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Topic: Very fine Fender Custom at Gruhns |
Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 16 May 2007 3:58 pm |
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www.gruhn.com
Kinda pricey at $2,000 like everything Gruhns sells but it certainly appears to be in beautiful shape. As I always say, "Is Leo Fender ever gonna make any more of 'em?"
Stringmasters may be more versatile but nothing sounds quite like those trap PUs. |
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Rick Alexander
From:
Florida, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 16 May 2007 4:55 pm
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Very true - Customs and Dual 8 Pros were the guitars they were playing in the golden age (46 - 54). Stringmasters didn't come along until 1953, which was the same year pedal steel hit the airwaves and effectively began to push non-pedal steel out of the mainstream picture.
So in a way it's ironic that Stringmasters are so iconic compared to the trapezoid guitars. Stringmaster prices have shot up radically in the last 2 or 3 years, and now predictably the same thing is starting to happen with Customs and Dual 8 Pros.
They have that authentic honky tonk sound, especially when plugged into a Fender amp of the same vintage such as a TV front Pro.
Recognize this one, Andy?
RA
BIG STEEL |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 16 May 2007 5:44 pm
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| You bet I do, Rick. Sniff. I miss that guitar! (Even if it almost gave me a triple hernia carrying it through the Nashville airport one time). I was never able to find any info about it's original owners, the "Swingin' Troubadors." |
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Bill Creller
From:
Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)
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Posted 16 May 2007 6:46 pm
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You are certainly correct about "pricey"
I see they have a frypan, "reduced" from $5500 to $5000, what a deal!!
The Custom is a nice example though.
Regards BILL |
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Bill Quinn
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Posted 16 May 2007 8:23 pm
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Would it be correct to assume this Custom at Gruhns is refinished, as it has no front decal? I have a '53 I got it about twenty years ago from Scotty's. Jason Lollar rewound the pickups and the tones are incredible. I love to run it thru a Sarno Revelation into 25 watt 1943 Vega amp.
Last edited by Bill Quinn on 16 May 2007 8:40 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Posted 16 May 2007 8:36 pm
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It's pretty Clean!
| Quote: |
| Would it be correct to assume this Custom at Gruhns is refinished, as it has no front decal? |
Not necessarily. Some Customs had no "Fender" logo on the front. And some had no logo tag between the necks. Jody has confirmed that fact here on the Steel Forum.
I once had a Custom just like this one... very clean with Original nitro finish, with checking, and there was no Logo on the front and no logo tag on top. The guitar did not say "Fender" anywhere, but two vintage dealers confirmed that the finish was factory original.
_________________
My Site / My YouTube Channel
25 Songs C6 Lap Steel / 25 MORE Songs C6 Lap Steel / 16 Songs, C6, A6, B11 / 60 Popular Melodies E9 Pedal Steel |
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Bill Quinn
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Posted 16 May 2007 8:42 pm
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| Doug how about Stringmasters without decals - could these possibly be original finish as well? thanks, Bill Q |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Bill Quinn
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Posted 16 May 2007 10:59 pm
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Here is a photo that came to my mind of an early Stringmaster with no apparent logo decal. the infamous marie from seattle and her steels that sold on Ebay a little while back.
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 17 May 2007 2:26 am
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| Looks like the Fender Mary Kaye octagonal rug that came out in '57, in a custom color and pattern. |
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 17 May 2007 6:25 am
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Very talented gal...able to play two necks at the same time with no picks or a steel bar....who says seniors aren't sharp ! 
http://www3.telus.net/public/lake_r/ |
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Rick Alexander
From:
Florida, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 17 May 2007 7:54 am
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I remember that Stringmaster, a 15 year old guy bought it for a fairly high price. He must be 16 by now.
I don't know who bought that Custom, but as I recall it was one of the cleanest specimens I've seen.
Then there were a bunch of scam auctions using those pics and the original text.
I got this fully restored Custom from Big John Bechtel a couple of years ago. It has new pots, switches, wiring, legs and sockets - it's been all rechromed and the pickups were rewound by Jason Lollar, and refinished in a lovely shade of pewter.
It's a great sounding guitar, especially when it's plugged into an old Fender or Music Man amp. |
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Don Kona Woods
From:
Hawaiian Kama'aina
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Posted 17 May 2007 9:16 am
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| Quote: |
| Very talented gal...able to play two necks at the same time with no picks or a steel bar....who says seniors aren't sharp ! |
Yeh, she plays only soft finger harmonics on all of her songs. 
Aloha, 
Don |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 17 May 2007 9:28 am
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Kind of like these?
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Mark Durante
From:
St. Pete Beach FL
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Posted 17 May 2007 2:39 pm
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