1955 Fender Champion

September 12, 2016 • Geronimo "Geri" Valdriz • Instruments and Luthiers

Long before Leo Fender built the Telecaster and Stratocaster guitars, he built Hawaiian lap steels.

Fender's steel guitars featured single, double, triple and quad necks. Various scale lengths, 6 and 8 strings, and several pickup configurations.

This guitar is a low-end model made to compete against the popular budget brands of the day. It is covered in simulated mother-of-pearl, also known as pearloid or mother-of-toilet seat.

Today, rock and blues players plug this steel guitar into a cranked up tube amp. This produces high-gain, overdriven sounds & bone shattering feedback!