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Topic: Gretsch Electromatic Lap Steel |
David Eastwood
From:
Minnesota, USA
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Posted 24 Mar 2010 7:47 am |
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Can anyone help me shed some light on this Gretsch? It belongs to an old friend of mine, who inherited it from his father. He believes it was purchased new around 1950, or maybe a year or two earlier, but has been unable to find much about it...
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 24 Mar 2010 8:27 am
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| really cool tuners...never seen them before! |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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Richard Shatz
From:
St. Louis
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Posted 25 Mar 2010 6:51 am
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That lap steel is a Gretsch Electromatic Hawaiian model produced ca.1940-43.
It was arguably the company's first electric instrument and the only lap steel that was actually produced by Gretsch. All of the other Gretsch models were made by Valco.
These things sound great through good tube amps. |
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Michael Lee Allen
From:
Portage Park / Irving Park, Chicago, Illinois
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Posted 25 Mar 2010 7:29 am
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DELETED
_________________
"Wisdom does not always come with age. Many times age arrives alone."
Last edited by Michael Lee Allen on 27 Feb 2011 2:14 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Tom Gray
From:
Decatur, GA
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Posted 25 Mar 2010 9:17 am
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Here are the Harlin Brothers tuners on the guitar they were designed for, a late-1930s steel with a weird spring-loaded tone control lever. The patent for the tuners was filed in 1936 and granted in 1938. My guess is that the Harlins made more tuners than guitars, and once they committed to the Multi-Kord they sold their stock of parts for this one to Kay or Gretsch. The bridge cover and radio knobs look like part of the same deal.
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www.tomgraymusic.com |
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Richard Shatz
From:
St. Louis
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Posted 25 Mar 2010 2:57 pm
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| Michael Lee Allen wrote: |
This is a Kay product subcontracted by Gretsch. Kay and Regal in Chicago used this Harlin Bros in-line tuner assembly as did Valco on the Oahu Iolana doublenecks.
MLA |
Once again Mr. Allen has a far greater in depth knowledge than can be gleaned from the usual sources.
Thank you. |
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Michael Lee Allen
From:
Portage Park / Irving Park, Chicago, Illinois
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Posted 25 Mar 2010 3:47 pm
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REMOVED
_________________
"Wisdom does not always come with age. Many times age arrives alone."
Last edited by Michael Lee Allen on 27 Feb 2011 2:15 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Michael Lee Allen
From:
Portage Park / Irving Park, Chicago, Illinois
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Posted 25 Mar 2010 3:48 pm
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REMOVED
_________________
"Wisdom does not always come with age. Many times age arrives alone."
Last edited by Michael Lee Allen on 27 Feb 2011 2:16 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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David Eastwood
From:
Minnesota, USA
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Posted 25 Mar 2010 3:51 pm
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Thank you all - this is wonderful information!
I have passed this on to my friend. It's been sitting under a bed, in its original case, for years, and the companion Gretsch amplifier has been gathering dust along with it. I've actually played it - probably 25 years ago, when he and I both lived in Massachusetts - but I don't remember much about it.
It remains to be seen what he decides to do with it  |
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Josh Cho
From:
New York, NY (orig. Honolulu, HI)
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Posted 25 Mar 2010 4:20 pm super sussssstainnnnn
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Is it true that the strings can sustain a single note for 16 measures on this guitar???
Why did this technology not get passed down to today's steels?
Curious....
_________________
Lap-n-Console Steel Guitar Lessons |
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David Eastwood
From:
Minnesota, USA
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Posted 25 Mar 2010 4:23 pm Re: super sussssstainnnnn
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| Josh Cho wrote: |
Is it true that the strings can sustain a single note for 16 measures on this guitar???
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At 300 BPM |
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