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Topic: Interesting example of butchering |
Cartwright Thompson
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 24 Sep 2008 5:14 am |
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| Not uncommon at all to see them like this. These were modified in so many ways by guys wanting to get that pedal sound. Interesting what they did to it. |
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Stephen Gambrell
From:
Over there
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Posted 24 Sep 2008 7:56 am
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| If it hadn't been for that kind of "butchering," by some clever guys, we might not have pedal steels today. |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 24 Sep 2008 8:02 am
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...or the Parsons/White Stringbender. 
_________________
Mark |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 24 Sep 2008 9:35 am
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| Amazing! |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 24 Sep 2008 11:24 am
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B-Bender yes, but Clarence specifically wanted something mounted on the guitar, not something having to do with a foot pedal or pedals, and could be put into the case without any dis assembly.
I didn't write anything about them inventing the B-Bender, I wrote specifically about the Parsons/White Stringbender, which is yes, a form of a B-Bender.
I believe his comment to Gene Parsons was something like, "If I wanted foot pedals, I would just play a pedal steel."
Anyway, we're doing a pretty good job of taking this thread off on a tangent! 
_________________
Mark |
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 24 Sep 2008 5:07 pm
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In the '50's, MANY steel guitar players "HAD to have" that sound, after Webb Pierce cut "Slowly". We just "HAD to have" the sound. Many of us (Yes, I included) would do anything to get that sound. We could not care less about modifying our Fender "customs" or whatever we were playing, to get the sound.
I know of no one back then that gave a flip about the esthetics or anything else. JUST about every "hillbilly" record (as the music was called then), contained a pedal sound.
Therefore band leaders insisted, in one way or another, "GET that sound".
And we did.
I did not then, nor do I now see anything wrong with it, IF it was done well. Respecfully, from the looks of the pictures, I believe the person who modified that Fender did a pretty decent job. Bet it sounded great.
And probably garnered many a second "look", to see where in the pluperfect hallelujah that "sound" was ah comin' from.
Remember, when a certain piano player "HAD to have" that sound, he began an entirely new way of playing the keyboard, mimicking that sound. His name was Floyd Cramer and he made a fortune doing it just about on EVERY thing he played. The lick was coined "the bent note", but most of us PSG players KNOW where it came from.
There are some missinformed people who said Bud Isaacs stole that "bent note" from Floyd. See my book to find out what I say about that. 
c.
_________________
A broken heart + † = a new heart. |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 24 Sep 2008 5:40 pm
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| Carl, my late '30's Gibson Grande Console had some sort of pedal devices added to it. That was what players needed to keep up with the times. I will restore it to it's non pedal original style. I'll have to fill a bunch of holes. But,,, I find that period of time very interesting. Modifications were needed. One had to wait a year for a Bigsby, if you could afford one. But,,, musical styles wouldn't wait! An interesting period for sure! |
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Bill Creller
From:
Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)
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Posted 24 Sep 2008 7:32 pm
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That doesn't look like a Stringmaster body to me. What's with all the square corners and the length of the body beyond the tuner pans? Maybe Fender parts on a homemade body?? Or maybe layers of wood added to the top of the body (?) Of course if it sounds good why not use it  |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 24 Sep 2008 8:02 pm
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| Looks to be a Stringmaster underneath it all, somewhere... |
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Clyde Mattocks
From:
Kinston, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 24 Sep 2008 9:07 pm
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It is indeed a Stringmaster with the end sawed off
square. I plead guilty to doing that to several.
As Carl says in a post above, we'd do ANYTHING to
get "that sound". I hate as much as anyone to see
an old Fender thats been modified, but in the days
immediatly following "Slowly", we didn't think a
non pedal steel would ever be in demand again.
_________________
LeGrande II, Nash. 112, Fender Twin Tone Master, Session 400, Harlow Dobro, R.Q.Jones Dobro |
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Cartwright Thompson
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Posted 25 Sep 2008 3:35 pm
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| It's actually about the nicest modified Stringmaster I've ever seen. It looks like there is a formica-like covering on the top of the guitar. Sho-Bud pedals and parts. I didn't mean anything derogatory by the word "butchering", although I'd rather have a stock Stringmaster. |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 26 Sep 2008 11:38 am
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"The paint and everything about it scream Leo"....
I emailed this guy and challenged him to post my comment about his guitar. We will see if he has any integrity about how he wrote up the description of it now that he knows that it is totally non original and his Leo phrase is totally bogus. I doubt if he will post it.
I actually think if he had written up the instument as being modified from its' original condition and talked about it's strong points that he would have made more money selling it than to even remotely insinuate that it appeared as if Leo Fender had anything to do with this. It is not a bad looking modified Stringmaster. |
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