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Post subject: Fender Swinger
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 1:18 am
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Hi there everyone.

I'm pretty much a newbie here and was interested to see whether anyone here has (or had) a Fender 'Swinger' - apparently sometimes called either the 'Arrow' or 'Musiclander'.

I did a search but returned nothing.

Just curious.

Regards,

P.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Swinger
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 1:22 pm
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I remember a friend of mine had one back in the late 1970's. It had been modded by a previous owner with a humbucker. As I recall, it was nothing to write home about. They are rare but that doesn't mean they are good. Made from spare or damaged parts from other guitar models, I believe.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Swinger
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 5:55 pm
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The re-issue "Swinger" is pretty erot......er, I mean exotic......

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It has a conveniently-provided "chin rest" when playing the either of the instrument's extremities with one's teeth.

:lol:

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Fender Swinger
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:09 am
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Swinger


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Post subject: Re: Fender Swinger
Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 5:58 am
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I have an original 68 CAR Swinger (there is one listed on ebay right now if you're interested)

The guitar was designed to use up large stocks of unwanted parts from some of the previous poorly selling models.

Necks were reworked from the "student" guitars e.g. Duo Sonics, Musicmasters. Bodies were reworked from the Musicmasters & Bass V's, but the Bass Vbody needed more work. You can tell an ex-Bass V body as they have a distinctive rout under the pickguard.

Musicmaster parts were used to complete the guitars.

The late 60's decal is all that was applied to most headstocks, but a few do carry the word Swinger printed in black on a clear plastic sticker.

Total production is thought to have been between 300 & 600 over 1968/9, but I don't think that the model appeared in any Fender advertising.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Swinger
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 12:03 pm
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Thanks for the replies.

I had a black one ('67 neck stamp) for about 20 years and was just interested to know whether much more was known about them nowadays.

I sold it about 10 years ago. I never played it as it was, as has been mentioned, not terribly great(!), but it was a cute-ish guitar and if I had kept mine I'm sure my daughter would find it quite attractive!

Thanks again, all.

P.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Swinger
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 11:31 pm
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I noticed that the 2 on Ebay are asking $2,500.00 and $3,000.00 (minus one cent each). Buy it now's only. I don't think that they will get a nibble. Like posted above, rare doesn't always translate to good. I have one of the funkiest looking collections around and I honestly don't think I could put that in the same room with them. It is one that I haven't seen before, so...thanks for pointing it out. A little history never hurt anybody.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Swinger
Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 8:43 pm
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The Swinger (Musiclander) was made up with left-over parts from a Bass V.

This guitar was (along with the Custom/Maverick) one of CBS' unsuccesful attempts to wring towards unused stock from the Fullerton factory.

Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick's lead guitarist) owns an original Swinger in Teal Green Metallic.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Swinger
Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2011 12:20 am
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I have one. This is mine.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Swinger
Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 2:43 pm
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It is very small and light.

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Smaller than a Bronco

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The neck is a 22.5" scale Mustang neck

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The body is from a Bass V(it still has the rout for a spit pickup)

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Tina Weymouth has a similar Swinger. She played it in the Talking Heads movie "Stop Making Sense"

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Last edited by Truetone6 on Fri Feb 17, 2012 12:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Swinger
Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 11:01 pm
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I think its a very nice post and easily assigned your concepts.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Swinger
Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 7:37 am
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Elena Glasberg of Come On used to play a Fender Swinger. Come On were part of the New York "No Wave" scene circa 1976-1980.David Byrne was a big fan

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Here is some info about Come On:

"George Elliot(an avant-folksinger music critic) met the Talking Heads trio at a sound check at CBGB in 1975, was at every show that weekend. Moving soon to Manhattan (tempted by the possibility of joining as a 4th member) he lived next to Ralf the German film student in the East Village and so began their apartment jams. Ralf's writing partner Jamie, a native New Yorker, began to contribute words to their first sketches "Blue Drink" and "Fly Swatter". Page was a RISD airbrush artist (same era/social network as Talking Heads) with a spacious rehearsal loft and drumming experience. They met Elena (a precocious high school student) at a holiday party, and these four members banded together and collaborated for the next four years.

They played their first show at Copperfields in the summer '77 and continued with subsequent shows at Max's Kansas City, CBGB, Xenon, Hurrah!, Club 57, and Irving Plaza, etc. One memorable show was when David of the Talking Heads brought his pal Brian Eno, his pal David Bowie, and their pal Bianca Jagger to see Come On play at CBGB. The 30 people in the slow-night audience swelled to 300 by the time the set was over...

Come On befriended Klaus Nomi performing at the New Wave Vaudeville Show (see The Nomi Song), and George and Page figured into his roman candle of a career, even sharing production-management team. These two [it turns out lifelong] friends merged with members of Nomi's troupe to form the NY show band Strange Party [album unreleased] The duo released the unfinished opera by themselves and Nomi in 2007, Za Bakdaz.

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Page is now a busy Hollywood graphic artist, collecting instruments and re-embracing music; Ralf and Jamie were bar-owners in the 1980s and the former is now a Texas developer, the latter resides and works in NYC. Elena molds young collegiate minds and is an expert on Antarctica. George still persistently 'serves the Muse.'

'New wave' is the label Come On fit best under, often linked to their friends and inspirations, the early Talking Heads. However their sound was more simple, dissonant, driving and experimental than the Heads'. The compilation of masters, demos, and live songs on Heliocentric CDs New York City 1976-80 came out in 1999; and a shorter cd of rarities Disneyland + a couple years later."

Elena added a bridgepickup to her Swinger(below)

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Think I should do that to mine?

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Post subject: Re: Fender Swinger
Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 12:31 am
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There was one that sold on ebay today for Sold for $1,739.02(no case)

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Post subject: Re: Fender Swinger
Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 12:40 pm
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Man, I hate that headstock.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Swinger
Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 3:33 pm
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warmoth is making swinger bodies


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