The Fender Electric XII was a Jaguar/Jazzmaster style 12-string electric guitar. It was Fender's first solid-body electric 12 string. In a departure from the Strat-style headstock, it had a distinctive "hockey-stick" headstock.
The Electric XII used a split pickup design (like a Precision bass) with a 4 way pickup selector for neck, neck & bridge in series, neck & bridge in parallel and bridge only options. It used a string-through-body bridge. This model had the first 12 saddle bridge: allowing intonation to be set for each individual string.
The first models had unbound fingerboards with dot inlays. From 1966 onwards they had bound fingerboards and block inlays.
The model was discontinued in 1969. Left-over Electric XII necks were used for Fender Maverick guitars, the Mavericks were only 6-strings leaving a huge gap between each machinehead.
Later in the 1960s Fender introduced a thin hollow-body 12-string: the Coronado XII made 1967-1970. Also in the modern era there have also been several 12-string Stratocaster models, starting with the Japanese made Special/Deluxe Series Strat XII of 1988-1997, then the Classic Series Stratocaster XII (2003-2004) and the Special Edition Series Stratocaster XII (2005-10). There was also a Fender Custom Shop 12-string Telecaster in the late 1990s.
2 Comments
Fender Electric XII
Submitted by Jimmy Jitters (not verified) on
What about the Coronado XII?
Fender 12 strings
Submitted by guitar-list on
Good point, thanks! There were other Fender 12 strings - the Electric XII was the first solid body 12 string. I've added info about the Coronado XII and other Fender 12 string models to the page.
Nathan