Forget What You've Heard: Not To Beat a Dead Horse....

As my Friday waned to a close the other day, it had been basically any other Friday. I had a surgery in the morning and had worked in the undergraduate dental clinic in the afternoon. At 4:30, I had a post-op with a patient to remove sutures from a surgery 2 weeks ago. He's kind of a quasi-retired Mr. Everything for his trade, but he also is a musician and actor in local theater. We always talk about 1960's music and guitars. He has about 15 or so guitars from what I remember? I've told him ad-nauseum about my Fender Strats and my Fender Jaguar. To complete my set, I always say there is one more Fender guitar in particular I'll get someday....

In the fall of 1964, Fender Musical Instruments introduced a new student model guitar reminiscent of their student models, the Duo-Sonic and Musicmaster, but made for the more advanced player. It was the Fender Mustang. While never the glory of the Stratocaster or Telecaster, the Mustang with its short-scale neck ideal for players with smaller hands received a mild renaissance in the 1990's as a staple amongst the Grunge revolution and Generation X movement. Kurt Cobain can be seen playing a Mustang in the video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit".

As my patient came back to my operatory Friday, I noticed a backpack he was carrying. He sat it down and said, "I've got something for you". He opened his bag and pulled out the body and neck of a guitar and a ziplock bag full of screws, bolts and parts. My eyes lit up. He said,

"This has been sitting in my garage for 15 years. Someone gave it to me to put together, because they knew I liked working on guitars. I've never done anything with it. You always told me that you would someday buy a vintage Fender Mustang. This is an original 1964 Mustang. You, like me, like to work with your hands and things. So, I figured you'd get more out of this than me....".

(I do. Have I ever mentioned that since we've been in Boston I've replaced the LCD in my phone 3 times along with the vibration component all on my own via parts I got from Taiwan?)

Regardless, I nearly threw up on the guy. I am still speechless as I type this....This guitar is worth between $1500-$2000. Granted, this one is not in mint condition. The original baby blue paint has been sanded off along with the decal on the headstock, but the stamped date from the factory, "8 NOV 64 A", is still intact along with most of the wiring. With a long weekend with a sander, wood staining, flux, solder, and a soldering gun, I should be in business. Oh, the wonders of the internet. I've been able to find a full wiring schematic of the 1960's Mustang along with a step by step "how to" from some dude's blog. I am so excited and will never be able to thank this man enough.

Thank you, sir. So, so much...

Here are some photos of it...