Wandre Rock 6 Solid Body Electric Guitar (1962), original gig bag case.

Wandre Rock 6 Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1962), made in Cavriago, Italy, natural finish, Padouk body, aluminum neck with rosewood fingerboard, original gig bag case.

"What are those guitars -- man, we don't have those in the STATES!" So spoke Bob Dylan in 1965, captured on film looking into the window of an English music store at several Wandre guitars. These amazingly futuristic and completely original instruments were sold under different brand names in Europe through the early-mid 1960s but never caught on here and American market examples are extremely rare. They have fascinated adventurous electric guitar fans since, but most players have never seen or handled one. This unmistakable Rock 6 was one of Wandre's most unusual early 6-string creations, a true solid body quite unlike his mostly hollow or semi-hollow designs. Its wildly modernistic sculptural look makes it easily one of the most iconic offerings from Mr. Wandre Pioli's large and varied oeuvre.

Marco Ballestri, author of the essential text "WANDRE-The Artist Of The Electric Guitar" traces the origin of the Rock 6 to mid-1961. The most obvious characteristic is the minimal and overtly sculptural body, carved from natural-finished solid Padouk wood with a noticeable use of what art schools describe as "negative space", including a large cutout behind the bridge and a smaller round hole on the upper treble bout. This piece of wood looks like it might have been poached right out of an art gallery and fitted with a neck and pickups! Some have noted its passing similarity to a wooden toilet seat, perhaps a wink from Wandre Pioli to Marcel Duchamp!

Besides the unique aesthetics, another trailblazing feature Wandre guitars is a bolt-on aluminum neck/body centerpiece. Over a decade before Travis Bean or Veleno, Pioli's instruments feature a thin, rounded aluminum neck with an extension set into body running down to the tailpiece and the aluminum-framed wood headstock bolted on. The rosewood fingerboard has large dot inlay and the back of the neck is covered by a white plastic sheath, which most players find more comfortable than bare metal. The headstock is fitted with Italian-made 3-in-line pearloid-button sheathed tuners and an aluminum spacer nut above the zero fret.

Beyond its wildly exotic looks this Rock 6 is a fairly straightforward instrument, for a Wandre anyway. It carries two of the famous Davoli pickups Farther back on the face of the body right over the dramatic cutaway oval is a small stamped metal and plastic control plate holding two volume and one tone knobs with the jack mounted at the back end. The bridge is a Hofner-style slotted piece but cut from aluminum, adjustable for height with 6 fretwire saddles. The strings run on to a solid aluminum tailpiece attached to the bottom of the center insert with a decorative stamped metal "W" ornament screwed on. The headstock design marks this example as dating to 1962, the year before they appeared in the Wandre catalogue in Italy.

Even among Wandre Pioli's eccentric electric children, the Rock 6 is a true original. Boldly unconventional and overtly artistic, it plays and sounds very nicely and certainly looks and feels like nothing else. This is a very rare, wonderful and iconic instrument from the most inspired oddball Italian '60s guitar designer, Wandre Pioli, a true artist of the electric guitar.

Overall length is 44 1/4 in. (112.4 cm.), 16 in. (40.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).

This is a very nice example of an always showstopping guitar in quite well-preserved shape. The thin finish on the sculpted Padouk body is original and unaltered with just some small dings and scratches here and there. The guitar remains all original with its hardware intact, the only apparent alteration is a 1/4" phone jack in place of the 5mm Geloso jack Wandre normally used at the time. This is an older European part and appears to have been in place since the guitar was fairly new.

The somewhat fragile plastic sheath covering the aluminum neck has a small cracked/chipped spot around the 12th fret on the bass side, but no other cracks or damage. The Wandre logo sticker on the lower body has begun to peel slightly but remains intact. The smaller logo stamped in the wood headstock is indistinct at best (and upside down!) but left the factory that way. There is a very small chip off the edge of the small hole in the headstock, which itself is a Wandre production quirk.

All the hardware including the 3-in-line tuners, aluminum bridge and minimalist tailpiece with the ornamental metal "W" logo are present and in good order with some light wear. Three of the pearloid tuner buttons have lost their wire inserts. The famous Davoli pickups and electronics are original including the knobs and plastic components on the control panel, except as noted the jack. The metal has some light corrosion in spots, particularly the mounting tabs and screws on the pickups.

The sculptural solid body gives this model a brighter, indeed more "Rock" oriented sound than most hollow or semi-hollow Wandre guitars. Despite its unusually configured contoured body the guitar rests quite comfortably on the lap and balances well on a strap. A modern hardshell case is included, but amazingly the nearly always lost original gig bag is present as well, one of the few we have ever seen! This Rock 6 is a prime specimen of this really unique creation, a find for any Wandre aficionado. Overall Excellent - Condition.