Fender / Electric Mandolin / 1956 / Translucent Blond / Stringed Instrument For Sale
Offset asymmetrical double cutaway solid body. This 10-inch-wide electric mandolin weighs just 2.90 lbs. and has a nut width of just under 1 3/16 inches and a scale length of 13 3/4 inches. Solid translucent blond ash body, one-piece deep "V"-shape maple neck with a medium-to-thick profile, and maple fretboard with 24 original medium frets and black dot position markers. "Butterfly" string tree guide on 1st and 2nd strings. Headstock decal with "Fender" spaghetti logo in gold with black trim. "No-name" Kluson Deluxe strip tuners with white plastic oval buttons (buttons replaced). Four-bolt neck plate with serial number ("01331") between the top two screws. One oblong single-coil four-pole pickup with transparent reddish-brown plastic cover and an output of 5.32k. Anodized aluminium pickguard. Two controls (one volume, one tone) and jack socket, all on lower treble side of the pickguard. Telecaster-type chrome knobs with flat tops and knurled sides. Combined "micro-adjustable" two-saddle bridge/tailpiece. With the original chrome bridge cover. The neck is dated: "12-56," the pickup cavity is dated: "12-56," and the pots are dated: "304645" (November 1956). This instrument has had one owner for the past twenty years -- he replaced the plastic tuner buttons due to "shrunken button" syndrome. There are a couple of very minor surface 'dings' mainly on the body edge, otherwise this instrument is in near mint (9.25) and totally original condition. The original frets and the fretboard show almost no signs of playing wear and the 'blueish' grain of the ash body shows beautifully through the 'blond' finish. Housed in the original Fender "tweed" hardshell case with red plush lining (9.25). Complete with the original bridge cover and the two original case keys, in their brown envelope.
The electric Fender Mandolin was manufactured from 1956-1976, but with the original specifications from 1956-1958 only.
"Fender looked back to a traditional instrument for its other new model for 1956 [in addition to the Duo-Sonic and the Musicmaster]: the electric Fender Mandolin. It sold for $169.50, with a Fender-style double-cutaway solid body and four strings rather than the regular mandolin's eight (in four pairs). Perhaps surprisingly, the Mandolin lasted in the line until the mid 1970s" (Tony Bacon, 50 Years of Fender, p. 22).
Eric Clapton owned a similar Mandolin (July 1957) which he bought for collecting purposes. It appeared as Lot 70 in his auction of June 24th, 2004. It was estimated at $4,000 - $6,000...and fetched $11,950! EC's had considerable wear on the fretboard and also on the anodized pickguard (to the treble side of the pickup)
Fender introduced the solidbody electric mandolin in 1956. They were used extensively by the western swing bands of the era including Billy Gray's band who endorsed the instruments of Fender. By 1976 they were discontinued from the Fender product line. Today's collectors of Fenders endearingly refer to them as Mando-casters.
Fretted Americana , USA 
We specialize in acquiring and offering the finest specimens of American vintage electric guitars with particular attention to those in their complete, original state. We are the only dealer to embrace a written code of ethics (in Terms & Conditions). We encourage you to read it.
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We want to inspire and win your trust and confidence. You don't want to have any negative surprises upon receipt of an instrument that you've invested yourself as well as your money into. Nor do you want any untoward surprises should you decide to sell it in the future.
To that end, every guitar that we offer is catalogued to a degree and depth of detail that is fast becoming the standard in the trade. When we declare an instrument to be completely original, it is. If it is not, we tell you exactly in what manner it has been altered.
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An inspection certificate of authenticity signed by David is provided with every guitar you purchase.
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CODE OF ETHICS
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To that end:
We meticulously inspect in detail every guitar that we offer. We check the finish, all of the electrical components, serial numbers, etc. With over thirty years of experience collecting and handling vintage guitars and our enormous reference library, we bring to bear all that is known about guitar manufacturers, models, and annual production.
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