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Topic: Prewar vs post war model b, does anyone prefer post? |
Ryan Lunenfeld
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 10 Feb 2022 9:58 am |
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Question for any of you who have owned or played both post and prewar bakelites.
I know the general consensus is the original pickup is preferred. But do any of you prefer the post war over pre war bakelites?
Would anyone be able to give a good description on the tonal variances between the two? I know, I know...that two bakelites from the same year can sound different in and of itself so maybe it's comparing apples to apples from different orchards...? or apples to different apples? I don't know a good analogy...ha.
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-Gibson EH185-Rickenbacker Silver Hawaiian-Melobar Powerslide 88-Fender deluxe 6 - Bronson Melody King -Fouke Industrial Purple Menace-Hudson Resonator lap thing-Vega something or other- |
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David Venzke
From:
SE Michigan, USA
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Ryan Lunenfeld
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 10 Feb 2022 1:05 pm
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Thank you that was an interesting read.
I'm curious why, more charge left since they're not as old? more tightly wound?
Well anyway, I guess I'll find out when this Bronson gets here in a week or so 
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-Gibson EH185-Rickenbacker Silver Hawaiian-Melobar Powerslide 88-Fender deluxe 6 - Bronson Melody King -Fouke Industrial Purple Menace-Hudson Resonator lap thing-Vega something or other- |
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Ryan Lunenfeld
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 10 Feb 2022 1:25 pm
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For those inclined: https://patents.google.com/patent/US2089171A/en
Still applicable to the littler pickups 
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-Gibson EH185-Rickenbacker Silver Hawaiian-Melobar Powerslide 88-Fender deluxe 6 - Bronson Melody King -Fouke Industrial Purple Menace-Hudson Resonator lap thing-Vega something or other- |
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Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 10 Feb 2022 2:45 pm
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| I can't honestly tell the difference when the magnets are fully charged. My personal Rick is a 1960 B7, and to my ears it's no different from the 1930s examples I've played. |
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Ryan Lunenfeld
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 10 Feb 2022 2:58 pm
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| Noah Miller wrote: |
| I can't honestly tell the difference when the magnets are fully charged. My personal Rick is a 1960 B7, and to my ears it's no different from the 1930s examples I've played. |
60's a bit late on the ricks, no? When did they stop making B6s?
_________________
-Gibson EH185-Rickenbacker Silver Hawaiian-Melobar Powerslide 88-Fender deluxe 6 - Bronson Melody King -Fouke Industrial Purple Menace-Hudson Resonator lap thing-Vega something or other- |
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Ryan Lunenfeld
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 10 Feb 2022 3:02 pm
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picked up some numbers out of the rick registry:
https://www.rickresource.com/register/index.php?start=0&search=true&model=209&order=5
I'm sure this is off, but shows up to 55, really curious to when they stopped making them.
Is there a book similar to the Gibson Electric Steel Guitars one? <----fantastic by the way!
Just reminded me to finish reading ANdy Volk's Lap steel book!
_________________
-Gibson EH185-Rickenbacker Silver Hawaiian-Melobar Powerslide 88-Fender deluxe 6 - Bronson Melody King -Fouke Industrial Purple Menace-Hudson Resonator lap thing-Vega something or other- |
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Ryan Lunenfeld
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 10 Feb 2022 3:07 pm
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Interesting 1957 brochure still showing the bd, and a22:
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-Gibson EH185-Rickenbacker Silver Hawaiian-Melobar Powerslide 88-Fender deluxe 6 - Bronson Melody King -Fouke Industrial Purple Menace-Hudson Resonator lap thing-Vega something or other- |
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Ryan Lunenfeld
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 10 Feb 2022 3:12 pm
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And sorry, I miss-searched and forgot the BD model, searched through the whole lap registry: https://www.rickresource.com/register/index.php?start=200&order=5&search=true&itype=4 1962 as last registered on that site. But who knows how accurate that bugger is
_________________
-Gibson EH185-Rickenbacker Silver Hawaiian-Melobar Powerslide 88-Fender deluxe 6 - Bronson Melody King -Fouke Industrial Purple Menace-Hudson Resonator lap thing-Vega something or other- |
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Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 10 Feb 2022 3:44 pm
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| Ryan Lunenfeld wrote: |
| Noah Miller wrote: |
| I can't honestly tell the difference when the magnets are fully charged. My personal Rick is a 1960 B7, and to my ears it's no different from the 1930s examples I've played. |
60's a bit late on the ricks, no? When did they stop making B6s? |
The BD6, BD7 and BD8 were still on the price lists in 1969, though it's likely that they were using up existing bodies and may have only been sold by special order. Interestingly, my steel doesn't have the hinged tuner cover and therefore appears to be a B7 instead of a BD7, though the original B series disappeared from literature in the early '50s. Old stock parts, I guess. |
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Ryan Lunenfeld
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 10 Feb 2022 3:47 pm
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| Noah Miller wrote: |
| Ryan Lunenfeld wrote: |
| Noah Miller wrote: |
| I can't honestly tell the difference when the magnets are fully charged. My personal Rick is a 1960 B7, and to my ears it's no different from the 1930s examples I've played. |
60's a bit late on the ricks, no? When did they stop making B6s? |
The BD6, BD7 and BD8 were still on the price lists in 1969, though it's likely that they were using up existing bodies and may have only been sold by special order. Interestingly, my steel doesn't have the hinged tuner cover and therefore appears to be a B7 instead of a BD7, though the original B series disappeared from literature in the early '50s. Old stock parts, I guess. |
Interesting. I'm curious when the Hawaiian Delux was released. Always loved the aesthetic of that one.
_________________
-Gibson EH185-Rickenbacker Silver Hawaiian-Melobar Powerslide 88-Fender deluxe 6 - Bronson Melody King -Fouke Industrial Purple Menace-Hudson Resonator lap thing-Vega something or other- |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 10 Feb 2022 4:57 pm
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| I’ve owned pre-, wartime and post-war, all with 1.5” magnets and they all sounded great. The best sounding of them is the post-war (late 40s) that was Sol Hoopii’s, but it was modified to string through body, which is an important part of the sound of the earlier instruments. From the pic of the BD in the catalog above, it appears they went back to string thru, although with the smaller magnets. I haven’t owned one of those. |
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Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 10 Feb 2022 5:25 pm
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| Rickenbacker used that same catalog picture from the early '50s into the '60s, during which time the price lists had a different photo showing the tailpiece! From what I can tell, most Model Bs and BDs during the '50s and '60s had the tailpiece, but sporadically you'll find one without. I don't know exactly; Rickenbacker was consistently inconsistent during those years with just about everything they produced. |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 10 Feb 2022 8:10 pm
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I'm sure it probably depends on what sort of sounds you're trying to wrench out of them. Megan Lovell I think has mostly settled on postwar Bakelites, but she's going for a very different sound than say, someone playing Hawaiian tunes.
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Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Bob Womack
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 11 Feb 2022 3:49 am
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| Nic Neufeld wrote: |
| I'm sure it probably depends on what sort of sounds you're trying to wrench out of them. Megan Lovell I think has mostly settled on postwar Bakelites, but she's going for a very different sound than say, someone playing Hawaiian tunes. |
Her first one was a pre-war with the sharper edges, shallow, un-reinforced neck, and more brittle plastic. The neck got broken when a taxi she was in took a sharp stop. She needed one FAST for touring and grabbed a post-war model with all the right physical stuff... and a lower price. I wouldn't be surprised if all that has led to her touring the younger ones.
David Gilmour has a BD that his multi-instrumentalist Jon Carin has used on his tours. The music they use it on is mostly single-string blues style with a little bit of drive and a nicely rolled-off high end. It is quite pretty, but David uses a vintage Weissenborn for practically anything that could remotely resemble Hawaiian music.  He has also been known to show up with a gorgeous Gibson EH-150 on occasion for bluesy stuff.
Bob
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"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' "
Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring
THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (My Little Website) |
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