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Topic: Fender Stringmaster 4-Neck: 2 Built Dates |
Butch Pytko
From:
Orlando, Florida, USA
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Posted 13 Nov 2009 6:54 pm |
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My Stringmaster has 2 necks that show 1/57 & 2 necks that show 5/57. I assume 1/57 is the start date & 5/57 is the completion date. Also, the s/n under the bridge cover on the first neck--02605. Does it represent the actual amount of guitars made or is it a random number for record purposes?
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 13 Nov 2009 8:11 pm
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I believe the dates are correct. It's not unusual for them to be finished months apart. The demand for 4-neck was never as much as for 2-neck, so they would keep the 3rd and 4th neck parts on the shelf until needed. Are there any dates under the pickups ?
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=115324&highlight=restoration+fender
Check all the info on my thread about restoration of a Stringmaster (see link above). There's a lot of useful information from very knowledgable people there. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 14 Nov 2009 7:55 am
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The serial number on my quad is #0002 and the date penciled under the key heads is 1955 (I forget the month).
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Butch Pytko
From:
Orlando, Florida, USA
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Posted 15 Nov 2009 3:56 pm
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Alan,
I looked under all 4 pick-up assemblies & no other dates or peices of paper with a name on it(as was shown on your restoration project) were there. Thanks for posting a reply. |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 15 Nov 2009 6:59 pm
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| I think the dates are correct. If you were building 1 neck, 2 neck, 3 neck and 4 neck instruments, according to customer demand, and the necks used up more wood as they got further away, it would make sense to build the necks in batches. I would imagine the ratio would probably be about 10:8:2:1, so they would probably use ten of neck #1 to every one of neck #4, and the #3 and #4 necks would be on the shelf longer. Or, it could be that they only built necks ##3 and 4 when one was ordered, but they pulled the first two necks out of stock. The date of completion of the entire instrument could be months after the date of building the necks. |
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Butch Pytko
From:
Orlando, Florida, USA
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Posted 16 Nov 2009 3:21 pm
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Alan,
Wow, thanks again for all the great information! So, you're saying it could be months after the specified date for the actual competion date. Months after 5/57 could of brought it to 1958! That sounds feasible--as I must of been 12 or 13 years old when my Dad got this guitar new! My Dad & I loved steel guitar--knowing that this guitar was once his, makes me cherish it even more! |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 17 Nov 2009 8:23 pm
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| Butch: all that information seems perfectly in line to me. |
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