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Topic: 50's Rickenbacker Triple 8 for sale $1400 |
Teddy Weber
From:
Vermont, USA
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Posted 16 Jul 2012 10:14 am |
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I have owned this steel since the fall of 2008. It is an amazing instrument and is fully functional. I have been stalling on selling it for months because I really hate to see it go. But I am a full-time musician and need to unload a few things as.... that's how it goes in this business.
As far as I can tell, this is a 1950's Rickenbacker Console 518 Triple 8 Steel Guitar. There is no serial number that I have found but you can look closely at the photos and dig around online, you'll see matches to the name. Everything is original except the winding on the third pickup (furthest from the player). That pickup suddenly stopped working one day so I had it re-wound and it sounds amazing now, just as good as the others. Also in the photos you'll see that the nuts are not original. I had a machinist make three additional brass nuts because I like to play with a slightly wider string spacing than the originals allowed for. Frankly, these new brass nuts are better, but I still have the originals and will include them in the sale. They pop right in, no tools required. The pots have a little crackle in them, but are fully functional.
Here's a video of me playing something slow and country/jazzy on it. Steel comes in around minute 2:40
http://youtu.be/QPxYy2oNoaY
In addition to the smooth sounds in the video above, it also has a growling snarl like none I've ever heard and I've been around a lot of vintage gear. I had one neck in an open tuning and used that neck as a gritty blues neck and the other two were strung with thinner gage strings in higher six tunings for the country swing stuff. Its an amazingly versatile instrument that one could do a lot of different things with. I played it in The Wiyos (www.thewiyos.com) and we do everything from old-time country to swing jazz, junkyard blues, beat box driven soundscapes, even some rock, etc. I did it all on this steel. It's the one I used on our 2009 release Broken Land Bell and I also played it a few times opening up for Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Bob Dylan on the Dylan Show summer tour, 2009.
I have the original case which is in excellent condition. There are a few superficial scratches on the guitar body which should be visible in the photos. Otherwise it is road tested and ready to go.
There’s more videos on Youtube if you want to dig deeper to hear other sounds on it or I can send you some audio tracks from studio recordings.
I live in VT but regularly travel to the Hudson Valley in NY and would be happy to arrange a physical drop-off in this region. Otherwise we can discuss shipping options on the phone. Thanks for looking.
Last edited by Teddy Weber on 21 Sep 2012 6:09 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Joel Cangiolosi
From:
Louisiana, USA
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Posted 17 Jul 2012 10:01 am
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| It sounds great in the video! Beautiful guitar. What kind of amp are you playing through? |
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Teddy Weber
From:
Vermont, USA
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Posted 17 Jul 2012 10:10 am
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a 1941 National. (2 6v6s). Yea that steel through that amp was magic. thanks for checking out.
-Teddy |
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Tim Whitlock
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 8 Aug 2012 7:13 am
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| Had to give this post a bump for a beautiful instrument. Don't know if it's even still for sale, but at least check out the link to the video. Great performance of an old jazz standard, some really fine steel playing and fabulous tone! Terrific band! |
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Denny Turner
From:
Oahu, Hawaii USA
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Posted 9 Aug 2012 9:27 am
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This 'Console 500' is from the last half of the 1950s, probably around 1958, as witnessed by it's metal logo plaque where early 1950s had a black lettered decal logo in that spot. The late 1950s horsehoe magnet material took a recharge stronger than earlier years ....for how long prior and after I don't know (consult Rick Aiello).
One of these Console 500s was my main squeeze also for about 10 years until I threw in the bar towel in 2003. I too played it in every genre but opera and hip hop. Any genre sound could be dialed right in with the steel's tone pot trimmed with the volume pot in conjunction with amp settings; From GREAT Western Swing and Jazz tones to very naughty rock and blues. Where bakelites and frypans have a "scooped" / "smile" EQ, these 500s have a +bump in that tone in the low-mid range due to hollow cabinet resonance and the character of the later horse-shoe pickups. The hump moved a little toward mids for D8s and S8s due to their smaller cabinet volumes.
The Console 518 here is in the best condition I have seen. And the price is GREAT. Highly recommended by a long-time user.
Very Best Wishes,
_________________
Aloha,
Denny T~
http://www.dennysguitars.com/
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