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Topic: What is this Fender 6 string called? |
Jim Konrad
From:
The Great Black Swamp USA
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Posted 15 Mar 2008 1:12 pm |
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I have looked for a while and have not seen one like this. What is the model name of it? It has some type of pickup blend control under the bridge cover. I took it to the vintage place near by and he has been wanting to buy it since then. He said the paint should be white but mine looks like an original Fender custom color from the factory. He also said it was a 1956 because of the white case color. I am no expert vintage guru so I am not sure what is correct. But I took the tuners out and the pickup plate off and could find no signs of a repaint. It has quite a few chips in the paint and no other colors show through. I was wondering what everyone here has to say about it. It is not for sale but what would a ball park price be. Thanks everyone!!!
 Jim |
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Dave Harmonson
From:
Seattle, Wa
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Posted 15 Mar 2008 3:27 pm
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That's a Deluxe 6. Built just like the Stringmaster but with two less strings and only one neck. I've got a yellow one just like it. Mine's a bit newer, from the 60's. They have great tone, and if you want to rock it up, put it thru some a distortion box or an overdrive and it'll sail.
I don't know if that's a stock color, but it does look to be from the 50's. I wouldn't claim to be an expert at all, but would guess it's probably woth somewhere around $1000, especially with the original case. By the way I don't have a case for mine, so if you came by and lost it at my place I'd be cool with that.  |
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Eric Dunst
From:
Brooklyn, New York, USA
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Posted 15 Mar 2008 7:05 pm
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If you took the tuning pan out and didn't see the date written in the cavity, maybe on a piece of masking tape, then I'd guess it was re-finished. But I don't know much about custom order stuff.
The white tolex case dates it to 1963 or very early '64. I've got an 8 string Deluxe (blonde) with the same case that's dated 12/62 (I assume it didn't get to a store until after the new year).
It's a really nice guitar all the same.
A really good place for information on dating vintage fenders (cases and all):
http://www.provide.net/~cfh/fender.html |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Posted 15 Mar 2008 9:35 pm
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This guitar was only available in two colors: blonde and walnut. (by the late 70's it was available in white and black). According to Jody Carver and other reputable sources, Fender never did any custom colors for the steel guitars. Jody has stated that here many times.
The case dates it to early 60's. The source/date codes on the pots will tell you when the electronics were made, IF they are original. Since it's been refinished, there's a chance that the pots have been replaced. Fender had stopped writing in pencil dates under the tuner pan by the 1960s, as far as I know, and the masking tape inside the cavity was early 50's only.
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Andy Sandoval
From:
Bakersfield, California, USA
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Posted 15 Mar 2008 11:06 pm
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I'm gonna guess mid 60's too because of the case and the color is one I remember bein very popular back then, especially on cars. If it sounds good who cares what color it is.  |
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Jim Konrad
From:
The Great Black Swamp USA
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Posted 15 Mar 2008 11:15 pm
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I bought this out of the newspaper ad that read "older lap steel guitar, good condition $50 obo". I read the ads every day and called at 7:30 am. She said I would not be able to see it till later at 3:00 when she would be home. Anyway I told her to consider it sold. I got there at 3:00 and her and her husband told me how there son played it in high school and then stopped playing. Their son could have gone to high school in the early 60s. Any way she opened the case and I said "oh its a fender" she said all the other callers wanted to buy it when she told them it was a fender. She told me I was the only one who didn't ask what kind it was and asked why I did not inquire as to the brand. I told her any older lap steel "good shape" was worth $50 to me and I did not want to risk missing out on it. Anyway if it was refinished It should have been taken better care of, this guitar has some pretty good bumps down to the wood. The color matches a lot of the early 60s "lake placid blue" fenders. I have done a lot of painting, bikes, cars, a couple guitars, and I think I have a very good eye for repaints, this paint is so thin that you can see the wood grain in it. If it was refinished it was completely stripped down to wood a long time ago and then played and knocked around for a while. But I think if anyone went through the trouble to refinish, they would have taken better care of it and not picked "lake placid blue" then sold it for $50. It all kind of adds up to being weird. As far as sound goes, it is ok but I have an Oahu that could eat it up. Doug, you are correct with the "Blond and Walnut" colors that is what the other guy said also. But this just does not add up to me. I am not saying I am sure this is original but there seems like there could be a little more to this story. Original or not, I know I cant ever complain about a $50 fender anything. I do appreciate anything anyone has to offer on this, and thanks for all the info so far!!!
Jim |
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Jim Konrad
From:
The Great Black Swamp USA
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Posted 16 Mar 2008 12:32 am
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Jim, yes, it's an excellent buy... a once in a lifetime buy!
As far as the finish, according to everything I have read... Vintage Guitar Magazine, George Gruhn, and from Jody Carver, who was a major Fender steel guitar rep from the early 50s through the 70s... the factory did not do custom finishes on the steel guitars. Jody has addressed this several times, and he has said "no way, no how" did any steel guitar ever leave the factory with a custom finish. I think what we're seeing here is an old refinish. Someone repainted it in the 60's, in my opinion, and did an excellent job. They probably liked the Fender blue of that era and matched it closely. Try removing the tuner pan and the bridge plate to see if the body shows any traces of the original finish. Refin or not... it's an excellent classic steel guitar. An all-original Deluxe-6 in exc. condition sells for about $850 to $1000 in todays market. Refinishes cut 30% to 50% of the value of a vintage guitar, as you probably know. To most Players that doesn't matter. I'd say, play it and enjoy it! You're a lucky man. 
_________________
My Site / My YouTube Channel
25 Songs C6 Lap Steel / 25 MORE Songs C6 Lap Steel / 16 Songs, C6, A6, B11 / 60 Popular Melodies E9 Pedal Steel |
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Jim Walker
From:
Headland, AL
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Posted 16 Mar 2008 12:50 am
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What a bargain! I already had my once in a lifetime bargain like this. In 1996 I walked in to a mom & pop pawnshop on Kansas Avenue in Modesto, California and bought a 50's Gibson BR9 in excellent condition with original case for $20. A few weeks later I sold it for $450 in the Modesto Bee Classifieds. CHA CHING! 
JW
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Show Pro D10, Session 400 |
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Dave Harmonson
From:
Seattle, Wa
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Posted 16 Mar 2008 10:20 am
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| I got my deluxe 6 back around '83-'84 for $75.00. It was in the window showcase at a little independant music store set up on the legs with a $75 sign on it. I walked in and bought it. I didn't see any point in haggling. I always use the sound with both pickups. It gets rather thin if you dial in just one. Congrats on getting such a great deal. Does this lady have any broadcasters or nocasters hanging around for fifty bucks? |
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Jim Konrad
From:
The Great Black Swamp USA
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Posted 16 Mar 2008 10:38 am
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Doug,
I am sure you and the folks you mentioned know a billion times more than I do and I really appreciate your knowledge. I knew everyone here would be able to get to the bottom this with quickness. I have learned a lot from every one in the last half year. Just for fun I thought I would throw in a picture of a Leslie 60 that I got at a yard sale 10 years ago for $25. If you have never played through a stereo Leslie set up you should try it if you get the chance!! It sounds like it was made for lap steel. Thanks for all of the advise, stay tuned for another slight mystery!
Jim
Last edited by Jim Konrad on 17 Mar 2008 7:15 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 16 Mar 2008 12:50 pm
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Sure looks like Lake Placid Blue to me. Back in those days, bands liked to present a uniform appearance. Same shirts and pants, same style amps, and same color instruments. I once had a '58 Bassman that had been re-tolexed in black with more modern grillcloth. That may be the story behind this guitar.
Here's another seldom seen Fender blue. It's on my '57 Strat (61 pickguard) San Marino Blue. It's a bit lighter and quite a bit more metallicy lookin.' Was also used on '57 Eldorados.
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Jim Konrad
From:
The Great Black Swamp USA
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Posted 19 Mar 2008 5:41 am
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| Doug Beaumier wrote: |
Jim, yes, it's an excellent buy... a once in a lifetime buy!
As far as the finish, according to everything I have read... Vintage Guitar Magazine, George Gruhn, and from Jody Carver, who was a major Fender steel guitar rep from the early 50s through the 70s... the factory did not do custom finishes on the steel guitars. Jody has addressed this several times, and he has said "no way, no how" did any steel guitar ever leave the factory with a custom finish. I think what we're seeing here is an old refinish. Someone repainted it in the 60's, in my opinion, and did an excellent job. They probably liked the Fender blue of that era and matched it closely. Try removing the tuner pan and the bridge plate to see if the body shows any traces of the original finish. Refin or not... it's an excellent classic steel guitar. An all-original Deluxe-6 in exc. condition sells for about $850 to $1000 in todays market. Refinishes cut 30% to 50% of the value of a vintage guitar, as you probably know. To most Players that doesn't matter. I'd say, play it and enjoy it! You're a lucky man. |
I am lucky in more ways that I can count!! Someday soon, I might dig into it a little deeper, I did have some of the parts off of it a while ago and could find no signs of a re-finish. I am new to this forum thing and I am sure I have missed out on many facts in the past. I am pretty sure they said they bought it new at a store that Guitar Center and Mars put out of business a few years ago. How could I tell if the pickups are original? <*)))>{
Thanks!!
Jim |
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