Action On A Kingman

[Charlie Bowerbank]

I am having a problem getting the action set on this 60s Fender Kingman. As there is only 3 sizes of saddles the B and E stings are to high.The high E and low E are the same at just under 5/64ths, Any help with this would be welcome. The 7.25 radius on the fret board is not duplicated by the saddle using the available size saddles.  . 

Thanks

Charlie

[Ned Knepp]

I admit that I've been wondering about the "new" Fenders. It's pretty clear that they are related to the Fender acoustic of my youth in name only. I've not had a compelling reason to get past my long stand prejudice so I can't speak for their quality. Given their obvious origins, it makes sense they they may be more "honest" in their design and pricing. 

I find it both ironic and amusing that a "cheap" chinese made Fender may actually be more a better value than any of their early acoustics. 

[Paul Verticchio]

Very good post, Ned.

The Kingman sold for $280 in 1968. I ran that through an online inflation converter and that equates to $1880 in today's dollars. It was about the same price as a D-18 at the time.

If you had bought one of each, which one would you still be playing today? ;)

Anyway, Fender's aim was NOT to produce a good acoustic guitar but to get a product into the acoustic marketplace. They hoped their name would promote sales. It didn't. Why? They were crap guitars and at the time you could get a MUCH BETTER Martin, Gibson or Guild for the same price.

Well, enough from me. I do suggest that everyone check out "Fender: The Soul of Tone" book about Fender amps (primarily). In it, you learn that the guys with the good ideas were often overruled when attempting to veto BAD product ideas. Examples are: The Coronado series, The Starcaster, original Solid state amps, the Fender Electronic organ, PA systems, etc.  It's a great read as well as a super valuable resource for why certain WTF products got out of the door.

:) P

[Andrew]

I have my dad's 1973 (?) Fender F 15, and its a nice little guitar. It doesnt have a lot of volume, but it has a simple, sweet, crisp tone (to my ears, but Im an electric player mostly). I plan to replace the height adjustable saddle arrangment with a piece of ebony and the traditional saddle arrangement, which should improve the sound some.