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Topic: New kind of Stringmaster debasement...it's back! |
Cartwright Thompson
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Stephen Cowell
From:
Round Rock, Texas, USA
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Posted 11 May 2014 7:48 am |
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The case is brown tolex... probably 1960-61 vintage.
I believe you're right... it's had the Procrustean mod.
_________________
New FB Page: Lap Steel Licks And Stuff: https://www.facebook.com/groups/195394851800329 |
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Ken Campbell
From:
Ferndale, Montana
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Posted 11 May 2014 8:24 am
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| Pretty proud of it too..... |
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Herb Steiner
From:
Spicewood TX 78669
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Posted 14 May 2014 6:35 am
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| Stephen Cowell wrote: |
The case is brown tolex... probably 1960-61 vintage.
I believe you're right... it's had the Procrustean mod. |
Not the original case. This is a 26" scale first generation Stringmaster, 1953 as stated in the ad.
_________________
My rig: Infinity and Telonics.
Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 14 May 2014 8:11 am
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| beware of what can happen in de basement. |
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Jim Williams
From:
Meridian, Mississippi, USA - Home of Peavey!
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Posted 15 May 2014 7:10 am
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Somebody liked it....went for almost $900.
_________________
GFI SM10 3/4, 1937 Gibson EH-150, 2 - Rondo SX Lap Steels and a Guyatone 6 String C6. Peavey 400 and a Roland 40 Amps. Behringer Reverb Pedal. |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Jim Williams
From:
Meridian, Mississippi, USA - Home of Peavey!
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Posted 15 May 2014 8:08 am
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Yeah, I feel sorry for the buyer if he decides to resell it...I guess unless of course he runs across someone else who doesn't know. Probably still sounds like a stringmaster though I guess. I sell some stuff on ebay and have a Carter Starter there now for sale, but I always go to an extreme to describe it accurately and show anything that has been modified, is missing, etc.
_________________
GFI SM10 3/4, 1937 Gibson EH-150, 2 - Rondo SX Lap Steels and a Guyatone 6 String C6. Peavey 400 and a Roland 40 Amps. Behringer Reverb Pedal. |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 15 May 2014 11:36 am
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| Quote: |
| The buyer probably has no idea that the body has been cut |
And if the buyer is Derek Trucks or John Mayer and they write "the new Sleepwalk" on it, 100's of people will be clamoring for "the Derek mod." There's probably only one place where the total tragedy of what happened to it is fully appreciated, and - we're on it.  |
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Cartwright Thompson
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Posted 15 May 2014 11:54 am
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I tried to "educate" the seller, here's a message I sent:
Hello,
I thought you might like to know a few things about your Stringmaster.
It was made in the early 50's, probably 1952 or 1953.
It has been refinished and the Fender badge was moved to the front of the guitar from its original position between the necks.
The case is from the early 60's and was made for a guitar an inch or so shorter than yours, which explains the fact that your guitar has been chopped at both ends, about 3/4" each. These are all pretty major issues that you might want to mention in your description.
Good Luck
They responded: thanks much. it is a friends listing is his description. much appreciated.
It looks like my good deed was all for naught... |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Posted 15 May 2014 12:39 pm
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He's taking a chance... risking negative feedback on his account to help his buddy sell his steel guitar.
Some sellers don't care. About 10 years ago a local antiques guy who does a lot of eBay asked me about a lap steel he wanted to sell on eBay. I checked it out, and it was a National Dynamic in fair condition. I told him the year it was made and I told him how to list it properly on eBay. And I told him that it was in rough condition. The body sections were loose and coming apart. There were deep scratches in the body. The pickup output was fairly weak. The tuner buttons were kind of iffy. As I was pointing out these condition issues he didn't seem care too much. He just wanted to know what is it? and what's the value? I saw his auction a few days later, and in the description he put "Excellent Condition". I was shocked by that. I had clearly told him that it was not in good condition. After the lap steel sold... a few weeks later, I checked his feedback on eBay. He had received a Negative from the buyer. The buyer said "Not as described".
_________________
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25 Songs C6 Lap Steel / 25 MORE Songs C6 Lap Steel / 16 Songs, C6, A6, B11 / 60 Popular Melodies E9 Pedal Steel |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 15 May 2014 2:09 pm
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| I've done a couple of drop-kick temp fill-in jobs for two completely different antiques dealers, and the intersection of "antiques" and "musical instruments" is pretty perilous. In antiques there's a certain type of furniture where the more wormholes, randomized construction, beat-to-death condition, the better... and it's actually called "Americana" and the timeframe roughly coincides with old Gibson/old Martin/old crap instruments too. In Americana a washstand or desk may actually be worth more the more it looks like some moonshiner made it in his spare product-testing time and he only had a hammer, an ax and a beaver-on-a-stick to do it.... It might be hard to explain to the wrong (right?) person that an "Americana"-era guitar needs to work, too. |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 15 May 2014 2:38 pm
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Well look at this way: like many Stringmasters that were raided for the pickups and other parts to be re-installed in more modern Telecasters, and the carcass that remained was to be potentially burned in a fireplace, this one lives, in an albeit modified form, to create more music.
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Mark |
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Lee Cecil
From:
North Carolina, USA
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Posted 15 May 2014 2:51 pm
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| I'm with Mark: we can be pretty sure that the guy who bought this one was a player, not a collector, so at this point, it lives on as an intact Stringmaster. If I'd needed it and had the cash, I'd be proud to play it, alterations and all. You should see some of the other guitars I play. |
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Jim Williams
From:
Meridian, Mississippi, USA - Home of Peavey!
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Posted 16 May 2014 2:38 pm
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I'd be proud to play even a chopped off String master...just wouldn't want to have a grand in it though.
_________________
GFI SM10 3/4, 1937 Gibson EH-150, 2 - Rondo SX Lap Steels and a Guyatone 6 String C6. Peavey 400 and a Roland 40 Amps. Behringer Reverb Pedal. |
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Paul Arntson
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 17 May 2014 8:52 am
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Stephen -that's hilarious!
_________________
Excel D10 8&4, Supro 8, Regal resonator, Peavey Powerslide, homemade lap 12(a work in progress) |
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Stephen Cowell
From:
Round Rock, Texas, USA
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Posted 17 May 2014 12:42 pm
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| Paul Arntson wrote: |
| Stephen -that's hilarious! |
Thanks, Paul... good to know this mic is on. Procrustes had a bed... If you were too long, you got chopped... too short, and you got stretched.
$900 is still a good deal on that guitar... the case alone is worth $250.
_________________
New FB Page: Lap Steel Licks And Stuff: https://www.facebook.com/groups/195394851800329 |
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Michael Maddex
From:
Northern New Mexico, USA
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Posted 17 May 2014 1:17 pm
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While the Procrustean theory may indeed prove to be correct, my first thought was that a biker had given it the Fat Bob treatment. After all, it was being offered for sale in SoCal . . .
_________________
"For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert." -- Arthur C. Clarke |
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Ken Campbell
From:
Ferndale, Montana
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Posted 17 May 2014 1:37 pm
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| Michael Maddex wrote: |
While the Procrustean theory may indeed prove to be correct, my first thought was that a biker had given it the Fat Bob treatment. After all, it was being offered for sale in SoCal . . .
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Not that there's anything wrong with that.... |
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Russ Wever
From:
Kansas City
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Cartwright Thompson
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 23 Jun 2014 9:41 am
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The seller probably has no idea that the instrument has been altered. I've seen a lot worse things done to Fenders over the years. A common modification was to drill holes in the body and improvise pedals with coathangers, etc. Remember that, although they're collectors' items nowadays, they weren't always treated with the same regard. 
It reminds me that in days of yore undertakers would sometimes cut off the feet of the deceased to get them into a smaller coffin. Since only the face was shown to the mourners no-one ever noticed the lack of feet, and the family saved money with a cheaper coffin. 
Off-the-peg: one size fits all.  |
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Cartwright Thompson
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Posted 24 Jun 2014 9:15 am
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| Doug Beaumier wrote: |
Yes, this "orphan" section of a quad or a triple  |
I think it is an original double, it's been chopped in the other direction. |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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