Fender Champion Lap Steel Electric Guitar (1953)
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Item # 10268
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Fender Champion Model Lap Steel Electric Guitar (1953), made in Fullerton, California, yellow pearloid finish, hardwood body, original tweed hard shell case.
This 1953 Champion is a nice example of Fender's "bread and butter" lap steel guitar from the first half of the 1950s. Although designed as a student instrument, the Champion Steel was -- and remains -- a great-sounding guitar fully suited to professional use then or now. This one has the serial number 7058 is stamped on the bridgeplate where the strings anchor through the body. The pots and wiring are original; the visible date codes on one pot is the 25th week of 1953 and Mary's masking tape signature inside indicates she wired it up on 10-28-53. The Champion model was revamped for 1956 with a less iconic pickup and different overall design, and these earlier versions have long been considered superior both sonically and aesthetically.
The flashy plastic-covered symmetrical two-bout body has a chrome bridge and cover plate with dome-top knurled knobs. A metal fingerboard pinned to the body has black paint screening to outline fret positions. The headstock has metal facing with integral nut stamped with lighting bolt logo and "Fender Electric Instrument Co. Fullerton, California". Over the years many of these 1949-55 Champs have sacrificed their pickups to provide the engine for vintage Telecaster recreations -- this one has had some work done but fortunately avoided that fate. It remains a fine-sounding steel guitar with a bright, singing tone and a genuine early 1950s Fender instrument at a relatively reasonable price!
Overall length is 29 3/4 in. (75.6 cm.), 7 1/2 in. (19 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 22 1/2 in. (572 mm.). Width of nut is 2 1/4 in. (57 mm.).
This is a nice original Champion, showing some wear overall but no major issues. The metal handrest, fingerboard and headstock show some light wear and corrosion spots, and there is a spot at the body end of the metal fingerboard where the graphics are worn away from pick action. The plastic body covering shows some typical fairly minor wear, most of the flocking is gone from underneath. The only alteration is the buttons on the original Kluson strip tuners have been neatly replaced; the originals have nearly always crumbled by now.
The original pickup and electronic components are complete and the steel sounds excellent. The original pickup appears to have been taken out at some point, the wires to it have been spliced inside the pickup well. This was most likely to have the coil re-potted in wax; it does not appear to have been re-wound or otherwise altered. Sadly the trend of stripping the vintage Telecaster-style pickups out of these original Champions has accelerated recently leaving fewer and fewer unmolested original examples. Except for the spliced wires (it looks like long ago) this Steel is pretty much as it left Fullerton in 1953, including the worn but still functional original "knuckle buster" tweed hardshell case, something of a rarity in itself. Excellent - Condition.
This 1953 Champion is a nice example of Fender's "bread and butter" lap steel guitar from the first half of the 1950s. Although designed as a student instrument, the Champion Steel was -- and remains -- a great-sounding guitar fully suited to professional use then or now. This one has the serial number 7058 is stamped on the bridgeplate where the strings anchor through the body. The pots and wiring are original; the visible date codes on one pot is the 25th week of 1953 and Mary's masking tape signature inside indicates she wired it up on 10-28-53. The Champion model was revamped for 1956 with a less iconic pickup and different overall design, and these earlier versions have long been considered superior both sonically and aesthetically.
The flashy plastic-covered symmetrical two-bout body has a chrome bridge and cover plate with dome-top knurled knobs. A metal fingerboard pinned to the body has black paint screening to outline fret positions. The headstock has metal facing with integral nut stamped with lighting bolt logo and "Fender Electric Instrument Co. Fullerton, California". Over the years many of these 1949-55 Champs have sacrificed their pickups to provide the engine for vintage Telecaster recreations -- this one has had some work done but fortunately avoided that fate. It remains a fine-sounding steel guitar with a bright, singing tone and a genuine early 1950s Fender instrument at a relatively reasonable price!
Overall length is 29 3/4 in. (75.6 cm.), 7 1/2 in. (19 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 22 1/2 in. (572 mm.). Width of nut is 2 1/4 in. (57 mm.).
This is a nice original Champion, showing some wear overall but no major issues. The metal handrest, fingerboard and headstock show some light wear and corrosion spots, and there is a spot at the body end of the metal fingerboard where the graphics are worn away from pick action. The plastic body covering shows some typical fairly minor wear, most of the flocking is gone from underneath. The only alteration is the buttons on the original Kluson strip tuners have been neatly replaced; the originals have nearly always crumbled by now.
The original pickup and electronic components are complete and the steel sounds excellent. The original pickup appears to have been taken out at some point, the wires to it have been spliced inside the pickup well. This was most likely to have the coil re-potted in wax; it does not appear to have been re-wound or otherwise altered. Sadly the trend of stripping the vintage Telecaster-style pickups out of these original Champions has accelerated recently leaving fewer and fewer unmolested original examples. Except for the spliced wires (it looks like long ago) this Steel is pretty much as it left Fullerton in 1953, including the worn but still functional original "knuckle buster" tweed hardshell case, something of a rarity in itself. Excellent - Condition.