1969 Fender® Swinger / Musiclander / Arrow Red, Good, Hard, $2,500.00

This Fender Swinger is one of the rarest guitars we’ve had the privilege of taking in here at Empire! Only produced for one year (1969) and also known as the “Arrow” or “Musiclander”, the Swinger was Fender’s attempt at putting to good use the stray parts they had lying around the factory. The Swinger was designed by Fender employee Virgillio Simoni and was created without assistance from the Fender R&D department. It is a short-scale guitar (22.5”) that was produced in limited numbers (estimates range from 250 to 300 plus). The body is a re-cut alder Fender Bass V with the remainder of the parts coming from the Musicmaster model. The headstock was cut by Fender to form the distinct triangular shape. The maple Musicmaster-derived neck dates to 1966 (which is normal as these were simply the necks Fender had lying around). It has a very thin feel, measuring about 1 17/32th” at the nut. It also sports a vintage 3-saddle non-vibrato bridge and a gorgeously aged red finish. The neck-positioned single coil Musicmaster-style pickup has a surprisingly lush tone and sounds fantastic through a vintage Fender tube amp. It has a bridge-positioned amateur rout underneath the pickguard where it looks like a previous owner had installed a humbucker of some sort. The original pickguard was not cut however and completely covers the rout. The Swinger is incredibly light (due to both the cut of the body and the added routing), weighing roughly 5.8 lbs. The finish has an average amount of dings and scratches one would expect from a 40+ year old guitar. There is a nice amount of checking on the top that adds to the vintage vibe of the finish. This is definitely one of those guitars you don’t see every day so make sure to stop in to check it out before it’s gone! Includes non-original hard shell case.