Swinger (serial no. 267950)
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.The unusual Swinger, also known as the Musiclander or Arrow, was an entry-level student model that Fender made for Slingerland music stores in 1969. It was composed of repurposed parts from several Fender instruments, including cut-down bodies from the Bass V and hardware from the Musicmaster student models. Tina Weymouth of the Talking Heads purchased this guitar in 1978 from the shop Strings N Things, formerly located near CBGB on the Bowery in Manhattan. It was used in the 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense for “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody).”
Technical Description:
Alder body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard; 22½ in. scale; candy apple red finish; bolt-on neck with pearloid dot inlays; triangular headstock with black Fender logo decal; one single-coil pickup with volume and tone controls; three-ply white and black plastic pickguard, chrome three-saddle bridge, nickel tuners with plastic buttons, black plastic knobs
Technical Description:
Alder body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard; 22½ in. scale; candy apple red finish; bolt-on neck with pearloid dot inlays; triangular headstock with black Fender logo decal; one single-coil pickup with volume and tone controls; three-ply white and black plastic pickguard, chrome three-saddle bridge, nickel tuners with plastic buttons, black plastic knobs
Artwork Details
- Title: Swinger (serial no. 267950)
- Artist: Fender
- Artist: Martina Michèle "Tina" Weymouth (American, born Coronado, California, 1950)
- Date: 1969
- Geography: Fullerton, California, United States
- Medium: Alder, maple, rosewood, chrome, nickel, plastic
- Dimensions: Length: ~34 in. (86.4 cm)
Width: ~12 in. (30.5 cm)
Depth: ~1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm)
Weight: 5-6 lbs. - Classification: Chordophone-Lute-plucked-fretted
- Credit Line: Courtesy of Tina Weymouth
- Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments