Embraced by the likes of Kurt Cobain (Nirvana), John McLaughlin (Miles Davis), Damon Albarn (Blur), David Byrne (Talking Heads), and many, many more, the Fender Mustang is renowned for its tones that respond well to muted picking, chorus-drenched chords, and numerous strumming techniques. It's simple to use, looks and sounds amazing, and offers something for everyone's taste.

Popular Fender Mustang Guitars

Anytime you want to add to your sound a vintage yet unique edge, consider Mustang electric guitars as they are the hardest to beat. If you're in the market for a new guitar and have your heart set on a Mustang, there are a few things to consider. For novices, the smaller size means it costs less than some of its Fender counterparts, yet still retains all of the Fender quality. Second, it should not be viewed solely as an affordable substitute for a Strat or Telecaster; it is a distinct instrument in its own right. For that reason, we are breaking down the most popular models of this cult classic instrument.

Vintera 60s

The Vintera, like the Player Mustang, attempts to include as much original 1960s look and sound as possible, bringing you back in time. These electric guitars by Mustang will give you a vintage yet unique sound. But that’s not all. The Vintera 60s boasts all the excellent features you'd expect from a Fender guitar, including an alder body and a maple neck.

These tonewoods provide a broad sonic palette for the guitar, with warmth and brightness that bounce off one another. The Pau Ferro fingerboard is enjoyable to play with, and the neck, like the rest of the Mustang line, is somewhat shorter, allowing for more comfortable playability.

In particular, the Vintera 60s series features every characteristic of the vintage Mustang electric guitar, such as a classic-style tremolo bridge that maintains the aesthetic integrity of the plastic tip tremolo arms while offering smooth movement. Alnico V magnet single-coil bridge and neck pickups provide a great harmonic balance of thin and thick, as well as warm and transparent. So, if you want to experience the old Mustang sound then this is the option for you.

Furthermore, the guitar’s unusual pickup switch system is located on top of the pickguard. Each pickup has one switch that offers four different tones. The sound is then further customised using master volume and tone. All in all, simple and elegant it offers everything you need without straining to play or costing the earth.

Player 90s

The Player model is a great place to start for anyone looking to join the party because it is the original Mustang recipe and offers a little bit of everything. The Player model, which strikes the perfect balance between traditional elegance and cutting-edge technology, has been providing top-notch Fender sound to stages and studios since 1964. It is incredibly playable, produces a performance fit for any professional musician, and ignites the Mustang's long-term success.

These Mustang electric guitars are not typically associated with powerful or emotive lead vocals. However, they sound fantastic when combined with the chorus and open chords. The primary distinction between the two is the presence of two P90 pickups in the Player 90. P90s offer the best of both worlds when used with an overdrive effect: mid-rich tones, clear ringing sustains, and a surprising amount of distorted ferocity.

American Performer

Certainly, the most luxurious of the three, the Fender American Performer Mustang is undoubtedly a high-end instrument. Although it is more expensive, it offers all the features of a contemporary Mustang electric guitar dressed in period attire.

The American Performer features a comfortable "Modern C" neck design with an offset alder body and a polyurethane finish with satin on the neck and gloss on the body. Like all Mustang models, this one comes with a considerably shorter scale length of 24 inches and a board with 22 frets. Together, these components provide a seamless sound and a fun playing experience.

But what makes this electric guitar by Mustang distinct from the others? It has the same Marmite 'Dynamic' vibrato featured on the late-'60s and early-'70s models. Although it’s not everyone's cup of tea, mostly because it can destabilise the guitar's tuning, it does have some advantages. Besides the fact that Kurt Cobain converted it to a hardtail bridge, the tremolo shimmer contributed to the guitar's tone is one of the reasons why this model became so famous among punk and grunge guitarists in the 1990s.

Kurt Cobain Signature Mustang

This is where the KC Mustang, Kurt Cobain's wide range of tones-loving follow-up custom Fender to the hugely successful Kurt Cobain signature Jaguar, really shines. This version gives a bit more tonal variety with a conventional Mustang single coil on the neck and a Seymour Duncan humbucker at the bridge.

Full-bodied lows and a well-rounded midrange are guaranteed by the neck pickup. The guitar's real standout feature, though, is the bridge humbucker. No matter how much amplification is used, this pickup maintains a stunning level of tonal purity and richness, which makes it perfect for gritty power chords and bluesy rock tones.

No matter how much power you put through the humbucker, the Mustang's small size prevents it from ever really straying into metal territory; instead, it will happily live inside the garage punk rock genre.