Wandre Tigre Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1965)
1
/
of
15
Couldn't load pickup availability
Item #13571
Wandre Tigre Model Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1965), made in Cavriago, Italy, black finish, wood and plastic body, plastic sheathed aluminum neck with rosewood fingerboard, original gig bag case.
"What are those guitars -- man, we don't have those in the STATES!" So spoke Bob Dylan in 1965, captured on film looking into the window of an English music store full of Wandre guitars. These amazingly futuristic and completely original instruments were sold under several different brand names in Europe through the 1960s. They have fascinated adventurous electric guitar fans since then, but most players have never seen or handled one. A few models were briefly marketed in the US just prior to the guitar boom period but they are extremely rare in this country. All Wandre instruments are eccentric, sometimes to the extreme. The solid-body "Tigre" is one of the tamer beasts to come from Wandre Pioli's zoo, a creation that came in the latter half of the company's production span in an attempt to reach a wider market than some of their more whimsical creations of previous years.
The Wandre story is a book-length epic tale of the battle between creativity and commerce, and there is a (unfortunately rare) 2014 book "WANDRE-The Artist Of The Electric Guitar" by Marco Ballestri available for the curious! After some years of unstable company financials and underwhelming export sales, Pioli was advised to create an instrument aimed at a broader and more Fender-esque appeal to young players that might be scared to tackle the flashy, exotic oddities that constituted much of Wandre's catalog. The Tigre was his most "normal" instrument for the time with his unorthodox interpretation of some union between Fender's Stratocaster and Jaguar, a 3-pickup configuration with an offset body and a warped take on a very familiar looking headstock. This was not his first attempt at America-centric marketability though, as just over a year prior the company debuted the Doris model with a similar philosophy.
We can approximate the date of this one to 1965 based on the Tiger logo on the pickguard (a feature from the first release of the Tigre) and the knobs which are generally found on Wandres from 1964-1965 and replaced with something new a year later. Each Davoli pickup is controlled by a switch located on the lower bout of the thick plastic pickguard with a master volume and tone in the usual place. The unique bridge mounts OVER the strings, with small cradles for them hanging off the underside. It is fully adjustable for height and intonation, with wheels on either side to raise or lower the unit and saddles which can be adjusted via Allen screws. The unit is housed under a metal cover and flanked by a palm-action mute anchored into the body above a fairly straightforward vibrato arm.
Wandre's proprietary aluminum neck is sheathed in black plastic, topped with a blatantly Fenderized slotted headstock carrying the openback "batwing" tuners on an aluminum strip screwed to the bass edge. The fingerboard is rosewood, lightly bound and inlaid with large plastic dots. While of somewhat conventional design compared to many of Wandre Pioli's more eccentric electric children, the Tigre maintains all the best sonic and engineering features of the line combined with more solid construction than most. It plays and sounds fantastic, with the airy-but-biting tone of the Davoli pickups but sturdier feeling and a bit more aggressive sounding compared to the ethereal semi-hollow designs that make up much of the Wandre line. This is yet another wonderful instrument from the most inspired oddball Italian '60s guitar designer, a true artist of the electric guitar.
Overall length is 44 1/4 in. (112.4 cm.), 16 in. (40.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This ebony Tigre is in remarkably good condition with very little wear overall. The black lacquer is shiny, smooth and covered with only a smattering of dings and scratches in the lacquer finish. It appears all original down to every bit of hardware including the often lost or broken sheath covering the aluminum neck. The small protruding plastic cover on the back of the body shielding the vibrato unit has cracked and been repaired, all else is fully intact and undamaged.
The plastic and metal pickguard housing the dual Davoli pickups is not cracked or broken as many are and also safely houses the original adjustable bridge and mute apparatus. All pickups sound strong and clear, all electronics are original and untampered with as are the knobs and control panel.
The original frets appear to have been crowned down somewhat but are still in fine playing shape in the original fingerboard with minimal wear. It comes in a non-original hardshell case for safe travel, but included in the sale is its extremely rare original black leather Davoli-branded gig bag. The bag is worn at some seams making it not fit for gigging, but a delightful piece of Wandre/Davoli ephemera that deserves to stay with the guitar it has lived with all its life. Excellent Condition.
"What are those guitars -- man, we don't have those in the STATES!" So spoke Bob Dylan in 1965, captured on film looking into the window of an English music store full of Wandre guitars. These amazingly futuristic and completely original instruments were sold under several different brand names in Europe through the 1960s. They have fascinated adventurous electric guitar fans since then, but most players have never seen or handled one. A few models were briefly marketed in the US just prior to the guitar boom period but they are extremely rare in this country. All Wandre instruments are eccentric, sometimes to the extreme. The solid-body "Tigre" is one of the tamer beasts to come from Wandre Pioli's zoo, a creation that came in the latter half of the company's production span in an attempt to reach a wider market than some of their more whimsical creations of previous years.
The Wandre story is a book-length epic tale of the battle between creativity and commerce, and there is a (unfortunately rare) 2014 book "WANDRE-The Artist Of The Electric Guitar" by Marco Ballestri available for the curious! After some years of unstable company financials and underwhelming export sales, Pioli was advised to create an instrument aimed at a broader and more Fender-esque appeal to young players that might be scared to tackle the flashy, exotic oddities that constituted much of Wandre's catalog. The Tigre was his most "normal" instrument for the time with his unorthodox interpretation of some union between Fender's Stratocaster and Jaguar, a 3-pickup configuration with an offset body and a warped take on a very familiar looking headstock. This was not his first attempt at America-centric marketability though, as just over a year prior the company debuted the Doris model with a similar philosophy.
We can approximate the date of this one to 1965 based on the Tiger logo on the pickguard (a feature from the first release of the Tigre) and the knobs which are generally found on Wandres from 1964-1965 and replaced with something new a year later. Each Davoli pickup is controlled by a switch located on the lower bout of the thick plastic pickguard with a master volume and tone in the usual place. The unique bridge mounts OVER the strings, with small cradles for them hanging off the underside. It is fully adjustable for height and intonation, with wheels on either side to raise or lower the unit and saddles which can be adjusted via Allen screws. The unit is housed under a metal cover and flanked by a palm-action mute anchored into the body above a fairly straightforward vibrato arm.
Wandre's proprietary aluminum neck is sheathed in black plastic, topped with a blatantly Fenderized slotted headstock carrying the openback "batwing" tuners on an aluminum strip screwed to the bass edge. The fingerboard is rosewood, lightly bound and inlaid with large plastic dots. While of somewhat conventional design compared to many of Wandre Pioli's more eccentric electric children, the Tigre maintains all the best sonic and engineering features of the line combined with more solid construction than most. It plays and sounds fantastic, with the airy-but-biting tone of the Davoli pickups but sturdier feeling and a bit more aggressive sounding compared to the ethereal semi-hollow designs that make up much of the Wandre line. This is yet another wonderful instrument from the most inspired oddball Italian '60s guitar designer, a true artist of the electric guitar.
Overall length is 44 1/4 in. (112.4 cm.), 16 in. (40.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This ebony Tigre is in remarkably good condition with very little wear overall. The black lacquer is shiny, smooth and covered with only a smattering of dings and scratches in the lacquer finish. It appears all original down to every bit of hardware including the often lost or broken sheath covering the aluminum neck. The small protruding plastic cover on the back of the body shielding the vibrato unit has cracked and been repaired, all else is fully intact and undamaged.
The plastic and metal pickguard housing the dual Davoli pickups is not cracked or broken as many are and also safely houses the original adjustable bridge and mute apparatus. All pickups sound strong and clear, all electronics are original and untampered with as are the knobs and control panel.
The original frets appear to have been crowned down somewhat but are still in fine playing shape in the original fingerboard with minimal wear. It comes in a non-original hardshell case for safe travel, but included in the sale is its extremely rare original black leather Davoli-branded gig bag. The bag is worn at some seams making it not fit for gigging, but a delightful piece of Wandre/Davoli ephemera that deserves to stay with the guitar it has lived with all its life. Excellent Condition.
Share
