Fender Dual Eight

Bob Metzger · From: Waltham (Boston), MA, USA

I've had the good fortune to come by a very early 50's Fender Dual Eight but it needs work. One thing that is missing is the plate for the neck selector switch. Now I'm sure there aren't millions of these floating around nowadays and I know I can make up something that will look and work about the same but it doesn't hurt to ask, does it? The same is true for the wooden switch tip.

Thanks,

Bob M.

Jody Carver · From: KNIGHT OF FENDER TWEED

Bob,,Its no big deal,,,there are parts like that out there,,,I'll check around the Fender
"salvage" guys I know,,,,what do you refer to as a wooden tip?? I dont know what you mean.? Oh.. you mean the black tip that fits the toggle switch? thats plastic not wood,,if thats what you refer to.

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 31 May 2002 at 03:08 PM.]

Bob Metzger · From: Waltham (Boston), MA, USA

Jody,
Thanks for your reply and assistance.

The very early Fender steels (with, of course, multiple necks) were fitted with a wooden switch tip, which was later changed to the more familiar plastic tip. When this change came about, I'm not sure but certainly by the time the stringmasters were being built. I don't know if there are any Dual Eights or Customs that originally were built with the plastic switch tip, but like with everything else Fender, there probably were.

Bob M.

Jody Carver · From: KNIGHT OF FENDER TWEED

Bob
You got me,,,,to my knowledge all tip selector tips were plastic,,and I'm going back as far as 1949. There were a few ,,very few that were made from a material other than plastic,,,but they were not wood per say.

My first Custom was a 48 and it had a plastic tip,,,maybe you had more pull with Leo than I ,,,,,,

However I'll check around the Fender graveyards,,,,and see what I can "dig up"

later my friend... just curious....why must it be wood????

Bob Metzger · From: Waltham (Boston), MA, USA

I'm no expert on Fender steels and, of course, I could be mistaken but my best info tells me that the Dual Eight and the Custom came with wooden switch tips, at least initially. Maybe near the end they became plastic. I can't remember where I saw that close-up photo of a Dual Eight with a wooden switch tip and I remember remarking how different that was for Fender. It's easy enough to change out a part like that to whatever. Maybe, in fact, what I saw was such an occurance. But let's ask the good folks at this forum for guidance and enlightenment on this and see if anyone else concurrs or not.

It doesn't have to be wood but if I'm to do a credible restoration it should be something that appeared on the guitar originally.

Bob M.

[This message was edited by Bob Metzger on 01 June 2002 at 03:09 AM.]

Robert · From: Chicago

Bob:
I don't know how much more "guidance and enlightenment" you're going to get - you've got "Mr. Fender" himself, Jody Carver, helping you out! I've got an old Dual Professional, walnut, with the trapezoidal PUPs - and it, too, has a plastic switch tip.

Rob Yale

Jody Carver · From: KNIGHT OF FENDER TWEED

Robert & Bob...

I had an old triple neck,,,,the plastic tip
had a "pat pending number" on it, a player years later offered to buy that tip from me & give me his tip in exchange. His tip had no "pat pending on it" so I guess he wanted what would be considered the oldest.

Im not making an issue of this,,,pls understand,,,,but again,,,I have no knowledge
of anything like you describe,,would have been nice though to have a wooden tip made from black rosewood or some dense type of wood material,,,,Is your Fender original??
The let it be,,,whats a tip between friends.

Let me give you a tip,,,,you can search the world and get 100 different answers,,,,when Im gone,,,I'll ask Leo,,

play it and enjoy it,,,,thats the best tip I can give you.

Bob Metzger · From: Waltham (Boston), MA, USA

As I've said, I may be wrongly assuming about the wooden tip being a stock item. I've seen 4 or so pre-stringmaster Fender multiple neck steels plus some close up photos of the same and that's how I came to hold this idea. I guess it's possible that these particular steel owners all had replacement wooden switch tips, for some unknown reason but that seems like a great coincidence.

In my opinion, my Dual Eight is absolutely original. I can't imagine anyone with the talent to make such a convincing forgery (if it were) would waste his skill and time on a mere Dual Eight when he could be forging '58 Stratocasters and making himself rich.

Anyway, I got sidetracked from my original idea, which is to find a plate to mount a switch onto and get a switch tip that would be consistent with how this steel originally was made, regardless of its compositional material. I apologize for spreading disinformation, if that is the case. I'll try to find the photo of what I described above and report back if I unearth any startling news. However, I have seen so many variations on stock Fender themes over the years that I'm not really surprised by anything.

Bob Metzger · From: Waltham (Boston), MA, USA

While I've got your ear, do you have any shipping totals/manufacturing totals on the Fender 400, 800, 1000 and 2000?

Thanks,

Bob M.

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