A String question

Bud Angelotti · Post by **Bud Angelotti** » 3 Oct 2014 8:09 am

I recently was given a basket case single neck stringmaster. The other necks, & how many, only god knows where they are. Was it common, back in the day to use flatwounds vs roundwounds? I have a pal who has a stockpile of NOS strings, black diamond & such. We want to use the "right" strings. There are strings on it now, look like they are from the 70's. All electronics work. Havn't decided on a tuning yet. This thing was rode hard.

Thanks in advance!
Cheers - Bud

Eddie Cunningham · Post by **Eddie Cunningham** » 8 Oct 2014 5:47 pm

I am no expert but I recall hearing that flat wound strings went dead !! I've always used regular round wound steel strings ,any decent brand , from the early days and I think they work as good as any !! Get a set from b0b on the Forum , he won't steer you wrong !! Good luck with that olde steel !! olde geeze - AKA Eddie "C"

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 8 Oct 2014 5:57 pm

Yeah, use nickel wound strings. That is one neck of a "first version" Stringmaster... chrome pickup covers, no blend knob, lollipop tuners.

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 9 Oct 2014 6:33 am

I'd think the choice of strings would be the least of your worries. That looks like quite a project! Good luck getting it into a playable shape.

Depending on which tuning you're going to use, any modern set of strings will work just fine. There's no need to be historical when it comes to strings.

Robert Allen · Post by **Robert Allen** » 9 Oct 2014 8:42 am

Bud Angelotti wrote:I have a pal who has a stockpile of NOS strings
Cheers - Bud

Just curious, what are NOS strings? Brand name? Acronym? Google didn't find the anything except "No Strings Attached."

Stephen Abruzzo · Post by **Stephen Abruzzo** » 9 Oct 2014 8:59 am

NOS refers to New Old Stock. Most commonly used in reference to tubes.

Robert Allen · Post by **Robert Allen** » 9 Oct 2014 9:16 am

Ah yes, Fleming valves, also known as Nasty Old Stuff. I hadn't heard it about strings. 50 year old strings probably don't have a lot of value.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 9 Oct 2014 9:39 am

I have a pal who has a stockpile of NOS strings

Old strings, 30 or 40 years old, are usually "dead", lifeless, and sometimes rusty. Throw them out and go with new strings.

That guitar is a good candidate for restoration. The main issue I see is the mismatched, replaced tuner. It will be hard to find an original lollipop tuner and they are difficult to repair/install.

Bud Angelotti · Post by **Bud Angelotti** » 9 Oct 2014 4:56 pm

Thanks for all the replies -
I'll be looking at the NOS strings in the next day or so.
So, round wounds are OK? It had flat wounds on it.
Just want it to be "proper".
I only have the front neck so no volume or tone controls. Also, as only one neck, only two leg sockets.
I'm not gonna change this guitar at all. Just clean it up a bit & leave as is, cigerette burns and all.
What I am gonna do is make four legs, 2 for the guitar as is. Then i'm gonna get a 2X4. yes a 2X4. Drill holes thru the 2X4 to accomadate 1/4" rod so the 2X4 bolts on the back of the guitar as if it was a second neck. Then I can add 2 leck sockets to the 2X4 and the thing will stand up. Then I can screw a board of some type to the 2X4 and set my lap steel on it, like a steel guitar stand. AND if I do it right, I can just use the 2 front legs and stand the guitar onto the front of my S-10 P/P. Voila. I'll have a D neck with 8 no pedals on the front and a P/P on the back, OR use all four legs and It'll have a lap steel stand built in, 8 & 6 with no pedals. Also going to see if we can't make a little box with a volume & tone control.
Not gonna refinish it, not gonna drill any holes in it. The tuners work, even the "white" one. Leave 'em alone.
I'll put up a pic when it's done - already got the 1/4 rod and 2X4!

admin · Post by **b0b** » 10 Oct 2014 11:09 pm

The pure nickel sets are the most authentic sounding replacements. www.steelguitarshopper.com/categories/S ... el-guitar/

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 11 Oct 2014 4:18 am

You understand that those switches are on/off for neck one, neck two, right? So they are virtually useless here. I'd have to remove the plate & check on my D-8 but if you have sufficient depth in the cavity, you could replace the switches with pots and wire this for volume/tone---either a generic scheme or the special circuit that that earliest Stringmaster had.
The pot stems (no seeds) could run right thru the square cutouts?

admin · Post by **b0b** » 11 Oct 2014 8:40 am

Wiring the switches as on/off for each pickup would be interesting.

NOS guitar strings are really worthless, Bud. Strings don't sound good after they've been coiled up in a paper envelope for 50 years. Sort of like a NOS donut - it might look interesting, but you wouldn't want to eat it.

The original strings were no doubt what we now call "pure nickel", round wound. The same idiot who butchered this guitar is probably the guy who put flat wounds on it.

Jeff Mead · Post by **Jeff Mead** » 11 Oct 2014 11:02 am

Bud Angelotti wrote:I recently was given a basket case single neck stringmaster. The other necks, & how many, only god knows where they are.

How many is an easy question to answer - it is half of a double neck. Since it is the furthest neck from the player (with the Fender logo), if it were a triple (or quad, although it isn't thick enough for that) it would have a single on-off switch - assumimg the hardware belongs with that neck.

Looks like you need to find (or make) a new nut for it.

Bud Angelotti · Post by **Bud Angelotti** » 15 Oct 2014 8:50 am

Thanks for the info fellers.
Yes, I'm going to start off with a set of "crappy" strings( not the NOS, just any old string) just to make sure there are no burrs or anything that would break a new ($$) string.
Also, thanks for the pickup switch idea

.
Once a get some strings on it we can see what the switches are doing. Jon, I like your idea of the volume/tone pots.
As far as how many original necks, It's hard to see from the photos I posted, but under the tuner pan it reads 10-55, written in red pen, and then there is a # 3 in a different color ink. Wonder if that means it had 3 necks.
I think the "pickup selector hardware" has been changed around also. The instrument cable comes right out of the body, there is no jack to plug it in.
Thanks for the info & ideas! This machine is gonna sing again real soon!

Mark Roeder · Post by **Mark Roeder** » 16 Oct 2014 9:23 am

I would get a peace of ash and bolt a blank next to it so it would be as wide as a double and give you a place for your picks, etc. Also more options for legs that way.

It is cool and worth fixing up.

basilh · Post by **basilh** » 16 Oct 2014 12:52 pm

Regarding the wiring, it's unique to the Mk1 Stringmasters, I can help you with that. As for the nut, clean it up and turn it over,(and like a good woman) the bottom should exhibit no groves from the and SHOULD be as new..

Bud Angelotti · Post by **Bud Angelotti** » 16 Oct 2014 2:52 pm

Thanks, I'll take that under advisement

I'n the meantime, here's another pic of the pickup switch cover. Notice how it looks like it's been clobbered with some kind of chisel or screwdriver with a blunt object.

Notice how it might not look like the original cover. The metal looks really different, in which case I could drill a hole thru it for volume/tone knobs. Does this cover look not right to any of you, besides it's obvious condition?
It might be the sweat from the original owners hand has oxidized the plate.

basilh · Post by **basilh** » 16 Oct 2014 3:47 pm

Bud Angelotti wrote:Thanks, I'll take that under advisement

Well believe it or not, that's what I just did !

BTW the cover looks correct.
Try turning THAT over also. It's incredibly easy to get it and the other hardware re-chromed..

Bud Angelotti · Post by **Bud Angelotti** » 16 Oct 2014 6:01 pm

Will do ! Thanks basilh

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 17 Oct 2014 10:13 am

Just fwiw, as per Jeff's post, this was a D-8. With the two switches, it would have been the middle neck of a T-8 but with the shadow of the missing diamond bolt-hole covers and the decal, this would have been the front neck. Ergo two necks.

It's your deal and your choices but I find it sort of amusing to spend any energy or concern on the mission maintaining originality of this orphan.
However in the interest of accuracy and...any other reason you might wish to do this, as I mentioned and Basil also brought up, there was a special circuit used by this particular Version 1 model with which the pots actually did more than just vol & tone but actually worked the pickup mix as well. You might ask here as to whether people prefer the sound/versatility of this scheme or of the subsequent circuit.

Bud Angelotti · Post by **Bud Angelotti** » 17 Oct 2014 1:43 pm

So this would've been the middle neck switches put on a front neck? Is that what I'm hearing?
As far as a mission maintaining originality of this orphan, just want to do the right thing, get it in playing condition and use it.

Jeff Mead · Post by **Jeff Mead** » 17 Oct 2014 1:49 pm

Bud Angelotti wrote:So this would've been the middle neck switches put on a front neck? Is that what I'm hearing?
As far as a mission maintaining originality of this orphan, just want to do the right thing, get it in playing condition and use it.

If that plate has always been on that neck, it is definitely from a doubleneck.

There is a possibility that it is the front neck (furthest from the player) from a triple neck but, if so, it has been given the control plate from the middle neck.

The most likely scenario in my opinion is that it is from a double, unless you have some other reason to suspect it is from a triple.

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 17 Oct 2014 1:52 pm

What Jeff said is what I am saying. See the triple here:

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=273407

The middle neck would match your neck but a middle neck would not have the shadow of the diamond plate on the front or the decal. Therefore this neck was an outside neck and therefore it was from a double.

Bud Angelotti · Post by **Bud Angelotti** » 17 Oct 2014 3:42 pm

Got it ! Thanks!
Jon, I really like your earlier idea to put pots on it ! Simple, effective, thats what I'm after. It's already been butchered. Thanks!

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 18 Oct 2014 8:05 am

A few years ago, there were some Stringmaster parts for sale on e-bay. I bought them and the seller mentioned that he had a body he could send along with the parts. I said, yes!
I cleaned up the neck, refinished it and added legs.
It isn't quite completed in the picture:

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