Unfortunately, Hoover sold his first Mustang in ’77 to a friend so he could upgrade to a Gibson SG, but he recently got his paws back on a similar red Mustang (shown here) to bring his first rig full circle. This ’66 Mustang features a double-cutaway asymmetrical ash body—similar to a ’60s Musicmaster—bolt-on maple neck, rosewood fretboard, and a 22-fret, 24" scale length (a smaller 21-fret, 22.5" option was also available). The ’stang also has a floating bridge/vibrato with bridge cover and two slanted single-coils. “When I was a youngster, plugging into that rig was a sonic adventure. I learned the sounds of blues, rock, disco, pop—anything that was on a record, 8-track, or radio, I tried playing through that setup,” recalls Hoover. “The shimmering twang, whammy bar acrobats, and gross, crackly fuzz set the stage decades before starting my current band the Surf Zombies. I just got this ’66 Mustang a few months ago, but I already know that matching it with my old Princeton and bristly fuzz will inspire many more hairy, surf instrumentals.”