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Topic: NGD - 2nd Gibson BR-9! - PROJECT COMPLETE! New Photos |
Tony Oresteen
From:
Georgia, USA
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Posted 29 Jun 2024 12:36 pm |
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My second BR-9 arrived! I am very happy with it.
BR-9 Versions:
Per Jack Hanson, there are 3 main versions of the BR-9.
1) The early models (1947-1951) with gloss ivory paint and the wide oval/racetrack pickup.
2) Gloss ivory paint with the P-90 pickup (1951-1954).
3) Matte crinkle-coat ivory paint with P-90 (1954-1959).
My new on is a type 1 with the oval pick up. It is in excellent shape
One reason that I bought this one is that it came with an original case. I will copy this case to make a new case for my other BR-9.
The seller disclosed that the tuner buttons are failing and need replacement/repair. I will replace them with a new Kluson set like I use with my 1st BR-9. Of course I am saving the original tuners & hardware.
The electronics appear to have never been touched. The pots are 0.5 Meg B. The numbers on them are:
2150566. So far I have not been able to date them.
The jack plate is in great shape:
I am not a fan of the dog house control plate so I will use the second pickguard that Tony Dudzik - Pickguardian made for me (I just love Tony's work!!!). Right now my plan is to save the original pickup & electronics and have Jerry Sentell make me a new pickup with 60mm pole spacing.
Stay tuned!
_________________
Tony
Newnan, GA
Too many guitars, not enough time to play
'72 Sho-Bud 6139, '71 Marlen 210
'78 Fender Stringmaster Quad black
PedalMaster D8
Last edited by Tony Oresteen on 27 Jul 2024 10:20 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Tony Oresteen
From:
Georgia, USA
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Posted 29 Jun 2024 1:53 pm
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I took a quick look at the electronics. Yes Jack, the thin bare ground wire was present as you said  There are 3 capacitors in the circuit:
Here's a very quick diagram:
The total capacitance should be 0.090 µF. I measured it with a capacitance meter and it is 0.152 µF so the caps have drifted quite a bit. I guess after 75 years it's to be expected.
On second thought, 3 caps doesn't seem like something Gibson would do at the factory. The more I think about it, I am now thinking someone added the extra caps. They are all from different manufacturers. What should the original cap be?
_________________
Tony
Newnan, GA
Too many guitars, not enough time to play
'72 Sho-Bud 6139, '71 Marlen 210
'78 Fender Stringmaster Quad black
PedalMaster D8
Last edited by Tony Oresteen on 27 Jul 2024 6:42 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 29 Jun 2024 2:56 pm
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Very nice. I sold my BR9 locally due only to having way more instruments than I can consistently play. Possibly the best value in used lap steels, with those great P90 pickups,
Congratulations
_________________
Current Tunings:
6 String | G – G B D G B D
7 String | G6 – G B D E G B D
https://papadafoe.com/lap-steel-tuning-database |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Tony Oresteen
From:
Georgia, USA
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Posted 29 Jun 2024 5:38 pm
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Doug, I'll have to measure mine. I have a hotter one coming from Jerry Sentell 
I removed the electronics and added the bridge ground wire (drilled the 1/8" hole for it) & put fresh leads on the output jack, Note the SLOTTED head bridge screws. My Type 2 bridge has Phillip head screws:
I installed the new Kluson tuners (model KD-3P-NBBM nickel with metal Butterfly buttons). I had to drill the top of the shaft holes out to 11/32" so that the tuner bushing would fit. The original bushings are very thin metal.
Back side. The screw hole lined up OK, no drilling new holes:
I really like Kluson's metal butterfly buttons.
Well, I have all the parts I need except for the new Sentell pickup. No rush - I have other projects that are waiting.
_________________
Tony
Newnan, GA
Too many guitars, not enough time to play
'72 Sho-Bud 6139, '71 Marlen 210
'78 Fender Stringmaster Quad black
PedalMaster D8 |
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Steve Cole
From:
Everett, WA, USA
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Posted 1 Jul 2024 8:25 pm
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| Congrats, Tony. Sure looks like a super clean guitar to start with! There’s hardly any discoloration between the exposed part of the body and what’s underneath the cover. |
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Daniel Flanigan
From:
Oregon, USA
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Posted 2 Jul 2024 11:50 am
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Good Lord, Tony. That is one exceptional example of a BR-9 you got there.
_________________
I'm waitin' for the pardon that'll set me free,
But this ain't the movies, so forget about me. |
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Tony Oresteen
From:
Georgia, USA
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Posted 27 Jul 2024 6:21 am
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OK, I got the Sentell A27 new pickup in with 60mm spacing. When I went to put it in, problems surfaced immediately (what else is new?).
Here's the opening for a BR-9 Type 1 oval pickup:
The original oval pickup has dog ears and thus the mount area is wider than a P90 that uses screws through the cover to mount. The P90 size A27 has nowhere to screw into. I cut a plug 58" thick, 1.250" wide and 3.250" long. I then cut relief areas for the magnets poles and wiring on the bottom of the P90.
You can see where I marked the P90 screw holes on the plug.
To locate the correct screw holes I put the plug into the body, then placed the A27 pickup where it would go and put the new pickguard on. I then put 0.010" thin strings on the #1 and #6 string spaces. Now I could move and adjust the pick guard position until the outside poles lined up under the strings. I then put two screws into the pickguard and then marked the pickup screw hole.
Next step was to glue in the plug using Titebond.
The plug is done.
If I did this again I would rout out the existing wood that the dog ears attach to and then glue in a new block and then rout out the relief areas for the poles and wiring.
_________________
Tony
Newnan, GA
Too many guitars, not enough time to play
'72 Sho-Bud 6139, '71 Marlen 210
'78 Fender Stringmaster Quad black
PedalMaster D8
Last edited by Tony Oresteen on 27 Jul 2024 6:47 am; edited 4 times in total |
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Tony Oresteen
From:
Georgia, USA
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Posted 27 Jul 2024 6:27 am
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I replaced all the wire with new cloth covered 22 gauge wire. I used new CTS 500K pots, solid shaft, audio taper, and a 0.022µF cap.
Here it is all done.
Body:
The tuning is OPEN G Dobro 135135:
My other BR-9 is setup in OPEN G 151351. I am not sure which of the two tunings I will settle on but at some point the losing tuning will be removed and the wining tuning will be put on it. It will be a 1/2 step down to Gb OPEN.
Oh, when I was testing the components I discovered that the original 1949 oval pickup is dead. I tossed it into the trash last week. Good riddance!
Well, yes, I am kidding. The 1949 oval pickup is on it's way to Jerry for repair !
_________________
Tony
Newnan, GA
Too many guitars, not enough time to play
'72 Sho-Bud 6139, '71 Marlen 210
'78 Fender Stringmaster Quad black
PedalMaster D8 |
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