Fender Champion Lap Steel Electric Guitar (1955)
LOADING IMAGES
This item has been sold.
Item # 9678
Prices subject to change without notice.
Fender Champion Model Lap Steel Electric Guitar (1955), made in Fullerton, California, yellow pearloid finish, hardwood body, original brown alligator chipboard case.
This 1955 Champion is a late 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. The flashy plastic-covered symmetrical two-bout body has a chrome bridge and cover plate with dome-top knurled knobs. The serial number 6842 is stamped on the bridgeplate where the strings anchor through the body. The pots and wiring are original; the date codes on the pots are partially soldered over but Mary's masking tape signature indicates she wired this Champ up on August 17, 1955.
The metal fingerboard plate 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". The next year the Champion was re-designed with a new pickup and lost much of its early character. Over the years many of these 1949-55 Champs have sacrificed their pickups to provide the engine for vintage Telecaster recreations -- this one has fortunately avoided that fate. It remains as Mary put it together, 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 nicely clean and original Champion, showing just light wear overall. The metal handrest and headstock show some small corrosion spots, while the body has just minor wear. The only alteration is new buttons on the original Kluson strip tuners, replacing the disintegrated originals. The original pickup and electronics are fully intact and sound fantastic; the trend of stripping the vintage Telecaster-style pickups out of these has accelerated recently leaving fewer and fewer intact and unaltered original examples. This Steel is basically pretty much as it left Fullerton in 1955, including the worn and semi-functional (for storage at least) alligator grain original chipboard case. Excellent Condition.
This 1955 Champion is a late 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. The flashy plastic-covered symmetrical two-bout body has a chrome bridge and cover plate with dome-top knurled knobs. The serial number 6842 is stamped on the bridgeplate where the strings anchor through the body. The pots and wiring are original; the date codes on the pots are partially soldered over but Mary's masking tape signature indicates she wired this Champ up on August 17, 1955.
The metal fingerboard plate 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". The next year the Champion was re-designed with a new pickup and lost much of its early character. Over the years many of these 1949-55 Champs have sacrificed their pickups to provide the engine for vintage Telecaster recreations -- this one has fortunately avoided that fate. It remains as Mary put it together, 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 nicely clean and original Champion, showing just light wear overall. The metal handrest and headstock show some small corrosion spots, while the body has just minor wear. The only alteration is new buttons on the original Kluson strip tuners, replacing the disintegrated originals. The original pickup and electronics are fully intact and sound fantastic; the trend of stripping the vintage Telecaster-style pickups out of these has accelerated recently leaving fewer and fewer intact and unaltered original examples. This Steel is basically pretty much as it left Fullerton in 1955, including the worn and semi-functional (for storage at least) alligator grain original chipboard case. Excellent Condition.