Swinger

[Pacafeliz]

YOU BASTARD!!!

[DGNR8]

Either would work, so they used what was handy. One pickup is true love.

[Sven]

Here she is:



The pic makes it look uniformly blue, but it does have some sexy purple burst going on.

[westtexasred]

Here she is:

The pic makes it look uniformly blue, but it does have some sexy purple burst going on.

She's a beauty! Thanks for posting the photo Sven.

[kapepepper]

@ westtexasred : we could be very good friends i think Nice and very special guitar to have

Do you already have a coronado?

[Lucamo]

My Jag and Coronado have gold undercoats (both CAR, obviously). Dated oct '66 and jan '67 respectively, so quite close together. Perhaps they used different undercoats in different periods?

I don't have anything CAR I just felt like chiming in to say:

Stewart, you are a dick and I hate you.





Not really just FACK CAR CORO's and Jag's are so fucking hot.

I'm in danger of becoming the CAR guy. The CAR guy is a dick. I don't even like it that much o_0

Don't say these things... they are just increasing the anger.

[Phil O'Keefe]

My Jag and Coronado have gold undercoats (both CAR, obviously). Dated oct '66 and jan '67 respectively, so quite close together. Perhaps they used different undercoats in different periods?

I believe the cutoff date was in '65 - prior to that, CAR used silver undercoat, and after that, Fender switched to gold; IIRC, completing the switch by the middle of 1966. They use a "clear" red over the undercoat (which allows you to see the sparkles), then a clear coat over that for CAR. If the red fades as the guitar ages (and red is one of the most likely colors to fade), the finish bronzes as you start to see more of the gold through the fading red. I've noticed the same thing on several of the Competition Red Compstangs. They have a kind of cola or bronzed tinted red color.

As my SFG Duo Sonic ages, it's going to get progressively less "blue" and more and more green as the lacquer clear coats yellow. As Fiesta red fades out over time, you start to see "salmon" and "coral" pink instead. Clear coated Olympic White starts out pure as the driven snow and winds up looking like banana pudding. It's all part of the way guitars age. I think it's kind of cool. Silver undercoated CAR may be flashier and prettier, but I think I like the way the gold undercoat version of CAR ages better. YMMV.

Both of the Swingers in this thread are very nice - congrats gentlemen!

[stewart]

My Jaguar has faded to copper in various places, but the back is still red. I'm *fairly* sure it doesn't have a clear coat. the finish is over sunburst, presumably a duffer that's been resprayed CAR before leaving the factory. The Coronado has much less fading (think it was a case queen in a former life) but the body is still kind of orangey in daylight. The headstock is a deep red.

[Sven]

She's a beauty! Thanks for posting the photo Sven.

No prob. Is the red swinger your first?

[westtexasred]

Yes,this is my 1st Swinger. I have looked for them off and on for the past few years but never bought one before.

There was a nice white one on ebay last month.Did anyone here buy that one? Link

[NickS]

My Christmas present(it's on "Lay-A-Way").

That's how mine should look.

[westtexasred]

My Christmas present(it's on "Lay-A-Way").

That's how mine should look.

Do you have a photo of yours Nick? I like to see it.

[NickS]

The first shows the original pickguard just positioned for pics. The pickup had to be rewound as it was o/c when I tried the guitar (about 1974). It was a cheap (£80) buy. I dug a very shallow pit by the bridge for the pickup and cut a bit of Traffolite for a pickguard, hence a bit wavy by the lower bout. The scabby, damaged CAR finish peeled off with a fingernail and I slapped on wood sealer. The neck varnish was also peeling off so that got polyurethaned (all but a fleck in the F of Fender stayed on the neck). I gather quite a few have been butchered with humbuckers. Looks like you got an all-original one, well done!

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[westtexasred]

The first shows the original pickguard just positioned for pics. The pickup had to be rewound as it was o/c when I tried the guitar (about 1974). It was a cheap (£80) buy. I dug a very shallow pit by the bridge for the pickup and cut a bit of Traffolite for a pickguard, hence a bit wavy by the lower bout. The scabby, damaged CAR finish peeled off with a fingernail and I slapped on wood sealer. The neck varnish was also peeling off so that got polyurethaned (all but a fleck in the F of Fender stayed on the neck). I gather quite a few have been butchered with humbuckers. Looks like you got an all-original one, well done!

Thanks! Yours looks great with the natural finish and blackguard,like a late 70s Mustang.





I got the red one because it is looks like Tina Weymouth's Swinger.





[youtube][/youtube]

[westtexasred]

Where did the Swinger bodys come from? I have read several different stories about the origins of this guitar.


Was it a Bass V body?



Or a Fender XII body?

[Sven]

Bass V bodies for sure, some say musicmaster bodies as well. Most have the routing matches the long / short pickups on the Bass V, but some swingers do not have any additional routing.

[Sven]

Leftover electric XII's were used to make the Swinger's bastard cousin....the Fender Maverick / Custom.

[stewart]

i've never heard of XII bodies being used for swingers. nickS's has the bass V routing, if i remember.

[hotrodperlmutter]

i always thought they were mustang bass bodies.

[rodvonbon]

The Bass V was a string through and that's why the butt end of the Swinger is cut the way it is. It notches around where the body would have been drilled through.
The Mustang bass is essentially the same body shape and dimensions as the Mustang and Musicmaster guitar. Believe me, I tried to get the shape of the Swinger to fit on the Mustang shape and it's just too small. The V on the other hand is a sizable piece of lumber.