Description

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History & Design

• Origin: Introduced in late 1965, with 1966 being a peak production year, as Leo Fender’s answer to 12-string demand, engineered from the ground up, not just a modified 6-string.
• Body: Offset waist, similar to Jazzmaster/Jaguar, providing balance and comfort.
• Headstock: Long “hockey stick” design to accommodate the extra strings and tuners.
• Pickups: Two unique split-coil pickups (like a humbucker but in single-coil mode) for clear, defined 12-string sound.
• Controls: 4-way rotary switch for various pickup combinations (neck, bridge, both, out-of-phase) plus master volume and tone.
• Bridge: String-through-body with 12 individual saddles for better intonation and sustain.
• Neck: Maple bolt-on with rosewood fingerboard, transitioning from dots to block inlays, and unbound to bound.

Legacy

• Commercial Performance: Not a massive hit, discontinued around 1970, but its design proved influential.
• Iconic Usage: Famously used by Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”), The Who, and others, making its sound legendary.
• Studio Work: Valued by producers for its versatile, chiming sound in studio environments.
• Six-String Conversion: Leftover parts were used to create the short-lived 6-string Fender Custom/Maverick.