Chandler 12-String Basses

"Flying V" Miller Genuine Draft 12-string Bass
This was the first Chandler 12 built. It was built for the late Allen Woody.

Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) backstage, checking out Tom Petersson's green Chandler 12

Royale 12-String Bass Pickguards

The first Chandler Royale 12-string bass that was made for Tom Petersson is shown here. In addition to having a more squared off headstock than other Royales, this bass also has a "one-off" pickguard. At Tom's request no other basses incorporate this exact same pickguard.

After receiving requests for this same style of pickguard from several Royale buyers, Chandler began offering one that was very similar to the one on Tom's Royale. This version is slightly larger than the first pickguard. At least three Royale 12-string basses are known with this style of pickguard.

Other Royale basses made for Tom and others have included this more streamlined pickguard:

Headstock Overlay of Italian Celluloid, White, Tortoise Shell or Black
Chandler Guitar Tuners (octave strings) and Gotoh GB-7 Bass Tuners (fundamental strings)
10-Piece Laminated Maple Neck with Graphite Nut and Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard
Two Graphite Rod Stabilizers on either side of a Single Truss Rod
Extended Neck Design up to the middle pickup adds extra stability
8-Saddle Bridge
Swamp Ash Body
White Pearl, Tortoise Shell or Black Pearl Body Binding
White Pearl, Tortoise Shell or Black Pearl Pick Guard
Three Passive SUPER 60 Pickups with Volume and On / Off Control
Three Output Jacks, one for each pickup
Stereo or mono output
Body Color: Transparent Stain / Opaque / Opaque Metallic / Sunburst 2 or 3 Tone / Super Sparkle Top
Custom Hardshell White Tolex Case

"The Finest 12-String Bass Ever Made"

"Designed in collaboration with Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick, this instrument offers outstanding tone and playability in a cool, retro package. The neck's comfortable shaping provides sufficient width for clean execution of low-register notes without being too large to play easily. Chandler's highly acclaimed finishes range from beautiful stained wood colors to outrageous Super Sparkle colors and everything in between."

"The SUPER 60 pickups are voiced to bring out the twang of the octave strings while retaining a solid fundamental with ringing overtones. The neck position pickup is a split-humbucking design offering deep, resonant low end. The middle and bridge pickups are large "soap bars" which give plenty of single-coil bite. Each of the pickups is located under a harmonic for best tone. Individual volume and on/off switches offer control over all possible pickup combinations. Other control layouts are available by customer request."

The Chandler Royale is shipped with the following string gauges, 34" scale:
Fundamentals: G .045, D .065, A .080, E .105
Octaves: G .018, D .024, A .034, E .044

This string set is referred to as the "TP Spec" set. Chandler does not reveal the name of their string manufacturer or the country of origin. New basses come with a spare set of strings. A Lite gauge set is also available with gauges running from 40 to 95. Adrian Chandler stated this string set is, "A slight difference in size - a huge difference in performance." Octave strings are: G .016, D .022, A .032, E .042.

Chandler octave strings have the smaller guitar-sized ball ends which may be too small to work properly with tailpieces on some brands of basses. This implies that these strings may be of Korean origin. Check here for more information. No string package or label was produced.

Chandler strings can be purchased for $50.00 per set directly from Chandler Guitars.