Fender Solid Body Electric Mandolin (1963)
LOADING IMAGES
This item has been sold.
Item # 11447
Prices subject to change without notice.
Fender Solid Body Electric Mandolin (1963), made in Fullerton, California, serial # 01534, sunburst lacquer finish, alder body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original brown tolex hard shell case.
One of Leo Fender's more obscure instrument creations, the solidbody Electric Mandolin was in production from 1957 until the 1970's but is a relatively rare item. This one shows some signs of use but remains in fine all-original condition. It was likely assembled in late 1963 (the pots are coded 6340) but the neck was pencil-dated 3-62. Most extant examples date to the 1950s; later "Mandocasters" are rare items from any year and this one illustrates that limited production history with a neck held in stock for well over a year before being assembled into a complete instrument.
The Fender Mandolin differs from most other electrics (and all acoustic mandolins) in having only four strings instead of the usual doubled courses. This follows the ideas of the mostly western swing players who were instrumental in helping develop Fender instruments, and is also sometimes seen in Bigsby electric mandolins. This results in a clearer more brilliant electric sound without the natural "chorusing" effect of doubled strings, albeit one that sounds as much like an octave guitar as a mandolin.
This instrument is also just ridiculously cute, resembling more than anything else a "just hatched" baby Precision Bass. All the regular early 1960s Fender features are there in miniature, including a clay-dot slab rosewood fingerboard on a maple neck with the classic fender headstock, nicely blended 3-tone sunburst finish on an alder body, tortoise celluloid pickguard and brown plastic-covered single coil pickup. The tuners are single line plastic-button strip Klusons. The '50's style thin script gold logo decal has no model name; "Mandocaster" is the collectors' slang for these but Fender just called it the Electric Mandolin. The brown Tolex case is also a miniature version of the standard guitar case, and is kind of adorable as well.
Overall length is 25 7/8 in. (65.7 cm.), 10 1/16 in. (25.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 13 3/4 in. (349 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/16 in. (30 mm.).
This is a beautifully all-original instrument showing some play wear but no alterations. The original sunburst finish is bright and unfaded with a strong red hue. The body has a collection fairly random dings, scuffs, cuffs, and dents, most noticeably on the top and back. The pickguard has some minor shrinkage but no split or popped corners, just some minor scuffing on the face.
The instrument is all original and complete retaining even the chromed snap-on bridge cover. There is some factory chiseling to the back edge of the neck pocket, likely to get the neck to fit properly. Someone lightly etched an ID number into the neckplate, this is not particularly conspicuous. The frets and fingerboard remain in excellent condition with very little wear and this is a very fine playing and sounding Fender Mandolin, with a nice original brown Tolex HSC. Overall Excellent Condition.
One of Leo Fender's more obscure instrument creations, the solidbody Electric Mandolin was in production from 1957 until the 1970's but is a relatively rare item. This one shows some signs of use but remains in fine all-original condition. It was likely assembled in late 1963 (the pots are coded 6340) but the neck was pencil-dated 3-62. Most extant examples date to the 1950s; later "Mandocasters" are rare items from any year and this one illustrates that limited production history with a neck held in stock for well over a year before being assembled into a complete instrument.
The Fender Mandolin differs from most other electrics (and all acoustic mandolins) in having only four strings instead of the usual doubled courses. This follows the ideas of the mostly western swing players who were instrumental in helping develop Fender instruments, and is also sometimes seen in Bigsby electric mandolins. This results in a clearer more brilliant electric sound without the natural "chorusing" effect of doubled strings, albeit one that sounds as much like an octave guitar as a mandolin.
This instrument is also just ridiculously cute, resembling more than anything else a "just hatched" baby Precision Bass. All the regular early 1960s Fender features are there in miniature, including a clay-dot slab rosewood fingerboard on a maple neck with the classic fender headstock, nicely blended 3-tone sunburst finish on an alder body, tortoise celluloid pickguard and brown plastic-covered single coil pickup. The tuners are single line plastic-button strip Klusons. The '50's style thin script gold logo decal has no model name; "Mandocaster" is the collectors' slang for these but Fender just called it the Electric Mandolin. The brown Tolex case is also a miniature version of the standard guitar case, and is kind of adorable as well.
Overall length is 25 7/8 in. (65.7 cm.), 10 1/16 in. (25.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 13 3/4 in. (349 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/16 in. (30 mm.).
This is a beautifully all-original instrument showing some play wear but no alterations. The original sunburst finish is bright and unfaded with a strong red hue. The body has a collection fairly random dings, scuffs, cuffs, and dents, most noticeably on the top and back. The pickguard has some minor shrinkage but no split or popped corners, just some minor scuffing on the face.
The instrument is all original and complete retaining even the chromed snap-on bridge cover. There is some factory chiseling to the back edge of the neck pocket, likely to get the neck to fit properly. Someone lightly etched an ID number into the neckplate, this is not particularly conspicuous. The frets and fingerboard remain in excellent condition with very little wear and this is a very fine playing and sounding Fender Mandolin, with a nice original brown Tolex HSC. Overall Excellent Condition.