65 fender mustang

[Lips]

hi - I have a '65 mustang in mediochre condition and I'm poor. what I'm wondering is this; can I swap out necks and replace with a standard length fretless jazz neck? real new to this type of business. thanks,
Lips

[fenderphil]

how about a 65 mustang fender?

[jazzboi]

Well,as far as I know the Mustang has the same neck pocket as other Fenders,so it's no problem to swap the necks. Just be aware that you might need a 4 bolt neck,so don't look at used '70's era jazz necks,because they've got a 3 screw neck. (it is fixed with 3 screws,instead of the 4 can be seen on the jazz basses nowadays)

Hope it helped!

Have you looked at All-Parts,Warmoth,and other manufacturers to get the right neck for you?

[Dave Bassincus]

Replacing a short-scale neck with a long-scale neck can be tricky business, and may very well include moving the bridge to compensate for the different scale length.
This would, of course, lower the value of your bass considerably.
My advice?
Keep it stock, sell it, and get a decent bass that meets your needs.

[Lips]

Thanks gents- will look into all the possibilities you've both mentioned. As for the 1st reply? That one really looks a super lot different from what I have and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't fit- thanks anyway tho

[BobKos]

I agree with the recommendation to sell the Mustang Bass as-is to a collector and buy what you need. It is what it is and will not really improve enough with modification to be worthwhile. I have a few vintage short Fenders and although they're neat, they'll never live up to a Jazz or P-Bass.

[Lips]

thanks

[Pilgrim]

No way should you modify an original 65 Fender ANYTHING. If you need money, sell it and you'll make enough to buy 3 or 4 inexpensive basses...any of which can sound as good in its own way as a Mustang. That's not a criticism of the Mustang's sound - just saying that inexpensive basses sound darn good these days!