In praise of the Fender Electric XII, the 12-string electric loved by Jimmy Page that brought jangle to ‘60s rock

The Rickenbacker 360/12 is the most famous and popular electric 12-string guitar, thanks to its use by George Harrison on more than a dozen Beatles songs like A Hard Day’s Night, Can’t Buy Me Love, and Ticket to Ride and by Roger McGuinn (who actually used a Ric 370/12) on Mr. Tambourine Man.

But although the Fender Electric XII 12-string electric is not as well known, its distinctive sound may arguably be equally as familiar, thanks to its use by Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven, When the Levee Breaks, and other songs, as well as on Beck’s Bolero with Jeff Beck, by Pete Townshend on several tracks of the Who’s Tommy, by Eric Clapton on Cream’s Dance the Night Away from Disraeli Gears, and by Wrecking Crew studio guitarist Billy Strange on the Beach Boys’ Sloop John B.

A Fender Electric XII even made a notable appearance on the Woodstock stage, played by Johnny Winter (albeit strung with six strings instead of the customary 12) as seen in the film.

Whereas most of the electric 12-string guitars introduced in the '60s were basically six-string models with 12-string necks, the Fender Electric XII was the first model designed from the ground up as a 12-string.

A notable feature is its bridge, which features 12 individually adjustable saddles to facilitate perfect intonation for each string, rather than having different-gauge strings share a saddle like they did on other models. For obvious reasons, the Electric XII was the first Fender model to feature tuners on both sides of the headstock, and its headstock has an unusual droopy 'hockey stick' design.

The split single-coil pickup design, which Fender originally conceived for the Precision Bass in 1957, employs two half-size coils arranged in an offset pattern, with one coil magnetized south and wound clockwise while the other coil was magnetized north and wound counterclockwise. This provided single-coils with hum-canceling, as well as a wider overall magnetic field.

These pickups sound great (just listen to Winter’s tone at Woodstock to hear how they sound on six strings) and may be the most under-rated pickups Fender ever produced. The Electric XII also featured a four-way rotary switch that provides neck, both, bridge and both out-of-phase settings that provide an excellent variety of jingle and jangle tones. 

The Electric XII model is also notable for being the last guitar that Leo Fender designed before he left the company when CBS purchased Fender. The model was not a great commercial success, and it appears that most were built in 1965 and ’66. The standard model had a three-color sunburst, but Fender also made a considerable number of Electric XII guitars with custom color finishes.

The neck originally had an unbound fretboard with dot inlays, which soon changed to a bound fretboard with block inlays.

The model remained in the Fender catalog until 1969, and after its discontinuation leftover parts were used to build the short-lived six-string Custom/Maverick model.

Suggested rigs

Jimmy Page “Stairway”

Marshall 1959 Super Lead 100 into Marshall 1960B cabinet with Celestion G12H30 speakers.

Tip: While a crystalline clean tone seems like the way to go, the Fender Electric XII actually sounds great with a slightly overdriven edge. Push up the volume until it just reaches the brink of overdrive.

Ultimate jangle

Fender Twin Reverb

Tip: If you prefer a totally clean 12-string tone, it’s hard to beat the pairing of an Electric XII with a Twin Reverb, with the reverb dialed to 3 or 4. The out-of-phase setting works very well for pseudo acoustic-electric guitar tones in a band with other electric guitars.