1954 Fender Champion Cream, Good, Original Hard

Offered for sale;

Used c1954 Fender Champion Lap Steel Guitar serial number 8854.

This lap steel is in good condition, fully functional, cosmetically showing some discoloration on the back and ample amount of “patina” for a lap steel this age.

Somewhere in its history the pickup was removed and the body routed for a slightly larger pickup. Fortunately, the original pickup was saved. We had it rewound by Kent Armstrong and then reinstalled it. The tuners, pots and knobs are new. The capacitor appears to be original.

As many know, Leo Fender and his company made Lap Steel guitars before the ground-breaking Broadcasters and Telecasters. Starting in the late 1940s, lap steels catered to the Hawaiian music craze, however they also became favorites of Rock, Blues and Country players.

In the 1955 catalog Fender states:
“Fender has done it again with one of the finest low-priced guitars…on the musical market. The student guitar has a solid hardwood body and is beautifully finished in cream colored mother-of-pearl plastic.

It has a replaceable fretboard and detachable cord, and the tone and volume controls have been placed in the optimum position for easy playing. It has safety string patent heads [long since replaced] and recessed jack ferrule.”

Imperial Guitar states:
“This lap steel is a very cool piece of Fender history. Sounds really good with the rewound Kent Armstrong pickup. Plenty of ‘cut’ but never harsh.”

Original “handsome, diagonally striped airplane -luggage linen covered” (tweed) hard-shell case included.

We carefully inspect every instrument when we buy it and bring it up to our standards before we offer it for sale. We also do a full set up before we ship. If you decide to purchase this guitar, please let us know what gauge strings you prefer.

*Please note: we do our best giving descriptions of used pieces. We have found it impossible to describe every mark on an instrument or amp that is not in the "mint" category. Also, what's important to you may not be important to someone else. For example, you may say, "I don't care what it looks like as long as it plays or sounds well." Another person may say, "Body cosmetics are very important to me so tell me about every scratch, nick and blemish." So, please ask the questions that are most important to you. If you ask they will be answered. They are free and there's no limit. Additional photos can also be made available.

This is a specific item that is also being offered for sale in our brick & mortar location. It is possible that it has just been sold. Please ask if it is still available before purchasing.

*It is our policy to require a signature on delivery of all musical instruments. Please let us know if you prefer no signature required when ordering or we will automatically require a signature.

If you prefer your item to be sent without a required signature Imperial Guitar and the selected carrier can no longer be responsible for the security of the package once it has been delivered.