Wandre Teen Ager Model 900 Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1961)
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Item #13980
Wandre Teen Ager Model 900 Model Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1961), made in Cavriago, Italy, Nassau blue finish, plywood body, aluminum neck with rosewood fingerboard, black hard shell case.
After some more wildly eccentric designs like the extreme cutaway Rock Oval, Italian guitar artist Wandre Pioli decided to put a few more broadly marketable instruments into production for his dealers. The "Blue Jeans" model was named as a nod to the youthful rebellion of blue jeans and rock'n'roll that was then sweeping the world. A year or two into production, he was able to get a few into the American market via New York Jobber Maurice Lipsky's Orpheum catalogue. Part of the "Orpheum Colorama" line, this design was renamed the "Teen Ager Model 900" and listed at a very reasonable $109, plus $10.50 for the case. While these are sometimes referred to as "Tri-Lam" models Marco Ballestri's wonderful Wandre book notes that this is a misnomer referring not to a specific model but to the triple laminated plywood body thickness which over time became synonymous with them.
This fairly conventionally shaped guitar was unsurprisingly more successful than many other more outrageous Wandre creations, becoming one of the handful of models that remained in production for most of the company's existence. We place this one around late 1961-62 by the style of the Davoli pickup, the electronics box assembly and the headstock shape. This Teenager sports one of the more popular body colors (it was originally called the Blue Jeans after all), an eye-catching "Nassau blue" lacquer with heavy white binding around the edges and the rim of the abstract soundhole. Inside the catseye soundhole is a calling card of the "Teenager" variation: a decorative white plastic grid detail.
This guitar bears a single Davoli-branded pickup from 1961 with embossed diamonds (they would be 'Wandre' branded later that year) situated in the neck position on a plastic pickguard assembly attached to the neck and running all the way back to the bridge, which is mounted to the back end. The entire assembly is adjustable for height on two legs under the bridge. The bridge itself is a Hofner-style slotted rosewood piece with 6 fretwire saddles typical of earlier models, with the strings running on to a sleek minimalist stamped metal tailpiece. The output jack, volume and tone controls are mounted to a pressed-metal box situated by the lower edge of the face.
Besides the unique aesthetics, the most trailblazing aspect of Wandre guitars is the bolt-on aluminum neck. Over a decade before the likes of Travis Bean or Veleno, Pioli's instruments featured a thin, rounded aluminum neck attached so the angle is adjustable to the body. The flat aluminum headstock is milled separately and bolted to the neck. A large Orpheum logo is mounted to the face, along with plastic grommet strips for the tuners. The bound rosewood fingerboard has simple large-dot inlays (oddly with a black dot at the 12th fret) and a zero fret. The fretboard is wider than the aluminum back which can feel odd without the sometimes fitted plastic neck sheath, but it is more comfortably playable than one might imagine given its unique structure.
While no Wandre is particularly "normal" this Teen Ager Model 900 handles more conveniently than some; it plays and sounds fantastic and certainly looks like nothing else. This is a very rare, wonderful and iconic instrument from the most inspired oddball Italian '60s guitar designer: Wandre Pioli, a true artist of the electric guitar.
Overall length is 40 3/4 in. (103.5 cm.), 16 in. (40.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 13/16 in. (4.6 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This Teenager is as blue and bright as its original name implies, clean as a crisp pair of new blue jeans. It remains unaltered except for a period but not original set of Japanese strip tuners installed. Generally it is very well preserved for its age with just some minor checks and scuffs to the body, with some heavier scratching on the back. Wandre instruments are notoriously made up of many virtually irreplaceable (often plastic) parts, and this one has held its own better over the decades than most; the plastic headstock grommets were slightly altered to fit the replacement tuners. All other components are original and in tact including the somewhat fragile molded cream pickguard that houses the pickup and bridge, beautifully preserved with no damage at all.
The electronics work as they should and appear untampered with, the output is to a standard phone jack as was fitted for the US export versions. There is an extra hole in the electronics panel; the circuit inside is original and there would not have been a third knob on this instrument. Judging from Wandre's piecemeal approach to building this is how it left the factory. Overall, this now 60 year old Teen Ager is a light and cheerful ode to Mr. Pioli's love of youth culture and Rock'n'Roll. It comes in a non-original black hardshell case. Overall Excellent Condition.
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After some more wildly eccentric designs like the extreme cutaway Rock Oval, Italian guitar artist Wandre Pioli decided to put a few more broadly marketable instruments into production for his dealers. The "Blue Jeans" model was named as a nod to the youthful rebellion of blue jeans and rock'n'roll that was then sweeping the world. A year or two into production, he was able to get a few into the American market via New York Jobber Maurice Lipsky's Orpheum catalogue. Part of the "Orpheum Colorama" line, this design was renamed the "Teen Ager Model 900" and listed at a very reasonable $109, plus $10.50 for the case. While these are sometimes referred to as "Tri-Lam" models Marco Ballestri's wonderful Wandre book notes that this is a misnomer referring not to a specific model but to the triple laminated plywood body thickness which over time became synonymous with them.
This fairly conventionally shaped guitar was unsurprisingly more successful than many other more outrageous Wandre creations, becoming one of the handful of models that remained in production for most of the company's existence. We place this one around late 1961-62 by the style of the Davoli pickup, the electronics box assembly and the headstock shape. This Teenager sports one of the more popular body colors (it was originally called the Blue Jeans after all), an eye-catching "Nassau blue" lacquer with heavy white binding around the edges and the rim of the abstract soundhole. Inside the catseye soundhole is a calling card of the "Teenager" variation: a decorative white plastic grid detail.
This guitar bears a single Davoli-branded pickup from 1961 with embossed diamonds (they would be 'Wandre' branded later that year) situated in the neck position on a plastic pickguard assembly attached to the neck and running all the way back to the bridge, which is mounted to the back end. The entire assembly is adjustable for height on two legs under the bridge. The bridge itself is a Hofner-style slotted rosewood piece with 6 fretwire saddles typical of earlier models, with the strings running on to a sleek minimalist stamped metal tailpiece. The output jack, volume and tone controls are mounted to a pressed-metal box situated by the lower edge of the face.
Besides the unique aesthetics, the most trailblazing aspect of Wandre guitars is the bolt-on aluminum neck. Over a decade before the likes of Travis Bean or Veleno, Pioli's instruments featured a thin, rounded aluminum neck attached so the angle is adjustable to the body. The flat aluminum headstock is milled separately and bolted to the neck. A large Orpheum logo is mounted to the face, along with plastic grommet strips for the tuners. The bound rosewood fingerboard has simple large-dot inlays (oddly with a black dot at the 12th fret) and a zero fret. The fretboard is wider than the aluminum back which can feel odd without the sometimes fitted plastic neck sheath, but it is more comfortably playable than one might imagine given its unique structure.
While no Wandre is particularly "normal" this Teen Ager Model 900 handles more conveniently than some; it plays and sounds fantastic and certainly looks like nothing else. This is a very rare, wonderful and iconic instrument from the most inspired oddball Italian '60s guitar designer: Wandre Pioli, a true artist of the electric guitar.
Overall length is 40 3/4 in. (103.5 cm.), 16 in. (40.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 13/16 in. (4.6 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This Teenager is as blue and bright as its original name implies, clean as a crisp pair of new blue jeans. It remains unaltered except for a period but not original set of Japanese strip tuners installed. Generally it is very well preserved for its age with just some minor checks and scuffs to the body, with some heavier scratching on the back. Wandre instruments are notoriously made up of many virtually irreplaceable (often plastic) parts, and this one has held its own better over the decades than most; the plastic headstock grommets were slightly altered to fit the replacement tuners. All other components are original and in tact including the somewhat fragile molded cream pickguard that houses the pickup and bridge, beautifully preserved with no damage at all.
The electronics work as they should and appear untampered with, the output is to a standard phone jack as was fitted for the US export versions. There is an extra hole in the electronics panel; the circuit inside is original and there would not have been a third knob on this instrument. Judging from Wandre's piecemeal approach to building this is how it left the factory. Overall, this now 60 year old Teen Ager is a light and cheerful ode to Mr. Pioli's love of youth culture and Rock'n'Roll. It comes in a non-original black hardshell case. Overall Excellent Condition.
