Trotmore Guitars and Jery Byrd Involvement With Them

Jack Byrd · Post by **Jack Byrd** » 11 Mar 2002 6:35 pm

I was involved with the Trotmore to the extent I was going to support it at that time. They were trying to build guitars that were equal or in the class with the Richenbacker frypan or bakelite- either one- and that is why Ira Trotter and Grady Moore were making these guitars, they were to be equal to the original Rickenbacker frypans and the pickups especially were a copy - pretty much the same. In a recent discussions of these guitars it was stated I gave the money back to the people who did not like them. That is not true. The reason Trotter and I split, when they started selling these, one of the first ones sold was to my very good friend Dwight Harris in Detroit. He bought one and you had to put down a $50 deposit on the order, which he did. There was some little something he wanted changed which wasn’t anything major. Trotter refused, he said I’m not changing anything on my guitars and I said well, O.K. but you’ll have to send his deposit back, you can’t keep the deposit and not give him the guitar. Oh yes I can, it’s part of the deal, that’s what a deposit is for. I said were not running a damn jewelry store and you’re not going to use my friends like this, I am not going to have that at all. He said that’s the way it’s going to be. I said OK that ends it with me. I sent Dwight the $50 out of my pocket.

Stan Steinberg got the second one and Howard Miller in Kentucky got the third one, and I think those are the only ones sold when I had anything to do with it or when I was still in the mix. I had one they had given to me. So there were four involved early in the deal. So I decided to sell the Trotmore I had and used that money to pay for the deposit I reimbursed Dwight out of my pocket. Trotter said you can’t do that. I said the hell I can’t, you gave it to me it’s my guitar, so he got very upset. I told him it’s his turn to be mad now. I had an amplifier he also gave me with the guitar that I did return to him, dropped it off at his jewelry store in Nashville and that was the end of the enterprise as far as I was concerned.

So I sold my Trotmore guitar to Ray Knapp for $50 I think, just enough to get my money back that I sent to Dwight. I never knew that I sold one to a Howard White, either. That’s never come up in our communications over the years, he calls me now and then and that has never been mentioned. The next time we communicate I am going to ask him about it. I don’t remember that at all being a seven string either. It could be - I am not saying my memory is anything special.

In the article in Steel Guitarist #3 from 1978 it was stated only three are believed to have been built. That could be reflected by what I said at one time, being only three I had anything to do with, those sold to Harris, Stienberg and Miller, those are probably the three the article is talking about.

As far as the double necks – that’s a surprise to me, it could be that they continued to make’em and sell them but I was not involved with them at all. News to me! Also if he made them with the higher number of strings he did that after I severed our relationship because he would not make any changes as I stated before and that was the reason I left the enterprise. That is a surprise to me.

The Trotmore that Ray Knapp had was the one I sold him. When he died he willed the guitar to me and I have since given it to my very good friend Al Stotler of Cincinnati.
There is a picture of Ray Knapp with this guitar on page 97 of Lorene Ruymer’s book “The Hawaiian Steel Guitar and its great Hawaiian Musicians”.
[This message was edited by Jack Byrd on 12 March 2002 at 07:19 AM.]

c c johnson · Post by **c c johnson** » 12 Mar 2002 3:34 am

glad to hear the real story. I am quite sure that when Red Moser told me about Jerry refunding money to people he was referring to the Dwight Harris case and possibly did not remember the true facts or maybe got carried away at the moment. CC

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 12 Mar 2002 6:16 am

At the October 2001 Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association's Joliet Illinois convention there was a double eight Trotmore steel guitar for sale. I have no idea who was selling it. The asking price was $2700. There were no takers that weekend.

A very strange looking guitar indeed. Somewhat akin to a double neck all metal Rick (no legs) from the 1950's. All metal, I'm pretty sure it was aluminum.

It really looked like some kind of martial arts weapon or nuclear warhead. These days it would be hard to convince airport security that it was a musical instrument

.

------------------
Gerald Ross

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website

Bobbe Seymour · Post by **Bobbe Seymour** » 8 Nov 2005 8:02 pm

I definately had, but sold, the rosewood Trotmore guitar. I knew very little about it, I did hear that it was the only all wood guitar that Trotter had built. I sold it cheap after installing a Ricky pickup. I was on my webpage 3 years ago, for a good year.
I'd love to have the aluminum one that Howard White has now, but we are having trouble agreeing about the price. He wants less for it than I'm trying to pay him! Ha![This message was edited by BobbeSeymour on 08 November 2005 at 08:03 PM.][This message was edited by BobbeSeymour on 08 November 2005 at 08:04 PM.][This message was edited by BobbeSeymour on 08 November 2005 at 08:05 PM.]

Stan Steinberg · Post by **Stan Steinberg** » 12 Nov 2005 11:04 am

Ray, in response to your question regarding the measurements of the Trotmore.... The length of the metal guitar is 30 and 5/8 inches. The fret board is 2 and 1/2 inches wide between the string windup part and the section (pan shaped part) that contains the magnetic pickup.The end where the windup posts are is 7 inches long and tapers from 3 and 1/2 inches to 2 inches. The end where the magnetic pickups are measures 9 inches long and 7 inches wide at the widest point and tapers off to 2 and 1/2 inches. This guitar accomodates 7 strings.I hope this answers your question.Sorry about my terminology. Best wishes....Stan

Richard Shatz · Post by **Richard Shatz** » 12 Nov 2005 11:28 am

I would love to see some photos of these steels. Please post some.

Ray Montee · Post by **Ray Montee** » 12 Nov 2005 6:09 pm

THANKS Stan: You must be a Trot-Mor owner!
What serial number might you have?

You can see one of the at http://www.jerrybyrdfanclub.com/

or via GOOGLE SEARCH under Jerry Byrd Fan Club.[This message was edited by Ray Montee on 12 November 2005 at 06:10 PM.]

Stan Steinberg · Post by **Stan Steinberg** » 14 Nov 2005 3:56 pm

Richard, I don't know how to post a picture of my Trotmore...there is a picture shown in the Jerry Byrd web site. Have any suggestions. Ray, I looked all over the guitar and could not find any numbers....Jack Byrd wrote it was the second one sold. Jerry and I were corresponding at the time and he played my guitar and endorsed it....that was good enough for me.

Ray Montee · Post by **Ray Montee** » 14 Nov 2005 7:43 pm

Like you say: "that's good enough for me" and YOU.

Many thanks to you.

Ray Montee · Post by **Ray Montee** » 23 Nov 2005 5:50 pm

WHO MIGHT KNOW...........WHO has the remaining Trot-Mor guitars?

Of only 12 plus a wooden model........ do you suppose they are all dead and been remelted into something with more utility to it?

YOU have yours; Al Stotler has Jerry Byrds;
I now have one. ANYONE else a Trot-Mor owner? It would be fun to know.

Ray Montee · Post by **Ray Montee** » 24 Nov 2005 11:36 am

Hey JACK: DID Jerry have Rick type Bakelite knobs for volume and tone and was the neck painted gold or anything; or, was the entire unit natural aluminum? Mine has control knobs sorta like Fender knobs. They don't look the same as Jerry's on his photo on the JERRY's MUSIC page of the fan club site.

[This message was edited by Ray Montee on 24 November 2005 at 11:39 AM.]