NGD: 1966 Coronado II

For guitars of the straight waisted variety (or reverse offset).
Post Reply
User avatar
garyfanclub
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 571
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 7:29 am
Location: NYC

NGD: 1966 Coronado II

Post by garyfanclub » Thu May 26, 2022 11:52 am

Seems like there's lots of Coronado love around these parts these days...

Just picked up this beater '66 Coronado II from Atomic Music this past weekend. I actually played it way back in February when I was passing through the area but it was on "Pawn hold" or whatever it's called why they confirmed it wasn't stolen. It was in rough shape back then, action was way too high, guitar itself was super dirty, as if it had been in a musty garage for 20 years, bridge was backwards, controls totally scratchy, just a mess in general... BUT it was stripped down to blonde AND it had the vibrato tailpiece AND the neck (as many Coro necks are) was just unbelievable. So I told myself I'd buy it if it ever popped up on their Reverb, and here we are...

Spend the afternoon cleaning this thing up with dish soap and giving it a fresh set of 11's and it's just sounding amazing. Atomic must have cleaned the pots, because those issues were gone. It *was* strung up incorrectly (straight through the Mustang-style vibrato rather than through and under), but otherwise it needed very little work. Strung it up, repositioned the bridge, adjusted the action way down so it's comfortable, then adjusted the pole pieces to match the radius and plugged it in.

What's it sound like? This guitar has the silver Dearmond Coronado pickups. If you know Coro's, there's these and the later black "T" Coronado pickups. Jury's still out on which is "better". I've played both types, and I don't think they sound *that* different. Maybe the black pickups were slightly more aggressive, but it could have been the amp or difference in how the pole pieces are adjusted. These silver ones are definitely very "old school" sounding pickups - they've got a twangy, middy bark to them that's somewhere between a Dynasonic and a Gold Foil. Plenty of cut, lots of high mids (I think that's the "bark" I'm referring to), with a bit of a high-cut that makes them very usable with the tone knob all the way up. Sounds a lot like the clean guitar parts on an old French Ye-Ye track or a 60s Nancy Sinatra record. Maybe a bit of spaghetti western and 13th Floor Elevators thrown in there? Not a ton of sustain, here, but lots of attack and cut. VERY garagey and mid-60's pysch!

I'm not sure I'd agree with the "lo-fi" rep that these pickups get - I don't think they're any more or less clear sounding than their contemporaries. The bridge pickup isn't far off from a Jag pickup, and the neck can get pretty jazzy while retaining clarity, no complaints from me on the tone, LOVE the way this thing sounds clean with some verb and trem. A few Coro guys on this forum have called out that these pickups are VERY responsive to pole piece height, and that's 100% spot-on. I spent about an hour getting the heights correct. Too low (especially on the plain strings) and those strings will barely come through the amp.

The trem arm was long gone, but luckily I had a spare JM arm lying around that slotted right in. Luckily the set screw wasn't missing. The trem is very smooth and returns to pitch perfectly. The unit's actually pretty interesting, as there's not a coiled spring under the cover. Instead it's a bent piece of metal hooked to the tube where the strings are anchored. The arm is very very touch sensitive, so it's a bit less precise than a JM trem, but that's alright with me.

Image
Last edited by garyfanclub on Thu May 26, 2022 2:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
SignoftheDragon
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 2314
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 11:06 am
Location: Utah, USA
Contact:

Re: NGD: 1966 Coronado II

Post by SignoftheDragon » Thu May 26, 2022 12:31 pm

RAD.

I'm assembling/reassembling a CAR Coro XII right now, and I'm excited to get it playing!

I still need to track down the pickup ring/gasket thingy for the bridge pickup- that's the last part that I'm missing for mine.

Cheers!

User avatar
Steadyriot.
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1262
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 2:16 pm
Location: The Netherlands

Re: NGD: 1966 Coronado II

Post by Steadyriot. » Thu May 26, 2022 1:18 pm

Nice!
Coronado’s are rare as hens teeth around here. Seem like such nice guitars!
"If someone duetted with a Bald Eagle, they could rule the Country charts from here to eternity." ~shadowplay

User avatar
garyfanclub
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 571
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 7:29 am
Location: NYC

Re: NGD: 1966 Coronado II

Post by garyfanclub » Thu May 26, 2022 4:34 pm

Steadyriot. wrote:
Thu May 26, 2022 1:18 pm
Nice!
Coronado’s are rare as hens teeth around here. Seem like such nice guitars!
They’re great if they’re the sound you’re looking for.

If you’re expecting 335 you’re going to be disappointed. This is more like a cross between a Jag, a Gretsch, and a Ric. So with that said, I get why these are unpopular in more mainstream guitar circles - it’s a very distinct flavor. It’s not going to do overdriven blues particularly well (sustain) or heavy rock (weakish bridge pickup, feedback), hence why most people will label this the “worst Fender ever”.

I play quite a bit of jazzy chord melody stuff solo and this works great for that kind of thing. Plenty of mids and bite, not a ton of sustain to muddy things up. I’m sure it’ll be even better with some flatwound strings!

User avatar
garyfanclub
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 571
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 7:29 am
Location: NYC

Re: NGD: 1966 Coronado II

Post by garyfanclub » Fri May 27, 2022 11:35 am

Spiraling a bit here on refin options (the current refin isn't the greatest, and while the wood's pretty, whatever's been used as a sealant is pretty runny)... This guitar *could* look great in Firemist Gold! Looks pretty damn classy.

Image

Image

User avatar
garyptaszek
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 5095
Joined: Thu Oct 09, 2008 1:02 am
Location: Kent UK
Contact:

Re: NGD: 1966 Coronado II

Post by garyptaszek » Fri May 27, 2022 11:35 am

The Coronado GAS :?

User avatar
camilonava27
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 58
Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2021 12:50 am

Re: NGD: 1966 Coronado II

Post by camilonava27 » Sun Jun 12, 2022 10:25 am

garyfanclub wrote:
Thu May 26, 2022 4:34 pm
Steadyriot. wrote:
Thu May 26, 2022 1:18 pm
Nice!
Coronado’s are rare as hens teeth around here. Seem like such nice guitars!
They’re great if they’re the sound you’re looking for.

If you’re expecting 335 you’re going to be disappointed. This is more like a cross between a Jag, a Gretsch, and a Ric. So with that said, I get why these are unpopular in more mainstream guitar circles - it’s a very distinct flavor. It’s not going to do overdriven blues particularly well (sustain) or heavy rock (weakish bridge pickup, feedback), hence why most people will label this the “worst Fender ever”.

I play quite a bit of jazzy chord melody stuff solo and this works great for that kind of thing. Plenty of mids and bite, not a ton of sustain to muddy things up. I’m sure it’ll be even better with some flatwound strings!
I have a 67 Coronado XII, and I must admit, it’s probably my favorite sounding guitar I currently. Really unique pickups that do the sparkly jangly thing perfectly

User avatar
offabit
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 18
Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2021 4:02 pm

Re: NGD: 1966 Coronado II

Post by offabit » Sun Jun 12, 2022 1:28 pm

Oolala. I like the natural finish look on that.

Post Reply