Short takes: Airline Bighorn, Squier Affinity Tele, Fender Mustang II

I went to Guitar Center again this past weekend to waste time while my wife got her hair done, and I ended up trying out some gear. I played an Airline Bighorn and a Squier Affinity Tele through a Fender Mustang II amp. I'll share some quick first impressions of each one, starting with the amp.

Fender Mustang II

Fender's Mustang range of solid-state modeling amps has been very well received in the music press, and I've been eager to try one out. I recently bought a Roland Cube 40XL that I love, but the 40-watt Mustang II was on my short list of amps to buy, and after playing it, I know that its place on that list was justified. It wasn't enough to make me regret my Cube purchase, but if I would've bought the Mustang instead, I wouldn't have been disappointed.

Gear Review: Fender Kurt Cobain Mustang signature guitar

The Fender Kurt Cobain Mustang was one of Fender's most exciting announcement over the last few years. His previous signature models - the Jag-Stang and most noticeably the very successful Jaguar - were Kurt’s preferred instruments although it is the Mustang that we associate with him most. This is predominantly down to the Mustang that he trashed in the "Smells like Teen Spirit" video from which he is most famous. So the prospect of replicating Kurt’s guitar right down to his own personal modifications was enough to have most guitarists salivating over it.

Fender's original 60s model was designed as a student instrument as it is smaller in scale, smaller in body, and slimmer but yet still contains Fender's famous build quality. It was probably this compact size and easy playability that persuaded Cobain to play it in the first place. It was also the first Fender student guitar to incorporate a vibrato system, apparently every time Kurt wobbled the arm the guitar kept going out of tune so he modified it to a hardtail.

Fender have rightly kept all of these features in the Kurt Cobain Mustang but have increased the output by introducing a high output Seymour Duncan JB humbucker at the bridge, whereas the original only featured two single coil pickups. This makes the sound smoother yet increases the output and is capable of delivering the powerful tones that made Nirvana famous.

It would be fair to say the Mustangs don’t really excel when it comes to tonal versatility. However the cool on/off pickup sliders produce out of phase, sweet and spiky humbucker tones. As much as you try the JB humbucker will never cross into metal territory, even on the highest gain setting. As much as I like this personally it’s not very authentic and is quite disappointing really.

A cool added bonus is that with the guitar you get a limited edition 10-inch red vinyl edition of "Smells like teen spirit." It also comes in three vintage Fender finishes: Lake Placid Blue with racing stripe, Fiesta red and Sonic Blue. And if you're a lefty, they are all available in a left-handed equivalent.

There’s no getting around it, it is a very expensive guitar and in all honesty I do think it could be more versatile tonally. However visually its stunning and it takes real time and effort to produce an instrument that really does reflect a player’s attitude and tone. All in all I really like the KC Mustang but I would highly recommend you try before you buy.