Fender Mustang, yellowed competition lake placid blue, made in Japan 1989. This is quite and oddity and certainly worthy of a drool. The Mustang didn't hit the Fender Japan catalog til 1987; Mustangs had largely fallen out of favour in the 80s owing to the rise of pointy Superstrats and other 'shred friendly' models. The Mustang made a massive comeback in the mid 90s on the back of the grunge movement; once Fender Japan moved manufacturing from Fujigen to Tokai in 1996 they ramped up production on Jaguars, Jazzmasters and Mustangs significantly and began offering a few different models. When this little stunner was made, however, the catalog offered but a single Mustang model in white, black or sunburst; very few of those were even made. This example is a non-catalog '73 style Mustang in non-catalog lake placid blue with a competition. This was most likely a customer order; it's certainly not something you see often! Almost all the examples you see of this model and finish date to 2010 approx when they were briefly a production model; scoring a Fujigen era example is a very long shot indeed. The famed Fujigen quality is certainly on offer: immaculate build and finish quality, exceptional feel, brilliant tone. It's no exaggeration to say the only reliable way to get a better Mustang is to blow serious cash on a genuine 60s example; these early MIJ models are made much more consistently and carefully than 70s USA examples. The finish has yellowed gloriously to a deep blue/green that almost looks closer to 'ocean turquoise metallic'; combined with the yellowed pearl guard and the golden headstock, this has the gorgeous aesthetic of a vintage sports car. The classic Mustang thick, juicy attack and spank is all there; there's a little extra complexity and sauce to this than a regular CIJ Mustang. Of course, the lightweight body, slim neck and playful vibrato are a classic killer combo for making this a heap of fun to play. Sorry for a long rant, but hey, this one deserves it, right?

Model: Fender Mustang, '69 Reissue (MG73/CO)
Made: Japan, Fujigen plant, 1989 (serial I030194)
Finish: lake placid blue (LPB) with cream comp stripe, heavily yellowed
Body: basswood
Weight: 3.455kg
Neck: maple with rosewood board, 24" scale, 7.25" radius
Mods: none
Pickups: Fender Japan MGC single coils
Case: basic non original gig bag

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. Headstock has a couple of minor marks on the end, bottom and top edges. The neck has some minor marks but feels smooth, the most notable is a chip on the top edge near the fourth fret. The back has some light scratches around the place, mostly in the body carve area, as well as some minor dents in the middle and scuffs around the outside. The sides are okay, just some minor x-checking and dimples on the top horn, dimples on the shoulder and bottom horn and some scuffs and dents on the bottom corner around from the jack. The front is pretty clean, just some normal play wear on the guard and tp horn, some dimples on the top horn, shoulder area, behind the bridge and near the knobs and a dent a couple of inches back from the jack. Overall: good condition (7/10).

Playing condition notes: Action is low, intonation is good, neck is straight, truss rod works. All electrics tested and working properly. Frets have some normal wear and don't require immediate attention; they're fairly even  but have minor pitting and some height reduction, 6/10 for life left. Wearing fresh 11/49s.