Mac DeMarco’s Fender Mustang (Red)

Mac Demarco started playing this Fender Mustang guitar around 2014. Presumably, he acquired the Mustang so he could have something reliable to use on the Salad Days promotional tour since his old Teisco by this time was everything but reliable.

Specs

Mac’s Fender Mustang was possibly a vintage model. but it’s very hard to tell for sure to which period it belongs. It had Fender F-style tuners with plastic knobs and an F-style neck plate – both of which are typical to models made after around 1965-66.

But, the logo and the “Mustang” branding on the headstock of Mac’s guitar, are typical of the models produced in the 70s. The last clue is the single string nut, which means that it was made before 1974 when Fender added a second string nut on the headstock.

The finish on the guitar looks like Dakota Red, which is a non-standard type of finish. But again, it’s hard to find on which models and during which period this particular finish was available as an option on a Mustang.

Usage

As said, Mac DeMarco used this guitar as his main touring guitar in 2014. During that time, the Mustang had a white sticker behind the tremolo bridge, and every single toggle switch was tapped over so it wouldn’t move.

In 2015 the guitar changed hands and it ended up with Andy White, who used it on various dates that year.

From 2016 onwards, the Mustang was pretty much gone and only appeared briefly in a video tour of Mac DeMarco’s apartment posted on YouTube by Konbini in 2019 – On a retourné la maison de Mac DeMarco.