Fender Pawn Shop Mustang Special

The Fender Pawnshop series has been interesting, dishing out some of the cooler guitars Fender has to it's name. The idea was to join together ideas from different guitars to mimic what might have been found in the highly modified--secondhand environment. The Mustang special features an alder body, a maple "C" shape neck, and two "enforcer" wide range humbucking pickups. The guitars finish is pleasant to the eyes and it feels more expensive than the tag would suggest. It is surprisingly light as well.

UTILIZATION

I found the switching setup to be awkward but effective. The single coil sounds, while not the best out there, were definitely passable. The 24 inch scale length made for a nice elastic playing feel. I've found that the Fender fret jobs have been shaming Gibson USA's lower cost models for a while now. My only complaint in this department is that the tuning stability is pretty mediocre.

SOUNDS

Played through a Vox AC15 I was able to get some decent clean sounds with both the humbucking and split coil configurations. I felt that the separated coils were more convincing when applying gain. The Mustang Special, while being underpowered for more aggressive styles of music, held it's ground with higher gain levels through a variety of amps. It's strongpoint, however, lies in the low to mid- gain realm.

OVERALL OPINION

This guitar is my favorite of the series. Fender's sense of aesthetics and finish quality sorely beats out Gibson USA and other manufacturer's at this price point. While tuning stability is at a loss here, the guitar can always be upgraded-- keeping with the spirit of the pawn shop line. With other manufacturer's starting to incorporate coil tap functionality in entry level models, the switching features on the Mustang might seem dated. However, this guitar was never intended to draw out consumers looking for cutting edge feature sets.

Model Name: Pawn Shop™ Fender® Mustang® Special
Series: Pawn Shop Series
Body

Body Material: Alder
Body Shape: Mustang®
Body Finish:
(0266400302, 0266400309)
Polyester
Neck

Neck Shape: 60s "C" Shape
Number of Frets: 22
Fret Size: Medium Jumbo
Position Inlays: Vintage Cream
Fingerboard Radius: 9.5" (24.1 cm)
Fretboard: Rosewood
Neck Material: Maple
Neck Finish: Polyester
Nut Width: 1.650” (42 mm)
Scale Length: 24" (61 cm)
Neck Plate: 4-Bolt Neck Plate
Truss Rods: Standard Truss Rod
Truss Rod Nut: 3/16" Hex Adjustment
Electronics

Pickup Configuration: H/H
Bridge Pickup: Enforcer™ "Wide Range" Humbucking Bridge Pickup with downsized Wide Range covers
Neck Pickup: Enforcer™ "Wide Range" Humbucking Neck Pickup with downsized Wide Range covers
Pickup Switching: 3-Position Toggle: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Middle Pickup, Position 3. Neck Pickup
Special Electronics: Coil Selector Switch for Each Humbucker
Controls: Master Volume, Master Tone; Pickup Toggle Switch; Coil Selector Switch for Each Humbucker
Hardware

Hardware Finish: Chrome
Bridge: '70s-Style Hard-Tail Stratocaster Bridge
String Nut: Synthetic Bone
Miscellaneous

Strings: Fender® USA Super 250L's, NPS (.009-.042 Gauges)
Unique Features: Double Humbucker Configuration, Hardtail Bridge, Unique Pickup Switching with 18 Options, Short Scale, Offset Mustang Body Shape
Accessories

Case Gig Bags: Deluxe Gig Bag

UTILIZATION

This guitar is so fun to play! The neck has a shorter scale of 24" - shorter than most Gibsons by a full three quarters of an inch. The balance is great, and the guitar is very light. Basically, this feels like an old Mustang, yet sounds like an old Telecaster Deluxe, which kind of sounded like a Les Paul. The best of all worlds!

SOUNDS

The pickups sound great plugged in to a clean amp - tons of clarity, warmth, and note bloom. The pickups didn't respond super well to high-gain, but with a bit of crunch, the notes pop out like the puppets in a Whack-a-Mole game! The neck pickup especially sings.

OVERALL OPINION

Obviously this is no shred axe, so the fleet-fingered may want to consider another guitar. But for the bluesy oriented, or classic rock jammers, or even alternative/indie rock - this is a great guitar, and unlike anything else out there. This would have been one of Kurt Cobain's favorite guitars if it was around in the 80s and 90s, but then again, I could see someone like Jonny Lang playing this guitar as well. A cool axe, for sure!

Fender Pawn Shop Mustang Special Lake Placid Blue
Made in Japan.
Short handle 24-inch "C"
2 humbucker pickups Fender Enforcer
1 micro switch rocker
2 switches in three-way slider spring (1 for each pickup)
18 different tone options
Fender cover luxury

UTILIZATION

Handle many pleasant sounds rather different but suddenly it is quite difficult to navigate between the different positions of microphone.
Electrical problem assumed by the brand is the particularity of these guitar (see paragraph sound) ...

SOUNDS

Big problem of mass pickguard screws making it unusable for recording. Whenever the hand touches the screw pickguard means a buzz.
The sav Thomann fender and say that this is the peculiarity of the guitar and do not want to solve the problem ... and I'm sorry because it set out the sounds are not bad (on mesa boogie express 5x25).

OVERALL OPINION

It is in its packaging in the garage since the sav returned to me, I am disgusted ...
I have other guitars (american telecaster deluxe us, sg 61'reissue, lag the beast ...).
If you want sound string electric guitar that I suggest you go your way otherwise.
If fender (or Thomann) assumed that the electrical problem and solve it would be a quality / price.
I do not particularly remake that choice.

Made in Japan
Channel 21 frets, scale 24 "
2 microphones doubles (3 positions not micro)
1 micro switch (bridge / neck or 2)
Two knobs: volume and tone

UTILIZATION

Channel remarkable ... pleasant to the touch. Generally very ergonomic guitar is what made me buy it in the first place. Obviously crossed the top of the handle are reserved for nimble fingers! Personally, with my big fingers I mess a little. on the other hand, do solos is a real treat.

SOUNDS

She seems quite versatile, but personally I have a soft spot for the crunch I get with my amp VOX AC15.
Nevertheless, it seems to me that the pickups are a little mous.Je wonder if it does not my setup that requires me to play with a low volume (even in rehearsal) ...

OVERALL OPINION

I use since April 2012. I made this choice after having used a lot of sellers trying different guitars (Gibson SG of the Fender Telecaster in a lot of different versions ...). Finally, it is the comfort of the handle of the Mustang that attracted me, and yet I loggers hands!