Ben Gibbard unveils a new signature Fender Mustang

Lis Sinatra

Ben Gibbard has unveiled a new signature Fender Mustang guitar. He's holding it in the picture above, and here's more from the description:

Ben’s modified ‘70s Fender Mustangs have been his preferred touring choice for years. The Ben Gibbard Mustang recreates his modified touring workhorses and adds some bold new enhancements.

Featuring a chambered ash body design for increased resonance and reduced weight and a one-piece 22-fret modern “C”-shaped maple neck with 9.5” radius fingerboard and medium jumbo frets, this guitar is a comfortable and versatile stage performer. Electronics include a set of custom, vintage-inspired Ben Gibbard Mustang pickups and a stage-ready 3-way rotary pickup selector switch. What appears to be a vintage-style Mustang bridge is actually an innovative modified hardtail setup, providing rock-solid stability, intonation and sustain.

Includes strap locks and a Fender gig bag.

"To have this guitar built exactly the way I want it is pretty phenomenal," Ben told Fender. "I wanted to make a guitar made for someone who is singing and playing guitar at the same time, because if you’re trying to do two things at once, I want as few distractions as possible. That means removing any impediments to having the guitar be completely playable and in tune as possible. It’s really a joy to play."

In an interview with NME, Ben said that, when he was young, he witnessed a lot of local Seattle musicians (including Mudhoney, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, and others) playing Mustangs, but he only got one himself shortly before his first tour with The Postal Service over a decade ago.

"When I was a kid growing up in the late '80s, I was really discouraged from playing guitar in public because at that time, at least in America, the only people you saw playing guitar were just shredding it," he told NME. "It was the height of the hair metal era. That was everywhere. I remember thinking that 'I can’t play in a band until I can play like that.' It’s crazy to think like that now. But then I discovered music of my own, and what was happening here in the North West was huge for me."

Ben also told NME that he's using the guitar to write Death Cab for Cutie's next album; the new material, he says, sounds "reminiscent of the first half of the band’s existence."

"We’ve got a lot of songs and I’m really happy with the material," he continued. "I’m sure a lot of musicians say that their new material is the best thing they’ve ever done and try to hype it up. I don’t want to give it that weight, but I can say that I’m really excited about it. I think it’s going to be a really good record."

Read the interview in full on NME, and check out the guitar via Fender.