My chops are in a varied but constant state of corrosion, but here's a little thing that fell out when I was test driving this Barclay:
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Mid 1960's Harmony-made Barclay
I haven't confirmed the dates on the pot's, but I think this is from 1965/66, and is my only f-holed thinline. It's equipped with the very respected Dearmond 'moustache' pickups which evolved from their earlier 'gold foils', and have adjustable pole pieces.
My chops are in a varied but constant state of corrosion, but here's a little thing that fell out when I was test driving this Barclay:
My chops are in a varied but constant state of corrosion, but here's a little thing that fell out when I was test driving this Barclay:
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
1950's Gibson P13 pickup
Well, it's not every day you get to see the internals of a pickup from the 1950's. This is a Gibson made P13 single coil pickup. It came off the Harmony lap steel guitar that I received this week. Harmony and Gibson swapped parts here and there during the rough times, when they had resources that each could benefit from. This pickup features on quite a few Harmony models. (And if you look closely at a few old archtop bodies, hmmm, Harmony, or Gibson? How does THAT change your perception on construction and materials quality difference between the "cheap" and expensive brand?!)
My lap steel arrived with no noise. I opened it up, and there were no wires, at all... I wonder if that had something to do with it. There were not even any wires attached to the pickup. A quick test of my pickup had me pronouncing it DOA.
It took some opening; there was a strong weld of solder on each side of the case, and my 30W iron struggled to do the job, since the heat was being soaked up by the entire case. I got in though, and saw both ends of the copper winding loose. I soldered those to the respective terminals, and she is alive!! As you see, measures about 8.8k on the meter.
Enjoy the pictures, you will probably never have this chance again :)
My lap steel arrived with no noise. I opened it up, and there were no wires, at all... I wonder if that had something to do with it. There were not even any wires attached to the pickup. A quick test of my pickup had me pronouncing it DOA.
It took some opening; there was a strong weld of solder on each side of the case, and my 30W iron struggled to do the job, since the heat was being soaked up by the entire case. I got in though, and saw both ends of the copper winding loose. I soldered those to the respective terminals, and she is alive!! As you see, measures about 8.8k on the meter.
Enjoy the pictures, you will probably never have this chance again :)
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Great day!
Good times today, one thing after another. I picked up this very old Harmony lap steel from the post office that I bought during the week. It has the very sought after and expensive Gibson P13 pickup. (I got his complete guitar for $10 more than a solo P13 sold for the next day!)
I seldom enjoy going into the noise at Guitar Center, but it serves a purpose, and today, Mike and I had purpose. I needed to pick up a boom stand for my microphone. Whilst there, a used and abused Epiphone Stratocaster copy was spotted. I pulled out the haggling stick, and we walked away with it for $65 plus tax. It sounds and plays great! I think our friend will adopt this one as his project Strat so it was great to seal the deal.
On the way home I ran over some carpet that had come out of someone's truck... then stopped for a piece. Nice, clean and good size, to serve as a guitar cushion while working on my desk up here.
Added 2/3/08:
Wow, I forgot there was more to yesterday. I stopped in the Hobby shop on the way home too, to pick up a craft knife to shape the styrene I bought for my H44 jack plates. I asked them about larger sheets of the 2mm styrene... and it comes in pieces large enough to make a whole scratch plate as well. So, I ordered in a couple of packs. Things are coming together!
I seldom enjoy going into the noise at Guitar Center, but it serves a purpose, and today, Mike and I had purpose. I needed to pick up a boom stand for my microphone. Whilst there, a used and abused Epiphone Stratocaster copy was spotted. I pulled out the haggling stick, and we walked away with it for $65 plus tax. It sounds and plays great! I think our friend will adopt this one as his project Strat so it was great to seal the deal.
On the way home I ran over some carpet that had come out of someone's truck... then stopped for a piece. Nice, clean and good size, to serve as a guitar cushion while working on my desk up here.
Added 2/3/08:
Wow, I forgot there was more to yesterday. I stopped in the Hobby shop on the way home too, to pick up a craft knife to shape the styrene I bought for my H44 jack plates. I asked them about larger sheets of the 2mm styrene... and it comes in pieces large enough to make a whole scratch plate as well. So, I ordered in a couple of packs. Things are coming together!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Now ONLINE... Tone Den!!!
Tone Den - Guaranteed killer guitar tone!
Save the link!!
http://ToneDen.ThruHere.net
Online source of vintage guitars, some of which feature in my blogs.
Save the link!!
Save the link!!
http://ToneDen.ThruHere.net
Online source of vintage guitars, some of which feature in my blogs.
Save the link!!
Harmony, Silvertone, Supro, National, Airline, Kapa, Barclay, Smeck, Stratotone, Magnatone, Newport, Valco, Regal, Sears, Old Kraftsman, Premier, Holiday, Alden, Orpheum and Stewart
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Desk!
Very loosely related to my blog theme, but this is about my guitar room. To date, I've done all my work spread between the carpeted area inside the attic window, and the top of a tall, closed, cardboard box as a make-shift table. When walking home from work last week, I saw a pile of rubble on someone's front curb which looked like they were refurbishing a bedroom. I went back later that evening with the car and asked for permission to take some of the wood. I got a couple of sliding wardrobe doors, and a bunch of framework, mostly 1.5" x 1.5".
I find it MUCH easier to pull two notes together than two pieces of wood, so I celebrate my small achievements. It's not pretty, but it's functional. A box of screws, some circ-saw action, and about 2 hours work has me set up nicely now upstairs.
I suspect that Rick Springfield poster was introduced in the early eighties, about the same time as those untouched cob webs! Best to leave well enough alone...
I find it MUCH easier to pull two notes together than two pieces of wood, so I celebrate my small achievements. It's not pretty, but it's functional. A box of screws, some circ-saw action, and about 2 hours work has me set up nicely now upstairs.
I suspect that Rick Springfield poster was introduced in the early eighties, about the same time as those untouched cob webs! Best to leave well enough alone...
Friday, January 25, 2008
TheDeanFiles - the truth is out there...
I was randomly searching for Stratotones, and surprisingly found my blog pages in Google search results. Also, this was flattering to see that a forum has linked to my blog page:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)