1960 Fender Champ Lap Steel

This was bought in September 2009 from Alabama USA. The ad said it was made in 1955 but when I tried to sell it in early 2012 it became apparent that it was most likely from the early '60s. Thanks, jmdeluxe59. I then found that the pots on mine date to late 1959 so it would most likely have been made in 1960.

The pics on the right show the case that I originally got it in (it had a compartment for legs inside), the one below is the new case correct for this model as far as I can tell.

The discolouration around the logo seems to be just the clear part of the decal having darkened with age. Below my one is a photo of a very clean 1956 one. You can see the discolouration on that one too.

The tuners are Klusons and they seem to be original. The wiring also seems to be untouched, so it looks like the pickup and the pots are original too.

Fender also sold very similar models using the name of his plant manager, Forrest White. The White brand was developed to sell guitars and amps to music schools and other sales outlets without "upsetting" Fender dealers. They only manufactured Whites from 1955-1957.

I sold it in March 2012.

More Info

• Brad's Page of Steel - Fender section
• Greg Cutshaw - Steel Guitar
• String gauge guide
  This is intended for pedal steel but is also useful for lap steels.
• My string gauges