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Topic: Very old lapsteel, do you know what it is?.... |
Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 8 Feb 2008 9:09 am |
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At my regular Thursday night gig, an older man who comes each week said a while back that he had a D-6 lapsteel he was going to give me if I wanted it. I told him I'd take it and he brought it to me last night.
I have no idea what brand it is or if it's a home made guitar or what. It doesn't look homemade to me as it's very well put together and at one time had a nice finish.
There's a tray between the necks for laying your bar and picks in I presume and binding around the square part of the body. Some of the tuning pegs are missing along with one pickup.
The remaining pickup says this on top "Symphonic Mike" The capital S in Symphonic is actually a treble cleff sign. Along the edge of the pickup it says "National Polytronic Inc."
There was a lot of time put into making this guitar so that's why I don't think it's a homemade job but it might be.......
There are no brand logo
 s on the headstock(s) or any other indentifying markings except for what I described on the pickup. Here's some shots of the guitar. I think I will try to restore it as best as I can and get it into playing shape.......JH in Va.
_________________
Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!! |
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CrowBear Schmitt
From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
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Posted 8 Feb 2008 11:04 am
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i'll never tell
what funk is
thats a homemade "no brand " |
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 8 Feb 2008 12:54 pm
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If only an old steel guitar like that could TALK ! I'll bet it would have an interesting story to tell.
Strings are rusted out, gears missing, knob missing...it must have quite a history behind it ! I have never seen a model like it and would be curious as to who or what company made it, and when. C'mon you steel guitar detectives...Let's identify it. |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Randy Reeves
From:
LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 8 Feb 2008 1:31 pm
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that looks like one piece of mahognay. really wide. old growth. well, maybe not. it looks a bit homemade. but so what. I like the mojo.
let's see the wiring. |
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 8 Feb 2008 3:04 pm
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Just cleaned it up a bit and checked a little closer and it appears it is one piece of mahogany, I don't know anything about old growth but it's pretty old. Whoever made this thing was one helluva wood worker because it has some beautiful lines. The shape and form of both necks both front and back are exactly the same. The binding appears to be that old celluoid type, near as I can tell.
Since it appears to most that it's a homemade guitar I guess it'd be OK to put some modern tuning pegs and pickups on it and make a usable instrument out of it. I have a six string lap steel but have never had a double six. What was the most common tunings used in the days of double sixes? I think I'd like to use an E tuning of sorts for one neck but I'm not sure what'd be best on the other......JH in Va.
_________________
Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!! |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 8 Feb 2008 6:55 pm
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| Go Bo Didley! |
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Dave Bader
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 8 Feb 2008 7:30 pm
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| I wouldn't write that off as home made just yet. Let some other people weigh in first. That has to be fixed up and used though. I like the use of the floating jazz pickup. Very cool! Show more pics. |
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Dave Bader
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Bill Creller
From:
Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)
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Posted 8 Feb 2008 10:24 pm
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I would personally get the one pickup working, and just add one of your choice, preferrably a thin type to set where the missing one was, and not cut into the wood.
I have an an old double here, homade I think, 6X7, and I'm gonna use the pickups that were in it, which are like those used in Vegas. If it doesn't sound very good, I'll hang it on my wall with the concert zither. 
I have two stick-on notes on my PC. They say. (in BIG letters) "NO MORE GUITARS!, and the other sez "NO MORE GUITAR WORK!"
Don't know how successful that post will be yet.
Last edited by Bill Creller on 8 Feb 2008 10:39 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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James Harrison
From:
New Brockton, Alabama, USA
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Posted 8 Feb 2008 10:30 pm
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| Jerry, I cannot believe that guitar is a one of a kind homemade. The body looks as if it was shaped with furniture factory grade equipment. If it is homemade I don't believe it was made in a back yard work shop. |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 8 Feb 2008 11:25 pm Thanx for the pix!
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I'd say home/shop made, and almost certainly a tone hog with that body mass/shape, especially with some sympatheticly suitable PUs. I'd love to be able to test it out with that 'Symphonic' PU. It will be near impossible to replace the missing PU with another original, but on the bright side, you can expand your tone range with a different PU on the out neck.
I'm a big fan of off/no brand guitars and much prefer the new owner maintain the original integrity as much as possible, as I'm striving to do with an interesting 8 string example that was supposedly made in the 40s at Alcatraz prison.
These one off's, when set up to generate their intended tonal potential, do seem to posess a unique vibe that could in part translate to the lauded (((MOJO))), and I'd love to see this one that Jerry has get some TLC and eventually hear the results.
You gotta (at least I'd try, to) get the low down from the guy you got it from, Jerry, to help fill in the history blanks in what could be a very cool story that deserves to be perpetuated.
A great post. |
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Kevin Brown
From:
England
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Posted 9 Feb 2008 6:00 am
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| I would not even waste my energy trying to burn it, sorry |
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Clyde Mattocks
From:
Kinston, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 9 Feb 2008 10:52 am
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That is a really cool piece of history. I have absolutely nothing to base this on, but I'd guess it
is something made by a company for a catalog outfit, mid to late thirties, by a small company or even someone like Harmony. Probably little or no demand, or production interruped by the war and only a few made. The search will be interesting. |
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 9 Feb 2008 11:57 am
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Unfortunately the guy who gave it to me had it given to him by an old widow a long time ago who'd gotten it from someone else so there's no way I can trace any history on it. I'll just keep this topic going awhile longer in case someone chimes in who might have seen one like this.
I just checked out the one remaining pickup and it works pretty good and isn't real noisy. the volume control doesn't work though and the other control with no knob seems to be a tone control but it works backwards (counter clockwise) The toggle swith is probably OK as it's on facing the neck with the pickup. In the center position, it's still on but with a little less volume and a little "buzz" added. The other position has a lot of buzz and nothing else as there's not pickup there just open wires I guess.....Thanks, JH
_________________
Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!! |
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Eugene Cole
From:
near Washington Grove, MD, USA
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Posted 12 Feb 2008 12:39 am
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I think that I saw pickup on eBay sometime during this past year that had Treble-clef followed by "ymphonic" but that pickup had a reflective chrome/nickel appearance not the black/matte appearance that your instrument has.
My guess is that it was made after WW2 because of the way the control plate wraps around and the logo on the pickups. This style of control plate is very 1950's and the Logo on the pickups is similarly 50/early 60's.
You may be able to post the brand and/or letter-codes from the volume and tone pots. These codes did not appear until after WW2 (I'll defer to the experts about deciphering these codes and when they came in to usage). This will not tell you when it was made but it will give you some additional clues. I by the way do not know how to translate to codes in to dates.
It is a very interesting guitar regardless of when and by whom it was made.
_________________
Regards
-- Eugene <sup>at</sup> FJ45.com
PixEnBar.com
Cole-Luthierie.com
FJ45.com
Sierra U14 8+5 my copedent, 1972 MSA D10 8+4, and nothing in the Bank. 8^)
Last edited by Eugene Cole on 12 Feb 2008 6:26 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 12 Feb 2008 1:08 pm
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thanks for the tip about checking the code(s) on the tone and volume pots! I'll take it apart later today and see if I can get anymore info. Here are a couple more shots of the guitar from different angles......JH in Va.
_________________
Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!! |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 12 Feb 2008 11:12 pm
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That is such a cool guitar. Thanx for the additional pix.
Whomever made it, they did a thotful job. |
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Keith Cordell
From:
San Diego
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