Fender Coronado!

[XKnight]

I've been looking for a clean 60s Coronado II for a reasonable price and finally found this bad boy. It's a '67 and it almost looks too clean. I'll have it next week so can't provide my impressions yet.

Please post pics of your Coronado's and any good and bad experiences you've had with them. Any tips for maintenance would be great too. Thanks!

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e308/XKnight/Fender%20Coronado/FenderCoronadoFront.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e308/XKnight/Fender%20Coronado/FenderCoronadoFull.jpg

[PixMix]

Congrats! Nice score, you owe us some more pics once it gets home. I love Coronados and Starcasters.

[RocksOff]

Elvis's custom Coronado was way sweet!

[vortexxxx]

beautiful condition!

[jackbart1960]

Awesome!!!! I've never been in the same room as one but they look so cool.
You will have to give a tone report once you've got it in your hands. I have always wondered what they sounded like. Peace. J.J.B.

[twangbanger]

A friend of mine has one and just this last week had it to do a repair on the electronics. Loved the tone from both the bridge and neck pickup. sounded jangly thru a vox ac15 and meaty w/ the /13 amp. really nice guitar you got there!

[tsar nicholas]

Awesome! Reminds me of Graham Coxon's Coronado XII

[ComanchePlayer]

Awesome find, I hope you enjoy it for years to come. They are very jangily sounding as someone said. However, if you get it cranked throught the right amp they sound awesome that way too.

Here's a pic of my Paps 69 that I inherited back in 05. It hangs in my bedroom and is the first thing I see every morning when I wake up. I miss him a lot.
http://i552.photobucket.com/albums/jj351/vogelsong1/Coronado13.jpg

[XKnight]

Elvis's custom Coronado was way sweet!

Indeed!

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e308/XKnight/Fender%20Coronado/ElvisFenderCoronado.jpg

[docfox]

I have seen Jimmy Vaughn play the hell out of a Coronado. Cool guitar!

[XKnight]

I have seen Jimmy Vaughn play the hell out of a Coronado. Cool guitar!

Jimmie is great! I hope I can coax similar tones out of my Coronado.

b8imjwwlVd8

[ComanchePlayer]

Jimmie is great! I hope I can coax similar tones out of my Coronado.

b8imjwwlVd8

I'm jealous, his had the trem. If it weren't for losing the big white f on the tailpiece, I'd find one and put it on mine.

I can get that out of mine through the bandmaster. Oddly enough I wonder if he was playing through that tweed sitting behind him.

[docfox]

Saw him at a National Guitar Workshop session in Austin 3 summers ago. He was a guest artist, brought his whole band. And his amp was a Budda.

[XKnight]

My Coronado arrived and it's even cleaner than I expected. The neck dates to February 1967. The guitar plays really well and sounds good too. I can see how the feedback would be an issue at loud volumes. I played it through my Marshall Class 5 and turned up past 4 it started feedbacking pretty good. It's a beautiful guitar though and very well made. Here's a glamor shot I took today.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e308/XKnight/Fender%20Coronado/FenderCoronado67006.jpg

[Fab4ever]

Fab!!!!!

[Whiskeyrebel]

Some Coronado strumming from my mom's all time favorite singer:
AXSoRupelQ0

[Mojoblue]

That's one gorgeous guitar!

[IPLAYLOUD]

Most '66 Coronados had checkerboard binding, and the pickups covers were changed in about May of '67. The newer pickups actually sounded thinner and brighter. I have 3 Coros II's, and the one with the all-chrome "Fender" stamped covers is the mellowest. Lovely sound. My Wildwood with Black/Chrome covers can sometimes only be heard by dogs, but my lefty-flipped-righty with the same pickups has the perfect Setzer tone...IF I could play it loud enough without squealing.

Unique animals. One can be a Doll, the next a Dog. You got a Doll.
One reason you see so many clean ones was probably because of the feedback problem. They were bought, played a little, and put away.
Welcome to the Club!

[IPLAYLOUD]

They would fade in crazy ways...see how the bottom cutaway has more black than the top? Fender was learning how to spray Maple at the time, and also had lots of problems with the glue used on binding...it would burn the wood on the edges. A few "hide the burn marks!" finishes were invented. Antigua (there was a Red-Black Antigua, too), and CAR Burst with Silver (on the sides, edges, and around FHoles to cover the burns) under see-through Cherry gave a CAR Metallic Burst. Looked great!

[XKnight]

They would fade in crazy ways...see how the bottom cutaway has more black than the top? Fender was learning how to spray Maple at the time, and also had lots of problems with the glue used on binding...it would burn the wood on the edges. A few "hide the burn marks!" finishes were invented. Antigua (there was a Red-Black Antigua, too), and CAR Burst with Silver (on the sides, edges, and around FHoles to cover the burns) under see-through Cherry gave a CAR Metallic Burst. Looked great!

Thanks for the information. I actually noticed some dark spots that appear under the finish on the sides of the guitar near the binding and was wondering what those were. Probably burn spots as you mentioned and the black color fade is all over the place when looking at the sides too.

[Aldo-Fornasiero]

I've managed to grab mine in 2010 - a 1967 Fender Coronado II. It's the 1967 NAMM show demo model produced for the show, with DEMO being printed on the back of the neck and it's in candy apple red with a black headstock, it's true that these instruments vary in quality but mine plays beautifully. Deep warm tone with tremolo, lovely.

Mine's also aged really nicely too, the white has aged into a kind of warm cream, it generally looks great! Standard Fender scale length so playability isn't an issue or as divisive as the Jaguar scale length.

The pickups are great on mine, yeah a tad microphonic but HEY that's vintage. One of the coolest things is running the guitar through and overdrive and an analog delay and then shouting into the pickups on stage, immediate psychedelia; even for recording you can get some 60's George Martin vocal effects.

The feedback can be a problem, but stand far enough away, or invest in a noise clamp, and it shouldn't be an issue. Turning the gain and the volume pot on the guitar down cancel out most of the issues anyway.

Tone-wise, the bridge is like a Jaguar/Strat pickup hybrid, snappy, sharp, but also chime-y; the neck pickup is more like a p90 blended with a telecaster pickup, warm, classic single coil, but amazingly warm, arpeggios on this pickup is as thick as you can get on a guitar.
NOW the unique sound of the guitar is the fact that these pickups deliver classic Fender sounds and responses to the player, but the hollow-body gives everything a Gretsch-like depth - this guitar goes from thick, to funky just with a few adjustments of the tone pots. I'm able to pull anything except metal out with this guitar easily.

Sustain is apparently a large problem faced with this guitar, and while it may not have that Les Paul level of sustain is have everything you need for normal play. Unless you're playing heavy metal solos where you want to bend and sustain a note for 4 bars, you'll be fine. This is amazing considering it's a hollow-body with a floating bridge!

If I was to buy a scapegoat guitar for this one (the one that goes on the road to take all the bullets and road-wear), it would probably be the Epiphone Casino, it's as close as you can get playability and feel from a new guitar. The sound isn't close, but no guitar's going to have the same sound as the Coronado.

The overall guitar is phenomenal, and I'll never split with it. This is the guitar that's turned me on to prefering Vintage guitars to new guitars, they have a personality, history. I find this guitar suits my style perfectly, and my biggest issue with it is the placement of the guitar strap button on the neck, it can be difficult to attach straps too when you use hard, thick leather ones.

If you're dependent on fuzz pedals, using a noise clamp is a necessity, feedback will be un avoidable in that situation, but trial and error solve everything.

Many people dislike this guitar because they pick it up and try and expect it to be a ES-335, or see Fender on the headstock and think it's a Strat. Pick it up, listen to it's characteristics and then play with that sound in mind and you'll love it. I'm kind of glad they never reissued the Coronado, keeps mine unique and special.

[RAILhead]

AWESOME! I've been wanting a Coronado for ages!

[seantk]

My Coronado arrived and it's even cleaner than I expected. The neck dates to February 1967. The guitar plays really well and sounds good too. I can see how the feedback would be an issue at loud volumes. I played it through my Marshall Class 5 and turned up past 4 it started feedbacking pretty good. It's a beautiful guitar though and very well made. Here's a glamor shot I took today.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e308/XKnight/Fender%20Coronado/FenderCoronado67006.jpg

That is one great looking guitar.

[IPLAYLOUD]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll92/IPLAYLOUDGUITARS/Coronados.jpg

[Aldo-Fornasiero]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll92/IPLAYLOUDGUITARS/Coronados.jpg

Hey IPLAYLOUD,

How does your Coronado's work with the Twin Reverb?

I've been looking to buy a twin with my Coronado in mind.

[IPLAYLOUD]

3X3 headstock Coro. CAR, no binding, very deep body...setneck!
Must have been an idea that went wild.

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll92/IPLAYLOUDGUITARS/3X3CoroExpedition.jpg

[IPLAYLOUD]

HA! It sounds good until you put the volume past 2, after that it's feedback city...unless your is agood one. MOST ALL of them I have tried will howl like a scalded dog. I have a lefty flipped righty that can take much more volume than these and has a nice Rockabilly sound to it.. The Gold sounds Jazzy, the WWII can be ear-piercingly thin.
One thing it doesn't need is the bright switch.

[Aldo-Fornasiero]

HA! It sounds good until you put the volume past 2, after that it's feedback city...unless your is agood one. MOST ALL of them I have tried will howl like a scalded dog. I have a lefty flipped righty that can take much more volume than these and has a nice Rockabilly sound to it.. The Gold sounds Jazzy, the WWII can be ear-piercingly thin.
One thing it doesn't need is the bright switch.

Mine's not too bad with feedback, i can take quite a lot of volume before the feedback starts.

I'm also looking at an AC30, that's more mid heavy so I'll be interested in how the Coronado works with that.

[IPLAYLOUD]

Coros need whatever you can give them to have more Mids and Bass.
Amazing that many guitar players look at it during a gig and have no clue what it is.

I have been toying with the idea of filling the body with foam piece (most ot the insides) just to see if it makes a difference.

[Aldo-Fornasiero]

Coros need whatever you can give them to have more Mids and Bass.
Amazing that many guitar players look at it during a gig and have no clue what it is.

I have been toying with the idea of filling the body with foam piece (most ot the insides) just to see if it makes a difference.

Fair play mate, the AC30 may be a good match, it's mids are beautiful. And I couldn't bring myself to fill my Coronado with foam

[jimshine]

The Fender embossed pickups were made by Rowe (Dearmond). The style with the black plastic insert were made inhouse at Fender.

It took them a long time to get the hang of binding the bodies. The way they finished the early ones was done on such a way as to hide the flaws in the binding work. The Antigua finishes were invented for really badly flawed bodies, and on cherry sunbursts they would shoot a red metallic burst band to hide the flaws then blend it with transparent red.

[straycat113]

WOW! If you don't mind did you find that in a vintage shop or on the net, as that is awfully clean! Good luck with that bad boy.

[Aldo-Fornasiero]

HA! It sounds good until you put the volume past 2, after that it's feedback city...unless your is agood one. MOST ALL of them I have tried will howl like a scalded dog. I have a lefty flipped righty that can take much more volume than these and has a nice Rockabilly sound to it.. The Gold sounds Jazzy, the WWII can be ear-piercingly thin.
One thing it doesn't need is the bright switch.

Played my Coronado through a Twin reverb, got the volume up to atleast 5 on the vibrato channel standing 3 meters away facing the amp without any feedback, got to agree that it doesn't need the bright-switch though.

Side-note: Ears were pretty dead afterwards though.

[XKnight]

WOW! If you don't mind did you find that in a vintage shop or on the net, as that is awfully clean! Good luck with that bad boy.

I found it at a small music shop in PA while scouring the internet. It may have been listed on Gbase actually, but I don't remember for sure. After talking to the owner of the shop about the guitar and getting detailed pictures I felt comfortable ordering it and the price was right too.