Fender Newporter 1960s

This is one of the much maligned Roger Rossmeisl-designed first series of Fender acoustics of the period 1965-1971, made in Santa Ana, California. I've long been fascinated by the more esoteric Fenders (I also have a 1966 Coronado II), which I believe don't merit the criticisms aimed at them by those who believe that if it ain't a Strat or a Tele it's junk. Some time ago I briefly encountered a Kingman, which proved not to have any of the vices levelled at these bolt-on-neck acoustics, and I decided that I'd like to obtain one of this series for myself. This one came up on eBay fairly cheaply and I went for it, and I'm not disappointed. Body size/style is small folk, back and rims are mahogany, top is spruce but mahogany-dyed to match the rest of the body. (Later Newporters were all mahogany, like the Gibbo LG-0). X-braced. Finish on body is satin, on neck is glossy. Neck is almost identical to the Coronado, with same headstock shape; maple, no skunk stripe, rosewood board, unbound with dot markers, trussrod adjuster at body end, four fixing bolts. The machines are Klusons with the Fender safety slot and plastic buttons, and these and the "transition" Fender logo place it between 1965 and 1968, when the decal was changed to the curvy black CBS variant and the machines to the enclosed "F" style. (These acoustics have five-digit serial numbers which do not fit into the normal Fender sequence for the 1960s, and I haven't been able to find a document which lists these.) Scale is 25.5 inches, standard Fender. 20 typical Fender medium frets, 14 clear of the body. Single bound face, unbound back. Stencilled rosette. Wide rosewood bridge with compensated plastic saddle and pin fixings. Gold-finished plastic scratchplate, screw-fixed, which I've replaced with a clear scratchplate of exactly the same dimensions (cut with my own fair hands) as I prefer the look of this. Oh yes, and the original flimsy cardboard case as well!

These guitars were almost universally condemned at the time for their lack of sound, allegedly a product of their bolt-on necks and the large neck block required for this. In fact the sound is quite satisfactory, more wiry than a Gibbo or Guild, but surprisingly loud. There is quite enough bass, although this is considerably more apparent to the listener out front than to the player sitting behind the instrument. The sound is clear and bright and the effect is of an acoustic Telecaster, if you know what I mean. It's possible that the thin satin finish applied to the Newporter's top detracted less from its sound, as compared to the thicker gloss finish applied to the faces of the other guitars in the series. Mine has Martin 12's on and with these it sounds just fine to me, Travis-picked with thumbpick and fingertips or flatpicked. Spacing at both ends is admittedly narrow for an acoustic, but after years of Travis-picking a Tele it's no problem to my average-sized hands. Indeed I can put down the Tele, pick up the Newporter and play with no noticeable adjustment at all.

When I obtained this guitar the whole body had been oversprayed very amateurishly with some sort of varnish - even over the binding, the bridge and the pins! Consequently I can't assess the original finish. I spent a day gently removing all of this by hand and refinishing the body with the thinnest possible single coat of polyurethane, brushed on carefully by hand to give a satin finish similar to the original. The construction is rock solid with no loose braces or joints. Inside there is quite a lot of loose glue, especially around the neck block - I can't tell whether this is from the original build or from subsequent ham-fisted repairs. It doesn't affect the playability or the sound at all (and don't original Weissenborns also have lots of loose glue over their insides?). Tuning is 100% reliable with no wear in the Klusons. Intonation is spot-on up to the ninth fret, which is about as high as I ever go on my acoustics. Neck is typically Fender-straight, fretting perfect, action virtually to electric standards (the beauty of the bolt-on neck is that you can do your own neck resets!) and frankly it plays as easily as my 1971 Tele or my 1977 Strat. My careful restoration has retained all the small dings and marks, and I've deliberately left the Eric Clapton cigarette burn on the headstock - one for the "mojo" fans!

After at least 40 years this instrument still plays as well as the day it was born. It exudes an air of solidity which nevertheless does not detract from its sound. I don't fear for its fragility as I do, for example, with my wonderful but oh-so-delicate 1966 Epi Frontier. It's smart enough to gig with, but I'd also take it to a party or a campfire without hesitation.

Not exactly applicable to this instrument!

Over my 40 years of playing I've acquired one of each of most of the classic American electrics, a few other nice pro-level acoustics (Epi, Hagstrom, Guild) and a plethora of oddballs - 5-string banjo, Irish bouzouki, mando, octave mando, several Oriental resonators, lap steels etc. I love them all. I do have a taste for the unusual which is why I like this Newporter - it's distinctive. With the continuing contempt for these old Fender acoustics I doubt if anybody would bother to steal it, but I'd hate to lose it. These instruments surface occasionally at dealers or on eBay, and I'd recommend anyone to have a proper look at one, rather than accepting at first hand their reputation. They'll never contribute to your pension fund, but you'll get a funky, distinctive, very playable acoustic to surprise your friends with.