CRAVE Guitars says…
Thumbs up: Unique appearance and tone, offset body style, scarcity, not sunburst finish
Thumbs down: Refinished body, replacement tuners, limited uses, high vintage values, non‑OHSC
Decree: Great as an occasional guitar with a highly evocative look and sound. Probably one for a serious enthusiast to use judiciously rather than as a day‑to‑day workhorse
Model Description:
The summer and autumn of 1966 was a big year for Fender 12‑string electric guitars. Fender’s first 12‑string was the Electric XII (initially called ‘12‑String electric guitar’ by Fender), released shortly before the hollow body Coronado XII. The Electric XII was priced at $339 (sunburst) and the Coronado at $449. Fender was responding to competition from the likes of Rickenbacker and Gibson due to the popularity of the 12‑string folk/rock sound of bands like The Byrds and The Beatles. The model was designed as an all‑new guitar by Leo Fender as one of his last projects before he sold the company to CBS in 1965. There are a number of innovations including the curiously ungainly droopy ‘hockey stick’ headstock with a 6 tuners per‑side design, a unique split single coil wide range pickup design (very similar in style to a Precision Bass pickup), a 4‑way rotary pickup selector switch and a dedicated 12‑saddle integrated bridge/tailpiece with through‑body stringing. The guitar was based around the Jaguar/Jazzmaster offset alder body with a bolt‑on maple neck. Early Electric XII’s (i.e. most of them) came in sunburst finish with unbound rosewood fingerboards and dot markers. From 1966/67 onwards, some Electric XIIs appeared with bound fingerboards and block markers (like the 1966‑onwards Jaguar). The Electric XII wasn’t very successful partly because the 12‑string sound proved to be a short‑term fad. Production numbers were being run down during 1968 before it was discontinued altogether in 1969. The Coronado XII lasted slightly longer into early 1970. The Electric XII was more widely used in the studio than on stage/TV. Famously, the Electric XII was used by Jimmy Page on the tracks ‘Stairway to Heaven’ and ‘When the Levee Breaks’ (recorded in 1970) by Led Zeppelin. Despite its original lack of success, Fender reintroduced the Electric XII in 2019. The Stratocaster XII has been Fender’s contemporary return to the 12‑string format, minus the ‘hockey stick’ headstock. Because of its short production run and its niche interest, not many Electric XIIs were made relative to more popular models, although the actual shipping numbers are not known. As a result, the Electric XII has become a sought‑after collectable with demand outstripping supply, resulting in prices on the vintage market increasing disproportionately.
Guitar Description:
Where does one start with this intriguing instrument? Well, to start off with, here’s a 1966 Fender Electric XII, the year in which the model was most popular. Most Electric XIIs were sold in sunburst finish, although a sizeable number featured other common and rarer custom colours. Now for the ‘bad’ news, the body has been (re‑)finished in Olympic White at some time a long while ago (and not particularly well). The finish has now faded from creamy white to a buttery yellow. It makes a change from the ubiquitous sunburst finish, which was common. Bluntly, I couldn’t afford an original finish Electric XII, so this was my only opportunity to own one. Let’s face it, for most guitarists, owning an electric 12‑string is a bit of a luxury and very unlikely to be a main instrument, so scarcity and the (overly) high market prices tend to make it a specialist find. Echoing the broad history of the Electric XII, this one belonged to a London recording studio owner for the last 30 years or so, so it has been well used and well looked after. Not only has it been refinished but also the tuners are replacement Schaller ones, a popular ‘upgrade’ at the time, and the pickup selector switch is not a 1960s original. Even though not completely original, this example is in much better condition than an average ‘player grade’ guitar. There is nothing out there that really compares to the Electric XII, as both the Rickenbacker and Gibson rivals have their own unique look, sound and feel. The offset body definitely is part of the Jaguar/Jazzmaster/Bass VI family and looks great and very ‘in vogue’. It sounds good too, just as you’d expect. It is a pain to keep in tune and it isn’t great for ‘shredding’. It is all too tempting to pigeonhole the sound of the Electric XII as only suited to 1960s’ surf or jingle/jangle pop but it is far more flexible than that. The standard width nut makes for a lot of strings in a small space, so that may be a consideration for some prospective owners, although nowhere near as tight as on, say, a Rickenbacker. The renascent popularity of unusual offset guitars like the Electric XII will only increase interest in – and raise market prices of – the original now‑vintage predecessors.
Features:
- Made in Fullerton, California, U.S.A. in 1966
- Offset alder body with forearm and rib contours
- Olympic White nitrocellulose re‑finish
- Maple bolt‑on neck with ‘hockey stick’ headstock
- Original ‘F’ neck plate with serial number
- Replacement Schaller tuners
- Unbound rosewood fingerboard with 21 frets and pearloid dot markers
- Scale length 25½” (647mm)
- Nut width 1 11/16” (42mm)
- Original tortoiseshell scratchplate and chrome control plate
- Original dual split single‑coil covered pickups, 4‑way pickup selector switch, pots, volume/tone ‘amp’ knobs and jack socket
- Non-original rotary pickup selector switch knob
- Original Fender‑designed 12-saddle bridge with through‑body stringing
- Weight 7lb 14oz (3.6kg)
- Non-original hard shell case
Artists:
- Tim Buckley
- Larry Carlton
- Gene Clark (The Byrds)
- Eric Clapton (Cream)
- Bob Dylan
- Nick McCabe (Verve)
- Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth)
- Sterling Morrison (Velvet Underground)
- Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)
- Tom Petty
- Elvis Presley
- Lou Reed (Velvet Underground)
- Chad Taylor (Live)
- Pete Townshend (The Who)
- Roy Wood (The Move)
- Carl Wilson (Beach Boys)
- Steve Vai
- Johnny Winter
Trivia:
Most electric 12‑string guitars used 6‑saddle bridges with each saddle accommodating two strings, which could prove problematic for accurate tuning and intonation. However, the Electric XII featured Leo Fender’s unique, fully‑adjustable 12‑saddle bridge that allowed precise intonation for each string. The bridge also enabled Telecaster‑like string‑through‑body design to improve sustain. In addition, the Electric XII’s pickups were also exclusive to the model.
A well‑worn guitarist’s joke… “What’s the only thing you can’t play on a 12‑string guitar? In tune.” LoL.
Detail Gallery:
