Fender Music Australia | RRP $2,099
Fender has just announced the launch of their Vintera III Series, the latest evolution of their acclaimed vintage-inspired range. This new collection features era-specific models, combining a new-age aesthetic with a vintage feel, setting out to achieve a level of historical accuracy and period correctness unseen in previous Vintera ranges.
The Vintera III Mid ’60s Mustang is a meticulously crafted vintage recreation that embodies the authentic look, feel and tone of these iconic mid-’60s Fenders.
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Since its original release in 1964, the Fender Mustang has embedded itself in contemporary music as somewhat of a work-horse guitar spanning multiple genres from surf-rock to alternative rock and grunge. It has notably been seen in the hands of players such as Kurt Cobain, Thurston Moore, David Byrne and Bilinda Butcher, to name a few. While early marketing pointed towards the Mustang being a student guitar due to its short-scale neck design, which assisted beginner players, it has remained a popular choice amongst guitarists of all skill levels due to its timeless aesthetic and unmistakable tone. This latest reissue delivers everything we love and expect from a Fender Mustang while zeroing in on era-specific details from the mid-’60s for players seeking true vintage character.
Previous Vintera collections have delivered vintage-inspired guitars drawing broadly from generations of production. Having narrowed their focus to distinct, era-defining designs, the team at Fender have been able to achieve a new level of historical accuracy. The attention to detail in the Vintera III series is incredibly impressive, with the team homing in on even the smallest details such as era-specific headstocks, decals, fingerboard inlays, stamps and finishes.
As soon as you hold this Vintera III Mustang in your hands, you feel an instant familiarity and the high level of comfort synonymous with this classic Fender design. The authentic mid-’60s “C” shape neck profile and 7.25″ radius fingerboard with vintage-tall frets are largely responsible for the outstanding feel and supreme comfort, making this a guitar that you can sit with for hours. Straight out of the box, I found myself locked in and just noodling away on this short-scale guitar in absolutely no rush to plug it into an amp. One of the benefits of slightly higher frets is that it allows for big bends and wide vibrato, which I definitely noticed myself doing repeatedly. The maple neck and round-laminated rosewood fingerboard combine for a smooth playing experience, enabling players to move up and down the neck with ease and clear articulation.
The body is made from alder, a classic Fender tone-wood, which allows the guitar to unlock the vintage spirit of the mid-’60s Mustang achieving resonance, punch and clarity. Immediately upon plugging in, I was delighted by the classic and lively Fender Mustang tone. The guitar’s signature thick mids are ever-present and balanced out by the strong low end. The natural woody tone of this guitar is brought out by a pair of vintage-style mid-’60s spec single-coil pickups.
Both the neck and bridge pickups each have their own 3-position slider switch; when set to the middle position, it turns the pickup off. When both switches are set to the left position (player perspective), they are both on and in phase with each other; however, you can flip the phase of the pickups by setting one to the right position. This allows you to cycle through all the sweet, sparkly and warm tone variations the Fender Mustang is known for.
What I found really cool about the Vintera III series is that Fender’s engineers revisited the company’s original archives in a bid to ensure the era-accurate tone and develop vintage-style pickups. This just goes to show how meticulously Fender went about ensuring that this guitar homed in on and delivered the sounds that distinctly defined the mid-’60s era of the Mustang.
In my opinion, one of the coolest parts of this Vintera III is the vintage-style Mustang “floating” tremolo bridge and tailpiece. I love how effortlessly you can apply tremolo and momentarily manipulate the pitch and not worry about the guitar going out of tune. It also just looks incredibly slick and completes the look of the guitar alongside the era-correct vintage-style tuning machines with vintage white buttons. Not only do they look and feel great, they also provide enhanced tuning stability.
The Vintera III Mid ’60s Mustang comes in three colours: Olympic White, Dakota Red and Sonic Blue. I was amazed by the Dakota Red finish when taking the guitar out of the box, and just how vibrant it actually was. I imagine it looks even better and comes to life in a whole new way under stage lights.
Truly the sum of all its parts, this guitar is a really impressive recreation of the era-defining mid-’60s Fender Mustangs. I’ve found it difficult to single out any one reason as to what makes this guitar work and feel the way it does, which I think is a credit to the care and dedication put into each of the elements that, once combined, deliver such authenticity.
Any guitarist embarking on the quest for a new guitar knows the highs and lows of exploring all the possibilities of purchasing their dream guitar that ticks all the boxes while having to embrace the limitations of their budget and even potential fragility due to age if they’re considering a vintage purchase. The Vintera III Mid ’60s Mustang excels as a high quality and affordable option for modern guitar players in pursuit of vintage feel and character with true authenticity.
Check out the Fender Vintera III Mid ’60s Mustang here.
