Wandre Doris Solid Body Electric Guitar (1966)
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Wandre Doris Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1966), made in Milan, Italy, Jungle Green finish, hardwood body, aluminum and plastic neck, black tolex hard shell case.
"What are those guitars -- man, we don't have those in the STATES!" So spoke Bob Dylan in 1965, captured on film looking into the window of an English music store full of Wandre guitars. These amazingly futuristic and completely original instruments were sold under different brand names in Europe through the 1960s. They have fascinated adventurous electric guitar fans since then, but most players have never seen or handled one. A few models were briefly marketed in the US just prior to the guitar boom period but they are extremely rare in this country. All Wandre instruments are eccentric, sometimes to the extreme. The solid-body "Doris" combines Italian artist/engineer Wandre Pioli's unique engineering concepts with a more conventional (and functional) guitar superstructure than many.
The Wandre story is a book-length epic tale of the battle between creativity and commerce, and there is a (unfortunately rare) 2014 book "WANDRE-The Artist Of The Electric Guitar" by Marco Ballestri available for the curious; this exact "Doris" is pictured on page 147. This guitar is the final version of the "Doris" model, redesigned from an earlier even more eccentric iteration in 1965-6. Like some other Wandre offerings (notably the Brigitte Bardot "BB" model) this one is named after a woman, in this case the mistress of Wandre's French distributor! This wood body "Doris" is more conventional than most of Wandre Pioli's 1960s designs but the body is still distinctive, a sort of warped, flattened Stratocaster shape with Burns-like curves to the cutaway horns and a reverse offset on the rear edge. This body is finished in a rare Jungle Green livery overall, with a multi-bound "pinstripe" around the top edge.
"Doris" is equipped with three of the excellent sounding Davoli pickups Wandre favored mounted in a conventional top-mounted, back-painted clear plastic pickguard screwed solidly to the body; many Wandres have some sort of floating electronics assembly. This is decorated with silver flourishes, including a dot-accented border, stars, the Wandre crest and "Doris" in large "Follies Bergere" script across the lower edge. The pickups are controlled by a bank of on/off 2-way lever switches with master volume and tone knobs, with the pickguard helpfully marked above them.
Wandre's proprietary aluminum neck is sheathed in black plastic, topped with a mutant-Fender slotted headstock carrying the openback tuners on an aluminum strip screwed to the bass edge and a Wandre logo on the face. The fingerboard is rosewood, bound and inlaid with large plastic dots. The tremolo system is also a unique Wandre creation, with a thin tubular arm mounted offset below the post. The later-pattern adjustable bridge is more conventional than many of Wandre's designs, made of aluminum with thin saddles adjustable for intonation via Allen screws.
While somewhat conventional compared to many of Wandre Pioli's more eccentric electric children, "Doris" is pretty much unlike any other guitar in both sound and feel. It maintains all the best sonic and engineering features of the line combined with more solid construction than most. It plays and sounds fantastic, with the airy-but-biting tone of the Davoli pickups but sturdier feeling and a bit more aggressive sounding compared to the ethereal semi-hollow designs that make up much of the Wandre line. This is a very rare and wonderful instrument from the most inspired oddball Italian '60s guitar designer, a true artist of the electric guitar.
Overall length is 40 3/4 in. (103.5 cm.), 14 in. (35.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 in. (635 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This very rare guitar has survived in better condition than many of Wandre Pioli's creations, fully playable and appearing complete and nicely original. The body and neck are fully intact and free from any cracks or repairs; the vibrant and rare Jungle Green finish is all original showing some small chips, dents and dings. A couple of long finish checks have opened up on the back but the finish is not flaking or peeling. The fragile thin plastic neck sheath (often cracked or even completely missing by now) is complete, solid, and smooth to the touch, looking practically new.
The hardware appears to be all original, not missing the small screws, covers, and other bits that have often been broken or lost on many other Wandres. The pickup covers and the top of the bridge show some plating wear but everything works as intended and sounds superb. The frets show very little wear; the instrument was played but seemingly not very much. This is a very fine playing and fabulous sounding guitar despite (or because of) its eccentric construction, and it's a pleasant surprise to most who play them for the first time to discover the world-class sound and feel of these truly original guitars! It lives in a more modern oversize bass case; Wandres often originally were sold only in flimsy gig bags that have often gone missing by now. Overall Excellent Condition.
"What are those guitars -- man, we don't have those in the STATES!" So spoke Bob Dylan in 1965, captured on film looking into the window of an English music store full of Wandre guitars. These amazingly futuristic and completely original instruments were sold under different brand names in Europe through the 1960s. They have fascinated adventurous electric guitar fans since then, but most players have never seen or handled one. A few models were briefly marketed in the US just prior to the guitar boom period but they are extremely rare in this country. All Wandre instruments are eccentric, sometimes to the extreme. The solid-body "Doris" combines Italian artist/engineer Wandre Pioli's unique engineering concepts with a more conventional (and functional) guitar superstructure than many.
The Wandre story is a book-length epic tale of the battle between creativity and commerce, and there is a (unfortunately rare) 2014 book "WANDRE-The Artist Of The Electric Guitar" by Marco Ballestri available for the curious; this exact "Doris" is pictured on page 147. This guitar is the final version of the "Doris" model, redesigned from an earlier even more eccentric iteration in 1965-6. Like some other Wandre offerings (notably the Brigitte Bardot "BB" model) this one is named after a woman, in this case the mistress of Wandre's French distributor! This wood body "Doris" is more conventional than most of Wandre Pioli's 1960s designs but the body is still distinctive, a sort of warped, flattened Stratocaster shape with Burns-like curves to the cutaway horns and a reverse offset on the rear edge. This body is finished in a rare Jungle Green livery overall, with a multi-bound "pinstripe" around the top edge.
"Doris" is equipped with three of the excellent sounding Davoli pickups Wandre favored mounted in a conventional top-mounted, back-painted clear plastic pickguard screwed solidly to the body; many Wandres have some sort of floating electronics assembly. This is decorated with silver flourishes, including a dot-accented border, stars, the Wandre crest and "Doris" in large "Follies Bergere" script across the lower edge. The pickups are controlled by a bank of on/off 2-way lever switches with master volume and tone knobs, with the pickguard helpfully marked above them.
Wandre's proprietary aluminum neck is sheathed in black plastic, topped with a mutant-Fender slotted headstock carrying the openback tuners on an aluminum strip screwed to the bass edge and a Wandre logo on the face. The fingerboard is rosewood, bound and inlaid with large plastic dots. The tremolo system is also a unique Wandre creation, with a thin tubular arm mounted offset below the post. The later-pattern adjustable bridge is more conventional than many of Wandre's designs, made of aluminum with thin saddles adjustable for intonation via Allen screws.
While somewhat conventional compared to many of Wandre Pioli's more eccentric electric children, "Doris" is pretty much unlike any other guitar in both sound and feel. It maintains all the best sonic and engineering features of the line combined with more solid construction than most. It plays and sounds fantastic, with the airy-but-biting tone of the Davoli pickups but sturdier feeling and a bit more aggressive sounding compared to the ethereal semi-hollow designs that make up much of the Wandre line. This is a very rare and wonderful instrument from the most inspired oddball Italian '60s guitar designer, a true artist of the electric guitar.
Overall length is 40 3/4 in. (103.5 cm.), 14 in. (35.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 in. (635 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This very rare guitar has survived in better condition than many of Wandre Pioli's creations, fully playable and appearing complete and nicely original. The body and neck are fully intact and free from any cracks or repairs; the vibrant and rare Jungle Green finish is all original showing some small chips, dents and dings. A couple of long finish checks have opened up on the back but the finish is not flaking or peeling. The fragile thin plastic neck sheath (often cracked or even completely missing by now) is complete, solid, and smooth to the touch, looking practically new.
The hardware appears to be all original, not missing the small screws, covers, and other bits that have often been broken or lost on many other Wandres. The pickup covers and the top of the bridge show some plating wear but everything works as intended and sounds superb. The frets show very little wear; the instrument was played but seemingly not very much. This is a very fine playing and fabulous sounding guitar despite (or because of) its eccentric construction, and it's a pleasant surprise to most who play them for the first time to discover the world-class sound and feel of these truly original guitars! It lives in a more modern oversize bass case; Wandres often originally were sold only in flimsy gig bags that have often gone missing by now. Overall Excellent Condition.