Fender Kurt Cobain Mustang Electric Guitar

No longer available at zZounds
Get the distinctive Mustang 24-inch scale and neck pickup, and the amazingly responsive Seymour Duncan JB bridge pickup that came to signify Cobain's style.

What's special about this item?

Feature: What it does:
Alder body Light weight with a wide tonal range
C-shaped neck profile Comfortable, rounded oval shape
Adjusto-Matic bridge Flawless intonation across all strings
Seymour Duncan JB Model humbucker Clear tone with great harmonics and full sustain

Every artist likes their instrument a certain way, and alt-rock legend Kurt Cobain had a unique appreciation for modding entry-level electric guitars -- turning them into rafter-rattling grunge machines. Fender's Artist Series Kurt Cobain Mustang honors the modified short-scale guitar Cobain himself used during Nirvana's In Utero era. It's a Japanese-made Mustang with a humbucker in the bridge position, just like Kurt would have wanted.

Kurt's Offbeat Hot-Rod

Kurt preferred inexpensive guitars -- how else could he afford to smash so many? He also found the standard Strats and Teles to be a little mundane, learning towards unusual axes like Jaguars and Jazzmasters. That's why the Mustang was such a great fit for Cobain -- it offered the uniqueness of a Jaguar or Jazzmaster but in a more affordable instrument. But even a Mustang is too tame for Kurt Cobain, so he'd hot-rod his axes with humbuckers and other pickups you wouldn't normally find on a '90s Fender guitar. If you love Fender guitars, but want to move beyond your standard Strat or Tele, try the Kurt Cobain Mustang.

Own a Piece of Rock History

Want a replica of the guitar Kurt Cobain played in the video for the seminal hit Smells Like Teen Spirit? This is it, specifically the striped Lake Placid blue model -- but all finishes rock the same and express their own appeal and charm. While Kurt Cobain may have smashed a number of guitars in his day, there were a few he clearly held close to his heart, playing them read more gig after gig, and this is one of those guitars.

Features:

- Fender Artist Series Mustang electric guitar
- Alder Mustang body with urethane finish
- C-shaped maple neck with urethane finish
- 24" scale rosewood fingerboard with 22 vintage-style frets and 7.25" radius
- Vintage-style heel truss rod
- Seymour Duncan humbucking pickup mounted directly to the body in the bridge position
- Single-coil Mustang pickup in the neck position
- Volume and tone control knobs
- On/off/phase slider switch for each pickup
- Adjusto-Matic bridge with dynamic vibrato tailpiece
- In-line American vintage tuning machines
- Black plastic control knobs and chrome hardware
- Fender USA 250R .010-.046 gauge nickel-plated steel strings included
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- Series: Artist
- Body Shape: Mustang
- Body: Alder, Urethane Finish
- Neck: Maple, Urethane Finish
- Neck Shape: "C" Shape
- Fretboard: Rosewood
- Fretboard Radius: 7.25 in. (18.41 cm)
- Frets: 22, Vintage Style
- Position Inlays: Vintage Ivory Dots
- Scale Length: 24 in. (61 cm)
- Nut Width: 1.625 in. (41.3 mm)
- String Nut: Synthetic Bone
- Pickups:
- Seymour Duncan JB Model Humbucking Bridge Pickup - Direct Mount
- Mustang Single-Coil Neck Pickup
- Pickup Switching:
- On/Off Slider
- In/Out Phase Switch for Each Pickup
- Controls:
- Master Volume
- Master Tone
- Hardware: Chrome
- Tuning Keys: Vintage Style Tuning Machines
- Bridge: Adjusto-Matic Bridge with Dynamic Vibrato Tail-piece
- Pickguard: (Fiesta Red, Dark Lake Placid Blue) 4-Ply Aged White Pearl/ (Sonic Blue) 4-Ply Tortoiseshell
- Strings: Fender USA Super 250R, NPS, (.010-.046 Gauges)

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 800-488-1818

Fender Kurt Cobain Mustang Guitar

When Kurt Cobain hit the stage, it was very often with a Mustang guitar -- an enigmatic anti-hero figure with an esoteric anti-hero instrument. It's with great pride then that Fender introduces the Kurt Cobain Mustang, which evokes the man, the band, the sound and the times, and gives an authentically crafted nod to one of the most unlikely guitars to ever find itself at the center of a musical maelstrom.

See for yourself -- go back and watch the famous 1991 video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit," and there he is and there it is slung over his shoulder. Or think back to when you saw them on the '93-'94 In Utero tour, when he seldom went onstage with anything but a Mustang. Quite often and especially later on, Mustangs were a big part of what Kurt Cobain was all about, musically.

Inspired by his arsenal of modded guitars, the Fender Kurt Cobain Mustang takes you back there, with highly distinctive features including the classic 24-inch Mustang scale length, an angled single-coil Mustang neck pickup and ferocious Seymour Duncan JB humbucking bridge pickup mounted directly to the body, dual on-off/phase in-out switches for each pickup, a polyester-finished alder body and an Adjusto- Matic bridge with dynamic vibrato tailpiece.

Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. (3 ratings)
Submitted September 20, 2013 by Darrell P in Sanford, NC

"Amazing guitar! The best electric that I have ever owned."

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
I am so proud to own this Fender Mustang. This is the guitar that made me want to be a guitar player. I purchased it from zZounds on 8/30/13, and it was waiting on my doorstep on 9/04/13, just in time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of In Utero. Do I even need to mention how awesome it is to have a guitar that was made in the exact same factory as Kurt’s actual Mustangs? The Look – I chose the Sonic Blue for obvious reasons. I actually like the fact that the guitar is immediately identifiable. This would be a beautiful guitar, even if it did not have Nirvana ties. The blue is stunning, and tortoise shell pick guard is a perfect contrast. The Feel – This Mustang is a very high quality Fender. The weight is well balanced, and the body of the guitar is slightly contoured to your body. It just fits well. I’m a big fan of the short scale neck, too. The strings have a little extra bend to them, making it easier to play overall. The Sound - Ah, yes. The most surprising part of this guitar is the wide range of tones that you can easily achieve. The JB in the bridge is a pure beast. It gives the guitar a very nice growl with a little distortion added, and a very warm tone when playing through a clean channel. The neck single coil gives you that twangy Tele sound. The custom pickup selectors are very easy to manipulate, giving you nice mixtures of a wide range of tones. Truly, this guitar will work for most sounds – Rock/Punk, Surf, Country, even in a worship read more arts environment. The Wow Factor – Wow, a big thank you to zZounds for offering the pay as you play. The entire experience of purchasing this guitar was very easy, and overall was just excellent. Another guitar player in my band uses your site for all of his purchases, and I can see that I will also keep zZounds as a weapon in my musical arsenal.

Musical Background:
Guitar for 22 years. Currently play in a Worship Arts band to 600 people per weekend.

Musical Style:
Rock, Punk, Contemporary Christian.
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No longer available at zZounds

In most cases, a product is unavailable because it has been discontinued by the manufacturer