Fender Japan Part #11
12-String Stratocasters
FROM THE ELECTRIC XII TO THE JAPANESE REISSUES
Simple yet stylish and efficient, the Electric XII was one of Leo Fender’s last designs before CBS acquired his company in 1965. Leo entered the 12-string electric guitar market slightly later than other manufacturers. Yet, he created an entirely new guitar rather than simply adding six more strings to an existing model, as several other brands did. Therefore, the first Fender 12-string electric guitar was not a Stratocaster model.
The Electric XII was introduced in June 1965, soon followed by the semi-acoustic Fender Coronado XII. It was used by Jimmy Page on Stairway to Heaven, by Pete Townshend on Tommy, and by Eric Clapton on Dance the Night Away. It appeared during the 1965 sessions for Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited, although it’s unclear if he recorded anything with it. It was also used during the Blonde on Blonde sessions. This guitar went to auction in 2021 and was sold on April 24, 2021, for $294.297,70.
The guitar featured a comfortable offset body and an enormous “hockey stick” headstock. It also had amplifier-style knobs, split single-coil pickups, and a four-way rotary pickup selector that allowed users to choose between each pickup individually, both pickups together, or both pickups out of phase. Most guitars had dot inlays on the neck and no binding, but some necks were bound with block inlays. This was not listed as an option in the price lists, and it is unclear whether there is a correlation to neck width.
The Electric XII’s main innovation was its bridge. Standard 12-string electrics used six saddles, each holding two strings, which hurt intonation. The Electric XII featured a fully adjustable 12-saddle bridge for precise intonation and a string-through-body design for improved sustain.
The Japanese 12-string Stratocaster reissues
In Fender’s modern era, several Japanese-made 12-string Stratocaster models have been produced, each with distinct differences from the others.
The first model, the ST-XII, was produced from 1987 to 1993 exclusively for the Japanese domestic market. It features a slightly asymmetrical headstock with a whitish CBS-style logo, an alder body, and 22 frets. It shares the same bridge section as the ‘60s Electric XII. Although developed in the USA—its headstock was designed by Dan Smith—production moved to Japan due to limited capacity at the Corona factory.
The second model, called Stratocaster XII, was listed in U.S. and European Fender catalogs from 1988 to 1991. Unlike the ST-XII, this version had a basswood body instead of alder and featured a flatter fretboard for a different playing feel.
Another export model was produced in Japan between 1994 and 1996, the Strat-XII. It featured an alder body, similar to the ST-XII, but with a flatter fretboard.
The domestic ST12-90TX and ST12-98TX, along with the export Stratocaster 12-String, featured 21 frets and the newly designed GTC-12 Bridge with elongated saddles.
This bridge was fully adjustable and hard-tail, making tuning quick and easy.
The GTC-12 employed a hybrid design, functioning as both a string-through-body and a top-loading bridge: six strings anchored to the bridge plate, while the remaining six were routed through the body.
These guitars had the characteristic slightly lop-sided headstock, but unlike previous versions, they sported the Spaghetti logo. They were available in Sunburst finish, as well as Lake Placid Blue and Burgundy Mist Metallic, all with matching headstocks.
Between 2018 and 2019, the Made in Japan Traditional Stratocaster XII was produced for both domestic and export markets. It featured a basswood body, 21 frets, a 7.25” radius fretboard, and the GTC-12 Bridge.
