Where have all the Deckleys gone?

[Stephen Cutler]

I picked up my single 12 at the factory in 1986. There were pallet racks of cases, pallet racks of S10s & D10s, and some S12s. Shortly thereafter Jim went out of biz (bankruptcy?). Rumor had it that Gretch Drum had bought the inventory (from BK trustee?). Since then I have never seen an advertisement for These Dekley cases and steels, anywhere.
Does anybody know where all the Deckleys went? I could use a new case for my S12. For now I built one from Cypress wood and eliminated the space for the pedal rack. But it would be cool to get a original for replacement.

[Stephen R. Feldman]

Please see this, taken from one of his
last interviews....



http://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/jim-gurley

Thanks for asking,
Steve

[Mike Wheeler]

So, does that mean the old stock is just sitting in this warehouse? That would be a shame to leave it there to rot away.

I wonder if anyone has ever tried to buy up that old stock...if it actually still exists.

Anyone have any more info?

[Dan Beller-McKenna]

Jim Smith probably has the low-down.

[Don R Brown]

Please see this, taken from one of his
last interviews....



http://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/jim-gurley

Thanks for asking,
Steve

Stephen, thanks for posting that. I remember Big Brother well but had no idea there was a connection to Dekley. An interesting interview! FWIW, the dates of his birth and death on that page, and on Wikipedia, do not agree, but it's certainly the same person.

[Stephen R. Feldman]

Hello,

The original interview excerpt
focused on his winning a bet concerning
the amount of reverb/echoplex on
one of Ricky Nelson's records (yes, he won), so I wrote the guy doing the interview about his
involvement with his PSG company, and he
sent me a DVD of the entire interview.

Every time someone asks about the end of Dekley Guitars, the response is, in effect, "there was a scandal of some sort". But they all say "Someone else will have to talk about it". "Someone" never does, or at least in print, or on record. Show me the tape/DVD/etc...with a real human being with a name, etc...

My "bet" is that what he said is the case,
hence "no scandal" just not that much of a market at that point in the history of PSG in the US. Usually, if there's a scandal, folks are only too willing to discuss it...I just want to know what really happened, either way. I also have
a Dekley Two Twelve, and I'd love to have an original case, as well (But not at
"Collector's" prices). So I've got an
ugly Anvil case (for $30 bucks).

Dear God, please save us from Wikipedia...

Thanks Everyone,
God Bless the Forum,
Steve

[Doug Beaumier]

Stephen, there was in fact a scandal 25 to 30 years ago involving some illegal activity and some jail time. Most of the musicians who live in the area and know what happened are not talking. That's out of respect for our friends who worked at Dekley, guys who had nothing to do with the problems. And there's no need to drag any names through the mud. Suffice it to say that the company went out of business. That's all I have to say about it.

[Richard Sinkler]

I remember Big Brother well but had no idea there was a connection to Dekley.

I don't think it is the same Jim Gurley that was in Big Brother. That Jim Gurley died in 2009 and this interview was done in 2012. That would be a pretty good trick to get an interview 3 years after he died.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/25/arts/ ... urley.html

[Doug Beaumier]

That guy in Big Brother was not the guy associated with Dekley.

[Richard Sinkler]

Thanks Doug. I'm still trying to figure out how Don came to bring up Big Brother. I didn't see it mentioned in this thread and didn't hear anything in the interview.

[Don R Brown]

Thanks Doug. I'm still trying to figure out how Don came to bring up Big Brother. I didn't see it mentioned in this thread and didn't hear anything in the interview.

Just a case of adding 1 + 1 and coming up with 3! Two James Gurley's, both born in the 30's and passing fairly recently. I do have a bit of caution regarding Wikipedia entries which is why I mentioned the discrepancy - thought it was an error rather than two people. And while it didn't mention the band in the article, the name James Gurley somehow stayed in my head from the 1960's even though I can't remember what the wife asked me yo get at the store!

I apologize for any confusion!

[Stephen R. Feldman]

Doug,

Thanks,

Steve

[Stephen Cutler]

Thank you for that link to the interview. It revealed several clues to investigate: Bob Decam , Selmner Instruments, and the property transaction (bank foreclosure)in Bloomfield CT. The interview gave me the idea of tracking the property. I have my owner's manual with the address:
6 East Newberry Road, Bloomfield, Connecticut 06002
TEL (203) 243-8315 (disconnected for sure) but may prove valuable in archive searches.
I just discovered that I never mailed in my warranty registration card! Like it would have done any good; nothing has broken! For some reason I though it was 1986 when I got my Dekley. Sales receipts found in the owner's manual date Dekley $872.50 on 12/23/81 & Castletone Industries $600( a deposit)on 1/4/82,( 26 Hunt Street, No.Quincy,MA 671-328-4020 ) Price on the cases $140-$170

[Stephen Cutler]

Slemer Instruments does not have a "contact us" link. But they were in the business of acquiring manufacturers of new musical stuff from the 60s to the 90s. I'll try a local affiliate.
The Bloomfield Assessors Office online shows the shop was purchased on 7/12/1983 by Kaman Aerospace Corp and there is no further record of the property changing hands as late as 2009(I stopped looking, the inventory likely disappeared in 6/83). I'm going to call Kaman 860-242-4461 and see if there are any employees left that were around in 1983. I suppose checking with the Federal Bankruptcy Court for filings could lead to Trustee disbursement of inventory. IF Jim & Bob filed.

[Doug Beaumier]

the shop was purchased on 7/12/1983

The company started about 1978-79, as I remember, and closed about 1986? I visited the factory once, about 1982. Dekley also built a recording studio on the property, a separate building, as I remember. I recorded there twice. That building may have something to do with the real estate transfer in 1983. Bob Dekam was the "Dek" of the company and Jim Gurley was the "ley". Bob had recently retired from Pratt and Whitney (Aircraft Co.) and Jim had been a sales rep for various musical instrument companies. Bloomfield is very close to Bradley Int. Airport (Hartford area).

As far as any remaining Dekley stock, parts, etc... I doubt that there is any stashed away anywhere. It's been 27 years since they shut down. I heard a rumor back in the day that a local machinist got some of the parts, but I could never verify it. Bob and Jim have both passed away. Forum member Jim Smith might have more info. He was the shop manager at Dekley in the early days. He left the company and moved out of the area before the doo-doo hit the fan.

There are a couple of threads on the old steel guitar forum about Dekley. Try searching the old forum archives or Google.

[Stephen R. Feldman]

Hello,

Thanks everyone for
the additional info,
this is more along the
lines of what I was looking
for.

All the best,
Steve

[Stephen Cutler]

The shop, parcel ID 3677, 1.32 acre, 6 E. Newberry Rd, Bloomfield, CT was sold to Kaman Aerospace Corp on 7/12/1983- This is the Assessor's records. Jim & Bob lost legal possession of the property on that date. It would be highly unusual for an industrial Corp to purchase a property with no intention of utilizing the space, and equally unusual for the seller to remain and conduct business as usual - as if he still owned it.
As for the Doo-doo rumors of some "illegal" activity- it is more likely deposits for building steels were placed & held by multiple parties- Castletone, Selmer, Dekley. When they lost possession of the shop that would turn into a legal nightmare of finger pointing. This is why I suspect The Bankruptcy Court would have been involved. keeping/spending deposits on private stuff like their home mortgages, vehicles, etc.could result in Federal criminal charges.
Yes the inventory is "long gone", but to where? I have never seen Dekley inventory advertised in any musician magazine. Selmer could be sitting on it. It could have been impounded by Bankruptcy Court and sold. There should be a paper trail. That's what I'm looking for now.

[Stephen R. Feldman]

Hello,

I'm inclined to agree with
the notion that all the parts,
cases, etc., and been long since
sold. On the other hand...

We all know folks who, well, uh,
ahem, I mean, I went to the Danny
Gatton auction and I still haven't
sold the stuff I got there, I mean,
I KNOW I'll use it or sell it SOMEDAY...
so perhaps in some semi-abandoned
warehouse somewhere...


Thanks again
and good luck,

Steve

[Larry Rafferty]

As a Dekley owner, let me chime in for a couple of minutes on this interesting discussion.
Jim Smith, who was the shop manager for Dekley, probably has the most information to offer...he is a member of this forum and has always been available to help any Dekley owner. When I bought my first Dekley (pictured below) Jim was able to confirm its year of manufacture from the serial number casting. Mine is not listed in the Dekley serial # book because it was made before they went to their new numbering system. Mine was made in late summer of 1976. (Dekley opened in Spring of 1976).
...and yes, it is a left handed, 8 pedal 4 knee.

The case for this guitar is a Thomas Custom Case
made in Burlington, NC. I don't know if they bought all of their cases from Thomas or just the ones for the left handed steels. Like the guitar, the case is very heavy and built like a tank.

In 2008 a Dekley Steel Guitar Forum was founded on the Internet. You had to be a Dekley Owner to belong to it.
It closed down in July of 2011, and at that time there were 50 us owners that were members. Some of the members sold parts and there was always someone to help you get whatever was needed. I was able to get a machinist to make me 6 new bell cranks.

The best part of the Dekley Forum was the "Ask Jim Smith"
You could get almost any question answered there.

Sometimes when an interesting question arose I would save the conversation in Microsoft Word. I still have about 20 pages of Dekley owner photos, dialog, and members names in my archive.

[Doug Beaumier]

...rumors of some "illegal" activity

It was no rumor. Someone went to prison for it. I know because he told me about it when he was released. The activity may not have been the cause of the company's failure... it may have been the affect of the failure. Either way, Dekley has been gone for over 25 years and I expect that whatever stock there was at the end was sold off and used up by other steel builders, repairmen, etc.

[Herb Steiner]

Where have all the Dekleys gone...

...long time passing, where have all the Dekley's gone, long time ago..."

I believe there's a Lost Instrument Graveyard that exists in another place in time, a parallel universe if you will, with a population of Dekley guitars and the thousands of cheap Indian sitars that were imported back in the late 60's when Shankar-mania hit the mainland.

FWIW, I think the company started in '76 or '77, because Jim Gurley offered me an endorsement deal at the '77 DJ Convention in N'ville. I was even more of a nobody in the steel world at that time than I am today, so they had to be prospecting for players to jump on board the brand.

I was a dedicated Sho~Bud player at the time and declined. I didn't care for the weight or the looks of the instrument.

[Doug Beaumier]

Yes, I guess it was about 1977... I went to hear Jim Smith play and he told me there was a new PSG company starting up in CT and he was involved in the planning. Herb, I know what you mean about the weight. The body was made of Pakkawood, a compressed hardwood/plastic that is very strong and very heavy. I always thought the Dekleys were modeled after MSAs of the era... the undercarriage and the basic design, and the weight! Dekley came out with a slimline model a couple of years into the company. They must have been built well because a lot of them are still around, especially in this area, and the owners love them.

[chas smith]

I bought a D-12 from Herb Remington back in the mid -'80s, ser# 212-0023, and it was a seriously heavy guitar, not only because of the pakkawood, but all of the cross rods were 3/8" steel. I didn't really like the sound of the guitar and after talking to other guitar builders, in particular Paul Franklin, I decided to "tighten in up" a bit.

The Dekley was designed to be a bolt-up, built on an assembly line, which I viewed as a series of dis-connected pieces, in particular the key head and the end connections, even though they all get bolted together. I also made aluminum necks with the Emmons style blocked and bolt-on changer detail. Back in the early 90's, I played it as a pedal guitar before switching to a PP and for the past decade plus, it became a non-pedal D-12 that I use for non-country music.

[Rick Schmidt]

Here's mine...which is always the heaviest steel guitar in the room. A D-12, 10+6 (actually, I only use 11 strings on C6) No decal, plus the fretboards are not the usual, which I really dig.

I'm thinking about marketing yellow tennis balls to use on the feet of the back legs, so I can use it as a walker and a work out at the same time.

[Herb Steiner]

Here's mine...

I'm thinking about marketing yellow tennis balls to use on the feet of the back legs, so I can use it as a walker and a work out at the same time.

As someone all too familiar with walkers and tennis balls on the rear legs of same, I want to give you a hearty ROTFLMFAO!