”Speaking of iconic characters, it's hard not to immediately think of Wandrè, with his works on the verge of the paranormal, and Rock 6 is one of his strangest creatures.
Lorenzo
Being in the presence of a Wandrè instrument is like being in front of a modern work of art, works of this kind should have their rightful place in every contemporary art museum in the world, they are so devoted to design and conceptual art.
Our friend Gordy has kindly granted his two Rock 6 for the making of this article, telling us that one of the two guitars is available for sale.
The Rock 6 takes its shape from the Spazial, a model of which it retains the perimeter but significantly modifies its dimensions: the Rock is about 7 cm longer, narrower by about 5 at the shoulders and 7 at the sides while the thickness is about 2 mm less.
The Rock model, both bass and guitar, is a real sculpture, which recalls ancestral fetishes and symbolisms, a sort of wooden idol praising ‘Freedom’, which Wandrè identified in rock.
The wood chosen for the body is the wonderful African Padouk, oil finished, a very hard and heavy wood as much as it is fascinating, which contributes to giving a tribal taste to this unique instrument.
As usual, the neck and headstock are aluminum, neck through and with the usual plastic cover on the back. Initially it went through the major hole up to the heel, anchoring itself to an aluminum trapezoidal bracket.
Later it was shortened and the hole remained free, with great gain in the overall look of the instrument.
A dedicated headstock was not designed for the Rock 6 but were used the models already mounted on Selene, Waid and Spazial of the same period.
The electronic part consists of two Davoli pickups and a volume, tone and pickup selector inserted in the typical box of a chromed brass sheet already used in all the other guitars except for the Bikini.
The extreme peculiarity of the shapes of this instrument is given precisely by the two holes that open in the body, the large one which often has the shape of a heart or bean, and the small one, which varies from round to elliptical.
It has been mistakenly thought that the shape of the holes corresponded to different production periods, while more likely they differed according to the taste of the operator in charge of shaping, or, much more often, they were dictated by the need to correct any defects in the wood, errors or chipping that occurred during the processing of a difficult wood such as Padouk.
The Rock 6 is characterized by a decidedly warm sound and a notable sustain given by the Padouk and the lower hole that gives the body a shape like the famous Scacciapensieri (or Marranzano), imitating its physical abilities.
In this guitar, you can be surprised to see everything, from a strange face with only one eye, to the silhouette of a bird (personally we see something similar to the Woodstock bird from the Peanuts).
The Rock 6 model was produced from 2 September 1961 until the end of 1962, the two examples on display here belong to the 1962 production.
For more information, please refer to the excellent book written by Wandré’s leading expert, Dr. Marco Ballestri: “Wandré – L’artista della chitarra elettrica”
Overview of the Wandrè Rock 6
You may be wondering which of the two guitars is on sale, well this is the one with dot fret markers that we show you below.
It seems that this Rock 6 is the same one played by Eddy Grant with The Equals, as seen in the video of ‘Baby come back’ at Top of the Pops.
For inquiries, please contact Gordy.
Eddy Grant with The Equals in ‘Baby come back’ (Top of the Pops – 1968)
… but how is the sound?
Sounds of the Wandrè Rock 6
…and what about the bass?
The bass version probably came before the guitar and was called, in fact, Rock Basso.
Guitar and bass shared the same 32.6 scale but the bass only had one pickup and remained in production until the end of 1964.
The headstock and string holder were the same as in the Waid model and also the volume control, as in the Waid itself, was located at the base of the string holder.
How a Wandrè Rock Basso sounds
Credits
We thank the Facebook group and our affiliate Wandré Guitars who, in the person of Dr. Marco Ballestri, kindly provided us with information and photographic material, as well as kind advice.
A dutiful thanks always go to the creator, that Wandré who left us a heritage of art and innovation that never fails to make us remain in amazed admiration.
