The Steel Guitar Forum

I can't believe it didn't occur to me to use a multi-meter!?!? Thanks Stephen. Blake, I will send you an email with my email address. Thank you so much for the diagram. Thankfully, my harness is totally untouched other than the cut pickup and ground leads about an inch away from the pickup. I would ...

I am new to this, and realized that I wasn't sure what the "usual" use of a console steel switch was for. :) To elaborate, I know how to connect the pickups, but I am trying to make sure I dont end up with the switch wired backwards (up for the lower neck, and down for the upper neck if I ...

Hey guys, About to repair the pickup leads on my Console Grande. The wiring was cut about an inch out from each pickup, and I figured out how to rewire it. But, before I get going, what do the different positions on the switch do? Its a three way switch. I guessed one position is one neck (up for th...

Rodney,

This is Stephen, I believe we met at the Estate sale where I found my Console Grande Gibson. I am local and could pay cash for the Jaguar today. I will email you.

Thanks.

Stephen

STeve, Thanks for posting! You would be horrified to know that at the estate sale, the fingerboards (and miraculously the rest of the parts) were stuffed in a box with about 6 spare lap steel legs!!! Amazing they didn't get beat up more than they did. THe paint seems to be intact other than a couple...

Ron, Thank you so much for posting. Your work is beautiful, and it is great to see someone out there making consoles! My 8-string nut has string grooves cut into it. No idea of course if they were there to start from the factory. The previous owner was a "tinkerer" (for lack of a better te...

Hi Tom, I found it at an estate sale, totally stripped of parts with only its case and legs... THEN, I found another box that miraculously had every other part except for a nut and a couple tuners! $215. :) I already bought the book from Amazon with Don Helms' tabs in it (and the companion CD). Just...

George, thanks for the advice. I will have to look into a plastics shop as that is not a term I have come across before. Would be hard to trust someone I didn't know working on them... I'll probably just store the extra pieces for now, maybe I'll have time to look into getting them rebonded, as you ...

Gary, the gentleman who owned mine for decades passed away earlier this year here in Virginia. His name was Ira Stark.

Although I am new to old steel guitars (or any steel guitar for that matter), cracks at the corners of pickguards I know pretty well from the vintage guitar world. Amazingly, the original owner of my Console Grande kept the pieces that came off a few of the corners of my two fingerboards. I made sur...

I agree, I would bet it is the same as the 8, with the middle string (out of 7) dead center on the nut. The 8's nut is a bit under 3/8... I found someone with a 7/8 for sale on Craigslist in Michigan; I called asking if he would help a random person out trying to restore by measuring the spacing. Fi...

Why the heck didn't I think about that??? :) THanks. I just checked and there is a pretty significant taper, the nut is much narrower than the bridge on the 8 string neck. -- Would still love to know the proper spacing for the 7 string nut if someone out there has one they can measure. Thanks again.

Thanks, Just wondering if anyone that also has the 7/8 model (one 7 seven string, one 8 ) could measure their string spacing on the 7-string neck? If no-one chimes in with theirs, I have a general question as I am new to lap steels. Are the strings parallel or do they taper narrower as you come clos...

Thanks anyway Jim.

Hi Jim, VERY kind of you to respond. That is the original bridge that DID come in the box of random parts at the estate sale. Unfortunately, the 7 string one is missing. I'm sorry, should have been more clear. I posted that so people would know what they look like. For the record, it is 2.5" lo...

I am going to take a few pics, but the main problem electrically for the ole Console is that the previous owner cut the pickup leads (and didn't label them, there are two per pickup) about an inch outside of the pickup. All the funky old school grounding tabs are there, but ID'ing which wire goes wh...

The urge to rock is definitely growing. I can't wait to try it through my amps. It has taken me 20 years, but I have a 66 Vibrolux Reverb, a Tweed Deluxe, and a Marshall 100 watt tube half stack. Distortion will be interesting, but I really want to hear the cleans on the Marshall since it seems peda...

Good news!

Everyone keep your fingers crossed, a user here named "Tommy Wayne" just emailed me saying he may have one. Wow, wouldn't that be great!

Hi, just found my first lap steel at an estate sale. Unfortunately, it is missing its 7-string, nickel nut for the upper neck. I have uploaded an image of the 8-string that did come with it, in hopes that someone can help me find the 7-string version. If you have any leads for shops that may have vi...

<t>The box of parts had an old volume pedal in it too. A "Goodrich" Model 122.<br/> <br/> I forgot to mention, Ira even saved all the little corners that broke off the fingerboards. I decided to only install screws in the center four holes, and I installed them only about 70% so the boards could exp...

Hi everyone, I have been playing guitar, bass, drums, and mandolin for twenty years (in my early 30s now). I recently went to my first estate auction and found a non-descript, brown rectangular case sitting on a piano bench being ignored by everyone. Being from the vintage guitar world, I knew what ...