Fender Electric XII 12 String Solid Body Electric Guitar (1966)
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Item # 8924
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Fender Electric XII Model 12 String Solid Body Electric Guitar (1966), made in Fullerton, California, serial # 129600, sunburst lacquer finish, alder body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original black tolex hard shell case.
The "Electric XII" is perhaps not one of Fender's best-remembered creations but nonetheless is a superbly engineered, great-sounding and extremely practical guitar. Introduced at the 1965 NAMM Show at the dawn of the CBS/Fender era the Fender 12-string married the popular Jaguar/Jazzmaster style body to a new 12-string neck with a distinctive extended "hockey stick" headstock. The neck itself is typically Fender; slim and very comfortable. These are often considered the best-playing electric 12s of the 1960s.
The electronics are unique as well with two pickups each with two separate coil units, as pioneered by the Precision Bass, mated to a 4-way selector setup allowing different phase combinations. The bridge is a marvel of Leo Fender's engineering prowess, with 12 intonation-adjustable saddles and must be considered the best unit of its kind ever attempted. This guitar carries a neck date of April 1966, the year the great majority of Electric XIIs were made.
With all this original engineering, Fender somewhat missed the boat a bit on the electric 12-string fad and by the time the "Electric XII" was ready to market Rickenbacker had already reaped the bulk of benefit of the Byrds' and Beatles' popularization of the sound. For all that, the guitar is a very good design and an excellent-sounding stage or recording instrument, albeit without exactly capturing the Rick's trademark jangle. Led Zeppelin, the Velvet Underground, The Move, The Kinks, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, the Baja Marimba Band, and many others have made classic recordings with this model, and much of its potential is perhaps still untapped.
Overall length is 42 7/8 in. (108.9 cm.), 14 in. (35.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This is a very nice example, almost all original and showing just small dings, dents, and handling wear, with a couple of scratches to the top and some finish worn off the treble side of the neck. The sunburst finish is still bright with virtually no fade to the color. This would be an all-original guitar except for some reason the pots were neatly replaced in 1987, with the original pickups, wiring and tone caps left intact. There are no other alterations, and actually the guitar looks to have not been played that much since it shipped out of Fullerton in 1966. A lovely package of jangle still residing in its original red-lined black Tolex Fender HSC. Excellent Condition.
The "Electric XII" is perhaps not one of Fender's best-remembered creations but nonetheless is a superbly engineered, great-sounding and extremely practical guitar. Introduced at the 1965 NAMM Show at the dawn of the CBS/Fender era the Fender 12-string married the popular Jaguar/Jazzmaster style body to a new 12-string neck with a distinctive extended "hockey stick" headstock. The neck itself is typically Fender; slim and very comfortable. These are often considered the best-playing electric 12s of the 1960s.
The electronics are unique as well with two pickups each with two separate coil units, as pioneered by the Precision Bass, mated to a 4-way selector setup allowing different phase combinations. The bridge is a marvel of Leo Fender's engineering prowess, with 12 intonation-adjustable saddles and must be considered the best unit of its kind ever attempted. This guitar carries a neck date of April 1966, the year the great majority of Electric XIIs were made.
With all this original engineering, Fender somewhat missed the boat a bit on the electric 12-string fad and by the time the "Electric XII" was ready to market Rickenbacker had already reaped the bulk of benefit of the Byrds' and Beatles' popularization of the sound. For all that, the guitar is a very good design and an excellent-sounding stage or recording instrument, albeit without exactly capturing the Rick's trademark jangle. Led Zeppelin, the Velvet Underground, The Move, The Kinks, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, the Baja Marimba Band, and many others have made classic recordings with this model, and much of its potential is perhaps still untapped.
Overall length is 42 7/8 in. (108.9 cm.), 14 in. (35.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This is a very nice example, almost all original and showing just small dings, dents, and handling wear, with a couple of scratches to the top and some finish worn off the treble side of the neck. The sunburst finish is still bright with virtually no fade to the color. This would be an all-original guitar except for some reason the pots were neatly replaced in 1987, with the original pickups, wiring and tone caps left intact. There are no other alterations, and actually the guitar looks to have not been played that much since it shipped out of Fullerton in 1966. A lovely package of jangle still residing in its original red-lined black Tolex Fender HSC. Excellent Condition.