and using a .022uf cap. If the neck pickup still needed some brightness I would switch to a .015uf. One thing GREAT about the Mustang is with it's separate control plate, you can have access to the pots while the guitar is plugged in, so you can alligator clip different caps in 'till you find the right value for the perfect tone sweep. That's how I did it with my Jaguars, the other great short scale Fender!
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Old 07-30-2021, 03:51 AM
jonfields45 jonfields45 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rockabilly69 View Post
I'm wondering how you're going to like your guitar without a tone control.
I generally go pedal-less and overdrive my amp. I set the neck PUP volume for clean rhythm and the bridge PUP for slightly overdriven leads, both using the volume controls on the guitar. I set the EQ on amp and leave the tone on the guitar at 10. For brighter crunchy rhythm I use both pickups together which splits the difference between their volume settings. I use the pickup selector on the guitar for lead/crunch/clean selection.

For a long while I had no tone controls in my PRS (I removed them). I recently rewired it with Dunlop Ultra POTs which have a bit of viscosity and stay put. I installed 4 POTs and restored tone control. I did not put back the coil splits as to my ear they were not useful.
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Old 07-30-2021, 06:26 AM
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Congratulations on your new guitar! The wood grain on the neck looks nice.
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  #9  
Old 08-01-2021, 05:46 AM
jonfields45 jonfields45 is offline
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I played two gigs this weekend with the Squier. It was kind of liberating to not care a bit if the guitar was perspired on, dinged, or even stolen (there was a sketchy character behind the "stage" when we were setting up...). No one noticed I was playing probably the cheapest possible guitar short of brand X.



So exciting that I ordered another in matching green (my partner's American Performer Mustang Bass and looking over at his bass I noticed a tool mark by the tuning machines a bit more noticeable than the tool mark in my Squier!). I plan to make only modest changes to it (move the pickup selector output to the volume hot and move the tone control to bridge pickup only).

So here is the new pickguard to be installed shortly. Two brand X alnico vintage output covered humbuckers (the impedance buzzed out correctly) with two volume controls and a switchcraft selector switch. I'm a bit concerned the Squier will need some routing for all of this to fit... I ordered the pickguard with the wrong PUP holes and had to file them out square to accept the chrome covers.

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Last edited by jonfields45; 08-01-2021 at 05:59 AM.
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Old 08-01-2021, 11:35 AM
jricc jricc is offline
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Nice work and love the pickguard Jon!
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Old 08-02-2021, 05:05 AM
jonfields45 jonfields45 is offline
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I went to install the new pickguard and discovered I'll need to route out the switch cavity (or reorient the switch) and shorten the pickup height screws. So I stepped back for the time being, to rewiring the tone control to only the bridge PUP (I had previously moved the pickups to the volume hot from wiper). I also de-furred the internal routing with a Dremel tool. The paint might be conducting, though I got no reading with my meter. I guess it also prevents flaking furry routing from getting into the POTs. Probably something I shouldn't of done but it's tough being obsessively neat (it's all wired with shielded cable...). BTW the POTs are good quality Korean Alphas. I've since played the guitar and it is as quiet as before.

I also ordered an assortment of box toggle switches on eBay.









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Last edited by jonfields45; 08-02-2021 at 05:20 AM.
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Old 08-03-2021, 11:08 AM
Glennwillow Glennwillow is offline
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Hi Jon,

I am so impressed with all the things you have done to turn this $150 Squier Mustang into a really cool guitar!

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Old 08-03-2021, 05:17 PM
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Very nicely done Jon. I get a weirdly special feeling polishing the proverbial…to the point of being a highly functional and satisfying to play guitar.

You’ve convinced me I need to take some pics and tell my Squier story, but I won’t hijack your thread.

It’s a liberating feeling not to worry about your guitar isn’t it?
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Old 08-04-2021, 02:26 PM
jonfields45 jonfields45 is offline
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Default Mods Final White Squire Mustang (still have green to go)

To summarize, two brand X vintage output alnico 2/5 scatter wound wax potted covered humbuckers, two (vintage...maybe 30 years in my parts box :~) Noble A500K POTs, custom USA made pickguard, Switchcraft toggle switch, and Switchcraft output jack.

This reroute of the wires fits the stock body routing.



And it sounds great. Not as high output as the stock pickups. Maybe a little darker tone.

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Old 08-15-2021, 01:58 PM
jonfields45 jonfields45 is offline
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Now a green one to match my partner's Mustang bass (truly crazy...). This time a vintage output scatter wound alnico 2 neck combined with a 15K ohm ceramic bridge, both without covers.

The Fender Duo-Sonic I ordered, to have a trio of 24" scale guitars where at least one had some brand class, is due here tomorrow. The UPS truck was in an accident Thursday night which delayed it from Friday delivery. It will go back if it has damage (most common would be cracked finish at the neck pocket - both Squiers are cracked). EDIT: I sent it back. The no tummy or arm contour was not as comfortable and the toggle switch was defective. Otherwise very nicely made and a big step up from the Squiers.

Maybe this time my wiring is a bit cleaner. I used shrink wrap instead of electrical tape where hot and ground got close together. Also, this time a horizontal Switchcraft toggle. And as before Noble A500K POTs wired volume/volume and a Switchcraft 1/4" TS jack.

Both Mustangs had issues. The big ones were: #1 white had sharp frets, high action, fuzzy routing in the control cavity to flake off junk that would eventually make the POTs noisy, and a neck angled back too far which caused the bridge to buzz, #2 green had a pickguard not screwed down flat and some kind of goop in the neck pocket I sanded out (maybe a perfectionists only problem). I did see one in Guitar Center that was probably good to hand directly to a beginner.

Very cool to carry around a cheap light guitar in a thin 10mm padding gig bag that sounds great and inspires not a care in the world.

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Last edited by jonfields45; 08-17-2021 at 06:04 AM.
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