Fender 1971 Competition Red Mustang Matching Headstock Guitar – All Original Parts

These legendary guitars have become highly sought after over the years. Most notably, Kurt’s Cobains iconic 1969 Matching headstock Competition Mustang in blue set a new record for the most expensive electric guitar sold at auction for $4,687,500! This is the Competition red version. The matching headstock version was sold between ’69 and ’71 and this is one of the last ones in ’71 that came out with the matching headstock. The guitar has all the original parts including the tremolo arm.

It has had a professional refret and a new bone nut and plays beautifully up and down the neck. It features all the original parts. The guitar is in great shape for its age, with the usual play wear and nice roadworn elements to the finish over the years. The original pickguard is included, but over time the pickguard plastic reacted with the paint finish underneath and caused it to turn gooey and sticky under the pickguard. The paint could not be dried due to the chemical reaction so it had to be cleaned off. So under the pickguard it is just the bare wood. The original pickguard was warped and bumpy.It still fits but you can see the edge of where the paint is missing underneath as the pickguard shrunk. The original pickguard is included as well as the replacement. This is the second Competition Mustang we have seen do this, it must have been something CBS were using back then that did not respond well to certain climates and caused the ‘sticky pickguard’ syndrome. We have a replacement pickguard on that looks great and fits well and covers the missing paint underneath. It looks more like what the guitar would have looked like when it came off the production line in ‘1971. Later in the year Fender when back to plain face headstocks probably to save production costs. It can not be understated how rare an original finish matching headstock is. The body is slightly more orange we have noticed this on a few competition mustangs that the body seems to change colour differently to the headstock finish but it is very subtle. The competition racing stripes look so cool like on the actual Ford Mustang cars.

The neck itself is very comfortable and nice to play. There is some wear on the back in the lacquer but this adds to the played in vibe. The neck stamp has been rubbed off over time or possibly did not get stamped as the surface looks intact. The serial number on the neck plate and on the pots dates it to ’71. This competition mustang also comes with the original bridge cover and tremolo arm which are also incredibly hard to find. The original pickups sound wonderful and it is such a joy to play a complete vintage Fender Competition Mustang and the tremolo arm works nice and smooth. This mustang weighs 3.660KG.

Perhaps the greatest version of the Fender Mustang that came out and with the body contour that was introduced on the competition Mustangs they managed to improve on the original. A great addition for any player or collector alike.