Before John Frusciante and Kurt Cobain, Todd Rundgren played a Mustang for decades. He most famously used it to produce the motorcycle sound on the song Bat Out of Hell by Meatloaf.
I had NO idea Mustangs could do half the stuff going on in this video. Holy smokes. Phil X. Always pushing the envelope. Dude's like, the Chuck Yeager of vintage guitar.
Nice selection of classic chuggin'... I was about to type 'Just What I Needed' by The Cars when the X-man went and slipped it in. Phil is an encycolpedia of Rock!
I AM BUYING A 1965 FENDER DUO SONIC....EDUCATE ME ON ALL YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS GUITAR IF YOU CAN.........I LOVE THE TONE, BUT I HAVE ONLY HEARD IT DISPLAYED ONE TIME WHEN A GUY DEMONSTRATED A DUO SONIC FROM EARLY 60'S AND IT HAD A HIGH CRISP PITCH SOUND THAT CAN'T BE REPRODUCED BY ANY OF THE OTHER FENDERS I HAVE HEARD..........JUST A FEW QUESTIONS.....THANK YOU...HARRISON YOUNG
+magradygrind Because it's friggen ridiculous...Why in the hell would they put the switches RIGHT where you pick? That's like the worst place to put them...IIRC it's ON in phase, ON out of phase, and OFF...Oh well...Lame!
+Ronnie Jasper but if you're a professional guitarist and your making these kinds of informative videos, shouldn't you uhhhh know what you're talking about???
magradygrind I don't think so. These are mainly demo vids for potential buyers. If Phil get it wrong it's not a big deal, the new owner can figure it out when they get it home. And the most of the people that can afford these guitars already how the switching works.
He usually plays classics and this is probably the first time most of us have heard him play a song on one of these videos that was written after 2000.
Man, i'm so glad somebody else (and 38 other people) picked that out... I literally facepalmed when heard him say it. As cool as Phil is, he really needs to learn his stuff before picking up a guitar, another good example of this was when he used to demo the bass cut switch in Fender Jaguars/Bass VIs, he stated they were phase inverters.
It may have been mentioned in the comments before mine, but the slider switchs flip the lead wires of the pickups which you can use to get an out-of-phase sound when both pickups are on. When you're using just one pickup swapping the lead wires may alter the sound slightly since the electricity is moving the other direction and is beginning at a different depth of the magnetic field of the pickups, but the difference would be very small and probably not worth mentioning. Not enough that I would call it a different "voice". However, I do not doubt at all that Phil can hear the difference. I just didn't want people to think that there is some kind of sophisticated circuitry in there or anything. There isn't, Just some wire and switches (speaking, of course, only of the two slider switches.)
twoboots4you exactly, when you’re actually playing a Stang yourself you can sometimes hear a subtle difference. More bass one way on the neck switch on my 64 for example. But sounds very similar.
Nice!! Played a 1965 Fender Mustang in the late 1960's and early 1970's, such a dynomite little guitar... great guitar for gigging and it's really light weight
Great playing btw - I love your review of the 65 mustang. I just bought a 66, though it's been refinished/refretted/plekked, more of a player than a collector.
Well Phil, don't pay attention to him man, I gotta tell you, being a youngster and a musician you are pretty much what I want to be when I get rolling, a fun dude who rocks the hell out of anything and everything he plays!
Which kinda points out that the human ear is terribly fallible. If you tell that something will sound different, while in fact it doesn't, even someone with very trained ears like Phil steps right into it:p
+Chuffing Ale www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-1966-FENDER-MUSTANG-ELECTRIC-GUITAR-WITH-ORIGINAL-HARD-CASE-/162039653787?hash=item25ba50e59b:g:sJcAAOSwcBhWUifW
Phil you are indeed living the dream possibly all of our dreams! Keep up the good work cause I know that even although you make it look easy I know it ain't! Well done sir.
Technical question, what's happening with the different switches going in different directions? Something with phasing? Any answers appreciated, thanks!
This is actually a great demo. More effective than most at demonstrating what a particular guitar can do. This guy...Well he doesn't personally bother me at all, but I am surprised he's comfortable behaving this way as a grown man on camera for the public.
Whammys are made to be slammed. So go on and slam that whammy. Chug a plethora of whammys for all I care. It did hold its tune amazingly well for an old, non-locking unit. Rock on.
when phil said there were so many great chugging songs, i thought he was going to play that cars song right off the bat, but he didnt, so i was anticipating it so much that by the time he played it, i was almost screaming at my computer scream "PLAY THAT FUCKIN CARS SONG ALREADY!!!" XD always love the videos guys keep em coming :DD
phil there is no difference between front and back for a single pickup, it is the phasing of the pickups....that is why when they are both on in opposite directions it is very thin sounding (reverse polarity). nice review though!
yeah, you would think Fender, after all these years would have fixed the buzz of the single coil.....the brdg p/u is still useless with gain/overdrive after all these years...they leave it to you to fix.....and you're a wild man Phil X...HA....great talent and sense of humour
I think Phil proves you wrong at 6:15 or so. All you need is a pedal or an easily over-driven amp for the bridge pup to produce overdrive. I personally only use lower output single coil pickups and get great over drive all the time... That being said I also have a great pedal collection... ha... Although if you've only used the Japanese reissue pickups that might be the problem. They aren't quite as usable as vintage or hand wound examples. So if you've never tried an upgraded single coil in the bridge you may be missing out on something wonderful. I would encourage some experimentation. Have a good one.
I call bullshit on the 2 voices. The only reason they do that is so when they're both on, you can put them in opposite directions for an out of phase sound
Randy Savage There isn't. The positions for each switch are on/off/on, that's all. You can have the following combos; B x - - is Bridge pickup only, as is B - - x N - x - N - x - B - x - is Neck pickup only, as is B - x - N x - - N - - x Both pickups in (thicker sounding)series are; B - - x which is the same as B x - - N - - x N x - - Both pickups in parallel (thin/nasally sounding) are; B - - x which is the same as B x - - N x - - N - - x
John Smith Nice breakdown of the pickups. Seriously though, I may be crazy, but I can tell a very faint difference between them (one having a tad more bass present). I've owned 4. Honestly, not enough to flip the switch one way or the other as I recall.
I've owned a couple too but there's genuinely no difference - it's impossible for there to be, there's no caps or anything in the circuit so you're not changing a single thing.
He is wrong on 65 being the first year, I have a 1964 Mustang. I purchased it new when I was 12 years old. It still looks and sounds great. Check my page for picture of my Mustang and song I wrote.
I don't mind you comin' here And wastin' all my time 'cause when you're standin' oh so near I kinda lose my mind It's not the perfume that you wear It's not the ribbons in your hair I don't mind you comin' here And wastin' all my time Wicked Phil !
Phil, what would you suggest me to get between duosonic and mustang to play Nirvana stuff? have they the same pups and powerful and body size too or theres some construction difference up them (except the bridges)? thanks BTW you rock
1:40 Phil, I hate to say this, but that DOES sound exactly the same. On a Mustang, the pickups don't have "two different voicings," they have a phase inverter. It only works when both pickups are on.
magradygrind you’re wrong. There really is a subtle difference. And the wiring is different. On my 64 that I just played just now had more bass when the neck pickup is switched towards the neck than when it’s towards the bridge. On most Mustangs though you can’t tell the difference. But on the old ones you can. It’s actually quite obvious. But on my Japanese one I hear no difference. Depends on the Stang. Phil is right. People in the comments are wrong.
That guitar has a great unique sound, did you guys have to do some action set up to get it to play decently. The only action setup available on that guitar is intonation and pickup height adjustment. It looks like the pickups are set pretty high on yours. It's not a high scale guitar, about 120.00$ back in the day with a nice case. It does have its place for some cool sounding rhythm sounds...
There too are adjustments for tremolo height + bridge height as well as the pickup height and intonation you mentioned. And that's just the body,,There are many possibilities with these guitars as far as setup ....they are a diamond in the rough....
I imagine him all alone in the studio.. talking to himself.
Plot twist.....he had no idea this was being recorded
There should be a law requiring everyone who picks up a guitar to have that much fun.
Not gonna lie ... I watch this video like every 3 months or so.. Phil X is a national treasure.
You know he's Canadian?
This guy doesn't do cocaine, he is cocaine.
Morpheus X wow I never really noticed that. So do u really think he does coke, i'll say he is very jumpy and full of energy.
+joshua fisher Sure,and he has cold in every second video... yeeaa.. :D Non offence given,he kicks ass and that what its all about. :)
+Morpheus X He doesnt do cocaine... Cocaine does him
+Morpheus X LSD LOL
cocaine does phil x when it needs a little kick
That is one of the coolest whammy system! Not as complicated as a floyd and not as simple as a basic trem. I approve and want one for a custom tele!!
I can see why both Frusciante and Cobain liked this guitar.
Before John Frusciante and Kurt Cobain, Todd Rundgren played a Mustang for decades. He most famously used it to produce the motorcycle sound on the song Bat Out of Hell by Meatloaf.
And here I am, coming back to this classic in 2020
I had NO idea Mustangs could do half the stuff going on in this video. Holy smokes. Phil X. Always pushing the envelope. Dude's like, the Chuck Yeager of vintage guitar.
Nice selection of classic chuggin'... I was about to type 'Just What I Needed' by The Cars when the X-man went and slipped it in. Phil is an encycolpedia of Rock!
This is the best F.A video for ages - it's give me the inspiration to go upstairs and learn the licks Phil's playing right NOW!!!
LMFAO "I can't say I have 10 of anything... except fingers... and that's, like, two thumbs".
This guy slays me.
Love his playing and exuberance, but he truly has NO CLUE about how Mustang switching works...
So what, it't not like he plays them on a regular basis. Also I don't think he owns any Mustangs.
jayrobb9 it's not a mustang it's a Duo Sonic, different switching.
What's a Duo-Sonic? Oh, and the switching of a Mustang and a Duo from 1965 are the same anyway.
YEAH, CAN WE MERGE THE TWO TO MAKE ONE?????????? I DIG IT, I DO!!!!!!!!!!!!
I AM BUYING A 1965 FENDER DUO SONIC....EDUCATE ME ON ALL YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS GUITAR IF YOU CAN.........I LOVE THE TONE, BUT I HAVE ONLY HEARD IT DISPLAYED ONE TIME WHEN A GUY DEMONSTRATED A DUO SONIC FROM EARLY 60'S AND IT HAD A HIGH CRISP PITCH SOUND THAT CAN'T BE REPRODUCED BY ANY OF THE OTHER FENDERS I HAVE HEARD..........JUST A FEW QUESTIONS.....THANK YOU...HARRISON YOUNG
I watch every one of these like they are TV shows!! This was a very good one here! Nice work!
Hilarious how he doesn't even know how the switching system works. He gets it wrong in every mustang/duo sonic video.
+fuck off, youtube thats cuz its dumb huehuehue
+magradygrind
Because it's friggen ridiculous...Why in the hell would they put the switches RIGHT where you pick?
That's like the worst place to put them...IIRC it's ON in phase, ON out of phase, and OFF...Oh well...Lame!
So what, it's not like he plays them on a regular basis.
+Ronnie Jasper but if you're a professional guitarist and your making these kinds of informative videos, shouldn't you uhhhh know what you're talking about???
magradygrind I don't think so. These are mainly demo vids for potential buyers. If Phil get it wrong it's not a big deal, the new owner can figure it out when they get it home. And the most of the people that can afford these guitars already how the switching works.
This dude has energy for days, I loved this demo
He usually plays classics and this is probably the first time most of us have heard him play a song on one of these videos that was written after 2000.
Phil X is a perfect antidote to a "prick of a day". I never fail to crack many a smile during his videos.
Man, i'm so glad somebody else (and 38 other people) picked that out... I literally facepalmed when heard him say it. As cool as Phil is, he really needs to learn his stuff before picking up a guitar, another good example of this was when he used to demo the bass cut switch in Fender Jaguars/Bass VIs, he stated they were phase inverters.
I can't get enough of Phil X playing Drills. Beautiful Apartment is one of my favorite songs ever.
It may have been mentioned in the comments before mine, but the slider switchs flip the lead wires of the pickups which you can use to get an out-of-phase sound when both pickups are on. When you're using just one pickup swapping the lead wires may alter the sound slightly since the electricity is moving the other direction and is beginning at a different depth of the magnetic field of the pickups, but the difference would be very small and probably not worth mentioning. Not enough that I would call it a different "voice". However, I do not doubt at all that Phil can hear the difference. I just didn't want people to think that there is some kind of sophisticated circuitry in there or anything. There isn't, Just some wire and switches (speaking, of course, only of the two slider switches.)
twoboots4you exactly, when you’re actually playing a Stang yourself you can sometimes hear a subtle difference. More bass one way on the neck switch on my 64 for example. But sounds very similar.
Nice!! Played a 1965 Fender Mustang in the late 1960's and early 1970's, such a dynomite little guitar... great guitar for gigging and it's really light weight
Great playing btw - I love your review of the 65 mustang. I just bought a 66, though it's been refinished/refretted/plekked, more of a player than a collector.
Now in 2020 they are back, the off-set series... tnks for the review Phil!!!
Glad it's nice and sunny there in California. It's -18 here where I am in Canada!
Well Phil, don't pay attention to him man, I gotta tell you, being a youngster and a musician you are pretty much what I want to be when I get rolling, a fun dude who rocks the hell out of anything and everything he plays!
Never thought i'd see that day that Phil X played Green Day but i am happy that i did
Same here
I know, right?
Wooh, Mustangs are the best and super underrated. (: my favorite guitar in my collection, cause its the only one..
This was one of the best videos in a long time.
Which kinda points out that the human ear is terribly fallible. If you tell that something will sound different, while in fact it doesn't, even someone with very trained ears like Phil steps right into it:p
Dude I listen to The Drills every week
I love Phil's demos. always awesome!
That whammy bar stuff brought a huge smile to my face...
Phil is so good he doesn't even need a band!
Been waiting for being played this guitar by Phil.Nice!
Man, you should have seen the smile on my face when you played Hate To Say I Told You So. It makes me proud to be a Swede. Hives FTW!
i loved that band when they came out.
y think this guy is never gonna die,that energy could last forever :D
I'd take that over an ibanez with a floyd any day
I am very confident a mustang has never been rocked so hard
that is such a beautifully smooth sounding whammy bar
I was Really impressed with the mustang I had never gotten the chance to hear the versatility of one
Completely correct. It puts the pickups in or out of phase with each other. The 3-Way switch is toggling North/OFF/South (so to speak).
I love that neck pickup, just like a strat. Strat's are my all time favorite in terms of rhythm.
i have the reissue of the 69, and i love it! its versatile, easy to play and sounds great
I sold an identical one w/case in a yard sale for $60 back in 96'. Glad to see it go....
+Chuffing Ale www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-1966-FENDER-MUSTANG-ELECTRIC-GUITAR-WITH-ORIGINAL-HARD-CASE-/162039653787?hash=item25ba50e59b:g:sJcAAOSwcBhWUifW
That would only mean something if it was an original guitar in good condition and not a beat up or a reissue.
I sold one just like it, maybe a little worse for the wear. But still, by todays collector standards....I wish I would have known....
whammy abuse is a seriously under looked problem in the world and phil is the top offender!
Phil,
I love your responses to haters almost as much as i love your music and videos.
Phil X might be the first guy out there to dive bomb and shred on a Mustang.
awesome! I never knew what all those switches did...
Thanks!
Dm
Was literally WAITING for you to slap out Green Day when I heard the riff prior to it, love it X-Man!!
That's how you do a review! Freakin awesome!
I have one from the same era, but it's light blue. It's the guitar I used when I first started playing.
MIDDLE FINGER. YOU GET NOTHING FROM MEEE!....that high note is legendary!
Phil you are indeed living the dream possibly all of our dreams! Keep up the good work cause I know that even although you make it look easy I know it ain't! Well done sir.
I'm just gonna say that this face @ 00:59 should be the next limited print! Always the best!
i miss the frettedamericana store setting, with all the sexy guitars on the wall :(
Technical question, what's happening with the different switches going in different directions? Something with phasing? Any answers appreciated, thanks!
Fell in love with the mustang...
I hated you when I started watching this and loved you by the end....
Dude all I am saying is that Phil is awesome :-)
Damn you Phil, now I HAVE to listen to The Outfield "Your love."
Good memories.
its a gorgeous looking guitar
I owned this one too..you Rock PLX...
This is actually a great demo. More effective than most at demonstrating what a particular guitar can do. This guy...Well he doesn't personally bother me at all, but I am surprised he's comfortable behaving this way as a grown man on camera for the public.
Yeah, can you imagine rock and rollers behaving like that! WTF is the world coming to! DUH!
He doesn't behave like that .. he acts like that here.. look at the videos of rob Chapman in LA with the captain and Phil going to lunch :)
"Behaving"... "Rock and Rollers"... Did you see what I did there? It's called sarcasm, pointing out irony...
Tricknologyinc I wasn't replying to you... it was for Izzy .. I'm British, I know all about sarcasm and irony thank you...
Thank YOU, sir.
Whammys are made to be slammed. So go on and slam that whammy. Chug a plethora of whammys for all I care. It did hold its tune amazingly well for an old, non-locking unit. Rock on.
when phil said there were so many great chugging songs, i thought he was going to play that cars song right off the bat, but he didnt, so i was anticipating it so much that by the time he played it, i was almost screaming at my computer scream "PLAY THAT FUCKIN CARS SONG ALREADY!!!" XD always love the videos guys keep em coming :DD
OMG never thought I'd hear you cover The Outfield....
Beautiful, beautiful Mustang.
phil there is no difference between front and back for a single pickup, it is the phasing of the pickups....that is why when they are both on in opposite directions it is very thin sounding (reverse polarity).
nice review though!
The Cars - Just What I Needed
Haha, I was seriously waiting for him to play "Just what I Needed" by The Cars when he did the "chugging" segment.
That sounds like an extremely fun whammy.
yeah, you would think Fender, after all these years would have fixed the buzz of the single coil.....the brdg p/u is still useless with gain/overdrive after all these years...they leave it to you to fix.....and you're a wild man Phil X...HA....great talent and sense of humour
I think Phil proves you wrong at 6:15 or so. All you need is a pedal or an easily over-driven amp for the bridge pup to produce overdrive. I personally only use lower output single coil pickups and get great over drive all the time... That being said I also have a great pedal collection... ha... Although if you've only used the Japanese reissue pickups that might be the problem. They aren't quite as usable as vintage or hand wound examples. So if you've never tried an upgraded single coil in the bridge you may be missing out on something wonderful. I would encourage some experimentation. Have a good one.
I call bullshit on the 2 voices. The only reason they do that is so when they're both on, you can put them in opposite directions for an out of phase sound
You're absolutely correct.
Not exactly. There is a very, very slight difference. Hard to hear on youtube.
Randy Savage There isn't. The positions for each switch are on/off/on, that's all. You can have the following combos;
B x - - is Bridge pickup only, as is B - - x
N - x - N - x -
B - x - is Neck pickup only, as is B - x -
N x - - N - - x
Both pickups in (thicker sounding)series are;
B - - x which is the same as B x - -
N - - x N x - -
Both pickups in parallel (thin/nasally sounding) are;
B - - x which is the same as B x - -
N x - - N - - x
John Smith Nice breakdown of the pickups. Seriously though, I may be crazy, but I can tell a very faint difference between them (one having a tad more bass present). I've owned 4. Honestly, not enough to flip the switch one way or the other as I recall.
I've owned a couple too but there's genuinely no difference - it's impossible for there to be, there's no caps or anything in the circuit so you're not changing a single thing.
Mashed the thumbs up button the instant I saw Phil. He's like the ultimate cross between Sammy Hagar and a golden retriever.
i was excepting him to shout RAINING BLOOD after the whammy slamming part XD
you may have only ten fingers and two of those are thumbs, but damn, Phil, your fingers are awesome at what they do.
Killer whammy psycadelica!! Hilarious episode Phil, love your work!! Bring The Drills to Nelson, BC!
i love mustangs they look so cool better then a strat or tele im my eyes
He is wrong on 65 being the first year, I have a 1964 Mustang. I purchased it new when I was 12 years old. It still looks and sounds great. Check my page for picture of my Mustang and song I wrote.
They were indeed first made in 64, but the first full year of production was 65.
jthall123 Mine is a 64 also.
I don't mind you comin' here
And wastin' all my time
'cause when you're standin' oh so near
I kinda lose my mind
It's not the perfume that you wear
It's not the ribbons in your hair
I don't mind you comin' here
And wastin' all my time
Wicked Phil !
Don't worry about the shit-talkers man. I enjoy every one of your videos and thousands of other people do too.
5:55 made me die laughing and I don't know why.
This dude knows his way around a guitar....whewwww
wow, always PhilX blows my mind!!!!
yup, Phil really ballzd it up on that one
9:26 i did NOT expect the guitar to do a goddamn Tom scream
all by themselves?
1:21 They DO sound exactly the same... those switches are phase switches, they only come into play if you have both pickups on.
Phil, what would you suggest me to get between duosonic and mustang to play Nirvana stuff? have they the same pups and powerful and body size too or theres some construction difference up them (except the bridges)? thanks BTW you rock
You guys at Fretted Americana gotta get your hands on a Microfrets guitar. I'd love to see what Phil could do with it
More Bounce To The Ounce by Zapp and Roger Troutman. Classic! Nice one Phil.
Oh for the happy days when this sort of thing wasn’t instantly copyright struck…
Such an underestimated guitar the Mustang!
amazing guitar
I need a Mustang now... Dat whammy.
And here I am, searching for more comments like yours!
1:40
Phil, I hate to say this, but that DOES sound exactly the same. On a Mustang, the pickups don't have "two different voicings," they have a phase inverter. It only works when both pickups are on.
magradygrind you’re wrong. There really is a subtle difference. And the wiring is different. On my 64 that I just played just now had more bass when the neck pickup is switched towards the neck than when it’s towards the bridge. On most Mustangs though you can’t tell the difference. But on the old ones you can. It’s actually quite obvious. But on my Japanese one I hear no difference. Depends on the Stang. Phil is right. People in the comments are wrong.
That guitar has a great unique sound, did you guys have to do some action set up to get it to play decently.
The only action setup available on that guitar is intonation and pickup height adjustment. It looks like the pickups are set pretty high on yours.
It's not a high scale guitar, about 120.00$ back in the day with a nice case.
It does have its place for some cool sounding rhythm sounds...
There too are adjustments for tremolo height + bridge height as well as the pickup height and intonation you mentioned. And that's just the body,,There are many possibilities with these guitars as far as setup ....they are a diamond in the rough....
Man, I just love this video