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Topic: Ancient Sierra "Beast"? |
Gerald Pierce
From:
Maydelle, Republic of Texas
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Posted 13 Mar 2005 11:24 pm |
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There is a Sierra nameplate on the pedal bar of this guitar. I found no other markings on it to indicate who made it. It's just over 38" long. It has what appears to be single-raise single-lower all-pull changers. It had some junk undercarriage parts and coathanger pull rods, but I pulled all that off. It even had 3 "knee-levers" made from what appears to be hinges from a walk-in cooler door.
The pedals look like they'd have worked as a starter pedal on my old cushman scooter (just over 2" wide"). The pedal bar is cast aluminum.
Anybody recognize it? Is it possibly an ancient Sierra or just a Frankenstein?
See photos here> http://www.unclestick.com/sierra.htm
[This message was edited by Gerald Pierce on 13 March 2005 at 11:38 PM.] |
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Jim Palenscar
From:
Oceanside, Calif, USA
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Posted 14 Mar 2005 12:30 am
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| Just remember - this was once someone's pride and joy. |
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 14 Mar 2005 4:37 am
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Is it yours or did you just see it somewhere? If it's an old Sierra maybe David Wright might be able to recognize something about it....JH
------------------
Livin' in the Past and Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.
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Roy McKinney
From:
Ontario, OR
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Posted 14 Mar 2005 5:59 am
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| Looks like one I use to have which I bought from (thru) Erbby Mandrell back in the early 60's. It had a mapel body with a wrap around aluminum band on it. It was a D10 with 9 pedals. The changer head was aluminum and you could do a single raise or single lower on each string. The set screws would not stay in tune though. Finally had to use some special set screws with teflon inserts on them. Had a great sound. |
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John Fabian
From:
Mesquite, Texas USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 14 Mar 2005 8:30 am
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| This steel appears to be a '59 -'60 Wright Custom according to Bud. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 14 Mar 2005 8:32 am
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It sure looks like an old (early '60s) Sierra.
You could invest a few weeks' work, and about $1,000 in that old clunker, and have a guitar that would easily be worth $300-$500.  |
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Paul Warnik
From:
Illinois,USA
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Posted 14 Mar 2005 12:07 pm
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| I concur with John F-Wright Custom |
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Gerald Pierce
From:
Maydelle, Republic of Texas
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Posted 14 Mar 2005 12:53 pm
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JIm - It's now mine, but pride & joy may not apply at this time.
Jerry - See above.
Ron - This one has a chrome-plated, steel wrap-around band. It has single-raise, single-lower aluminum changers with steel fingers. On one of the changers, some of the allen-head stop screws have been replaced with longer slot-head bolts with a nut to lock it in place. Someone else had tuning problems too, it appears. Wish it had the pickups.
John - My thanks to you and Bud for the info.
Donny - Or, judging by it's weight, I could drag it across the scales at the metal recycling center and get enough to pay for the gas to haul it down there.
Paul - Wright Custom sounds good to me. I thought it was probably a Sierra, since I can't imagine anybody building that wrap-around "frame" just to match the width of a pedal bar they happened to have.
Does anyone know if it originally had pull-rods or was it a cable operated system? |
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Jussi Huhtakangas
From:
Helsinki, Finland
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Posted 14 Mar 2005 10:36 pm
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| Wright Custom-Sierra, basically the same thing, I've seen similar guitars with both names. You can also find identical guitars with Carvin name plates. They were all built by Chuck Wright anyway. This one is definately 60's, not late 50's and they were cable system. |
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Gerald Pierce
From:
Maydelle, Republic of Texas
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Posted 15 Mar 2005 1:42 am
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Thanks Jussi! Ask a question, get answers........and lessons. Don't y'all just love this place?
Thanks again to all. |
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Roy McKinney
From:
Ontario, OR
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Posted 16 Mar 2005 5:41 am
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Yes, it was a cable system, and you pulled two strings with each cable. The cables were made from aircraft cables. If you wanted to pull more with one pedal, just add another cable to the hook under the cab. My vote is it is a Sierra.
There were also an aluminum cover over the top of the changer that was about 1/8 or 3/16 inch thick.
[This message was edited by Roy McKinney on 16 March 2005 at 05:43 AM.] |
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Herb Steiner
From:
Spicewood TX 78669
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Jussi Huhtakangas
From:
Helsinki, Finland
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Posted 16 Mar 2005 6:33 am
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| Yup Herb, I think I still have a pic of Lee's Sierra somewhere in my files! |
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Pete Grant
From:
Auburn, CA, USA
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Posted 16 Mar 2005 7:52 am
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| That looks a lot like the Wright Custom I used on "Doin' That Rag" on the Grateful Dead's Aoxomoxoa in 1969. It had pedals like a truck clutch. |
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Gerald Pierce
From:
Maydelle, Republic of Texas
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Posted 16 Mar 2005 7:57 pm
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I'd like to see some photos of more complete guitars of this vintage, particularly the undercarriage. Does anyone have any they could post or email to me?
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Roy McKinney
From:
Ontario, OR
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Posted 17 Mar 2005 6:21 am
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Gerald, I should have some pictures of my old Sierra (Serial # 15) I will look for and email to you.
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David Wright
From:
Pilot Point ,Tx USA.
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Roy McKinney
From:
Ontario, OR
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Posted 17 Mar 2005 7:10 am
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| Hello again Gerald, just found 4 pictures of the old Sierra Serial NO.#15 and one has the undercarriage. Will try to email them to you. Hope they help. |
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Gerald Pierce
From:
Maydelle, Republic of Texas
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Posted 17 Mar 2005 3:44 pm
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Jussi and Roy - Thanks for the photos.
David - What's the direct address to the standel page on your web site? I clicked on the link in your post, but couldn't get past the first page.[This message was edited by Gerald Pierce on 18 March 2005 at 01:48 AM.] |
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, with Jussi. Lee Jeffriess recently owned one of those babies in excellent condition, but he wisely got a vintage Sho-Bud to replace it.
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