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Topic: Who made this Hawaiian Guitar |
basilh
From:
United Kingdom
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Posted 4 Jan 2008 7:22 pm |
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I Think the logo is a "Red Herring"
Does anyone recognize the parts ?
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 4 Jan 2008 11:11 pm
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It looks like a custom or handmade guitar to me, not something made by a company. Nice looking guitar, though. How does it sound?
_________________
Brad’s Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
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Max Laine
From:
Pori, Finland
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Posted 5 Jan 2008 9:41 am
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| The jpg.s are labeled "1284_Grimshaw3_1" and "1284_Grimshaw2_1", so maybe it's a Grimshaw. That's what it looks like it reads on the headstock. The tuners look similar to ones in Burns guitars- so, British? |
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Jon Moen
From:
Canada
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Max Laine
From:
Pori, Finland
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Posted 5 Jan 2008 11:11 am
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| Wow! Where can I get a Grimshaw Plectric?!? |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 5 Jan 2008 2:21 pm
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| Max, that looks like a "man's" guitar! I like the Revelation. |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 5 Jan 2008 5:31 pm
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There are some names from the past on that website that I'd forgotten about years ago.
For non-Brits I should point out that Cliff Richard's group, the Drifters, changed their name to the Shadows to avoid confusion with the American group; Johnny Duncan was a Texan who once played with Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys, moved to England, where he became a star and started his own group, which he also called the Bluegrass Boys, then moved to Australia, where he died a couple of years ago. |
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Andy Sandoval
From:
Bakersfield, California, USA
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Posted 5 Jan 2008 6:13 pm
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| I really dig all the early Cliff Richards and the Shadows stuff. In fact, there's a lot of it on YouTube. |
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basilh
From:
United Kingdom
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Posted 5 Jan 2008 7:52 pm My Analysis.
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Check out the way the S-H-and -A are on the genuine ones especially the loop from the A to the W . On the genuine one the A loops to the W low down whereas on this guitar it's connected from the top of the letter A.. Also the letter H hasn't a full loop. It SHOULD have.
Someone has hand painted the logo copied from a leaflet.
There is no record that I can find of Grimshaw MAKING Hawaiian Guitars.
After the death of Emile Snr in 1943 the business was continued by Emile Jnr and guitar production was increased, at this time all subsequent production received the 'Grimshaw' signature logo on the head. In the 1950s (some received this style also in the 1960s)it was hand written/painted signature on the head , it is very likely that the signature was actually done by Emile Grimshaw personally. In the 1960s the signature was a manufactured wire type badge, and in the final years the signature was a transfer type.
http://www.grimshawguitars.co.uk/default2.asp?active_page_id=53
http://www.grimshawguitars.co.uk/
I'll elaborate somewhat on the guitar and why I think it's not a Grimshaw.
Well, besides the Logo and the fact that Grimshaw never made Hawaiian Guitars, there's the case, obviously home construction.
It can be argued that the case was made to replace the original !
BUT the volume and tone controls would NEVER be placed that way by a manufacturer.
The volume control would be closer to the bridge AND most important, on the first string side of the guitar enabling what's known as 'Violining' a sort of swell using the 'pinkie' wrapped 'round the volume control whilst picking the strings with the thumb..
http://www.hsga.org/forum/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1155395331/6#6
Grimshaw DID import guitar parts from Rickenbacher in the 30's and assembled Hawaiian Guitars then, but they were basically Bakelite Rickenbachers re-badged. So they would be well aware of the preferred control placements.
The Machine Heads look to be much later than 1950's so that in itself would lead one to believe that the originality of the guitar may be in question. You'd NEVER replace the machine heads of a GENUINE factory guitar of that vintage with anything other than OEM parts.
The pickup and its mounting points is all wrong, a pickup on a guitar of that era would have had VISIBLE pole-pieces or at least a single blade polepiece, Not be enclosed, that was the fad in the late 60's early 70's.
The finish looks to be hand-sprayed or painted polyurethane, not nitro-cellulose that a manufacturer would use.
The fretboard block inlays look wrong and it would appear to have brass frets rather than inlaid markings.
I can't see a shop screwing their own nameplate on the body of a manufactured guitar, they usually just put a waterslide transfer on.
So there you have it.
Of course I may be wrong
I can find no record of Emile Grimshaw making even a "One Off" Hawaiian Guitar.
John Marsden concurs with me. |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 6 Jan 2008 1:02 pm
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| The script on the headstock is not necessarily evidence of a forgery. Look at the Fender logo. It differs from time to time. When the signature is sent to the printers, or the metalsmiths, they have to transfer it to the dies, and they're not always identical. |
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basilh
From:
United Kingdom
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Posted 6 Jan 2008 2:09 pm
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| John Billings wrote: |
| Max, that looks like a "man's" guitar! I like the Revelation. |
Nice guitar, I found mine in a music shop in Coventry, where I also got my Gretsch collection.
And just in case you're wondering, YES it has a detatchable "Resonator" back section.
_________________
Steelies do it without fretting
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