Framus Lap steel

Jan Viljoen · Post by **Jan Viljoen** » 30 Mar 2011 10:36 am

When I started looking for lap steels, I went to a couple of music shops and eventually I found one that had 'n dismantled lap steel behind some old boxes. It was'nt even for sale.
The owner lent the no-name steel to me. The mahogany lap steel is made very sturdy and strong with metal tuners and volume/tone knobs.
I put a C6 on it and this lioness really roars well with an acoustic sound.

On the bottom was a sticker of a music shop in Leiden Holland.
I looked it up on the internet and discovered that it moved to another city in Holland.

I sent pictures and the owner wrote me in Dutch that it was a German Framus more than 45 years old.
Because my first language is Afrikaans I understood him perfectly.
Apparently the Germans exported these guitars to England and somebody brought it to South Africa.

My question, what model is it, and how old is it really?

Steve Green · Post by **Steve Green** » 30 Mar 2011 11:01 am

That's a cool looking guitar, Jan. I haven't seen a LOT of lap steels, but I don't think I've ever seen one with only 20 frets

. Not even 2 octaves.

Jan Viljoen · Post by **Jan Viljoen** » 30 Mar 2011 11:19 am

@ Steve Green.

Yes, it looks strange and you can hear yourself play higher, but don't see

I think this is the only drawback, otherwise she does well. I also think perhaps it was made for strumming the lower frets, because the neck pickup has a nice mellow sound.

Groetnis!

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 31 Mar 2011 8:08 am

It does look like a vintage Framus lap steel, but it doesn't match any of the models displayed on the Framus Vintage website.
If I had to guess, I would say it was probably built in the early 1960s.
You might try contacting Framus to see if they can identify the specific model.

Good luck!

Jan Viljoen · Post by **Jan Viljoen** » 31 Mar 2011 10:57 am

@Brad Bechtel

Thanx, I did not see the model there either. I hoped that somebody in the US would recognize it, because the US is still the Mecca of lap steels.
I'll contact them.
The steel is definitely German, because the tuners are not standard and the chrome knobs are very distinct, also no plastic om the plank.

Also, thanx for the nice web you keep, if it was'nt for that I would never have discovered all the tunings.
I grew up in the country side where very few people knew any open tunings except open G that was used on a banjo.

By the way, so far I have never seen a Fender single, let alone a triple or a quad. I don't think they were ever imported to South Africa. It must be wonderful to own one.

Groetnis!

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 31 Mar 2011 12:24 pm

That's an interesting lap steel, Jan. I had a 1957 8-string Framus last year and it had a unique tone... an acoustic quality. Unfortunately the output of the pickup was very weak. The guitar had a screw-on type connector that was an odd size, probably metric, so I changed it over to a standard 1/4" output jack. Here's a video I made using that Framus: click

Jan Viljoen · Post by **Jan Viljoen** » 31 Mar 2011 12:53 pm

@Doug

Thanx, your plank sounds very well.

My croc with wires has a different bite, but then, I play it mostly through a transistor Yamaha 65D amp.

The input is standard, although I mentioned the tuners are not a standard size.
Somebody told me the Germans do that on purpose to prevent copying/interchangeability.

Groetnis!

Peter den Hartogh · Post by **Peter den Hartogh** » 1 Apr 2011 9:40 am

Hallo Jan,

In the late sixties in Holland I managed to buy a set of new pickups exactly like the ones on your guitar.

I also had a 100W Schaller amp and it had the same knobs you have on your guitar.
The knobs were supposed to have a black rubber ring around them for a better grip but they would fall off because the rubber dried out.

I would estimate that yours is a sixties guitar.

I never saw a Fender lap steel in SA but I picked up Guyatone Fender copy for $60 here in Belville.

BTW do you know Tobie Cronje? He is from Krugersdorp I think.
You might find him here on the forum or on the Gospel Steel Guitar Forum.

Jan Viljoen · Post by **Jan Viljoen** » 1 Apr 2011 10:34 am

@ Peter,

Thanx for the info Peter, that confirms it then.
I have lots fun with my croc.

I know Tobie very well and I visit him quite often. Smart man.
His surname is Schalkwyk, Cronje is the South African actor.

Mooi Loop!

Larry Haas · Post by **Larry Haas** » 1 Apr 2011 1:39 pm

Doug, You are a very talented player. You seem to put a lot of feeling in your playing. I am going to try the C/6 tuning. I have tried it before but went back to Open E since I also play the guitar. Very limited in what you can do though with the open E tuning. Keep up the good sounds.
Larry

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 1 Apr 2011 5:01 pm

Thanks Larry! I think you'll like the C6 tuning. For major chords skip the A string. Pick that string for minor chords. There are a lot of nice slants, scales, etc. on C6.

Manfred Nabinger · Post by **Manfred Nabinger** » 13 Apr 2011 6:11 am

This instrument seems to be made in Germany (pickups, tuners) but probabely not by Framus. I showed this picture to Cristian Hoyer of the Framus museum who is quite sure that it is not a Framus but made by one of the independent luthiers located in Bubenereuth, the former center of German guitar industry (Höfner, Framus, Klira,Teller, Pyramid etc.)