This is Matthew Cladderbuck playing a completely rebuilt 1965 Fender Mustang guitar for the first time (note lack of nobs) . . The rebuild was a complete success but the instrument that was delivered to me was completely unplayable . The instrument was purchased from a Santa Monica used guitar shop ($1,500) complete with an ancient and papers connecting it to its former owner, Flea (RH Chilly Peppers). The following pictures will show the instrument's original state and its remaining assets along with moves I made to bring the instrument back to playability while maintaining this first year Fender's pedigree and integrity. -PT

This is a shot awhile after disassembly . . *note frets have been removed ( frets addressed in the next photo) . . Here I want to emphasize that every thing is done to keep the original finish (note headstock) in tacked through the rebuilt . . Fender Mustangs, especially early ones, were touchy instruments due to their short scale lengths and under engineered bridge/tremolo hardware. The strings where tough to keep over worn frets and the slide switch electronics had a very limited length of service . . Oh but those pickups . . This one possessed a couple of Fender "Crown Jewels" as you will see.

This a photo of the 65 Fender Mustang neck that slightly predates photo #2 . . To the right of the masking tape are three frets from the instrument as it was . . Some chords and single notes up the neck became impossible due to worn (overly filed) frets coupled with the short jangly scale length of 24 inches . . The soldering iron is used to heat the fret allowing for oils to rise out of the rosewood fingerboard resulting in less damage during fret removal.

These were the spacers used under the neck joint when the neck was unbolted. . . Simple Manila envelope stock . . Not original materials . . Effective . . Cheap . . The neck was in good shape.