Now here's is something truly special! This stunning 1971 Fender Mustang came to us with a striped natural finish (originally red), and although it looked pretty nice with some nice ash body figuring, we couldn't resist doing a Ocean Turquoise nitro refin.
 
Kurt Cobain's legendary 1969 "Teen Spirit" Mustang, sold in 2022 at auction for eye-watering $4 687 500, had the same exact specs and the same pickups. Kurt used that Mustang a whole lot on Nevermind recording sessions. Only later, in 1992, the original bridge was swapped for a tune-o-matic and the bridge pickup was swapped for a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails.
 
The reason vintage guitars change colour over the years is simple: the clear coat that is sprayed on top of the finish yellows with age. Originally metallic blue, these Mustangs turn different shades of green when the years go by. Our refin includes all the cool "tanlines": the finish underneath the pickguard, bridge and control plate is still blue.
 
Ultra-resonant ash body has those lovely forearm and "belly" contours, only introduced on Mustangs in 1969 (previously Mustangs had "slab" bodies. There's no structural damage to the body and all the wear is purely cosmetic. Internal cavities haven't been modified, we just made sure they are shielded with highest grade copper-foil to minimize any electrical interference. You will still get the original shielding brass plates with the guitar, although they are not very effective. Original pearloid pickguard has faded quite a lot and has a lot of play wear on it, but it is still crack-free and looking stellar.
 
Original neck is a true pleasure to play, with it's C-shape and the shorter-scale making it a very comfy instrument. There's some lovely "bird's eye" maple figuring on the back of the neck, the fret markers are lovely pearloid, and the rosewood fretboard is darker than the Arabian night. We've done a fret-dress so the frets are nice and even and the neck plays like a dream, especially after replacing the nut. There’s some fretboard play wear, but it doesn’t really affect the feel or the sound in any way.
 
The headstock was originally unfinished (Fender stopped matching headstocks on Mustangs around 1970). It now has the lovely matching Ocean Turquoise finish and the vintage-accurate decal. Original tuners are worn, but work surprisingly well. The neck has no extra holes, the finish on the back of the neck is worn to a silky-smooth satin. The neck has the 1960s style neck heel stamp and the neck pocket has the Fender factory stamps.
 
Original single-coil grey bottom pickups sound fantastic in both clean and overdriven scenarios. Flat-pole magnet design allows to raise them closer to the strings without the mid-range becoming uncontrollable. The neck pickup is very warm and full-sounding; the bridge pickup isn’t nasal or thin, with a lot of presence and punch and a ton of harmonics. Surprisingly, both original potentiometers (made by Stackpole and with codes dating to 1971), ceramic disc tone capacitor and the original Switchcraft output jack still work flawlessly, as does one of the pickup selectors. The other one has been replaced with a newer Switchcraft.
 
Original Mustang Dynamic Vibrato is one of the coolest designs ever – but the setup side of things on these is often misunderstood. This vibrato is expressive and stable, returning to pitch nicely after some maintenance and lubrication. Original bridge is solid and there’s no rattling even with heavier playing. Original Mustang vibratos have smaller holes for the arms, so non of the modern arms fit. Thankfully, this guitar comes with its original arm.
 
This Mustang came to us in a very cute 1970s guitar-shaped case (original Fender case would be rectangular) and although we wouldn’t go touring the world with this one, the case holds well and all latches close securely. The yellow interior looks gorgeous with the Ocean Turquoise finished guitar in it – and you will even get a vintage black strap hidden in the accessories pocket.
 
It was very exciting to work on this guitar and give it a new appearance. Now it’s time for you to write the next “Teen Spirit” on it.
 
This instrument received a full professional setup with deep body cleaning, body polish, neck deep clean, rosewood fretboard lemon oil treatment, full electronics check, truss-rod and action and intonation adjustment. Restringed with D'addario 10-46 Nickel-plated steel strings.

This guitar will be shipped around UK with Parcelforce courier, safely packed into a sturdy guitar cardboard box. 24h courier service provided to UK customers. We also ship to USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and many other places, but at the moment we don't ship to EU or Northern Ireland.