Search found 42 matches

Thanks for those, Todd. I love the sound. It fires the imagination, like looking at a historic photograph.

Highly recommended. Matt's concept is promising in including a wide variety of stringed instruments, which provides for band combinations. This is band music after all, that's where the fun is!

Hobo nickels, I never knew! Glad to know about this obscure practice.

I have developed a related pastime, making two-headed pennies. I prefer all-copper Lincoln pennies. I have also done an in ...

Glad to see you doing this, Ron. It's an honored traditional craft that deserves to live on into the future.

The appearance of the fracture does suggest a casting, but typically brass tailpieces are wrought brass which was bent when manufactured. Brass hardens when worked or distorted, which in this case cre ...

Thanks for Sol's tuning, Mike. Strumming that combination tells the whole story, musically, with that 6th added in to the triad sound. Except you call it a C#min7, not an E6. Why is that?

The se ...

Thanks Josei, I'm glad this guitar is in good hands. Guitar repair people shy away from dealing with metal, which has the advantage of having much better strength and stiffness than wood. A machinis ...

That's one of mine. Can't find anything in my mail from you - try the contact form at my website, which is:
http://www.jmorton.us/index.html

It does look as though it suffered an impact to the en ...

I have made cones for tricone lap guitars, 10+ for my own instruments and a few as replacements for Nationals with defunct cones. Having nothing to measure, I guessed to come up with reasonable spec ...

I have made cones for tricone lap guitars, 10+ for my own instruments and a few as replacements for Nationals with defunct cones. Having nothing to measure, I guessed to come up with reasonable spec ...

I'll add my compliments to Makiya Matsuda and his wonderful group. The classic guitar-less rhythm section is clean and powerful. Hapa haole done right!

That A/B test would be very interesting to me too. I have built metal hollownecks, in fact hollow and tapering all the way to the nut. I always thought this made sense, and I wouldn't make a solid n ...

Thanks, I didn't pick up on that "hollow neck" term. So they are available ($5000 and up) for the time being, but then they'll go away. No photos, no demand for these historic orphans.

...

A few years back I thought National had an all-metal hollow neck Hawaiian tricone on the horizon. I haven't checked in at the site in the post-Young era, but now I see no mention of such a thing, nor ...

Thanks Jamie and Tim, this is fascinating to learn where these giant sounds come from. DL has managed to channel the El Rayo X material into an effective solo act, and after the first minute or two y ...

I have not heard recordings that sound like what I'm talking about. The last 3 times I saw DL he played alone with maybe 6 or 7 instruments including 3 Weissenborn style, one of them a baritone scale ...

When I listen to Lindley these days I hear a doubled low octave in the bass lines in his Weissenborn tunes. I'm thinking there is an octave device adjusted to track just the lowest octave of the rang ...

That's beautiful, Mike. Epistrophy is indeed a great choice of tune for an interlude, or as a theme to open and close each set. Those chromatic shifts are so natural for steel.

Epistrophy was rec ...

Matt is heading up a vintage jazz workshop for string players next month in Port Townsend, WA. It's a trial balloon, sort of under the radar, publicitywise. Enrollment limited to 30. Don't know if ...

I have strung up tricones with scale lengths of 23" and 25.5", including 7 and 8 string models with various tunings. My method has been to refer first to a guitar in normal tuning, and then ...

I have made other guitars with this profile, which is a Weissenborn shape reduced by 15%, therefore a 23" scale. The largest tricone array that fit in the shape was 4.5" diam. This one is ...

Thanks for all the kind words.
The Portland event is the Northwest Handmade Instrument Show at Marylhurst College.
http://www.nwmusicalinstrumentshow.org/

I used to snip everything, but now it's ...

The National tricone is a beautiful thing, but the obsessive/compulsive builder with a metal shop just had to try for bilateral symmetry. But then I spoiled it with the 7 string peghead. There were ...

The Midnight Serenaders are an oldtime swing band, also with some western and Hawaiian content. Longstanding, very popular. Doc Stein is their squareneck tricone man - to my mind he outshines the ho ...

For $20 more there is this:
http://www.elderly.com/accessories/items/VCABLE-250-10.htm
A strong argument in favor of this cord is that the knob is rigidly attached to the guitar, therefore always ...

Author	Message
Topic: Live Billy Jack Wills !! Wills Point 1954
John Morton Replies: 22 Views: 8051	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 18 Jul 2019 8:18 pm Subject: Live Billy Jack Wills !! Wills Point 1954
John Morton Replies: 22 Views: 8051	Thanks for those, Todd. I love the sound. It fires the imagination, like looking at a historic photograph.
Topic: Non-pedal workshop for players interested in "Hot Jazz"
John Morton Replies: 5 Views: 2241	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 18 Nov 2018 9:52 pm Subject: Non-pedal workshop for players interested in "Hot Jazz"
John Morton Replies: 5 Views: 2241	Highly recommended. Matt's concept is promising in including a wide variety of stringed instruments, which provides for band combinations. This is band music after all, that's where the fun is!
Topic: Custom Reso and accessories
John Morton Replies: 14 Views: 4803	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 19 Jul 2018 6:20 pm Subject: Custom Reso and accessories
John Morton Replies: 14 Views: 4803	Hobo nickels, I never knew! Glad to know about this obscure practice. I have developed a related pastime, making two-headed pennies. I prefer all-copper Lincoln pennies. I have also done an in ...
Topic: Custom Reso and accessories
John Morton Replies: 14 Views: 4803	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 5 Jul 2018 8:36 pm Subject: Custom Reso and accessories
John Morton Replies: 14 Views: 4803	Glad to see you doing this, Ron. It's an honored traditional craft that deserves to live on into the future.
Topic: New Tailpiece for Gretsch Bobtail reso??
John Morton Replies: 16 Views: 6148	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 5 Jul 2018 8:34 pm Subject: New Tailpiece for Gretsch Bobtail reso??
John Morton Replies: 16 Views: 6148	The appearance of the fracture does suggest a casting, but typically brass tailpieces are wrought brass which was bent when manufactured. Brass hardens when worked or distorted, which in this case cre ...
Topic: From lap steel to tricone...tuning recommendations?
John Morton Replies: 13 Views: 3107	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 22 May 2018 8:01 am Subject: From lap steel to tricone...tuning recommendations?
John Morton Replies: 13 Views: 3107	Thanks for Sol's tuning, Mike. Strumming that combination tells the whole story, musically, with that 6th added in to the triad sound. Except you call it a C#min7, not an E6. Why is that? The se ...
Topic: Tricone repair
John Morton Replies: 15 Views: 4903	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 22 May 2018 7:33 am Subject: Tricone repair
John Morton Replies: 15 Views: 4903	Thanks Josei, I'm glad this guitar is in good hands. Guitar repair people shy away from dealing with metal, which has the advantage of having much better strength and stiffness than wood. A machinis ...
Topic: Tricone repair
John Morton Replies: 15 Views: 4903	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 21 May 2018 7:20 pm Subject: Tricone repair
John Morton Replies: 15 Views: 4903	That's one of mine. Can't find anything in my mail from you - try the contact form at my website, which is: http://www.jmorton.us/index.html It does look as though it suffered an impact to the en ...
Topic: cone height
John Morton Replies: 2 Views: 1018	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 11 Apr 2018 12:35 pm Subject: cone height
John Morton Replies: 2 Views: 1018	I have made cones for tricone lap guitars, 10+ for my own instruments and a few as replacements for Nationals with defunct cones. Having nothing to measure, I guessed to come up with reasonable spec ...
Topic: cone height
John Morton Replies: 0 Views: 593	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 11 Apr 2018 10:42 am Subject: cone height
John Morton Replies: 0 Views: 593	I have made cones for tricone lap guitars, 10+ for my own instruments and a few as replacements for Nationals with defunct cones. Having nothing to measure, I guessed to come up with reasonable spec ...
Topic: The Alcatraz Islanders
John Morton Replies: 18 Views: 7723	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 14 Jul 2017 7:21 am Subject: The Alcatraz Islanders
John Morton Replies: 18 Views: 7723	I'll add my compliments to Makiya Matsuda and his wonderful group. The classic guitar-less rhythm section is clean and powerful. Hapa haole done right!
Topic: What has happened to National squarenecks?
John Morton Replies: 5 Views: 2604	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 20 Apr 2017 5:04 pm Subject: What has happened to National squarenecks?
John Morton Replies: 5 Views: 2604	That A/B test would be very interesting to me too. I have built metal hollownecks, in fact hollow and tapering all the way to the nut. I always thought this made sense, and I wouldn't make a solid n ...
Topic: What has happened to National squarenecks?
John Morton Replies: 5 Views: 2604	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 17 Apr 2017 4:40 pm Subject: What has happened to National squarenecks?
John Morton Replies: 5 Views: 2604	Thanks, I didn't pick up on that "hollow neck" term. So they are available ($5000 and up) for the time being, but then they'll go away. No photos, no demand for these historic orphans. ...
Topic: What has happened to National squarenecks?
John Morton Replies: 5 Views: 2604	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 17 Apr 2017 8:03 am Subject: What has happened to National squarenecks?
John Morton Replies: 5 Views: 2604	A few years back I thought National had an all-metal hollow neck Hawaiian tricone on the horizon. I haven't checked in at the site in the post-Young era, but now I see no mention of such a thing, nor ...
Topic: David Lindley's chorus
John Morton Replies: 17 Views: 7843	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 9 Jun 2016 7:06 am Subject: David Lindley's chorus
John Morton Replies: 17 Views: 7843	Thanks Jamie and Tim, this is fascinating to learn where these giant sounds come from. DL has managed to channel the El Rayo X material into an effective solo act, and after the first minute or two y ...
Topic: David Lindley's chorus
John Morton Replies: 17 Views: 7843	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 8 Jun 2016 7:18 pm Subject: David Lindley's chorus
John Morton Replies: 17 Views: 7843	I have not heard recordings that sound like what I'm talking about. The last 3 times I saw DL he played alone with maybe 6 or 7 instruments including 3 Weissenborn style, one of them a baritone scale ...
Topic: David Lindley's chorus
John Morton Replies: 17 Views: 7843	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 8 Jun 2016 8:16 am Subject: David Lindley's chorus
John Morton Replies: 17 Views: 7843	When I listen to Lindley these days I hear a doubled low octave in the bass lines in his Weissenborn tunes. I'm thinking there is an octave device adjusted to track just the lowest octave of the rang ...
Topic: A few seconds of fun with Hoopii and Monk
John Morton Replies: 7 Views: 3050	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 23 Apr 2016 7:04 am Subject: A few seconds of fun with Hoopii and Monk
John Morton Replies: 7 Views: 3050	That's beautiful, Mike. Epistrophy is indeed a great choice of tune for an interlude, or as a theme to open and close each set. Those chromatic shifts are so natural for steel. Epistrophy was rec ...
Topic: Matt Munisteri plays his vintage L-5
John Morton Replies: 4 Views: 3041	Forum Section: Music Posted: 20 Apr 2016 9:38 am Subject: Matt Munisteri plays his vintage L-5
John Morton Replies: 4 Views: 3041	Matt is heading up a vintage jazz workshop for string players next month in Port Townsend, WA. It's a trial balloon, sort of under the radar, publicitywise. Enrollment limited to 30. Don't know if ...
Topic: Tricone Strings
John Morton Replies: 8 Views: 3131	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 28 May 2013 6:51 pm Subject: Tricone Strings
John Morton Replies: 8 Views: 3131	I have strung up tricones with scale lengths of 23" and 25.5", including 7 and 8 string models with various tunings. My method has been to refer first to a guitar in normal tuning, and then ...
Topic: the symmetrical tricone
John Morton Replies: 15 Views: 6749	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 30 Apr 2013 7:35 pm Subject: the symmetrical tricone
John Morton Replies: 15 Views: 6749	I have made other guitars with this profile, which is a Weissenborn shape reduced by 15%, therefore a 23" scale. The largest tricone array that fit in the shape was 4.5" diam. This one is ...
Topic: the symmetrical tricone
John Morton Replies: 15 Views: 6749	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 25 Apr 2013 4:52 pm Subject: the symmetrical tricone
John Morton Replies: 15 Views: 6749	Thanks for all the kind words. The Portland event is the Northwest Handmade Instrument Show at Marylhurst College. http://www.nwmusicalinstrumentshow.org/ I used to snip everything, but now it's ...
Topic: the symmetrical tricone
John Morton Replies: 15 Views: 6749	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 25 Apr 2013 8:40 am Subject: the symmetrical tricone
John Morton Replies: 15 Views: 6749	The National tricone is a beautiful thing, but the obsessive/compulsive builder with a metal shop just had to try for bilateral symmetry. But then I spoiled it with the 7 string peghead. There were ...
Topic: Portland music?
John Morton Replies: 4 Views: 2123	Forum Section: Steel Without Pedals Posted: 11 Apr 2013 6:59 pm Subject: Portland music?
John Morton Replies: 4 Views: 2123	The Midnight Serenaders are an oldtime swing band, also with some western and Hawaiian content. Longstanding, very popular. Doc Stein is their squareneck tricone man - to my mind he outshines the ho ...
Topic: John Pearse Vol, V/T control
John Morton Replies: 6 Views: 3583	Forum Section: Electronics Posted: 21 Jan 2013 2:55 pm Subject: John Pearse Vol, V/T control
John Morton Replies: 6 Views: 3583	For $20 more there is this: http://www.elderly.com/accessories/items/VCABLE-250-10.htm A strong argument in favor of this cord is that the knob is rigidly attached to the guitar, therefore always ...