60s(?) Domland 8+2

Ben Elder · From: La Crescenta, California, USA

I have no interest in this except I WAS going to buy it, but now think I'd better not. So I'm passing the info I have on to the Forum:

Guitar Center Oklahoma City (look up contact info at the GC website) has a '60s(?) Domland Stereo D-10 8+2 originally priced at $999.95. There is also a tag reading $499.95 "Friday Saturday Sunday Only." I presume that meant Dec. 15-16-17, but I wasn't in town then; I found this later.

I don't know much more about these than I have read in old Forum posts, so do your own searches. (Alternate spellings: Domeland, Doemeland.) Although these seem to have been known as cable-pull beasts, this one has an undercarriage that resembles ZBs...as best this mechanical nincompoop (but ZB owner) can tell. This type of mechanical setup is also mentioned in old Forum threads.

Very antiquated overall but charmingly so and the Brazilian rosewood body is gorgeous. I can't tell you what all the silver knobs below the C6 bridge do but one is stamped B and another T. I'm also not sure if what you see in pic links below are factory original. It looks like the neck selector switch has been relocated or else a second switch has been removed. Two strings are missing (3-4) on the E9th neck so I couldn't tell much from trying to play. One KL seems to lower E-Ebs on E9th and the other pulls something on the C6th. It does produce sound from both necks. I can't speak at all to the "Stereo" designation except I expect it has to do with the double rows of polepieces on the pickups. There are two jacks on the undercarriage. Right rear leg needs extention tightened (short hex wrench does this, not a threaded collar.) Leg tips are shot. Steel is kind of wobbly as it sits, maybe just needs leg lengths adjusted or legs screwed into body better.

I will warn you in advance that you will probably find no real PSG experts at GC OK. One senior salesman, whose name is Danny (I think), has played some PSG before and is a great standard player and very sharp.

I don't know if this has a case or not. There's no code like "W/C" on the price tags, but ask.

If a Forumite winds up with this, I would recommend a donation to the SGF.

Only one of the eight URL links to pictures seems to be working, so I'll give you the first one here to paste into your browser window (delete the asterisks at either end, then change the 1 to 2...3..4..5...up to 8.):

*http://home.earthlink.net/~themusicmotel/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/doml1.jpg*

[This message was edited by Ben Elder on 26 December 2006 at 08:51 AM.]

[This message was edited by Ben Elder on 26 December 2006 at 08:53 AM.]

[This message was edited by Ben Elder on 26 December 2006 at 09:00 AM.]

[This message was edited by Ben Elder on 26 December 2006 at 09:05 AM.]

Casey Lowmiller · From: Kansas

What about the sound/tone???

How smoothe does it operate???

It looks pretty slick!!!

Casey

------------------
Known Coast to Coast as
"The Man with The Plan"

Carter-Starter, Fender Pedal 800, Fender Champion, Guyatone Double-neck, a cheap Artisan & a Homemade Double-neck!

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Domlands were crude, by modern standards. The early '60s ones were cable-operated, and they later switched to the rod system pictured. These were single raise/lower guitars, big and very heavy, but some were strikingly beautiful for their time. This is one of the plainer examples I've seen. Don Edwards' Guitar City in Colorado was the main distributor, as I recall.

Casey Lowmiller · From: Kansas

Can they be tuned to the modern E9 & C6 tunings?

Can they be converted to an SD-10?

Sound-wise, what do they compare to???

Would it be an alright guitar to explore C6th on???

Instead of spending a bunch of cash on a new double-neck to fool with C6th on...would it be an alright learner... who knows if I'll like C6th.

Mike Ester · From: New Braunfels, Texas, USA

Duane Reese, don't you have a Domland?

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Casey, you could do a basic C6th on the guitar. Since it's only got two levers, there's a number of setups you could use with the single raise/lower capability. Actually, the only thing to me that feels "odd" about these guitars is the (very wide) pickups, which can make it hard to play up near the bridge and get a sharp sound. Since C6th usually isn't played with as sharp a tone as the E9th, it might work okay. The tapped stereo pickups and the blend controls give a lot of tonal options, and these old guitars can get some serious fat (organ type) sounds.

By the way, when I said "crude by today's standards" in the previous post, that wasn't a "slam" against the Domland, but rather a characteristic of most guitars made in the '60s. We've come a long way, really!

Duane Reese · Posted 31 Dec 2006 10:01 am

Howdy Mike,

I used to have a Domland - sold it to a gentleman in either Michigan or Ohio (can't remember now). Sometimes I wish I still had mine but it needed a fair amount of work to make it all that it could be, so I chickened out on it.

Anyhow, they are really interesting guitars to say the least. Cable drive, single/single, but they had a really outstanding tone - one of the best I've heard. The pickups were awsome. The necks are wooden, and have a white plastic cover over the wood. That little box behind one of the necks was a tone/volume/selector box, in the usual way. The fretboards were as classy as it gets - they are made of what looks to be double-layer labelling material, and the fret markers are white and blue rhinestones. They were made in Colorado.

Here's a pic of the one I had. If anyone is seriously considering buying that other one, hit me up and I'll look back through my e-mails and see if I can find the e-mail sent to me from one of the former builders of Domlands, when I had mine up for sale. I also have more pics of my old one.

John Maggard · From: Cincinnati Ohio, USA

Hi Duane and all,

I purchased the D10 a year or so ago and am in Ohio. I re-cabled the C6 neck and added new pedal rods for it, and am currently in the process of updating the knees; it came with one but I'm adding four new levers with rodding. I wanted to keep it as close to original as possible but it's crowded undeneath and rodding the knees will free up a couple of sheaves on the main pulley and create some needed room. If the empty screw holes inthe wood tell the tale, these are far from the first changes made to the knee configuration.

I've thoroughly enjoyed tinkering this thing into playability - the C6 is sounding pretty good (tone, not the playing) and Duane had the E9 set up nicely out of the box - can't wait to get the knees installed and adjusted so I can keep learning. The biggest challenge so far has been finding a quantity of Fender-type flat pulleys for the cabling - I've looked everywhere online to no avail. I'm searching old hardware stores and the like and will completely recable the guitar when I find them to replace the mismatched pulleys, connectors and cables there now.

The Domland in the linked pics looks just the same as far as the hardware on top; you can easily see the differences in wood & inlays from Duane's photo...I've got plenty more as well if you're interested. Good luck - this guitar is crude, ancient and heavy but was just what I needed to affordably get into a D10 and progress in my playing...a 'newer' guitar will find it's way here at some point, but I'm in no hurry.

John

Roger Woods · From: Maryland, USA

I just posted a description of the one I play in Pedal Steel forum.

Roger Woods
Niland, CA
30 miles north of El Centro
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Roger Woods · From: Maryland, USA

John,

I would really like to see some photos of the underside of your steel, if you have a digital camera. I would like to add another knee to mine and see if it is possible to do a couple of lifts. Feel free to send any photos you can to my email. rwoods4108@yahoo.com

Roger Woods

[quote="John Maggard"]Hi Duane and all,

I purchased the D10 a year or so ago and am in Ohio. I re-cabled the C6 neck and added new pedal rods for it, and am currently in the process of updating the knees; it came with one but I'm adding four new levers with rodding.
_________________
Support Our Troops. Bring Them Home from Iraq!!!
My Non-Commercial Webpage: http://rogerwoods.bravehost.com/
My Photos: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rwoods4108/my_photos
Yahoo Instant Messenger: rwoods4108
Currently at Slab City, CA

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