6 String Fender Deluxe Signed By Don Helms

[Ron Bednar]

A six string Fender Deluxe that is autographed by Don Helms with the date of 2001.

The Deluxe was offered in six and eight string models.
Although called the Deluxe it is built with the same neck and electronics as the Stringmasters which have two, three and four necks.

According to the logo style as shown in a post below by Stephen Cowell this guitar is likely a CBS Fender built on or after 1968. Thanks to Stephen Cowell for that information.
This guitar comes with three heavy steel legs and a solid case that are not original.
The scale length is 22.5".
It is a beautiful sounding guitar.

If you have questions or comments please post on the thread, if you want to buy please send me a PM...FCFS.
The price is fixed so please do not make a lower offer.
$1100 plus shipping.

Cheers,
Ron Bednar














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[Stephen Cowell]

I don't believe your guitar is a '54... the tuners are wrong. The legs are non-original, as is the case. If you tried using the Fender website for serial number dating it does not work for their steel guitars... and if this guitar is a poly finish (which it looks like) then it probably doesn't have a date under the tuner pan. My '68 Deluxe has a date on the underside of one pickup. It's an 8-string, with proper legs and case, and I paid about 1100$ for it.

That said, the date doesn't significantly affect the value. The legs and case affect the value more. There doesn't appear to be a compartment in the case for the legs. You've over-priced your guitar somewhat.

And for future reference, these guitars are best signed on the bottom.

[Doug Beaumier]

Yes, the tuners are post-1968. The legs and case are non-original. And the leg sockets look a little unusual. The threads on the legs look wider than Fender threads. It's possible that the sockets were changed to accommodate the different thread size on those legs. Just a possibility. The date codes on the pots would tell us more. All in all, a nice looking Fender, and I'll bet it sounds great!

[Jack Hanson]

Agree with Doug that the legs look kinda hinky. It also appears that the sockets have been inverted. Or is there just a strange MC Escher-like optical illusion to the photograph?

Cool guitar though, no matter what.

[Ron Bednar]

Always welcome corrections to posts and expect the experts here to chime in...thank you all for your input...it is much welcome.
The serial number that I found, under the blend wheel behind the bridge, is 3029.
According to what I was able to find from multiple sources is that according to that number the guitar was made in 1954 in Fullerton, CA.
Yes, the tuners, legs and case are not original...and I should have stated that...I apologize for not doing so.
No deception was intended and just to be clear I made no claim in the post that this was an original issue or collectors item.

That said...It is great sounding and playing guitar.
And the price is $1100.

[Russ Wever]

FYI, your original post at the top
can be amended and corrected
by clicking the 'Edit' option.
~Rw

[Ron Bednar]

Thank you Russ, edits were done as suggested.

Cheers,
Ron

[Doug Beaumier]

The serial number that I found, under the blend wheel behind the bridge, is 3029.
According to what I was able to find from multiple sources is that according to that number the guitar was made in 1954 in Fullerton, CA.

Ron, the Fender serial numbers listed on various web sites (including the Fender site) are for standard guitars and do not apply to Fender steels. Each model of Fender steel guitar had it's own sequence of numbers, and they are not related. There is no list of the steel guitar serial numbers that I know of. I doubt that even the current Fender company has such a list for all the steel guitar models.
So the serial number won't tell you the year the guitar was made. You would have to compare the number on your Deluxe to the number on another Deluxe, and that would tell you which Deluxe was made earlier (lower number). That's about all the serial numbers can tell us.
If you could open up the guitar and check the numbers on the pots, 6 or 7 digits, and post them here we could tell you what year (and what week) the electronics were made.

[Stephen Cowell]

Your guitar is not a 1954. The tuners are original. This will be my last contribution on the subject.

Here's an old Fender logo, off my '56 D8:



Here's a CBS Fender logo, circa 1968, off my Deluxe 8:



Note the distinctively different 'e's in Fender. Sorry to burst anyone's bubble... as I mentioned, using a website (or Fender themselves) to date a steel guitar using serial numbers doesn't work... each series had its own serial numbers. Your guitar was in the 3000's of single-neck six-string Deluxes... you'd have to compare serial numbers with other Deluxe 6's to attempt to date it in this way. Fender does not have the records for steel guitars, as far as I know. Yes, a Telecaster or Stratocaster with a 3000 serial number would be very early... defintely not this guitar. And as I mentioned, the 1954 Deluxe 6 would not be worth much more than your guitar anyway, believe it or not.

Here's some more group knowledge on this subject...

http://www.well.com/~wellvis/gitinfo.html
"The serial numbers I've seen seem to follow no recognizable pattern"

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/other-guitar ... uitar.html
"As previous posters have said, the serial number is meaningless for dating purposes."

[Ron Bednar]

Doug and Stephen...
I understand...thanks for the corrections and explanation...much appreciated.
I changed the original post so that it is better worded.

Interesting that CBS also bought the Rogers drum company in the late 60's.
I once owned and played a set of pre-CBS Rogers drums that were valued far more than the post-CBS drum sets.
Wonder what other instrument companies they purchased at the time?

Cheers,
Ron