The plastic covering has some dings and dents and a spot flaked away on the back edge nearly all the flocking is gone from the bottom of the body. It shows some general wear overall, with minor scratches and a spot of stencil loss to the metal fingerboard along with scuffing and corrosion on the headplate and bridge cover. This is a nice player's Champion overall, and still a fine sounding instrument though not strictly original as noted above. (3.5 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. (19 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/8 in. This one is one of them, but it has been equipped with the best possible reproduction so is still an excellent player's instrument. Over the years many Champs have sacrificed their pickups to provide the engine for vintage Telecaster recreations, a trend that has become even more common recently. The headstock has metal facing with integral nut stamped with lighting bolt logo and "Fender Electric Instrument Co. The metal fingerboard plate pinned to the body has black paint screening to outline fret positions.
#Fender champion lap steel review serial number#
While no date markings are evident the use of slot-head screws along with the serial number indicate this Champion was likely assembled in 1952-3. The serial number 5240 is stamped on the bridgeplate where the strings anchor through the body. The flashy plastic-covered symmetrical two-bout body has a chrome bridge and cover plate with conveniently positioned tone and volume knobs.
#Fender champion lap steel review professional#
The knobs are dome-topped Fender style repros, in the correct style for the early 1950s.Īlthough designed as a student instrument, the Champion Steel was - and remains - a great-sounding guitar fully suited to professional use then or now. The wiring and pots are modern but the original wax tone cap appears to have been retained. This instrument sounds and plays excellent but is not all original as it is set up with a recent Duncan Antiquity re-creation of the original pickup, which is a great sounding unit in itself. This Champion is a nice player's example of Fender's "bread and butter" lap steel from the first half of the 1950s. The original hard shell Fender Tweed case is included, and while it has some stains, it’s in good shape.Fender Champion Model Lap Steel Electric Guitar (1952), made in Fullerton, California, serial # 5240, yellow pearloid finish, hardwood body. The metal parts show little to no corrosion, and there isn’t much wear. It’s had some wiring repairs – the jack has been replaced and the pots may not be original. This particular Fender Champ Lap Steel is in very clean condition all round.
The bottom has a green felt pad, and while it was available in a number of colours, this Desert Sand, or Fawn or Tan, was perhaps the most common.
The fingerboard, such as it is, is a screened metal sheet with markings for 29 frets. Built with a lightly contoured Alder or Ash body, a single pickup mounted on a metal control / bridge plate and a fairly standard six-string tuning set at the head. For example, it’s the amp Eric Clapton used for much of the Derek and the Dominos – Layla album.įender began producing lap steels around 1948, and in 1955 their Champion entry level model was replaced by the simpler Fender Champ lap steel. That amp itself went on to become very popular in some recording studios. The Fender Champ Lap Steel was often sold as part of a starter set, with Fender’s smallest amplifier – the 5 watt Champ. This Fender Champ Lap Steel, built during 1959 at the Fender plant in Fullerton, California is in very nice, mostly original condition.
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