| Author |
Topic: 26" Stringmaster, blender vs. "wah wah" pot |
Chris Scruggs
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
|
Posted 7 Jul 2008 11:24 am |
|
This is a question in regards to the early 26" Stringmasters with chrome PU covers and lollipop tuners.
It is common knowledge that while the later Stringmasters had the blend pot under the bridge cover, the early ones didn't.
However, some early 26" Stringmasters I have seen blend the pickups with the regular tone knob instead of controlling the "wah wah" sound, while some of the early 26" Stringmasters have a tone knob that controls the "wah wah" but has no blend.
What's the deal? Johnny Sibert (Carl Smith' steel guitarist) told me his 26" Stringmaster blended the pickups, so I know at least some of them did it new in the '50s. Did the earliest 26" Stringmasters "wah" and the later 26" Stringmasters blend, or do the ones that "wah" have replacement pots and capacitors?
What is the lowdown on early Stringmasters and pickup blending?
Chris |
|
|
|
Jon Nygren
From:
Wisconsin, USA
|
Posted 8 Jul 2008 11:23 am
|
|
Chris-
I *think* there were two versions of the early s-masters with the lollpop tuners and metal pu covers. The first and earliest version had both PU's on all the time in humbucking configuration, no blending at all, just tone pot. I think the next version changed to a pot that blended the two...but was pretty short lived, and became the common stringmaster we usually see with the plastic covers and blend pot.
Hopefully some other members who own these versions come along with something definitive, but im pretty sure this is the historical timeline for these. FWIW, the early one I tried out had just a tone pot, no blend at all. |
|
|
|
Chris Scruggs
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
|
Posted 8 Jul 2008 11:41 am
|
|
| It also seems that some 26" Stringmasters have legs that almost go straight down, whilesome have a slight flair (though not as much as the "standardized" Stringmasters). I assume this is also a earlier/later difference? |
|
|
|
Jon Nygren
From:
Wisconsin, USA
|
Posted 8 Jul 2008 11:56 am
|
|
Good point...I think the earlier ones i've seen have more angled legs, while the later ones into the 60's are more upright. I'm thinking they probably used the same leg wells as the trap pu steels as they were made at the same time for awhile. Maybe when the dual pros/customs were phased out, they changed wells or got them from a different supplier?
Have you seen earlier ones that were pretty upright? |
|
|
|
Mark Durante
From:
St. Pete Beach FL
|
Posted 9 Jul 2008 2:54 am
|
|
| My '54 T-8 has the one blend pot tone control and the angled legs. The earliest 26" guitars had the straight legs. I would guess they changed the legs to get less wobble. |
|
|
|
Rick Collins
From:
Claremont , CA USA
|
Posted 9 Jul 2008 7:40 am
|
|
Chris, my three-neck 26" is an early '54. The legs were only slightly angled;
so I changed the sockets for the wider 18 degree spread.
Ask Johnny, I believe he said his leg sockets were changed to the wider spread, (ones)
when it was altered to accommodate the three leg configuration.
Big Johnny Sibert fan.  |
|
|
|
Charley Wilder
From:
Dover, New Hampshire, USA
|
Posted 9 Jul 2008 8:04 am
|
|
Big Johnny Sibert fan. [/quote]
ME TOO!  |
|
|
|
Jon Nygren
From:
Wisconsin, USA
|
Posted 9 Jul 2008 9:47 am
|
|
| Mark Durante wrote: |
| The earliest 26" guitars had the straight legs. I would guess they changed the legs to get less wobble. |
Ahh good. Looks like I had it backwards. |
|
|
|
Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
|
Posted 9 Jul 2008 10:07 am
|
|
On the early Stringmasters, the tone control was just that, a tone control.
The pickups were hard wired in a sort of humbucking fashion, there was no "blending" of the two pickups per neck. |
|
|
|
