1965 Fender Musicmaster II, Blue

Introduced as part of Fender’s student range, the Musicmaster II has long since outgrown that modest billing. These short-scale models were benefiting from the same Fullerton craftsmanship and quality as their bigger siblings, and today they offer a wonderfully direct, no-nonsense slice of mid-’60s Fender tone in a compact, colourful package!

This particular 1965 Musicmaster II looks superb in its original blue finish, which has checked and gracefully greened over the decades in exactly the way only vintage Fender colours can. It has that slightly 'seafoamed' hue that we all love, giving the guitar enormous visual appeal before you even plug it in.

A notable feature here is the beautifully figured flame maple neck. It's paired with a slab rosewood fingerboard and pearl dot inlays. The neck profile is a comfortable medium C, measuring 21.8mm at the 1st fret and filling out to 24.8mm by the 12th. It fattens up nicely as you move north, giving it a reassuring, substantial feel higher up the board. The nut width is 41.6mm, and combined with the 24" scale length, it feels great to play!

The frets appear original and, while they’ve been dressed over the years, there’s still good height remaining. It plays cleanly and comfortably up and down the neck, retaining that played-in vintage feel without compromising usability.

The single-coil pickup delivers all the clarity and woody snap you’d hope for; bright and articulate but with a full, rounded midrange that avoids harshness and gives it plenty of punch. Under the hood are two matching CTS pots dating to week 18 of 1965, along with the correct orange drop capacitor and cloth wiring. It’s a simple circuit, volume and tone, but there’s a surprising range of usable sounds in there, from sparkling rhythm textures to punchy leads.

Aesthetically, the correct pearloid 3-ply pickguard sets off the aged blue finish beautifully, completing that classic ’60s Fender look. Complete with its original hard case, this is a superb example of a mid-’60s Musicmaster II that is lightweight, resonant, tonally rich and visually awesome!