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Topic: The Last BosSan Guitar |
Paul Redmond
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 5 Oct 2015 7:30 pm |
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On October 3, 2014, I received the last BosSan guitar ever from its then-owner, Fred Layman. Harold Spain, builder of those guitars, died in November 1988. This guitar was only about 50% complete at the time. Harold Flynn bought out his business and machinery and along with it all, he acquired this guitar. Harold died in 2003, and Fred Layman bought out the Flynn guitar business which also included the Rus-ler and BosSan lines. This guitar moved from pillar to post until late last year. I finished making necessary parts to complete the instrument. I had no drawings or prints to go by. The body had been completed and lacquered and all the changer assemblies were complete. The right endplate was complete, but the left one still needed to have some machining done to it. It lacked the entire pedal and rack assembly and the legs and pedal rods. Bellcranks were there as were the seven pedal throws, but the shafts had to be made and I opted to use nylon bushings on all shaft axles a la On-Trak. I used a pair of George L's 10-1's mounted rigidly on aluminum pedestals, and Jim Palenscar made the fretboards. The same artwork was used to make a zinc plate from which a silicone mold was made, and the nameplate was cast out of aluminum-filled epoxy. I opted to make two cases....one for just the body....the other for the legs, rack, and rods.
The BosSan is a unique instrument inasmuch as it can be set up as pull/release, push/pull, all pull, raise-predominant, or lower-predominant....on each individual string!!! I chose the original push/pull style on all the pulls. The guitar is very user-friendly and has great tone and sustain. It has very little cabinet drop and what little there is I attribute to the design of the changer axle retainers on the left-end changers. Hysteresis is not an issue.
I have no idea how many BosSan's were ever built, but this is the last one that Harold Spain was working on, and my guess is that unless someone ever finds the prints and drawings that seem to have evaporated, there won't be any others in the future.
PRR |
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John Booth
From:
Columbus Ohio, USA
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Posted 5 Oct 2015 7:42 pm
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Very interesting guitars indeed
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Jb in Ohio
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GFI S10 Ultra, Telecaster, a Hound Dog, and an Annoyed Wife
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Chris Lucker
From:
Los Angeles, California USA
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Posted 5 Oct 2015 11:40 pm
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That pretty blonde one was mine. I gave it to a friend of mine (we exchanged stuff back and forth). I really liked it. Cool guitars.
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Chris Lucker
Red Bellies, Bigsbys and a lot of other guitars. |
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Jeff Mead
From:
London, England
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Posted 6 Oct 2015 1:41 am
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Beautiful instrument.
I'm not sure if I'm losing my mind or there is some weird optical illusion going on but, on the green one, it looks like the "12th fret marker" is at the 11th fret with the others at 2, 4, 6 and 8. The second octave looks normal though  |
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John Booth
From:
Columbus Ohio, USA
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Posted 6 Oct 2015 3:45 am
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| Jeff Mead wrote: |
Beautiful instrument.
I'm not sure if I'm losing my mind or there is some weird optical illusion going on but, on the green one, it looks like the "12th fret marker" is at the 11th fret with the others at 2, 4, 6 and 8. The second octave looks normal though |
I think you're right
_________________
Jb in Ohio
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GFI S10 Ultra, Telecaster, a Hound Dog, and an Annoyed Wife
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Bruce Derr
From:
Lee, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 6 Oct 2015 6:28 am
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| I think that's because of the large diameter of the fingers and rollers. If you look at the top of those, where the string length starts, you'll see what I mean. |
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Jeff Mead
From:
London, England
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Posted 6 Oct 2015 6:35 am
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| Bruce Derr wrote: |
| I think that's because of the large diameter of the fingers and rollers. If you look at the top of those, where the string length starts, you'll see what I mean. |
So what looks, in the photo, almost like a zero fret marker is actually the first fret.
That would be enough to confuse me and have me playing in the wrong key for most of the night. |
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Sonny Jenkins
From:
Texas Masonic Retirement Center,,,Arlington Tx
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Posted 6 Oct 2015 6:45 am
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Very astute observation Bruce.
Paul,,,man you must keep some fantastic records,,,or have a (&*^%%$) memory,,,seriously,,,Paul must be the most knowledgeable person on both history,,AND building pedal steels today,,,I know everytime I ask him something, he not only gives the THE answer,,,he elaborates!!,,,he certainly has my vote!!! |
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Ross Shafer
From:
Petaluma, California
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Posted 6 Oct 2015 6:50 am
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I've been intrigued by these Bossan rigs since first seeing pictures and patent info about them since about 5 or 6 years ago. Harold Flynn sure came up with a lot of cool ideas!
Paul, the steels you design and make are at the top of my "WOW" list. And the restoral and modification work you do is the best in the biz. Your work continues to amaze and inspire me. Thanks a ton! |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 6 Oct 2015 8:51 am
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These are the strangest guitars I have ever seen. I would love to check one out in person. If the zero fret was actually at the nut, that would really throw me off.
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Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 54 years and still counting. |
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Chris Lucker
From:
Los Angeles, California USA
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Posted 6 Oct 2015 11:57 am
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| Jeff Mead wrote: |
| Bruce Derr wrote: |
| I think that's because of the large diameter of the fingers and rollers. If you look at the top of those, where the string length starts, you'll see what I mean. |
So what looks, in the photo, almost like a zero fret marker is actually the first fret.
That would be enough to confuse me and have me playing in the wrong key for most of the night. |
That would help playing with Buck Owens
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Chris Lucker
Red Bellies, Bigsbys and a lot of other guitars. |
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Joachim Kettner
From:
Germany
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Posted 6 Oct 2015 12:09 pm
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I know zero frets from guitars, they make it easier for filing the nut. You have to be exact with the string spacing, but the depth is not important. File as deep as you want, it doesn't matter because you have the zero fret. But on steels why should I want one?
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Fender Kingman, Sierra Crown D-10, Evans Amplifier, Soup Cube. |
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Sonny Jenkins
From:
Texas Masonic Retirement Center,,,Arlington Tx
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Posted 6 Oct 2015 1:33 pm
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| Joachim,,,I think in this situation "zero fret" is a misnomer,,,,I think what they are saying is that the radius on the nut finger are such that they take up a long portion of the 1st fret space. |
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Jeff Mead
From:
London, England
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Posted 6 Oct 2015 1:55 pm
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| Joachim Kettner wrote: |
| I know zero frets from guitars, they make it easier for filing the nut. You have to be exact with the string spacing, but the depth is not important. File as deep as you want, it doesn't matter because you have the zero fret. But on steels why should I want one? |
I wasn't suggesting you would actually have a zero fret on a steel - I was just remarking that the position of the first fret looked like it was in the position you would expect to see a zero fret on a guitar and how that would confuse me.
My brain would keep telling me it was the open position, not the first fret. |
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Paul Redmond
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 6 Oct 2015 6:19 pm
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Sonny - I remember the BosSan guitars well because I was one of the first people contacted by Harold's widow, Millie, in 1989 about possibly building the guitars....picking up where her husband had left off. At the time, I wasn't able to get involved, but I did put her in touch with Harold Flynn who was looking for machinery and materials at the time. They struck a deal and Harold moved everything from Richmond VA to Knoxville TN where he lived. The half-completed D-10 guitar went with the deal. When he died in 2003, the guitar went to Fred Layman. Fred had it until last year when he offered it to me.
There is no nut per se on a BosSan. There are changer fingers at each end. The changer finger radius is 13/32" so, yes, it looks at first glance like there is no 1st fret. But it's there.
Last night I sent Al Vesel 8 photos of my guitar to post here. He said he'd get them up here yet tonight. You'll recognize her....she's a blonde with 7 pedals and 5 KL's. A 27-year-old brand new guitar!!
PRR |
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Paul Redmond
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 6 Oct 2015 6:23 pm
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Ross - It was Harold SPAIN with the ideas, not Harold FLYNN. Harold Flynn became the 2nd owner of the business. When Harold Flynn died in 2003, he not only owned his own Flynn guitar line, but had previously bought the Rus-ler line, and ultimately the BosSan line.
PRR |
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Al Vesel
From:
Chisholm, Minnesota, USA
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Posted 6 Oct 2015 6:35 pm
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Paul wanted me to post these pictures of the Boss San so here they are:
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Emmons LeGrande SKH D-10 - WALKER STEREO STEEL AMP w JBL ENCLOSURES & TC ELECTRONICS M-ONE XL PROCESSOR, HILTON VP,FURMAN POWER CONDITIONER, SARNO's Steel Guitar BLACK BOX,BJS,ToneMaster bars,FENDER Strat, FENDER & Ovation acoustic's |
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Tommy Detamore
From:
Floresville, Texas
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Posted 7 Oct 2015 4:35 am
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In 1980-81 I spent a lot of time playing in the Richmond area. I became friends with Teddy Lloyd who made me aware of the Bossan steel. I was intrigued so I called Mr. Spain and made arrangements to go to his home and look at the guitar. He was a very soft-spoken and kind gentleman who took the time to explain the unique features of the guitar. I was fascinated to say the least.
Later I met area steeler Don Fullmer and went to his home to look at his Bossan steel. Don had a unique tuning at that time. If I remember correctly his guitar was tuned to open A, basically the same as what you have in standard E9 with the A and B pedals down. When you activated the A and B pedals on his guitar, strings would be lowered to achieve the E chord. So in essence it was set up in reverse from what was the norm for the E9th tuning.
I think Sid Hudson was close to Mr. Spain. Maybe he will chime in here.
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Tommy Detamore
Quilter Labs, Goodrich Sound, Source Audio, Neunaber Audio, and Stringjoy Authorized Dealer
www.cherryridgestudio.com
www.steelguitartracksonline.com |
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Joachim Kettner
From:
Germany
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Posted 7 Oct 2015 5:46 am
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Now I get the point with the zero fret. Thanks.
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Fender Kingman, Sierra Crown D-10, Evans Amplifier, Soup Cube. |
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Ross Shafer
From:
Petaluma, California
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Posted 7 Oct 2015 11:44 am
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| Paul Redmond wrote: |
Ross - It was Harold SPAIN with the ideas, not Harold FLYNN. Harold Flynn became the 2nd owner of the business. When Harold Flynn died in 2003, he not only owned his own Flynn guitar line, but had previously bought the Rus-ler line, and ultimately the BosSan line.
PRR |
Ah yes, I remember getting the two Harolds confused in the past too. Thanks for setting me straight. |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 7 Oct 2015 12:16 pm
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these are pretty trippy for sure.
makes me want to have one and a kline and a bmi push-pull and a jackson to compare the mechanics. and maybe add a blanton to the mix. some really cool mechanical ideas in all of these.
of course the first emmons' were such a technological revelation that still proves itself today.
or just get a simple practical perfectly working zum to play!
pedal steels are a really cool thing for a minor gearhead
like myself. |
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Dwight Lewis
From:
Huntsville, Alabama
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Posted 8 Oct 2015 12:32 pm BossSan
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I second the notion that this is quite a remarkable guitar. Also Paul is a remarkable person and was seemingly born with GODgiven abilities to understand,formulate,design and derive anything I could ever imagine about a steel guitar. He is truly at the top of my YES I WANT THAT ONE list, when it comes to designing parts and things. My Dekley Slimline that Paul revised, has been dropping jaws since I received it from him some years ago. Paul I am still scraping up the dough for that Ontrak S12, so be ready for me sir.  MAY GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU ALL, and keep up the good music of the steel guitar.
Dwight
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Dekley 7p4k(PRS-10C), BMI S12 5p5kn |
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