Ah, the Coronado, one of those "Right-guitar-by-the-wrong-brand" moments. In the mid sixties with the beat boom happening Fenders weren't really all that popular because of Bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones NOT playing them. (John Lennon once said that it was deliberate because they didn't want to be associated with instrumental bands like The Shadows and the Ventures) But Semi accoustic guitars like those from Gretsch, Epiphone and Gibson were must haves for beat groups.
So the high command of Fender decided to see if Fender could carve itself a niche in that market too and so they hired THIS guy....
..to help them get to it. Roger Rossmeisl was a German immigrant who previously had worked for Rickenbacker, designing the legendary 300 series guitars and 4000 series basses, including the 4001. An accomplished luthier, Rossmeisl was the man for the job in bringing a little more sophistication to Fender.
This is a Rossmeisl made guitar, evident are his signature shape F-holes which can also be found on Rickenbacker's Import series and on the Fender instruments he designed. Note also the R tailpiece, something we also found on Rickenbackers Rossmeisl designed.
The first Rossmeisl/Fender product was a nod to his Rickenbacker past.
The Thinline Telecaster, has that typical Rossmeisl shaped F-hole and the body was hollowed out in the same way as a Rickenbacker 360 guitar (or 4005 bass), routed from the back and having a backplate of matching wood covering it all up. This Rossmeisl made Fender is still being produced today, proving the most succesful of the Rossmeisl made Fenders.
But after this innitial succes Rossmeisl came up with some spectacular UN-Fender-like instruments.
Fender's acoustic range for example: they had bolt on necks and screwed on heavy plastic pickguards (can you imagine what wonder those features did for the sound charicaristics of an Accoustic guitar?)
Then came the Coronado range, which married Gretsch-style bodies and DeArmond pickups with Fender bolt-on necks, they were light and didn't sound that bad but nobody wants a semi accoustic with a bolt on neck. The Wildwood idea also didn't catch on because of the resulting pieces of wood either being hit or miss in the looks department, some guitars looked really spectacular whilst of others you could barely see the color.
But perhaps the worst Rossmeisl came up with was Fender's Archtop range.
The Fender Montego and the Fender LTD showed where Rossmeisl got it from, his German luthery and the Rickenbacker 360F, which shape it closely aped. But once again, a bolt on neck was the nail in the coffin, nobody wanted a Jazzguitar with a bolt on neck
What the people of Fender learned the hard way here was that when people wanted a Gibson, they'd BUY a Gibson. And as they also would learn later was that a chap called Jimi Hendrix would turn the tides for Fender's popularity, the Fender Stratocaster would once again be THE rock guitar.
But as for the Fenders made under Rossmeisl's guidance? Only the most Fender looking and sounding of them all survived: the Thinline Telecaster. Which is now also made under the Squier brandname and carries that typical Rossmeisl shape F-hole as a tribute to it's designer
