| Fender Swinger | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Manufacturer | Fender |
| Period | 1969 |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Solid |
| Neck joint | Bolt-on |
| Scale | 22.5" |
| Woods | |
| Neck | Maple |
| Fretboard | Rosewood |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | Fixed (non-tremolo), 3-saddle adjustable |
| Pickup(s) | 1 single-coil pickup |
| Colors available | |
| include Dakota Red, Black, Candy Apple Red, Olympic White, Sonic Blue, Lake Placid Blue | |
The Fender Swinger (also known as the Fender Musiclander and Fender Arrow – as the "Swinger" emblem is usually missing from the headstock) was a short-lived electric guitar model released by Fender in 1969, with few made. The Swinger was an attempt by CBS (which had bought the company in 1965) to extract cash from inventory by combining unused bodies from the failed Fender Bass V with parts from the Fender Musicmaster. Another use of surplus stock was the Fender Custom (aka Fender Maverick). The Swinger was marketed as another cheaper, short-scale 'student' guitar, but never seriously promoted, with resulting low popularity. [1]
It was used by Tina Weymouth of the Talking Heads in live performances and can be seen in their movie Stop Making Sense. It has been used by Ben Kweller live, and saw the bulk of the guitar work on his recent self-titled album. Jimmy Page can be seen playing a modified Swinger (with a humbucker in the middle position) on the front of a Led Zeppelin live 8-track.
The Fender Swinger has become a vintage guitar and a collector's item.
Dating
As the Swinger was built using parts that were surplus, the individual components may be older than the guitar. For example, the neck may be datestamped 1966. As far as is known, all Swingers were assembled in 1969. There are estimates that only 250 to 300 Swingers were ever produced.
References
- ^ Bacon, Tony (2000). 50 Years of Fender: Half a Century of the Greatest Electric Guitars. Backbeat Books. p. 128 pages. ISBN 0879306211.
External links
- shortscale.org Fender Shortscale discussion forum
- Fender Swinger article on www.hypercustom.com
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