The Fender Electric XII and the mid-1960’s 12-String Hype. BTR#59

[@matthewblanchard9301]

Johnny Winter used his 1965 Fender VII at his Woodstock appearance on 8/18/69, his set started at 12 midnight till 1:10am, of his nine song set these three songs were outstanding - "Mean Mistreater", "Johnny B. Goode" and "Tobacco Road", I remember because I was there. Thanks Johnny🎸...........R.I.P. 🙏

[@BobsToneReview]

Hello Matthew, I mentioned the Johnny Winter's appearance at the Woodstock festival in the final part of the video. Congratulations on your amazing experience and thank you for sharing those very interesting details. I didn't know that Winter used to cover "Tobacco Road".

[@southport65]

Absolutely brilliant video- incredibly deep and comprehensive. Subscribed!

[@BobsToneReview]

Thank you for your kind words of appreciation White Buffalo, I'm happy that you enjoyed the video! Please feel free to browse through the other content of the BTR channel.

[@muncher64]

Roy Wood frequently played a Fender XII with The Move. Thank you for posting this fine video.

[@BobsToneReview]

Hi Mark! Thank you for your kind comment and your information, I'm happy that you liked the video!

[@JEmilioJNava]

great video, thanks again!

[@BobsToneReview]

Thank you for your kind feedback Emilio!

[@Robylazarus]

A beautifully done vid, well explained and very educative / informative..... A big thanks from all of us here.

[@BobsToneReview]

Thank you so much for your kind feedback Roby! I'm happy that you and your friends liked the video!

[@patrickkoenigsfeld1253]

Great history lesson!!!!!! excellent!!

[@BobsToneReview]

Thank you for your encouragement Patrick, I greatly appreciate it!

[@gaetanotiberino7632]

Interessantissimo e grandissimo 'servizio', grazie Bob, preciso e documentato come sempre!!!!!

[@BobsToneReview]

Grazie caro Tani!! La prossima volta realizzo una versione ralenti tutta per te 😄😄

[@SoulMarc]

Super well documented. Auguri! Grazie mille!

[@BobsToneReview]

Thank you for your nice comment SoulMarc, I appreciate it!

[@raw_vegan1]

Thank you.

[@BobsToneReview]

I'm happy that you liked the new episode Raw Vegan!

[@MassimoMartellottaMusic]

che pillole mitiche :)

[@BobsToneReview]

Grazie Massimo caro, felicissimo delle tue parole!

[@sailingelleray]

Great video! I have an early '66 in CAR with matching headstock. It also has the pre-drilled Kluson holes. I also noted that a 'well-known' vintage dealer mentioned the non-original tuners. If it's the same dealer, I contacted them and told them about the pre-drilled Kluson holes but they didn't change their advertisement. What would I know... All the best!

[@BobsToneReview]

Thank you for your kind words Sailing Elleray! Congratulations on your great guitar and thank you for sharing your information and experience. At least we should reckon that those dealers (ore dealer) were even "exceedingly" honest 😀😀

[@umbertoyltp]

Johnny Winter was photographed a few times with this model, although it was stringed with 6 strings.

[@BobsToneReview]

Hi Umberto, check the final part of the video for further details 🙂

[@umbertoyltp]

@@BobsToneReview you are completely right, how can I not have seen that? Thanks a lot!

[@BobsToneReview]

@@umbertoyltp Thank you!

[@stephenrioux6821]

Smoothest playing 12-string of all time. The Rickenbacker was definitely 2nd best. The Corona was a dog, and the neck blocks on the acoustics had a tendency to split.

[@BobsToneReview]

Thank you for sharing your experience Stephen; I agree that the Electric XII plays really comfortably.

[@themijpusher8775]

Quanto è zeppeliano il suono del primo stralcio..

[@BobsToneReview]

Yes Silvio, mi sa che ci hai preso! 😃

[@joachimkettner]

Roy Wood of the Move played it to on lost of their hits and live. I've seen them play with only a Bass and a drummer. No need for a rhythm player. It sounded so full. And you are a good player!

[@ice9snowflake187]

The hum-cancelling pickup feature is actually ABSENT in the Electric XII. The magnets are all the same polarity in all the coils, so that reverse-winding-reverse-polarity isn't possible. This is a known issue with the Electric XII.

[@BobsToneReview]

Griffith I've researched through MANY sources; I would not say that what you are pointing out is a "known issue". I would see no point in the split-coil design in what you say. Also, the Comanche would seem to confirm the humbucker theory. Even so, not all Electric XIIs were wired the same way so... who knows, maybe we could be both right.

[@ice9snowflake187]

@@BobsToneReview My 1966 Electric XII definitely has same-polarity magnets in it's pickups. and I've heard online from other players and owners, including Puisheen on You Tube, that this is common. Does the one you were playing "humbuck"? I'm really curious, as maybe because of sloppy work during the CBS takeover, or because of being afraid of being sued, they made the pickups non-hum-cancelling. Anyway, there's also some controversy or discrepancy in the way the selector switch is wired on different instruments as well.

[@BobsToneReview]

@@ice9snowflake187 "Anyway, there's also some controversy or discrepancy in the way the selector switch is wired on different instruments as well." I agree Griffith, that is mentioned in the video.

[@wilhelmvonn9619]

In a split pickup it's when the two coils are wound (or connected) in opposite directions that make it humbucking. The Idea is that an external magnetic field will induce opposite voltages in the coils, which will cancel out. This will be true regardless of the magnet polarities, which only affects the phase of the signal when the string is struck. I've never tested an Electric XII and can't comment on these guitars, but one way to find out how the pickups behave is to place a coil of wire surrounding both halves, drive it with an ac current, and see how much signal appears at the output. (In a humbucking pickup covering all six strings the coils must be opposed, and the magnetic fields through the coils must also be opposite, so that the signals due to the strings add together)

[@BobsToneReview]

@@wilhelmvonn9619 Thank you so much for sharing this interesting technical information. I wish you could perform the test on a vintage Electric XII to express a verdict.

[@Caziolin]

Ciao Bob! Mammamia,che gran bel video! Come sempre perle rare! Ci stai prendendo gusto con i doppi episodi eh?! Devo dire una cosa,magari è il video ascoltato dal telefono,ma il suono non mi ha entusiasmato tanto. Ma come sempre tu hai fatto un grandissimo lavoro,e in più,sei fortunato ad avere un amico come il tuo Giacomo! Grande Bob,continua così!!!!

[@BobsToneReview]

Ciao Lorenzo! Grazie dei tuoi commenti, sempre graditi e preziosi. Si, Giacomo è davvero un amico carissimo. Ho constatato che quando c'è molto da raccontare è più gratificante realizzare un "doppio episodio" che dividere l'argomento in due puntate, come tendevo a fare all'inizio. Per il sound, ho preferito usare un suono meno distorto, per evidenziare meglio il timbro caratteristico di questo strumento... forse preferisci le "tone monster" a 6 corde? Come darti torto! 😀😀