Chicago Music Exchange | 4 years ago
Take a day trip to the CME BASSment and Mike might just bust out this 1967 Fender Coronado II, a cream-colored Olympic White wonder, part of the Roger Rossmeisl era of innovation that lasted from 1962 to 1973.
The very un-Fender like instrument was designed by Roger Rossmeisl, who had previously also designed instruments for Rickenbacker, but who went on to create numerous models for Fender, in an attempt to capitalize on the increasing popularity of semi-acoustic guitars following the high-profile use of hollow-bodied instruments, such as the Epiphone Casino by bands such as The Beatles. During Rossmeisl's time designing for Fender, he also designed the Fender Montego, a "jazz box" style guitar which shares the Coronado's fixed F tailpiece, and the 1967 Fender Wildwood which shares the Stratocaster headstock.
Three versions of the Coronado guitar were produced from 1966 through 1972. The Fender Coronado I, discontinued in 1970, was the original single pickup design. The Coronado II had an added bridge pickup with relative tone and volume controls. The Coronado XII, released in 1967, was a twelve-string version of the guitar. Coronado basses were also manufactured.
The Coronado was a true hollow-bodied electric guitar. Like the Gibson ES-330 and Epiphone Casino, it did not have a central solid wood block in the body. This is in contrast with guitars such as the Gibson ES-335 which, although appearing similar, were constructed with a solid central block running lengthways through the archtop body.
The top, sides, and back of the body on the Wildwood body were constructed from laminated beechwood, and maple was used for the non Wildwood versions, the top being slightly arched, and featuring two generous, routed and bound "f" holes. The body of the instrument was finished in a high-gloss nitrocellulose lacquer, a finish which is no longer frequently used in the manufacture of modern guitars. A number of Coronado II and Coronado XII guitars were offered in a special "Wildwood" finish. This involved specially prepared, heavily grained beechwood; a dye was injected into the growing trees, years prior to harvesting, which stained the grain pattern of the wood. Only one Blonde Coronado is known to exist, it is in a private collection in California. (If this Blonde Coronado has Black Binding, it is Olympic White that has "yellowed" over the years)
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Songs:
00:00 - 0:48: "Day Tripper" by The Beatles
01:37 - 02:10: "Is It True" by Tame Impala
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