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Topic: Proper care for black lacquer finish on '48 Gibson Century? |
Steve Ahola
From:
Concord, California
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Posted 29 Nov 2010 6:12 pm |
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I really like this lap steel, especially after I fabricated a metal shim to go under the bridge to raise the strings up from the pole pieces to get much cleaner sounds.
So how should I treat the black finish on this? I don't think it was ever repainted since the black around the decals looks the same as the black on the rest of the body.
This is not a collectors item- it has numerous dings- but I would like to keep the finish from getting any worse if that is possible.
Thanks!
Steve Ahola
_________________
www.blueguitar.org
Recordings on electric guitar:
http://www.box.net/blue-diamonds
http://www.box.net/the-culprits |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Steve Ahola
From:
Concord, California
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Posted 29 Nov 2010 8:41 pm
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| Doug Beaumier wrote: |
| Quote: |
| ...how should I treat the black finish on this? |
Nothing more than guitar polish, in my opinion.
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Hey, thanks! I've been using Brillianze and Megular's Carnauba hard wax on my Next Generation Stealth from George. Would either of those be appropriate? I have some of the Jim Dunlop polish but I'd rather not use that on anything that I like.
Mine growled like a Mama grizzly bear- only with a much better knowledge of world geography- but I wanted to take advantage of its similarities to the Console Grande so I raised the bridge to get some really nice clean sounds. I call it my Console Paquito... 
Do you know the DC resistance of the pickup in yours? I believe mine was originally around 10k but corrosion had damaged the coil. I had Pete at Vintage Vibes make me a drop-in replica but with 3 taps (6K, 7K and 10K) so I could decide which one I liked best (it was the 7k tap). Backing off on the volume and lower tone control a bit I can get some of those high and lonesome sounds like on the Hank Williams records. Well, the sounds but certainly not the technique yet. 
I hope to get another one someday and I would leave that one as a screamer for blues and rock. (Actually I've been thinking of building one myself, getting another pickup from Pete and making the bridge and nut out of angle iron.)
Steve Ahola
_________________
www.blueguitar.org
Recordings on electric guitar:
http://www.box.net/blue-diamonds
http://www.box.net/the-culprits |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Steve Ahola
From:
Concord, California
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Posted 30 Nov 2010 11:59 am
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| Doug Beaumier wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Do you know the DC resistance of the pickup in yours? |
7.64K ohms off the output jack, which is pretty hot for a lap steel pickup of this era, from what I have seen.
Here is a youtube video I made using my Century 6 a while back. ----> Ghost Riders in the Sky
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Wow- that sounds great! Just wondering- did you have the volume on the steel backed off a bit? And is the backing track available somewhere?
Steve |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Mitch Crane
From:
1000 Oaks, CA
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Posted 1 Dec 2010 10:59 am
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| Nice ! I'm looking to aquire one of these... what is the difference between the Century and the Ultratone models ? |
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Steve Ahola
From:
Concord, California
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Posted 1 Dec 2010 3:34 pm
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Mitch: I got the impression that the Century was the less fancy working man's version of the UltraTone. I'm surprised that none of the lap steel makers are making copies of the Century or UltraTone because the bodies would be so easy to make. You would want to use the same design for the pickup, the bridge and the mounting plate; I think that the backing plate acts like the ferrous bottom plate on a telecaster bridge pickup. And the 3 knob control circuit is a must. (Correction: the bottom control is a treble *pass* control, not a treble bypass. My bad!)
Steve Ahola
"If it ain't broken, I think I can do something about that."
_________________
www.blueguitar.org
Recordings on electric guitar:
http://www.box.net/blue-diamonds
http://www.box.net/the-culprits |
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Mitch Crane
From:
1000 Oaks, CA
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Posted 1 Dec 2010 3:38 pm
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Thanks Steve.. so other than the Ultratone being blue in color and having a 'squared off' P90 pickup, they are basically the same (sounding) guitars in your opinion ?
Either of you guys want to sell yours ? 
So is this:
the same as this:
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Steve Ahola
From:
Concord, California
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Posted 1 Dec 2010 6:14 pm
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| Mitch Crane wrote: |
Thanks Steve.. so other than the Ultratone being blue in color and having a 'squared off' P90 pickup, they are basically the same (sounding) guitars in your opinion ?
Is this a Century or an Ultratone ? It's being sold as a Century, but looks like an Ultratone to me ?
Either of you guys want to sell yours ? |
I'm no expert but I did read a lot when I was trying to figure out what I had bought last spring.
1953 UltraTone LapSteel specs: straight body edge around knobs, flower on pickup cover, fingerboard backpainted blue, bass edge of fingerboard parallel to strings, some with "Century" at end of fingerboard, no peghead cover, curlicue peghead ornament, logo straight across peghead, dark blue finish.
1948 Century-6 LapSteel specs: straight line bass side of body, rounded extention around knobs on treble side, maple body, pickup with non-adjustable poles, 3 knobs, silver fingerboard, no peghead cover, curlicue design on peghead, peghead points
slightly to treble side, oval tuner buttons, black finish.
The Ultratones and Centuries made before 1950 had a wide oval pickup with non-adjustable magnetic pole pieces, definitely not a P-90. The ones after 1950 had adjustable pole pieces so they were constructed like P-90. The 1950 models apparently used both. This wasn't like the automobile business with definite model years- they would finish building what they could from the remaining parts for the older design, often overlapping with the newer design. (With the newer pickup I am sure that they would need a cutout in the steel mounting plate.)
BTW I'm sure that auction is going to end up much higher than it is now, maybe getting up to 4 figures. Guitar Center in San Diego(?) was selling what looks like a pre-50's Century for $1200 awhile back. (I'm sure that you could get a much better deal from someone at the forum here- which is usually the price that you would sell to a friend and not some sucker. LOL)
You might consider building your own- or converting an existing lap steel. I'd go with 8 strings and get Jason Lollar's Console Grande pickup for around $175. Mount the pickup and bridge on a metal plate to duplicate the Gibson design, making the bridge (and maybe nut) out of angle iron as Jason explains in his blog. Run the strings through the body, with Tele ferrules on the bottom and StewMac ferrules for the top.
I'm not very pleased with my Morrell 8 stringer but I think it might be a good candidate for a Century 6 transplant. The string spacing for the Gibson at the bridge is around 2 3/8", with a 22 1/2" scale. Pete at Vintage Vibe Guitars in Oregon copied my Century pickup but with 3 taps to make sure that at least one of them would have a sound I liked. I figured out how to add a tap switch. I had a plastic back cover plate made up because the original one made of masonite (!) was starting to fall apart. They make tiny rotary switches that you turn with a small screwdriver. I'd drill a hole in the back cover for access to the switch portion and carefully glue it in with 5 minute epoxy.
Steve Ahola
"If it ain't broke, I think I can do something about that!"
_________________
www.blueguitar.org
Recordings on electric guitar:
http://www.box.net/blue-diamonds
http://www.box.net/the-culprits |
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