Newbie question about Gibson Consolette

[Al Davison]

Hi! I am new to the forum and only joined because I have acquired a 1950-something Gibson Consolette ( the 3-legged variety) with 2 8-string necks.
I ordered strings from this forum: I got the Scotty's C6th and the E13th sets.
Given that this instrument came to me without strings (well, it had a few rusty strings on it so I know it plays), my question is very beginnerish:
Which set goes on which neck?

I'm serious. I don't know which neck should get the C6th and which gets the E13th.

You can make fun of me if you like but, I really would like at least 1 serious answer. Thanks! Al

[Dave Mudgett]

Seriously - do it whichever way you prefer. There's no set way to do this.

I also play pedal steel, so on a D8 with 2 necks, I generally put higher tunings like E-based tunings on the front neck and lower tunings like C or A-based tunings on the lower neck. But the selection really is arbitrary.

[Nic Neufeld]

What he said...

You may decide you like it one way or another and flip them. C13 is my main tuning so I keep it on the front of a console, and usually have B11 on the far neck. Whichever you prefer is fine. Only other thing that might be an influence...my Magnatone D8 has very different sounding necks for whatever reason (Alan Akaka has mentioned that his, formerly owned by Jules Ah See, is the same...something in the wiring perhaps). So if you notice a difference between them you might find one neck better suited to a tuning than the other. But it all boils down to preference in nonpedal world (I think pedal steels are a bit more standardized).

[Al Davison]

I appreciate the replies!

The jury is still out as to whether I'm going to even keep this thing. It's a bit of a beast and I've never played anything with more than 6 strings.

[Nelson Checkoway]

Hi Al and congrats on getting your Gibson console. Don’t let this be too daunting. For one thing you can think of these as two open 6-string guitars that have a couple of strings added for range— and to keep it even simpler, string up both necks but just focus for now on one tuning.

One basic steel tuning is C6 which, if you play 6-string lap steel already, is basically an open C chord with a 6th (A) added in the middle. From low (1st) to high (6th) strings it is CEGACE.

If you’re more familiar with 6-string guitar playing, think if this as pretty standard open tuning for bottle neck blues and swing.

From there, the added 2 strings expand the instrument’s voice. A version I use adds a low A below C in the bottom and a high G on top. You will still focus a lot of your playing “in the middle”.

So don’t be intimidated! Play around with it. Counting strings low to high from 1 to 8, put your slide on any fret and grab strings 234 to make a major chord (CEG open or GBD at the 7th fret).

But for starters, you can even forget the slide or steel and focus on what the open chords sound like. Start with 234–C major triad or 678 to play the C triad one octave up. Invert it with a 3rd in the bass. — 346 (EGC) — or 5th chord (467) — or throw in the 5th string — 345 or 456 — to make a nice, tight bluesy 6th chord.

And since the 6th is the relative minor — as A minor is to C major — your 6th chords become your minor chords too. In open position, strings 123 are ACE - A minor triad - and 567 is the same A minor chord, one octave higher.

You can grab some wider intervals to make “bigger” chords. You’ll start to hear it come together.

Sorry if you already know this stuff and it seems elementary. But from the tone of your message it sounded like the sheer presence of 16 strings seemed formidable and threatened to deter you. So relax, have fun, enjoy you new steel and welcome to the Forum

[Allan Revich]

Welcome to the Forum Al!

Nobody here is going to make fun of you. Everyone starts out as a beginner, so every single person here either is a beginner, or was a beginner.

The common element is a passion for our instrument. Hopefully you too will develop a passion for it. Congratulations on your new acquisition.

[Al Davison]

This is what it looked like as I upacked it. The legs were packed separately - they appear to have been painted black with a brush so, all that paint will be stripped.
It seems to have been refinished (maybe more than once) with a really bad coat of polyurethane - also applied with a brush. The decal/badge is long gone. I'll be looking for a decal. (I found one for a Grand Console but, this isn't a Grand Console so, I'll keep looking.)
The good news is that all the electronics work and the pots and switches are not scratchy and work as they should. I don't think the volume/tone knobs are original because they look like 1960's Gibson reflector tops.
All the tuning gear are very smooth (a huge surprise!) and the knobs appear to be original.
I appreciate all the kinds words of advice and encouragement! I'm going to take it slow and do some serious cleaning and polishing. Whether I strip it and apply a correct finish is still an open question. It actually might be easy since it's really just a huge hunk of gorgeous wood but it will require chemical stripping to get all that nasty poly off. Bummer that it doesn't have the case. I'll keep y'all posted! Al

[Bill Sinclair]

Al,
I think what you have there is a Console Grande. Gibson did make some blonde finish ones and I believe the racetrack pickups on yours predate the Consolette. Plus you have flamed maple and not Korina wood. Most CG's have a maple veneer but maybe the ones they did in blonde were solid. Make sure you're not dealing with veneer before you strip it. Beautiful guitar - enjoy![/b]

[Al Davison]

Thanks, Bill!

I'm not an expert by any means but I thought that since it has only 3 legs and doesn't have fancy binding that it was a Consolette. So far, we haven't found any serial number. When we pull the pots, we might find more info.
(I say "we" because I have a luthier/guitar tech friend who is helping me.)

Al

[Bill Ferguson]

I also have an old "refinished" Gibson Consolette that was given to me.
It looks the same as yours, but only has 2 control knobs.

I don't know if that means anything or not.

I will be selling mine soon with the same tunings you are using.

BTW, if you find a name plate, I would be interested in one also. Mine is missing

[JB Bobbitt]

I wanted to make fun of you, but I couldn't think of a reason to.

[Al Davison]

So, here are some very revealing photos we just took. First off, the pot dating that you can't really read in these pictures - IRC pots 938. That's the 38th week of 1949.

But, HOLY MOLY! The original finish of this thing was Pelham blue! I've seen Gibson lap steels from this era painted that color. Now, what do I do?! LOL!

Keep trying, JB. I'm in no hurry.

[Ken Pippus]

Man, that's gorgeous maple. I suggest despite authenticity issues, you not paint it opaque blue!

[Al Davison]

Man, that's gorgeous maple. I suggest despite authenticity issues, you not paint it opaque blue!

That's our thinking too!
My partner in this crime does a lot of work on vintage electric guitars and he's seen Les Paul Gold Tops that had spectacular maple under the paint. He's "transformed" a couple of those into sunbursts even though, sometimes, the maple isn't joined perfectly in the center.

This is not going to be a quick project! It could be playable in about 30 minutes with new strings but, since neither of us can play the thing, we'll probably take our time. Al

[Nic Neufeld]

I concur, that figured maple is just too good to hide under paint IMO (but its your guitar! )

I know directly-adjacent-to-nothing about Gibson steels...but the Console Grande had binding I think, did it not? Consolette was solid bodied (unlike later ones like the C520), no binding...so maybe it is a Consolette?EDIT:thanks guys for the correction, I learned something today!

[Scott Thomas]

You have what appears to be a c.'49-51 ish Gibson Console Grande. That is the make Don Helms played with Hank Williams. Originally it would have been sunburst or natural blonde finish. The cream binding around the necks looks to be missing. The blue in the control cavity must be from a later refin.

[Dave Mudgett]

Here's a 1949 Console Grande with 3 legs - reverb.com link. Not even sure they made Consolette in '49 and anyway, early ones were in Korina, 2 knobs, and every one I've seen has had P90s.

Looks like a Console Grande to me. Curly maple, 3 knobs, racetrack pickups which fit with your '49 pot code date. The main confusion to me is the lack of binding, but it looks like it may have been refinished multiple times. I have never seen an opaque blue Console Grande - are you sure that's not dark (from a sunburst) paint under the blue? Multiple amateur refins might explain why the binding is gone.

I'd take everything off, sand off that painted-on finish, and do a proper refin in either natural or sunburst. Maybe add binding if you wanna be extravagent. Or you could just clean it up and play it as-is. It's never gonna have any "vintage value". But if everything works, it should be a good workhorse guitar.

[Erik Alderink]

It's a Console Grande for sure. Looks like some of the veneers have been removed during one of the numerous refins, which is why there doesn't appear to be much of a binding channel. These things are built like butcher blocks, with multiple pieces glued up, then covered on the vertical sides with a veneer to hide the joints. The binding is then applied to a channel that is partly comprised of the gap from the veneer. It's a good, solid guitar that will be a good player, albeit pretty hefty. The legs will probably never be terribly stable, but it hasn't stopped many players from enjoying them over the years, myself included. Your electronics appear to be intact, with the master volume and 2 tone controls (bass cut & treble cut). Not sure how pricey a refinish would be, but it won't likely add much value to the instrument.

[Peter Huggins]

Alan Jesse Foust was a friend of mine for almost 40 years. We met at Pacific Telephone when we were both telephone operators. I was the one who got him into guitar (Spanish, then steels) and he sort of took off with it. He caught cancer and passed away leaving no heirs and without a will. Ultimately his estate was settled by the LA County administrator. He had over 125 guitars of all types which were auctioned off. The steels included Bakelite Rickenbachers and a variety of Gibsons including a couple of Ultratones one of which was a seven string. The Console Grande was refinished natural when he got it and the binding was gone as was any trace of the channel where it once had been. I bid on several of the guitars and amps but got outbid on all of them. I really wish most of all that I had gotten the Volu-Tone amp, but it was just not to be. They are scattered to the winds now - I wonder who ended up with the Epiphone Varichord and the Dan Armstrong Westone prototype that he purchased from Dan.
If I were you I would not change a thing on the CG. Just play it and enjoy it and let its tone shine on. #RIP

[Al Davison]

Alan Jesse Foust was a friend of mine for almost 40 years. We met at Pacific Telephone when we were both telephone operators. I was the one who got him into guitar (Spanish, then steels) and he sort of took off with it. He caught cancer and passed away leaving no heirs and without a will. Ultimately his estate was settled by the LA County administrator. He had over 125 guitars of all types which were auctioned off. The steels included Bakelite Rickenbachers and a variety of Gibsons including a couple of Ultratones one of which was a seven string. The Console Grande was refinished natural when he got it and the binding was gone as was any trace of the channel where it once had been. I bid on several of the guitars and amps but got outbid on all of them. I really wish most of all that I had gotten the Volu-Tone amp, but it was just not to be. They are scattered to the winds now - I wonder who ended up with the Epiphone Varichord and the Dan Armstrong Westone prototype that he purchased from Dan.
If I were you I would not change a thing on the CG. Just play it and enjoy it and let its tone shine on. #RIP

Thank you, Peter! I bid on about 40 of those items. Won 7 of them. I tried to find out about Mr. Faust but I was never able to learn anything about him. He surely had an AMAZING collection. The CG was the only guitar I won. I appreciate you telling me. I also wanted the Volu-tone and that amazing old Rickenbacher amp that looked like a space heater. Somebody else wanted them more than me. I am currently restoring the Gibson BR-1 and the BR-6 amp. I also have the Epiphone Electar Zephyr which we haven't even started checking out. Most of this stuff will be for sale at some point but I'm planning to keep some, too. My condolences on the loss of your friend. Al

[Peter Huggins]

I saw your other post on the amps and thought they might have been from Alan’s collection. The BR-1 amp was very cool and AFAIK pretty stock. I was kind of amazed that Gibson chose to use perforated sheet metal for a grill cloth! The Epiphone Zephyr amp was also quite remarkable.
When he first got the Volu-Tone amp we were firing it up and during the process I decided to post the results on YouTube. Do a search for “The Amazing And Mysterious Volu-Tone Amp.” Filed under my handle Guitarmaniax. It’s in ten parts and some of them are only a few seconds long. They should have been edited into one piece but I never got around to it.
Thank you for your condolences. They are very appreciated.