1990 Fender Competition Mustang Order Made ’69 Vintage Reissue Model MG69-550, Japan MIJ Fujigen

Up for sale, a 1990 Fender Mustang ‘69 vintage reissue "Order Made" model MG69-550 in excellent, 100% original condition and in perfect working order. Produced at the venerable Fujigen factory during the golden age of Fender Japan production, this rare “Made in Japan” Mustang was part of Fender Japan’s Order Made program, essentially a custom shop for non-catalog, one-off instruments. While Fender Japan would go on to offer the Competition Mustang model just a few years later, this particular instrument predates their inclusion in the catalog. Tonewoods include a basswood body, maple neck, and rosewood fretboard, and this Mustang sports a Competition Red finish. The crisp, clear voice of the instrument when strummed acoustically translates well through the pickups, which offer ample snap and sparkle. Of course one of the most fun sounds on the Mustang is the out-of-phase setting, engaged when both on/off/on pickup selector switches are at their innermost or outermost points. The spank of that particular setting is unique to the Mustang, and there's plenty of tonal range between the two pickups, with meatier sounds when the neck pickup is soloed and more aggressive snarl at the bridge. Weighing 7lbs 8oz, this Mustang has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 11-49 strings, low action, and spot-on intonation. The maple neck has a medium C-shaped profile carve with generous shoulders and lightly rolled fretboard edges, measuring .830” deep at the 1st fret and .910” at the 12th. The rosewood fretboard has a vintage-pec 7 1/4“ radius, and the stock slender fretwire is practically perfect, with just a hint of wear beneath the plain strings on the crowns of frets 1-3. This Mustang plays cleanly up the 24” scale with a straight neck and a responsive, optimally-adjusted truss rod, and the stock bone nut measures 1 9/16” in width. On the headstock, the original set of Kluson-style tuning machines turn smoothly and hold accurate pitch. The “Made in Japan” text and I-prefix serial are present above the four-bolt neck plate, and the neck heel and pocket retain matching “Order Made” stamps, order numbers, and model designations. All of the electronics function as intended, with dedicated on/off/on switches for each single coil and Master Volume and Tone controls. The solder joints are untouched, and the original full-size pots date to August of 1990. Hardware includes the control plate, bridge base, and steel barrel saddles, and the vibrato actuates smoothly and bounces quickly back to pitch. The bridge has a consistent dusting of surface patina. Plastics comprise the pickup covers, original pair of knobs, and the white pearloid pickguard which shows some graceful yellowing and requisite pick scuffing along the treble side of the strum path. The Competition Red finish features a Candy Apple Red base accented by a racing stripe on the bass-side lower bout, and yellowing of the clear coat gives the stripes a darker, more golden hue. The finish exhibits some limited checking, most prominent along the perimeter, with cosmetic wear limited to a number of minor dings and finish scratches on the body as a whole, largely concentrated on the back and body edges. The neck profile retains its smooth ambered gloss, with a scant few shallow nicks along the profile length that have no impact on playability. A gigbag is included.