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Topic: '53 Fender Custom T-8 |
Page Wood
From:
Los Angeles
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Posted 23 Jul 2002 1:59 pm |
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I was looking for just a single to play some C6 swing, and this thing fell out of the sky! I play some dobro and have an E9 pedal steel, but I don't know anything about triplenecks. Anyone familiar with Customs?
1) is the approach to tuning and playing any different when you have 2 extra necks, do you go back and forth?
2) there is a little switch next to the neck selector toggle that does nothing- does it defeat the toggle so all necks are playable?
3) can I adjust wrap-around pickups?
4) I can see the wood thru some nicks in the finish- looks like walnut ?
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Ron Randall
From:
Dallas, Texas, USA
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Posted 24 Jul 2002 8:12 pm
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I can answer some of your questions.
As far as what tuning for which neck, you will many different answers. They are all right!
I tune my triple C6 front, E13 middle, G6 back neck. I hear many players that put the heavy strings on the thickest neck( the back one).
There is/was a recent thread about using multi necks in one song. Some do, some don't.
I like to do a swing blues run on the C6 neck and then do a strum/slide on the E13 for a different sound.
I use the G6 neck to match with my dobro playing. I like to tune them the same.
I don't have an answer for the pickups or the neck selector switch.
Good luck
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Fender Stringmaster T-8
Fender Strat
8 string Benoit
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 25 Jul 2002 5:43 am
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The little switch is probably a push button like a door bell and is used to temporarily cut the sound.
If your guitar has the trapezoid-shaped pickups where the strings pass through the pickup, I don't believe there is any way to adjust the pickup's distance from the strings as the strings pass through it.
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Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars
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Jody Carver
From:
KNIGHT OF FENDER TWEED
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Posted 25 Jul 2002 8:01 am
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Page
The little throw switch "toggle" is for all necks to be activated,,or when off..each neck is then selected individually by the three way switch in the center..this is often
reffered to the "blade switch" thats the new
technology "buzz word" to me and thousands others its simply the three way neck selector
switch. You will experience a loss of tone and volume when the toggle switch is engaged as it controls all three necks.
When it is in the off position ,,,you can then get all the tone and more volume by using the three way switch right there in the center ,,,the one with the little black knob.
If the little toggle type switch does not put all three necks on when activated,,or close all necks except the neck chosen by the
three way switch,,,there is a bad or no connection.
Its a simple problem to repair..NO the trapazoid pickups are not adjustable..they were reffered to as "Direct Strings Through Pickups" and not as reffered to as they are today "Trapaziod" thats a "buzz word"
Your Fender Custom is built like a TANK..Its a great guitar. and the color is now called
"butterscotch" when I was there it was called
"blonde"....only your hairdresser knows for sure,and that hairdresser was Leo Fender.
Your'e guitar has mellowed with age. Enjoy it
there are very few out there. In my opinion they are the best steel guitars Fender ever designed. I have both a Stringmaster as well as a Custom..I like both of them,,but I lean towards the Custom. edited If the wood under the blonde finish looks dark,,,its more than likely a "walnut" and thats a great
guitar,,,they were discontinued as "no pun intended" most people preffered blonde's.
I have seldom seen a "walnut guitar refinshed
in blonde,,,if is is walnut wood,,,it stayed that way,,perhaps your guitar was re-finished in blonde by someone...
Dont complain..be happy you have it..[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 25 July 2002 at 09:09 AM.] |
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Page Wood
From:
Los Angeles
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Posted 25 Jul 2002 12:44 pm
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Thanks so much guys- Ron, when you say G6 do you mean 6-strings-open-G
ala dobro, or a 6th chord for 8 strings? (ironically what you described is exactly how the guitar is set up at this moment!) I am trying to decide between E13, E7 or A6 for the middle but I have no other info except for C6. do you find the front or middle to be most used?
Jody, rumor has it you worked for Fender? (please excuse me, I'm a newbie!) How about '53? Yes, this thing is a tank! The finish is dark and murky, I can't really tell if it got dark over the years or started out that way- I want to refinish it, I even have a "spagetti" logo decal for it- gonna have to fix that switch, too. BTW, it sounds great! Excellent sustain- tone knob actually works.
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Jody Carver
From:
KNIGHT OF FENDER TWEED
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Posted 25 Jul 2002 2:59 pm
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Its a rumor,,,Fender worked for me  |
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 25 Jul 2002 6:29 pm
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Definitely listen to what Jody has to say. He has forgotten more about these guitars than I've ever learned.
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Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars
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Ron Randall
From:
Dallas, Texas, USA
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Posted 25 Jul 2002 7:38 pm
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Page,
The G6 tuning is for 8 strings to match an 8 string acoustic resophonic made by Benoit. (an 8 string dobro) THe tuning I like for this rascal is (lo to hi)
DGBDEGBD. If I need to, I crank to low D to an E, or an F.
This is all personal preference. It works for me. b0b, our Forum director likes A6 on the back neck of his triple.
Have fun, bust a few strings, and find what you like. |
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Andy Zynda
From:
Wisconsin
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Posted 26 Jul 2002 5:50 am
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You might want to re-consider the refinishing idea. I have been told by numerous guitar, steel, and hammond organ players, that the finish used back then, was harder and thinner, and contributed a great deal to the resonance of the instrument. Todays finishes are thicker, heavier and softer, increasing weight, but decreasing sustain and resonance. I personally refinished and old Leslie speaker, (with Laquer, not Poly. closer to the original finish) and there was a noticable difference in the sound. The cab sounded flatter. Less lively. I have heard the same from guys who have refinished vintage electric guitars.
Just another 2 cents.
-andy-
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Jody Carver
From:
KNIGHT OF FENDER TWEED
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Posted 26 Jul 2002 2:10 pm
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Brad
Thanks for the nice comment,,I know. and knew
Fender salesman who knew 1/10th of what you
know...Since I was the only steel player I paid more attention to the steel etc.
Todays Fender salesman as well as other well
known brands need only to show up for an order,they NEVER carry samples,,they couldnt care less about anything except the commision. I think you are the most knowledgable person out there regarding Fender steel guitars and I have learned a thing or two from you as well.
Thanks for the plug,,but anyone looking for Fender info should look at your web site. I know as I do often,,and its great.
Thanks my friend
Jody |
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Page Wood
From:
Los Angeles
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Posted 27 Jul 2002 10:15 am
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I recently did some woodwork re-finishing on my house and my "experts" kept complaining that all the great finishes are now illegal (at least in Calif.) I know the stuff we used on floors and tabletops was much harder than the paneling and not as thick and soft as the stuff outside- and these were all versions of polyurethane. What are modern guitars finished with?
I just saw a blond Stringmaster, so now I know what you mean by blond- It's way darker- must be Butterscotch?
[This message was edited by Page Wood on 27 July 2002 at 11:32 AM.] |
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Andy Zynda
From:
Wisconsin
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Posted 27 Jul 2002 4:19 pm
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It depends where the guitar is assembled/finished. If it's in the USA, It's gonna be Poly of one sort or another. (EPA LAW), but overseas and Mexico still use nitrocellulose laquer. Very thin, very hard, and very resonant.
It also can cause chromosome damage if you inhale the vapors. Hence, banned in the USA.
This is also why some guitarists prefer Japanese, and other countries for the point of assembly.
Gretsch guitars are done this way. (not all of 'em tho)
-andy- |
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Lynn Kasdorf
From:
Waterford Virginia, USA
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Posted 30 Jul 2002 11:31 am
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Congrats on this thing falling out of the sky on you (I hope you weren't hurt). Please don't refinish it! (unless it has already been ruined by somebody else!)
I play a butterscoth T8 custom and adore it! As these things get more and more beat up, they just look cooler. Ever seen Bobby Koeffer's (my hero) T8 custom ?(dark, like you describe). Since he plays the top neck all the time, and uses his thumb mainly, the finish is completely worn off the front where his fingers constantly rest while he is comping with his thumb. I ask you- if you got HIS guitar, would you refinish that???
And, if you don't mess with the finish, sombody in the distant future, after you re gone, will thank you!
Not to mention that the monetary value will plummet if you refinish it. Just enjoy that thing! I find that my customs have far better sustain than my double 8 stringmaster. Can't explain that one...unless it is the weaker field on the wrap around pickups. I don't know but they aure are sweet! |
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Page Wood
From:
Los Angeles
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Posted 30 Jul 2002 5:03 pm
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Lynn- this thing isn't just beat up, it looks like people were putting cigarettes out on it and using it for target practice! I wish I could just touch it up, but I don't see how. The saddest part is the previous owner let his watch completely scratch up the 2 lower trapezoids- but it still sings!
Tell me more about Bobby Koeffer- I noticed exactly what you describe (the front rub marks) on some Bob Wills footage- this guy's playing a Fender double w/ wrap arounds, but they aren't trapezoid- late Custom or early Stringmaster?
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Lynn Kasdorf
From:
Waterford Virginia, USA
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Posted 30 Jul 2002 5:43 pm
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Bobby Koeffer played with Wills in the early 50's I think. He has a very distinctive style. He uses a thumbpick only and a flat bar that he holds like you hold a paintbrush.
Because of no fingerpicks, he mutes the string with his fingertip and picks behind the finger with the thumbpick. He is dead acurate with these, and commonly does the "5th fret" harmonic to get these impossibly tinkly notes.
That flat bar also lets him do these great bar slam/tone wah tricks. Frequently he'll slam the bar down while doing a pedal swell and then point to someone in the audience at the same time. Quite a showman.
You can hear him on the wills 2 cd set called something like the MGM sessions. He also played with PeeWee King for a time. Recently he has appeared on various Tom Morrell cds. He is on the most recent HotClub of Cowtown cd as well.
By the way- there was a story that he buried his steel at one point when he got sick of playing- and dug it up later. I asked him about this, and he denied it.
He plays c6, e13, and I don't recall the middle tuning- but I think he has just 7 strings on each- because "six is not enough". |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Page Wood
From:
Los Angeles
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Posted 31 Jul 2002 1:07 pm
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Lynn- that's him! What a wild style- I have him on TM's "No Peddlers"- I'm a fan.
Doug- can't wait to hear how it turns out, if you think the refurb affects sound.
Which raises an interesting question: at what point does refinishing affect value?
I'm sure the only reason I got this guitar is because it was so beat up no one else wanted it !! It was cheap to buy, so the "market" had given up on it- you would think any improvement would increase it's value at this point. I don't think I'll ever sell it (where would I get another?)- but I'd like to clean it up as much as I can. |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Posted 31 Jul 2002 7:52 pm
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Page, refinishing a vintage instrument cuts the value in half, and should only be done as a last resort. A beat up, scratched original finish is worth more than new paint on a guitar. In the case of my Custom I had no alternative because someone had repainted the guitar bright yellow many years ago, and it looked horrific. As long as your finish is original... leave it alone IMHO. Just polish the chrome and do whatever electronics work it needs.
My 4-neck stringmaster shows some wear on the finish... but it's good honest player wear, not abusive wear. That guitar is worth much more as is than it would be if I refinished it. In addition the chrome is mint. Best of luck with your Custom.
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My Site - Instruction | Doug's Free Tab | Steels and Accessories
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Bill Hankey
From:
Pittsfield, MA, USA
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Posted 1 Aug 2002 2:14 pm
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Lynn K.,
I had previously written in a Steel Guitar Forum reply that a steel guitar burial did take place in Alaska decades ago. I read the account in a large book, that was full of compilations, explaining the first attempt to play a make-shift slide guitar, and how the pedal steel gradually made its way into the music world. The book contained much accurate research, with names and places to support the veracity of each account. I read the book in the early eighties at the Berkshire Athenaeum, in Pittsfield, Ma. If Bobby Koeffer has never panned for gold in Alaska, then this would be someone other than B.K. Whomever buried the steel, placed a tombstone at the grave, with the inscription:
"HERE LIES THE HEART OF-------". I will attempt to trace the book in the future, and fill in the name. The title could have been, "THE HISTORY OF STEEL GUITAR".
Bill H. |
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Lynn Kasdorf
From:
Waterford Virginia, USA
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Posted 2 Aug 2002 6:31 am
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"Here Lies the Heart of Bobby Koeffer" was the story I heard. And, indeed, his steel looks as though it could have spend a couple of years underground....
I can't remember where I read about this- anyway, I asked BK about this incident when I saw him and Morrell at the Ruiodoso NM western swing festival, and he said it never happened. He didn't elaborate.
A very colorful legend, nonetheless. |
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Rick Collins
From:
Claremont , CA USA
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Posted 2 Aug 2002 7:50 am
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| Quote: |
| My 4-neck stringmaster shows some wear on the finish... but it's good honest player wear, not abusive wear. That guitar is worth much more as is than it would be if I refinished it. |
Doug,
What you say is true; your guitar is worth more (to most collectors) with the original finish. But if I were seeking to buy it from you, I would much rather have a sparkling new, lighter blonde, flawless finish.
I have a Fender Dual-Eight Professional which I have refinished a very light blonde (Navajo white) and have a newly silk-screened Fender decal on the front. I have changed the leg sockets to make the three legs spread-out more at the base. I enjoy playing it much more than I did before I refinished it. It is now my favorite, of the steel guitars that I own.
Rick
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Bill Hankey
From:
Pittsfield, MA, USA
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Posted 2 Aug 2002 8:56 am
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Lynn K.
Isn't it perplexing, when such exciting adventure is virtually brushed aside, and there are only
tid-bits of references to seek out?
The imagination can go wild, as the
mind tries to envision a steel guitarist, holding a shovel in one hand, and his earthly treasure in the other. I would risk surmising
that there are others, who could reveal more of what actually happened, to cause such an unusual
turn of events.
Bill H. |
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