The other way to date it is by the codes on the pots but those can be changed easily so thats not always totally reliable. Usually with a womans name on it who did the assembly Nora Gloria Mary same gals that made all those cool Tele's and Strat's. On all my double neck Fender steels I also found the dates under the front neck.Īnd also on the single necks the date is sometimes written inside the control cavity on a piece of masking tape. LOL I've been playing since 1970 but mostly play it like a slide guitar since guitar is my background.
DATING YOUR FENDER CHAMPION LAP STEEL HOW TO
One of these days I'm gonna have to have you show me actually how to play the steel. Good to see ya again even if it is on the net! I remember you from way back in the 70's I moved to Bakersfield in 1974 you used to play at the Blackboard and I was friends with ED Hill who was a piano player. Hi Larry good to see another Bakersfield buddy on the list. The date is written in a type of pencil or crayon on the wood before it is finished. On most Fender Steels, the date it was built is under the key head. Which one of these steels does it look most like?
If its a brown tolex case with leather ends chances are its in the 60's somewhere and if its a black case with a chrome Fender logo its probably late 60's early 70's. If its a tweed case with leather ends its probably from the early 50's to late 50's. If it has a case you can narrow down the date to within a few years. Its hard to date these by just the serial number. Can anyone maybe give me an idea of the mfg year. I have an older Fender lap steel, 6 strings, cream color with serial number 9011. Your profile | join | preferences | help | searchįrom: Steely-Eyed Missile Man from Orlando, Florida USA Date this Fender Lap Steel - The Steel Guitar Forum INSTRUCTION