I played a Surf Green Pawn Shop 72 at a local music store and was BLOWN away! I had to have it. I sold two backup guitars in order to get one. You can feel the quality, it's heavier than I imagined. The neck is flawless. The first time I played it with my band it stayed in tune all night long. Great tones too...the neck pickup gives you a jazzy, clean warmth with just a touch of high end bite and the hot Enforcer Bridge pickup has some nice overdrive.
This is why we love Premier Guitar, they are ALWAYS the FIRST magazine to get the best review, most unique and best sounding. Videos online! One word: EPIC!
I did the same thing about a month ago. Really nice guitar. I’ve never played a guitar with a blend tone knob before so it was fun playing w with that.
I have a original 1966 Fender Mustang. It's one of my favorite guitars to play. It is all original and in great shape yet. Plays like a dream. The pickups have a bit less bite than my 2005 Mexican Strat.
I wish I got myself a Fender Pawn Shop 51 some years ago and decided then to learn again to play. I did get the 200 dollar Squire 51 just under a year ago. Since then, I got a Mex Strat and Mex Tele. I have seen some vids of Folks that replaced the pups with tex mex or seymour pearly gates on their Squire 51 - see Richie's vid. Kick ass sounds! They sound great. I have not made that move yet. I have considered Alcinos or the pearly gates. But my point us that within 1 month of purchase of my Fender Tele and Strat, set ups needed to be re-done due to buzzing or whatever. My cheap ass 51 stayed tuned, no buzzing, and they did not drown the neck and fret board in layers of lacquer. The guitar was not nearly as hi maintenance temperamental as the Strat and Tele. It sounds pretty good and it holds up and is comfortable to play. Good for beginners and fun folkes that want to experiment with the hardware and sounds. I would be curious if they made it a Fender again, but I think my Squire 51 is a keeper. Sounds good with a black star, vox path finder and most Fender Amps. I have the mustang amp and had the Champion.
@19501960 Thats the great thing bout the fender crowd they are always willing to try new things. I'm glad you've found your go to guitars, I'm still trying to find mine. This 72' model has all the features I love except a 22nd. fret!
I played a seafoam green 72 today...neck felt great! Body was light, comfortable, the blending switch for the two humbuckers was a stroke of genius! Unbelievable tone! Well, it could've been the amp...lol Either way, I liked the guitar; it was cool looking and the Fender Wide Range humbucker (neck) sounded killer...the Enforcer pickup in the bridge basically sucked but you could tell from the growl that if you dropped a Super Distortion, JB, or a Pearly Gates in it, walls would be shaking!!!
@DopeDethrone Thanks! I'm really keen on getting the 72' now. The only problem is that they don't sell in Australia, well not at the moment I don't think... I guess I'll have to wait. I want to hold it and play it before i can really decide.
I'm looking forward to checking out that Mustang Special. So many tonal positions and they all sound great + the shorter scale will make it a dream to play :) Cheers Rob
Hey , mine's LBP too ! And it doesn't look much like something Kurt had , I mean , the other 2 colors he did use , but he didn't use a humbucker on the LBP one , and if I'm correct , the LPB was more green-ish on his guitar. Oh well , still a great guitar.
I have an acoustic guitar and want to move to electric guitar. Would these guitars be good for beginner electric guitar players? I really like the look of the '72 and mustang special.
I read in one of his biographies that he "Loved it too much to put a humbucker in it". I guess they didn't want to make different models , since the Fiesta Red and Sonic Blue models DID have a humbucker , and they probably made the LPB just because it's the Teen Spirit iconic guitar, I took the LPB 'cause it was the only one in the store ... still love it though. (But I'd really rather either a Candy Apple Red or Orange-comp-stripe stang ... maybe when I'll order a custom shop one day...).
is the overall length of the pawn shop mustang special shorter than the other strat guitars? Also, can we go lower action with this super short scale without buzzzing, or heavier gauge will be requied. Thanks guys for the great work
Which fender is better for hard rock/punky/grungy stuff? I was thinking either a Pawn Shop Mustang Special or an american standard strat... any opinions?
Played the 72' and the 51' today. I love the 72!! I wish it had the 51's stained neck, but it played GODLY! The 51 that was there had it's action wayy too low
@morgenholz yeah but if you accidentally drop a fender, it might scratch and go out of tune... but if you drop a squier the neck will snap off, the body will split in half and the cheap wiring will catch on fire.
I also played a Mustang. Cool looking but I felt that the bridge pickup was a bit too muddy for my tastes when overdriven. And the neck was too round and small. I like a flatter neck. The neck on the 72 fit my hands better.
I used to have eyes like that due when I worked 70 hours a week had my first kid...and ahh drank a lot of coke, lol- I have Squier 51 I want to put an Enforcer in it if I can find one.
@raunchymac which is why you find all those Squier51 bodies on eBay. If i had known anything about these guitars when they were available, I would've bought one of every color. now they're scarce as hen's teeth.
Can you play something other than just blues on the neck pickup? I love the idea of the Mustang Special but you really don't show much of what it could do.
So can someone explain to me what the controls do and how the pickup selection works? I assumed the 2 knobs were volume and tone, but one seems to be acting as a pickup selector by turning it? I've played push/pull to activate a particular pickup sysem before but I can't figure out how this one works...
@butterknucklez I've played mexican american and japanese models, there is definitely a difference. The more money you spend the more dependable the hardware and electronics are (holding in tune, and noise interference). Mexican Classic players are USUALLY well made though I have encountered some bad ones. The Japanese in terms of quality and precision are right up there with American made .
Damn , I wish Fender made some of those models for lefties as well ... I'd buy the Pawn Shop Mustang for sure .... too bad the only lefty models you can find are strats and teles , maybe if you look hard enough some other models (jaguar , jazzmaster , mustang) , but only a few models and only very few features ....
@dragantoe Sounds dramatic. Odd how mine has made it with no trouble for 6 years. Will try to get some more milage out of it while saving up for Fender's updated version, which is also not made in America for only $600 more.
Could this be an april fools collaboration between fender and pg? Remember how long reviews took to come out for the blacktop series? this review came out the same day fender got the page up.
Don't forget it's made in mexico not china so the parts and materials will be of better quality. I think it's awesome and I'll be buying one definatly!
Nah , that's highly uncomfortable and I need access to the higher frets for solos. And I already bought the Kurt Cobain Mustang a few weeks back so I'm happy :)
@dragantoe Wow, that's totally untrue. The Squier '51 was built solid, though I admit that the electronics weren't great (got it for under 100 bucks, so that's to be expected). With it's low price, it was an amazing canvas for guitar modders, and turned into a really nice guitar with a good setup, some hardware changes, and a change of p-ups. The evidence of it's success is right here, in the form of the Fender '51. The man said 'loosely based' (1:19), but its really just an upscale replica.
'loosely inspired'? but thanks for the vid anyhow :) can reviews please give ten secs to give a look at the necks, C shape U shape and 60's C shape, but i guess some visuals would be cool.
@butterknucklez Oh I see what you mean, yeah thats a fair statement comparing the chinese to the mexican standards. The classic player series though in my opinion is a cut above those though.
@avalanchecanvass Not such good advice. First, maple strats are almost universally too bright due to the density of the wood. alder is a much more neutral base to get a good strat sound. next, I own a squier51 and I have chosen to keep it stock because it sounds fine. with the squier51, no tone control means when you turn it all the way up, it will be bright. solution? back the volume off a touch, or adust your amp to compensate.
It's funny how my Squier '51 sounds better... I modded it, and it still costed less than this Fender version. It actually sounds totally different - A Seymour Duncan Twangbanger in the neck makes for a really warm sound.
in my opinion the price range of the backline should be similar to that of the Guitar itself, most people buying these guitars are only spending about £500 - 600, students etc, somehow i don't think they can afford a backline like that, i wanna hear what it sounds like out of a 20 year old Marshall half stack thats seen better days and a fender frontman with no reverb, lets hear what the guitar sounds like not the backline... Rant over... good video other than that.
i love how fender thinks because the squier 51 was such a great success, everyone's gonna buy one of the expensive fender 51s, but it was only the good build quality plus the CHEAP price that everyone wanted, the design itself is hideous.
Did he say that the Fender Pawn Shop 51 was loosely based on the Squier 51? Because it's like actually the same guitar with higher grade materials
I played a Surf Green Pawn Shop 72 at a local music store and was BLOWN away! I had to have it. I sold two backup guitars in order to get one. You can feel the quality, it's heavier than I imagined. The neck is flawless. The first time I played it with my band it stayed in tune all night long. Great tones too...the neck pickup gives you a jazzy, clean warmth with just a touch of high end bite and the hot Enforcer Bridge pickup has some nice overdrive.
The 2 accidental notes at 1:01 are just so pretty! So pretty!!
This is why we love Premier Guitar, they are ALWAYS the FIRST magazine to get the best review, most unique and best sounding. Videos online!
One word: EPIC!
I played one of the 51's today in a guitar shop and fell in love with it. Absolutely beautiful guitar.
I did the same thing about a month ago. Really nice guitar. I’ve never played a guitar with a blend tone knob before so it was fun playing w with that.
I have a original 1966 Fender Mustang. It's one of my favorite guitars to play. It is all original and in great shape yet. Plays like a dream. The pickups have a bit less bite than my 2005 Mexican Strat.
I wish I got myself a Fender Pawn Shop 51 some years ago and decided then to learn again to play. I did get the 200 dollar Squire 51 just under a year ago. Since then, I got a Mex Strat and Mex Tele.
I have seen some vids of Folks that replaced the pups with tex mex or seymour pearly gates on their Squire 51 - see Richie's vid. Kick ass sounds! They sound great.
I have not made that move yet. I have considered Alcinos or the pearly gates.
But my point us that within 1 month of purchase of my Fender Tele and Strat, set ups needed to be re-done due to buzzing or whatever.
My cheap ass 51 stayed tuned, no buzzing, and they did not drown the neck and fret board in layers of lacquer.
The guitar was not nearly as hi maintenance temperamental as the Strat and Tele. It sounds pretty good and it holds up and is comfortable to play. Good for beginners and fun folkes that want to experiment with the hardware and sounds.
I would be curious if they made it a Fender again, but I think my Squire 51 is a keeper. Sounds good with a black star, vox path finder and most Fender Amps. I have the mustang amp and had the Champion.
@19501960 Thats the great thing bout the fender crowd they are always willing to try new things. I'm glad you've found your go to guitars, I'm still trying to find mine. This 72' model has all the features I love except a 22nd. fret!
I just bought the Pawn Shop '72 in Sea Foam Green. Love it!
Isaiash just killin’ it!
I played a seafoam green 72 today...neck felt great! Body was light, comfortable, the blending switch for the two humbuckers was a stroke of genius! Unbelievable tone! Well, it could've been the amp...lol
Either way, I liked the guitar; it was cool looking and the Fender Wide Range humbucker (neck) sounded killer...the Enforcer pickup in the bridge basically sucked but you could tell from the growl that if you dropped a Super Distortion, JB, or a Pearly Gates in it, walls would be shaking!!!
@DopeDethrone Thanks! I'm really keen on getting the 72' now. The only problem is that they don't sell in Australia, well not at the moment I don't think... I guess I'll have to wait. I want to hold it and play it before i can really decide.
oh man, I've dropped mine for so many times and still it works amazing
I'm looking forward to checking out that Mustang Special. So many tonal positions and they all sound great + the shorter scale will make it a dream to play :)
Cheers
Rob
Hey , mine's LBP too !
And it doesn't look much like something Kurt had , I mean , the other 2 colors he did use , but he didn't use a humbucker on the LBP one , and if I'm correct , the LPB was more green-ish on his guitar.
Oh well , still a great guitar.
I have an acoustic guitar and want to move to electric guitar. Would these guitars be good for beginner electric guitar players? I really like the look of the '72 and mustang special.
@MrAlex981418 of course there is a Squier 51. The number is just a model number, not a production year
I played the Fender Mustang Special at the guitar center last friday, I didn't want to put it down
Love off the wall Fender guitars, and on the wall Fenders, my first love I guess, very cool
I read in one of his biographies that he "Loved it too much to put a humbucker in it".
I guess they didn't want to make different models , since the Fiesta Red and Sonic Blue models DID have a humbucker , and they probably made the LPB just because it's the Teen Spirit iconic guitar,
I took the LPB 'cause it was the only one in the store ... still love it though. (But I'd really rather either a Candy Apple Red or Orange-comp-stripe stang ... maybe when I'll order a custom shop one day...).
@Dragon555 Your absolutely right, my bad. That makes me want them even more!
is the overall length of the pawn shop mustang special shorter than the other strat guitars?
Also, can we go lower action with this super short scale without buzzzing, or heavier gauge will be requied.
Thanks guys for the great work
Love 'em all.
Where are they made???
The '72 sounds incredible!
Which fender is better for hard rock/punky/grungy stuff? I was thinking either a Pawn Shop Mustang Special or an american standard strat... any opinions?
Played the 72' and the 51' today. I love the 72!! I wish it had the 51's stained neck, but it played GODLY! The 51 that was there had it's action wayy too low
@morgenholz yeah but if you accidentally drop a fender, it might scratch and go out of tune... but if you drop a squier the neck will snap off, the body will split in half and the cheap wiring will catch on fire.
@PANICBLADE
i would have thought because the pickguard is loosely based on the 51 Precision bass one.
Or you can buy a Squier 51 for under $200 if you like the 51. It plays great and you cam always replace the pups.
the mustang is nice but i'm not quite sure if i should buy one cuz i got a '65 already but the ability to split the humbuckers is pretty sweet :|
@xshaman100
Wrong. Kurt played many Mustangs throughout his career as well as Jaguars.
you purist strat/tele guys need to start thinking outside the box... these are awesome ! U shaped 3-bolt neck on the 72 ..
How many more fenders can we take, I have a custom no caster and white custom strat. they can't be beat.
The Mustang is pretty sweet!
I like the red one !!
I wish I had a picture of my Squier I could show you. You wouldn't believe what those things are capable of taking.
I also played a Mustang. Cool looking but I felt that the bridge pickup was a bit too muddy for my tastes when overdriven. And the neck was too round and small. I like a flatter neck. The neck on the 72 fit my hands better.
yeah, ''loosely'' inspired by the squier 51 ...
Same guitar 🎸
I used to have eyes like that due when I worked 70 hours a week had my first kid...and ahh drank a lot of coke, lol- I have Squier 51 I want to put an Enforcer in it if I can find one.
Great demos of three very interesting guitars. You sold me, boys. Charles, you look like you need some rest, brother.
Reckon this guitar would handle rhythm well?
I don't know about that CBS-era 3-bolt neck. I've heard the neck comes loose easier and they diminish sustain.
these are very cool guitars. i think im gonna buy the mustang special.
Really? How was it? I'll have to check it out then!
@xshaman100 He played many guitars. He did play a Jaguar at one point in time but also a Mustang. But he used the Mustang a lot more.
@purpleyoshi27 I would go for the Pawn Shop Mustang Special. Just because it has all of those tonal options.
How exactly do you switch pickups on the '51?
@raunchymac which is why you find all those Squier51 bodies on eBay. If i had known anything about these guitars when they were available, I would've bought one of every color. now they're scarce as hen's teeth.
are the pickups in those 51s both run through a 500k pot or is there a resistor for the neck pickup in the wiring?
Can you play something other than just blues on the neck pickup? I love the idea of the Mustang Special but you really don't show much of what it could do.
Have to checkout one in sunburst :)
So can someone explain to me what the controls do and how the pickup selection works?
I assumed the 2 knobs were volume and tone, but one seems to be acting as a pickup selector by turning it? I've played push/pull to activate a particular pickup sysem before but I can't figure out how this one works...
@CureRadio all of those are made in Japan
@lukat93 trust me.. theres 18. its just a mouthful to explain
@butterknucklez I've played mexican american and japanese models, there is definitely a difference. The more money you spend the more dependable the hardware and electronics are (holding in tune, and noise interference). Mexican Classic players are USUALLY well made though I have encountered some bad ones. The Japanese in terms of quality and precision are right up there with American made .
Damn , I wish Fender made some of those models for lefties as well ... I'd buy the Pawn Shop Mustang for sure .... too bad the only lefty models you can find are strats and teles , maybe if you look hard enough some other models (jaguar , jazzmaster , mustang) , but only a few models and only very few features ....
@dragantoe Sounds dramatic. Odd how mine has made it with no trouble for 6 years. Will try to get some more milage out of it while saving up for Fender's updated version, which is also not made in America for only $600 more.
@raunchymac But the only upside to this is that it's easier to find, than the squier.
@lukat93 the toggle switch on both pickups..
does the mustang come with a maple fretboard?
Could this be an april fools collaboration between fender and pg? Remember how long reviews took to come out for the blacktop series? this review came out the same day fender got the page up.
@Iwazaru674 I thought the "Pawn Shop" series were all made in japan?
Don't forget it's made in mexico not china so the parts and materials will be of better quality. I think it's awesome and I'll be buying one definatly!
@raunchymac and its actually being manufactured now. unlike the squier
Nah , that's highly uncomfortable and I need access to the higher frets for solos.
And I already bought the Kurt Cobain Mustang a few weeks back so I'm happy :)
Do you think...the squire '51 will be more of a collectors item after FENDER built a real fender unit???
@raunchymac
check the specification?
So cool!!
Damn, these guitars sound sexy. I wish you guys would demonstrate the coil splitting on the neck pickups, though.
@dragantoe Wow, that's totally untrue. The Squier '51 was built solid, though I admit that the electronics weren't great (got it for under 100 bucks, so that's to be expected). With it's low price, it was an amazing canvas for guitar modders, and turned into a really nice guitar with a good setup, some hardware changes, and a change of p-ups. The evidence of it's success is right here, in the form of the Fender '51. The man said 'loosely based' (1:19), but its really just an upscale replica.
'loosely inspired'?
but thanks for the vid anyhow :)
can reviews please give ten secs to give a look at the necks, C shape U shape and 60's C shape, but i guess some visuals would be cool.
Anyone know how long these will run for?
this was all about a super quality fender amp... that's what i heard.
I like the Mustang one best
Where are these made? Mexico? US?
@butterknucklez Oh I see what you mean, yeah thats a fair statement comparing the chinese to the mexican standards. The classic player series though in my opinion is a cut above those though.
@avalanchecanvass Not such good advice. First, maple strats are almost universally too bright due to the density of the wood. alder is a much more neutral base to get a good strat sound. next, I own a squier51 and I have chosen to keep it stock because it sounds fine. with the squier51, no tone control means when you turn it all the way up, it will be bright. solution? back the volume off a touch, or adust your amp to compensate.
It's funny how my Squier '51 sounds better... I modded it, and it still costed less than this Fender version. It actually sounds totally different - A Seymour Duncan Twangbanger in the neck makes for a really warm sound.
I like the '72, very cool with the "F Hole"
@Jcm005 fender wide range humbucker in the neck, fender enforcer in the bridge.
I really thought this was a joke but they are selling them. search them at guitarcenter.
price?
Wish they made a '72 as a solid-body as opposed to that semi-hollow design.
Are these made in the USA?
why is the telestrat hybrid called a '51?
in my opinion the price range of the backline should be similar to that of the Guitar itself,
most people buying these guitars are only spending about £500 - 600, students etc, somehow i don't think they can afford a backline like that,
i wanna hear what it sounds like out of a 20 year old Marshall half stack thats seen better days and a fender frontman with no reverb,
lets hear what the guitar sounds like not the backline...
Rant over... good video other than that.
rarely r there ppl who demo guitars in genres other than blues or metal
the new fenders coming out are okay.. but i would rather buy a G&L
Nice name that Isaiah have!
@jimihendrixfan2008 it's not about the looks.. but about the tone..
Everyone check out Isaiah's band Earthless!
Are theese made in Mexico?
i love how fender thinks because the squier 51 was such a great success, everyone's gonna buy one of the expensive fender 51s, but it was only the good build quality plus the CHEAP price that everyone wanted, the design itself is hideous.
@BIGBABYZIP 200 bucks? for a fender? are you crazy, alot of squiers cost more than that
@TheGargoyleLives it's sarcasm -_-, also i see you commenting on groovydjs videos a lot, as i watch his videos too
the price will tell :)
Even though they look like Squiers, they sound and feel better :/
@raunchymac it's not all about looks..
@martinrking its real man
these have urethane finishes too ... most fenders do ...