Sunn Mustang - too late to stop me

1bassleft

OK, all you proper guitarists. By the time you read this, I'll have clicked on the BIN but I'd be interested in your ops all the same.

My sprog has been around the band and my playing for a while and fancies a go on an instrument. Thing is, being 7y.o, he's not into girls so he's opting for lead guitar as you lot never pull the chicks Smile

. Worse still, he's right-handed so, if the feckless youth packs in after a few weeks I end up with an upside-down guitar (I'm probably better on guitar that way - years of borrowing).

Anyhoo, I do take the point in Wasp's thread that one should start off on as good an instrument as poss (I wanted a Mustang for the shorter scale, but even Musicmasters are a bit pricey now), but sproggy has the attention span of a goldfish. So, I had to take a look at a Sunn Mustang (good nick) with a BIN of £40. This includes a gig bag, Dod Metal Maniac pedal and a couple of reasonable leads.

It's the later, Chinese one - not the 80s Indian variety and probably doesn't have the FMIC copyrighted headstock ('unfortunate' crop on the pic). Despite their woeful 2nd hand price, I read a lot of people who like them, particularly the neck. I can read through the average IQ and experience of a HC reviewer. There's even an old guitarsite thread in the archives.

If anybody has any particular ops and/or advice (I'm reasonably handy on setups. I gather the action is too low and the neck doesn't like thicker than 9s) please put them up here. Thanks

lee_UK · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 6:21 pm Post subject:

1bassleft · Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2005 11:48 am Post subject:

Well, it's been picked off while I waited for an op and Lee, all you can manage is Rolling Eyes

. Well, thanks Laughing

. In all serious, though, I'm not going to blat £300 upwards on a kid who might sink me with a git I can't use. Putting snobbiness aside, has anyone tried out one of the cheaper ends and thought "actually, that's not a bad guitar"? I've got a severe dislike of ply bodies, which is why I stayed off the Sunn (couldn't be sure - Squier was flirting with ply at that time).

lee_UK · Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2005 3:42 pm Post subject:

Ply?? more like hardboard or handy andy's favourite MDF.
Ive not tried one, so i cant comment, but i will say this, i have seen them in music shops within easy reach of the great unwashed, and they are the only guitars not to sport the obligitory 'Please dont pick up' cards.
I cant say ive ever had the desire to play one, im not a great Fender fan either (not that these have much to do with Fender).
But i will ALSO say this, in the Mustangs defence, when you plug them in they do kinda give a note....sometimes. Laughing

1bassleft · Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2005 2:02 am Post subject:

Well, I have now bought one for Jr. £46, local collect. You're right, Lee, it sounds NOTHING like a Strat, especially on the "bridge only" select. HST, it's very playable with a decent action and a nice neck. Some of the parts (tuners and pot-knobs) really are funny, though. Maybe I have a thing for yellowed, glossy maple, but I still think it's a nicer start than the current Indonesian Squier. We've made a start on gorillaz' "Feel Good Inc" riff. If he keeps it up, then I'll get him an improvement.

lee_UK · Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2005 10:40 am Post subject:

Much of what i said was in jest, sounds like a great guitar for £46.

1bassleft · Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2005 9:56 pm Post subject:

If I took offence, Lee, we'd never have made this # of posts without open warfare Very Happy

. Glad you did chop in; that previous sale was swaying me with a 'free' Dod pedal that, from reading another thread, is a POS anyway.

These Sunns come up all the time so I waited for an earlier one with a proper headstock, and local. An unexpected bonus was that it was in the hands of a guitar teacher (probably a student trading up that he was offloading) so it was decently setup. Action, intonation etc all very nice (which, with a 6-string, is something less to bother me about). At this price level, no postage and a setup is worth having.

Must say, it's playing through the WEM Dominator III (all Mullards). OK, I'm sniffing at the cork of the Bollinger '28, but that thing makes even the Hondo bass sound acceptable (can't stop it playing like perphooey, though). The SunnStrat has one useless selector position and a vol knob that'll fall off if you sneeze but that's OK for under £50. So far, he's plugged in and switched on 3 times in 2 days (good sign). His 'song' is a bit... Stockhausen? but that's seven-year-olds. Shut all doors! Very Happy

lee_UK · Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2005 11:12 am Post subject:

How about posting up a picture of it? i bet its red with a white scratch plate.

1bassleft · Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2005 10:34 pm Post subject:

Confound you, Lee Very Happy

. I've seen them black, white, etc, but you know my 'other' s/n and could do a little legwork before posting a smartarse response. Or am I being Waspish and crediting you too much?

lee_UK · Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2005 10:56 pm Post subject:

i just got the Hank Marvin Vibe thing, i could see the bright red paintwork and white scratchplate, is that real indian rosewood on the fretboard? or are all the woods/laminates used 'of unknown local origin' Laughing

it does look the part though, and i expect it does exactly what it says on the tin.

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