Guitars That got Away
1966 Fender Electric XII
Ice Blue Metallic
Ice Blue Metallic Beauty
On this visit to the USA in the early to mid 1980s, I ventured into Norma’s Rare Guitars and was somewhat underwhelmed at the time. (This was his old, smaller store) but he did have one very near mint 1966 Fender Electric XII in Ice Blue Metallic that I simply had to have.
If memory serves me right, I think I paid about US$750-850 for it. With the exception of a few marks near the neck plate, it was in very good condition all over. The pic here is of the guitar on the floor In Norman’s Rare Guitars, just after I paid for it.
I was at the time right into 60’s Pop Music and the Power Pop bands of the 1980s such as The Nerves, The Plimsouls, The Paul Collins’ Beat, REM and The Knack. There was one local Sydney band called Forever Fifteen that I loved and the singer Bob Jones played a twelve string on a few songs in their set, this certainly influenced my decision to buy this guitar.
I kept this guitar for only a short period once again, I eventually on sold it for I think round AUD$950, and the guitar left Australia with its new owner and headed for the UK, never to be seen again.
Serial Number: 130323
Build Date: 1966
MINTY GOODNESS
Many of these guitars were finished in the rather ugly three colour sunburst, and if a custom colour was found it was often Candy Apple Red, so to find one in the rare Ice Blue Metallic was quite a find for me. This guitar being a 1966 model had dot inlays on the neck and not the ugly block inlays found in the models released later that same year.
This 1966 Fender Electric XII in Ice Blue Metallic was very minty, with the exception of these few marks near the neck plate and a couple of small dings in the headstock. The serial number is bang on for a 1966 guitar, and includes the CBS era ‘F’ logo which appeared on these guitars after the CBS takeover of Fender Musical Instruments.
