Fender
champ Lapsteel (1960)
FENDER CHAMP LAPSTEEL - 1960
BACKSTORY
I always have a wandering eye for other stringed instruments. One year for NAMM, Paul Waller made this beautiful Koa lapsteel that I thought was the coolest thing ever. I heard about the price tag and almost had a heart attack. That instrument now lives in the Fender Custom Shop showroom at the Corona, CA factory. Every now and then you see it in photos.
About a year later, I went by Matt Umanov guitars on Bleeker Street and they had a bunch of old lapsteels ranging from $800-$1500 (depending on the vintage). I wanted to grab a 1956 because it was my dad's birth year, but the cleaner 1960 called out to me. After I decided on it, the salesman brought out the original case and I was floored. I bought some thumb picks and slides from him and we had a conversation about tunings. He wrote all the tunings I'll ever need on the sales receipt.
BACKSTORY
I always have a wandering eye for other stringed instruments. One year for NAMM, Paul Waller made this beautiful Koa lapsteel that I thought was the coolest thing ever. I heard about the price tag and almost had a heart attack. That instrument now lives in the Fender Custom Shop showroom at the Corona, CA factory. Every now and then you see it in photos.
About a year later, I went by Matt Umanov guitars on Bleeker Street and they had a bunch of old lapsteels ranging from $800-$1500 (depending on the vintage). I wanted to grab a 1956 because it was my dad's birth year, but the cleaner 1960 called out to me. After I decided on it, the salesman brought out the original case and I was floored. I bought some thumb picks and slides from him and we had a conversation about tunings. He wrote all the tunings I'll ever need on the sales receipt.