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Death Cut For Cutie and The Postal Service guitarist Ben Gibbard's latest Fender Mustang signature model guitar is a bare-boned work instrument designed to inspire creativity. Concise and logical functions, especially those in live performances, take precedence over the sparkling axe. It deceives you with a fast fingerboard, making you chopped up like the superstars of the 80s band.
We chatted with the person in charge of the "Death Cab", worked with Fender to design his new signature model, and how he fell in love with Fender Mustang. We also put the guitar in the hands of guitarist Max Connery
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An artist who was greatly inspired by Gibbard's performance and song creation. Connery tested the guitar in the video below, played various improvisations, and chose different pickups to demonstrate the versatility of the guitar
"This guitar," Gibbard said, "will provide you with everything you put into it. You don't have to rely on switches and pedals. Over the years, the guitar has become more complicated. But for my purposes, I will always pick it up. Simpler guitar."
"I am always frustrated with the technical barriers to creativity. Any instrument, as long as it is a pure tool of expression, I will yearn for it."
Gibbard explained his love for Fender Mustang, which was the first deal he won through a trade agreement a few years ago. "My friend Jesse Quitslund is our guitar technologist, and he also works in a guitar shop. I'm trading him the black '72 Fender Thinline Telecaster and some other things. He owns one Chi Chaoyang’s 70s Mustang guitar basically put it into the entire industry."
Gibbard made some modifications to the original Mustang. These changes (mainly switching the pitch knob to a 3-position pickup switch) have entered his new signature model. For Gibbard, it boils down to comfort and playability.
"I made a lot of modifications to the original guitar, and I am curious whether people will find this signature model a victim. The phase switch disappears, the bridge is locked, and there is no pickup switch. I took out the pitch knob because who still uses it. Knobs and made a pickup switcher. I want to design a guitar for someone like me who sings and plays at the same time. I find that when I play a song and really feel it, if I play the guitar, I have to use a lot of switches , These are factors that hinder performance. On my original guitar and this new signature guitar, it seemed natural to me to delete them.
Gibbard's path to the Mustang actually started with another neglected Fender model.
"In the early days of "Death Cab", I have been playing these Fender Bullet guitars. I have one that I bought for $150. They have a ¾ body like a Mustang, but have a Tele-shaped neck. The size of the neck and body Move my hand around my neck. This became the signature sound of our first three or four records. You can easily perform arpeggios around the guitar."
"I also imitated Doug Martsch and bands like Bedhead, Superchunk and Seam. Instead of playing chords, they would take the guitar and break the instrument into two guitars and bass and weave them together. "
"When I got the original Mustang, I found that my hands were also moving in a similar way. It felt like an old friend. I found the parts that 21-year-old Ben would consider great when I wrote. In my career, that feels like an important place."
The guitar adopts a cavity gray body design, which can enhance the resonance effect and is light in weight. The neck is a one-piece 22-character modern C-shaped maple neck, with a fingerboard radius of 9.5 inches, and a medium-sized giant frame. This "C" neck is fleshy and has a comfortable feel, although it does make your job harder than other artists' signature guitars (especially chopped strings).
"For someone like me who grew up in the suburbs, if you play the guitar, then the 80s was a dark period for mainstream rock music. It’s all broken guitars and metal hair. If you don’t have a college radio station or Cool record store access, then you can’t be a musician if you can’t cut it down.”
"It's not that performance skills have no status, but to this day, I still prefer to listen to music from people who write music using instruments that don’t know how to play and people who have spent years playing the same instrument. I found that I found it in atypical channels. There are a lot of innovations in musical instruments. This is how I became a musician."
The electronics include a set of custom-made, retro-style Ben Gibbard Mustang pickups and a ready-made three-way rotary pickup selector switch. Fender and Gibbard also added some new enhancements to the guitar. The seemingly old-fashioned Mustang Bridge is actually an improved and innovative hard-tail device that provides rock-solid stability, tone and sustain. The guitar uses natural decoration, including a belt lock and Fender gig bag.
Gibbard wanted to make sure the guitar was strong and durable, so during the test, he rotated the prototype in every two songs for quality control. "During the journey, I have been using the 70s Broncos. Actually, we have two sets of equipment in the logistics. If we have to go to other places in a short time, we can send a "slow boat" out." He explained that this signature model has the same modifications.
"It was a fun journey to put this guitar together. It's crazy to be here now, seeing and holding it. I want to play on stage. As long as we can play the performance, this guitar will come with me ."
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