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Topic: Greenfield Hawaiian Guitars |
Colin Brooks
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Posted 6 Apr 2005 1:37 am |
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http://www.notecannons.com/Greenfieldguitars/index.htm
Colin McCubbin has added a Greenfield section to his Notecannons site. I think that these are the 1st pics of these extraordinary instruments to appear online. Have any of you owned or played one? |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 6 Apr 2005 4:16 am
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| Yes, I've played one and it sounds very nice. A bit of the fragile side, though, and not very much volume. I know of a nice one for sale, but it ain't cheap. It's the Hambone model. |
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Ian McLatchie
From:
Sechelt, British Columbia
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Posted 6 Apr 2005 12:34 pm
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Colin: I've played four or five Greenfields.
All sounded pleasant enough, but nowhere close to the quality of a Weissenborn or Knutsen - pretty thin, and as Mike says, very limited volume. In general, they're instruments with much more value as collectors than players. |
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HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
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Mike D
From:
Phx, Az
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Posted 6 Apr 2005 4:04 pm
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I'll bet they're pretty 'zingy' sounding. With essentially no lower bout and the bridge placed so far back there's just no radiating area to create any lows or midrange.
Pretty cool looking though, it gave Howard a woody!
------------------
Half-assed bottleneck and lap slide player. Full-assed Builder of resonator instruments.
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chas smith R.I.P.
From:
Encino, CA, USA
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Posted 6 Apr 2005 4:30 pm
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| I have a mahogany Hambone from 1931. After I replaced the bridge with a bronze rod, it "perked up". I have a hard time with the 7/16" string spacing and I have other guitars that are friendlier to play. Still in all, it's a nice guitar. |
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HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
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Posted 6 Apr 2005 7:15 pm
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Here's an email that I received:
quote:
I saw a post on the Steel Guitar Forum about the Greenfields. I don't
have an account on there yet, which is why I'm replying to you personally.
I just thought it would interest you to know that the 'wood' inside the
soundhole is actually.......a lightbulb! Yes, I know someone who has this
instrument also, and it's true! The butt end of the instrument actually has
a two prong plug to connect the power. It's crazy, isn't it. Just thought
I'd let you know...
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Ben Elder
From:
La Crescenta, California, USA
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Posted 6 Apr 2005 7:59 pm
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For those of you who've been to the Greenfield of Dreams, I have number TWO (as it's labeled; also dated 1926), virtually identical to the ONE
Greenfield is holding in the photo. Original coffin case, too. A very inexpensive
eBay find about a year ago. The eBay seller/consignor insisted to the owner (daughter of the
original owner?) that it MUST be restored. She apparently was content enough to
junk it, suggesting to me that there might have been some family psychodrama at play
there. This is all good reason for me to prod the seller again to get me the history from the daughter.
I don't have it at hand to photograph (Ben Harper has had the loan of it for a few
months), but I should be getting it back soon.
Unlike hambone models, whose pleasant but quiet sound seems to be the consensus, TWO is absolutely heart-tugging
and tear-duct rending. It has that ancient crystalline fragility of old mahogany
Martins, like my battered 2-17 (Spanish. I also have a 2-17H but the Spanish is
what I thought of when I played TWO).
For what it's worth, according to the website [correction: ad in VINTAGE GUITAR Magazine] as of the other day, Ben H's Folk
Music Center in Claremont CA has a Greenfield for sale which I assume is one that he had acquired over the years. (909) 624-2928.
[This message was edited by Ben Elder on 06 April 2005 at 09:00 PM.] [This message was edited by Ben Elder on 06 April 2005 at 09:02 PM.] [This message was edited by Ben Elder on 06 April 2005 at 10:43 PM.] |
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HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
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Posted 6 Apr 2005 8:03 pm
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What about the light bulb?  |
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John Bushouse
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Posted 6 Apr 2005 9:09 pm
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| Hmm... can't seem to find it on the Folk Music Center website. In fact, I can't see ANYTHING for sale. Where is it on the site? |
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Ben Elder
From:
La Crescenta, California, USA
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Posted 6 Apr 2005 9:16 pm
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| Maybe it was a Vintage Guitar Magazine ad, latest issue (May?). Mascot Hermann presides over the FMC inventory. |
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someone left their wood inside that geetar! 