Weird Dual Fender Stringmaster!

Ethan Seay · Post by **Ethan Seay** » 26 Feb 2020 8:22 pm

A lady brought this lap steel and a custom shop telecaster to a music shop that I work at. Both instruments belonged to her husband who had recently passed. I bought the steel that same day because I noticed something odd about it. It is a dual neck with an 8 string neck up front and a 6 string neck in the back. I can't find anything online about Fender making any of these. They're usually always dual 6, dual 8, etc. Anybody have a clue what's going on here? The pots and pickups date to around March, 1966. It doesn't seem to have been taken apart and rebuilt secondhand.

Thanks!

Cartwright Thompson · Post by **Cartwright Thompson** » 27 Feb 2020 2:17 am

The eight string neck has some funny business going on. The pan has holes in it, probably for home made pedal pulls. The nut is not right on that neck either, and the screws are in odd places. Maybe it was a double six and the near neck was converted.
Is the finish original, it looks to be but if not are there any signs of plugged holes under the eight string pan?
Like most things Fender, everything is interchangeable so who knows?

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 27 Feb 2020 3:54 am

Coincidentally, someone just posted his conversion on a FB lap steel group. He converted a Dual Pro from a D8 to a D8/6 . I believe he just dropped in the different tuner pan and it fit perfectly. Different animal, the Dual Pro, but proof of interchangeability in some circumstances.

Ethan Seay · Post by **Ethan Seay** » 27 Feb 2020 5:09 am

Cartwright Thompson wrote:The eight string neck has some funny business going on. The pan has holes in it, probably for home made pedal pulls. The nut is not right on that neck either, and the screws are in odd places. Maybe it was a double six and the near neck was converted.
Is the finish original, it looks to be but if not are there any signs of plugged holes under the eight string pan?
Like most things Fender, everything is interchangeable so who knows?

Yeah finish is all original. There are no holes under the 8 string neck. I just bough a new 8 sting pan and am currently looking for an 8 string nut.

David DeLoach · Post by **David DeLoach** » 27 Feb 2020 7:14 am

Did the 6 string and 8 string Stringmasters have the same nut width? If not, are the nut widths on this instrument the same on both necks, or different?

Tim Whitlock · Post by **Tim Whitlock** » 27 Feb 2020 8:43 am

No holes in the body under the eight string pan supports your theory that that neck was converted from a six to an eight. It's likely that the holes in the pan were made when pedals were added to the donor guitar.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 27 Feb 2020 8:46 am

That 8 sting neck is only set up for 7 strings.
There is an 8 string tuner pan but take a look at the homemade nut.

Erv

Ethan Seay · Post by **Ethan Seay** » 27 Feb 2020 9:25 am

Erv Niehaus wrote:That 8 sting neck is only set up for 7 strings.
There is an 8 string tuner pan but take a look at the homemade nut.
Erv

Yeah I'm looking for an 8 string nut. The bridge has 8 holes for the strings but it looks like the nut was only notched out for 7 strings. I also just ordered a new 8 string tuner pan. Hoping to restore this with period correct parts.

Jeff Mead · Post by **Jeff Mead** » 29 Feb 2020 2:55 am

Ethan Seay wrote:
Yeah I'm looking for an 8 string nut. The bridge has 8 holes for the strings but it looks like the nut was only notched out for 7 strings. I also just ordered a new 8 string tuner pan. Hoping to restore this with period correct parts.

Looks like you'll need a couple of 8 string pickups too and a new control plate (unless you're enlarging the holes for the pickups and drilling holes for the 2 new strings).

My guess is that is started as a double 6 (8 string pan drilled but not body and has original 6 string nut but custom made 8 string nut).

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 29 Feb 2020 9:08 am

He said the bridge is set up for 8 strings.

Joe Breeden · Post by **Joe Breeden** » 29 Feb 2020 11:16 am

I think you got it right Irv. I know nothing about Fenders but, on the 8 string, look how far the strings extend over the fret board.

Jeff Mead · Post by **Jeff Mead** » 29 Feb 2020 12:11 pm

Joe Breeden wrote:on the 8 string, look how far the strings extend over the fret board.

That's because of the home made nut - not the fretboard. Put a nut with standard Fender spacing on there and they will line up perfectly. On an 8 string the outer strings are pretty much in line with the silver edging on the fretboard.

Ethan Seay · Post by **Ethan Seay** » 1 Mar 2020 7:12 pm

Yep the bridge and pickups are set up for an 8 string. So whoever converted it did a good job except for the nut.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 2 Mar 2020 10:46 am

It looks to me that the fretboard is designed for 6 strings.
I believe with 8 strings, numbers 1 and 8 will hang over the fretboard, not a particular problem though.

Erv

Ethan Seay · Post by **Ethan Seay** » 2 Mar 2020 6:12 pm

Erv Niehaus wrote:It looks to me that the fretboard is designed for 6 strings.
I believe with 8 strings, numbers 1 and 8 will hang over the fretboard, not a particular problem though.
Erv

Fender only made one Fretboard width for their lap steels.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 3 Mar 2020 8:06 am

Thanks,
I was unaware of this.

Erv