PRODUCED: 1966-1971

ORIGIN: USA

TYPE: Hollowbody, twin cutaway, 4-string

BODY: Bound arched

NECK: Maple, bound, set neck, 21 medium frets

SCALE LENGTH: 775mm (30.5-inch)

FINGERBOARD: Rosewood, bound, white pearloid block inlays

HARDWARE: Fancy trapeze tailpiece with Fender F, chunky bridge with individual saddles, open gear tuners with oval blades (although some sported regular ‘shamrock’ blades)

PICKUPS: Two single-coil DeArmond units with adjustable pole pieces

CONTROLS: 2 x volume, 2 x tone, selector switch

FEATURES: Bound f-holes, rounded off Fender headstock finished in black, symmetrical thumb/finger rests

FINISHES: Candy apple red, tobacco sunburst, three-tone sunburst, antigua, custom colours with matching headstocks and this was also the time of natural wildwood

COMMENTS: No prizes for guessing that this hollow body was Fender’s answer to the popular Gibson EB-2. Two models were made, the single pickup Coronado I and the tonally superior Coronado II. They were designed by Roger Rossmeisl who was known for his outlandish Rickenbacker designs from the 1950s.

Coronado basses were not overly popular at the time and prone to feedback so this lack of initial interest makes it hard to find one today. Roscoe Beck used one for a video shoot with Robben Ford and it looks very cool in action. These basses were light in weight and fitted with La Bella flat wound strings as standard. Used with modern EQ pedals or compression can sound really fat.