Blanton Steelers?

Roger Shackelton · Post by **Roger Shackelton** » 22 Aug 2007 9:28 pm

Are there any Forumites that play a Blanton steel guitar?

Roger

Papa Joe Pollick · Post by **Papa Joe Pollick** » 23 Aug 2007 1:09 am

Me!!!!
With a bunch of questions..Tomorrow I'm gonna get them all organized and post them..For now I'm just gonna take my meds and sack out..Took a damn stress test today..Poooooped..
PJ.

Sonny Jenkins · Post by **Sonny Jenkins** » 23 Aug 2007 6:28 am

,,,Mike Ester did a super job of playing AND maintaining a Blanton for 20+ years,,,I'm sure he would be more than willing to share what he knows. He's a super guy and a super player.

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 23 Aug 2007 7:34 am

Roger, around '72 or so I had a Blanton S-10 that I bought from Blackie Taylor's music in California. It was black and came with 4 floor pedals and no knee levers. I played it for a month or so but being a guitar player first, I couldn't stand not having that low E string. Blackie and I converted it to a S-11 and added two knee levers. One lowered the 2nd string to D and the other lowered string 8 to D# and raised the 4th string E to F. The floor pedals were standard on 2, 3, & 4 (Emmons) but the 1st pedal lowered strings 3 & 6 to G. There was a lot of music on this guitar and I had it for a couple of years before I traded it for a '58 Volkswagen. I wouldn't mind having the Blanton, or for that matter, the Volkswagen back again.......JH in Va.

George Plemons · Post by **George Plemons** » 23 Aug 2007 9:15 am

I started on a Blanton that I bought from in Bryan texas from a guy named david farenthold in 1977. A friend of mine here in town still has that guitar. It was built like a sherman tank and weighed almost as much!

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 23 Aug 2007 9:15 am

When I was about 21 Jimmy Day was playing a Blanton and he told me that's what I should get.I've owned at least three of them,I still have an SD-10 4+4...One of the best guitars ever.

Mike Ester · Post by **Mike Ester** » 23 Aug 2007 9:23 am

Guilty, as Sonny charges. I sold it back in 2005, but I did keep it a long time.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 23 Aug 2007 5:01 pm

jimmy fuller?? steeler for 'joker moon' outta texas used to play one...is he still alive and pickin'?

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 23 Aug 2007 5:54 pm

Fuller is back in SanAntoneeOH! You gotta love a guy who can play like him.

Mike Jones · Post by **Mike Jones** » 24 Aug 2007 9:42 am

Skip Jackson, old steeler for Faron Young and the Kendalls use to play a Blanton. Got a great tone on that guitar too.

Roger Shackelton · Post by **Roger Shackelton** » 24 Aug 2007 1:59 pm

I saw my first Blanton psg in 1971, at a small music store in Minneapolis. It was a S-10 w/ 4 pedals and no knee levers. It was selling for $750.
I believe if these guitars would've had a standard wood cabinet they may still be around today. The steel frame made these guitars way too heavy. On the plus side they had a great tone and excellent playability.

Roger

Jason Longoria · Post by **Jason Longoria** » 25 Aug 2007 7:02 am

I saw Jerry Blanton play the other day with Augie Meyers @ Texas Pride here outside SA. I talked to him a bit afterwards, he said he was building a new guitar... very funny and cool guy! it was a suprise to see him out there.

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 25 Aug 2007 8:36 am

Roger, another thing that might have led to their demise was the fact that the pedal changes were tuned under the guitar on the crossrods at the bellcrank instead of the endplate as other steels are (Both endplates were bare with no openings at all). That made it difficult to tune the pedals on the fly if you had to. However, as I remember, mine stayed in tune very well and seldom needed touching up.......JH in Va.

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 25 Aug 2007 9:30 am

Jerry,Blantons were a snap to tune,the fatstest system I've ever seen,The tricky one to tune was the RKR because you have to use your left hand on the right side of the guitar.Let me tell if you ever showed up at a gig and somehow misplaced your tuning wrench then you realized how cool the Blanton system was...you don't need no wrench.Jason Jerry Blanton is the nicest guy to deal with,and more than that he's been a friend for over 30 years,Chuck Back of Desert Rose guitars reminds me a lot of Jerry.

Duane Reese · Post by **Duane Reese** » 25 Aug 2007 9:58 am

I bought Mike Ester's back in '05, wound up parting ways with it recently, but it was a heck of a guitar is so many ways... Although it was heavy, you never had to worry about it's cabinet getting loose! The tuning system is one of the best you'll ever see.

Personally, I'd like to see a rebirth of the breed... With a few design revisions, I think it could potentially be the best guitar anywhere.

Roger Edgington · Post by **Roger Edgington** » 26 Aug 2007 9:21 am

When I first meet Jerry in late 60's he had a young boy working for him named Don Beirstead that built his own single neck steel while he still worked there. He was on the road with Moe Bandy for awhile. Don is still plauing the fire out of it.

Jerry is a super guy and built every steel with TLC. There's still lots of them scattered around this area.

It's probably one if the smoothest guitars I've seen. His guitars did not have an axle through the changer fingers. The fingers pivoted against a knife edge.

Blanton's shop was always a fun place to hang out. You never knew who would be there.

Papa Joe Pollick · Post by **Papa Joe Pollick** » 26 Aug 2007 11:48 am

Hey Guys,I'm ready to ask those questions.
Please note these bell cranks and the way they hook to the pull rods.They ain't right.So I'll need to replace them.I have access to a Bridgport and can make new ones,but I need good pics. of the right ones.The bell cranks are no problem,it's the connector to the pull rod that I really need to see.
I also need a Jerry Blanton decal.
Any help gets my thanks.
More questions to follow.PJ

Mike Ester · Post by **Mike Ester** » 26 Aug 2007 12:51 pm

Duane Reese has a pic posted of the part in question in this thread:

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... highlight=

Bent Romnes · Post by **Bent Romnes** » 26 Aug 2007 3:16 pm

Papa Joe,
Those bell cranks are really intriguing! Apart from the fact that you have to reach under the guitar and feel your way around, I loved this idea of tuning the pedals.
a question or 2...
The longer a travel you need for a given finger, the harder the pedal gets. Is this noticeable at all?
The set screw that holds the bell crank on to the cross rod: Is that sufficient and adequate? Do you have to check it for tightness every now and then? Does the set screw wear out with time?

Mike Ester · Post by **Mike Ester** » 26 Aug 2007 4:46 pm

The design served me well for about 22 years. Never had one of Jerry's bellcranks ever slip on a cross shaft. In fact, I never had to tighten one. They stayed in place.

Roger Shackelton · Post by **Roger Shackelton** » 27 Aug 2007 12:50 am

Hi Papa Joe,

I think the former owner cobbled your guitar. I would
find it very difficult to believe that this guitar left Jerry's shop in that condition. YIKES!!!!

Hi Bent,

All the pedals on an original Blanton guitar have the same amount of travel. I had my S-10 set up with a C-6th tuning one time and even the Boo Waa pedal was very easy to press. Reaching under the guitar to tune isn't that difficult. This guitar stays in tune and very seldom needs tweaking. The mechanical advantage of the Blanton pulling system has to be experienced to be believed.

Roger

Bob Parins · Post by **Bob Parins** » 21 Jun 2009 8:01 pm

Hey Guys-

I Bought this D-12 with 9 and 5 from Jerry a few months ago. I love this guitar. I put a Universal tuning on the front neck and, for now, I have a B6 non-pedal setup on the back. Who else has some Blanton pictures to put show off?

I see Jerry is selling a S-10 now. I wonder what that one looks like.

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 22 Jun 2009 9:12 am

If you need better pics let me know.

Tom Wolverton · Post by **Tom Wolverton** » 22 Jun 2009 9:22 am

I bought a Blanton S-10 with 4 pedals back in '73. Kept it for years and loved it. It would stay in tune for months and I loved the bellcrank design. Another forumite is playing it now.

Bob Parins · Post by **Bob Parins** » 22 Jun 2009 12:07 pm

Hey Stu-

Had the guitar for sale been yours once upon a time? It's the first one I've seen with the holes in the chrome. I'm not in-the-market for a new steel, I guess I'm just becoming a Blanton enthusiast. I'd love to see any additional pictures that anyone has.

I think mine had been owned by Gene Nivens and was made in the 60s.. I have to call Jerry one of these days and get the history from him.