1966 Fender Electric XII
Maker
Fender
(American, founded 1946)
Date1966
ClassificationsMusic
Description1966 Fender Electric XII, serial number 126865, in Sunburst finish with 12 strings. In a hardshell case.The Fender Electric XII is a 12-string electric guitar that was produced from 1965 to 1969. It was designed with a similar asymmetrical body to Fender's Jaguar and Jazzmaster guitars. It features a notably different headstock commonly referred to as the "hockey stick," meant to accommodate its twelve tuners. The Electric XII was one of the first purpose-built 12-string guitars, rather than taking a six-string model and adding additional strings. It has a split pickup design with four pickups and a three-way selector switch. Its bridge featured individual saddles for precise intonation control.
The Electric XII was not commercially popular, but was used extensively by Pete Townshend on the Who's rock-opera album Tommy (1969), by Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page on the song "Stairway to Heaven," and by Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison on The Velvet Underground's self-titled third album (1968).
