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Topic: Jantz lap steel? |
Bobby Lee
From:
Cloverdale, California, USA
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Posted 7 Mar 2004 6:03 pm |
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Does anyone here know anything about this EBay item? I've never heard of the maker.
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 Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9),
Sierra Laptop 8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax |
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Michael Lee Allen
From:
Portage Park / Irving Park, Chicago, Illinois
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Posted 7 Mar 2004 6:34 pm
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REMOVED
Last edited by Michael Lee Allen on 28 Feb 2011 7:27 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Steinar Gregertsen
From:
Arendal, Norway, R.I.P.
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Michael Lee Allen
From:
Portage Park / Irving Park, Chicago, Illinois
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Posted 7 Mar 2004 8:03 pm
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REMOVED
Last edited by Michael Lee Allen on 28 Feb 2011 7:28 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 7 Mar 2004 9:56 pm
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JANTZ guitars were made in Winnipeg, Manitoba, (Canada), for a short period during the latter forties, early fifties. (The late) Bill Jantz also built his own amplifiers. The one pictured with that unique carrying handle is identical to the amp I once owned. Bill made student and professional amps as well as single neck 6 and 7 string guitars. He also made probably one of the earliest double neck (2x6) guitars to have been sold in Canada just after the termination of WW2. My first electric guitar was a 6 string blonde Jantz, (Bill produced them in blonde and also a very dark walnut). Canada's well known jazz steel guitarist, (the late) Jack Mooney owned the very first double neck (2x6) string guitar Bill Jantz ever made in 1946. Jantz guitars had a very sweet tone especially adaptable to Hawaiian music. As I recall, Bill Jantz passed away in Winnipeg during the early or mid fifties, and with his passing, the Jantz guitar production was finished.  |
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Bobby Lee
From:
Cloverdale, California, USA
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Posted 8 Mar 2004 9:33 am
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Thanks for the history lesson, George.
Can the tone of the Jantz be compared to any other lap steels? How would it compare to a Gibson EH-150, for example, or to a Fender Stringmaster or a bakelite Rickenbacher?
I've been looking for a 7 string Gibson, but this might do the trick. I want to avoid getting anything that has a weak, tinny-sounding pickup.
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Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9),
Sierra Laptop 8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax[This message was edited by Bobby Lee on 08 March 2004 at 09:33 AM.] |
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 8 Mar 2004 2:55 pm
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Aloha b0b...Golly, ya know it was around 1945/46 when I bought my 6 string blonde JANTZ...hmmm, let's see now, that's almost 60 years ago ! Back then, ANYTHING electric sounded good to those young ears. Frankly, while it is definitely NOT a FENDER or a GIBSON in quality...it was a decent sounding guitar none-the-less. If time has not weakened the p/u magnet, it would probably still sound quite acceptable today. I have a young friend who still gigs with his 6 string JANTZ in a sorta rock style band, so I would assume it can 'cut the mustard'. If you can purchase it ( a 7 string )for around $300.00 (or less), you surely can't lose. BTW, I forgot to mention that, Bill Jantz also made those neat cases...they were very well made, not a piece of crap. I have a hunch he probably obtained his tailpieces from Gibson at the time...it sure looks like a Gibson product. JANTZ prided himself on quality way back then, and if I were in the market for another guitar, I'd go for it. Problem is, I have been happily married for 52 years...no use in tempting fate!  Hope this helps. |
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