The Steel Guitar Forum

I have been following this post for awhile now and figured I'd chime in......

I received my Clinesmith "Electro" 8 about two weeks ago and haven't been able to put it down since. It's such an amazing and inspiring instrument. Dollar for dollar it has to be the best deal out there. It's a total joy to play.

Some of the highlights so far for anyone thinking about getting one:

- The sustain is incredible and allows me to play in a way that I haven't been able to achieve on any other guitar I've ever played. Whether it's playing single note lines or full chords, the sound is unreal. It really feels like playing a horn. It allows you to play single note melodies in a very expressive way. The range of sounds and dynamics is vast. Rich warm chords, singing single notes to muted lines (a la David Keli'i), harmonics. The harmonics just jump out of the instrument so easily. I went with the two knob layout and it's great. The bass side knob is not in the way at all and I fell like it frees up the treble side volume knob to be worked very nicely (although I cannot say for sure as I haven't played one with a concentric knob). The volume knob allows for amazing "violin-ing" effects. I also love how portable and easy it is to carry around. Again, I cannot say enough good things about this instrument. I honestly feel like I could get rid of all my other guitars and be totally fine. It's kind of humbling to know that this guitar is going to be around for many many years after I am long gone. For now, I am digging in and playing it non stop!

Nick, that’s a very accurate and nicely written review. Mine has the stacked concentric v/t pots on the treble side, and the tone is on top. It’s perfectly positioned to get that boo-ahh effect and there isn’t any danger of accidental volume changes. I have to imagine a LOT of thought went into each configuration. I’ve had the very same thought about this one being the only guitar I need...and I have some very cool guitars.

I received mine yesterday night. Awesome!! Thanks, Todd!

My old and new Frypans.

Congratulations, new owners!

Nick, Thanks for the great write up on the steel. Much appreciated.
Glad you are enjoying yours Hideki.

Here's a youtube clip from player Emmett Mahoney. He gets an excellent Dick McIntire tone out of the steel.Tuned to F#9 or C#m..... Hawaiian Holiday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sF75jW0VLs

I think it's pretty obivious that guy is single or married to the right gal? I know around this house there wouldn't be any guitars, amps, and the like in or anywhere near the kitchen!

That was sweet!I was hoping to hear some Hawaiian played on one of the new Fry Pans.Vintage tone to the bone.Now if Jeff Au Hoy could get his hands on one for a few hours or the rest of his life for that matter,I'd like to see that.
ALOHA

Tom Snook wrote:That was sweet!I was hoping to hear some Hawaiian played on one of the new Fry Pans.Vintage tone to the bone.Now if Jeff Au Hoy could get his hands on one for a few hours or the rest of his life for that matter,I'd like to see that.
ALOHA

Well, he did have his paws on my Frypan briefly at HSGA Ft Collins and seemed to like it!

After a holdup in UK Customs, my frypan arrived last week, and I echo everything that has already been said in praise of it: appearance, tone, sustain, harmonics, case ...

What also struck me from the moment I opened the box was the total attention to detail, even down to the way it was packed for shipping.

I greatly enjoyed Emmett Mahoney's video of Hawaiian Holiday, and this new instrument is certainly a great motivator to spend more time practising.

Well, he [Jeff Au Hoy] did have his paws on my Frypan briefly at HSGA Ft Collins and seemed to like it!

Bobby Ingano also had his paws on your 'pan at Fort Collins, Jim. When I saw him in Kapa'a on the weekend he was raving about the guitar. "Perfect" was one adjective he used. Mine's in the mail now and I hope to take possession within a week. Very excited!

Nice video !! The guitar has the long scale Rick tone too, which is what it's all about Todd !! I need one like that !!

Ian McLatchie wrote: Bobby Ingano also had his paws on your 'pan at Fort Collins, Jim. When I saw him in Kapa'a on the weekend he was raving about the guitar. "Perfect" was one adjective he used. Mine's in the mail now and I hope to take possession within a week. Very excited!

Proof Positive (this photo does not imply any endorsement):



Enjoy your new guitar adventure, my northern neighbor!

I'm sure that Bobby liked it !! I've done 4 frypans for him ! He's sending a bakelite that needs work, this next week.
The Clinesmith instrument is sure a beautiful instrument !!

Thanks, Jim. I'm sure I will.

I am digging mine. Here’s a short clip:

https://youtu.be/zN5aUieybC0

Alright...you guys, plus a generous annual bonus, got me to get in queue as well. Quite excited I can tell you...

Mine arrived a few days ago!

Some random thoughts in no particular order...

This guitar lines up with my current guitars and style of playing nicely...had it set up for Jules C13...the scale length and 8 strings match up nicely to my Stringmaster, Magnatone, and the SX lap that I often practice on.

I'm not going to post any pictures because its every bit as beautiful as all the pics in here and my lack of photographic skill would only cast it in a worse light. Very beautiful and the attention to detail, in little things like the knobs, the tuners, the logo, etc...all fantastic. I opted for the extra yellow dot marker.

It's pleasantly solid and heavy in the lap. Will make a handy battle club for the rougher bar gigs. The case is well fitted and should protect it well within reason. I think if and when I fly with it, maybe I'd try to make some styrofoam cutouts to fit round the tuners and the knob area just to prevent fellow travellers with their gigantic carryons they fling haphazardly into the overhead from damaging it.

OK, let's get to the tone. First, acoustically....I've not measured it, but I wonder if compared to some of my other instruments, like the Stringmaster, if its a bit quieter seeming acoustically. It a very pleasing, even, sustaining tone acoustically, and I think that is a factor in the apparent quietness...less of a spiky attack, more compressed, even, sustain.

It's a 80, almost 90 year old pickup design, so yeah, it's single coil, and a bit of hum, but not bad. But the tone is unlike any of my other guitars definitely. The sustain just keeps going. Bear in mind, I've never played a Ric frypan before, so I can't compare it to them, but more the standard wood bodied consoles and laps. Harmonics pop out.

It seems like a small thing but if you consider one of these you need a tone pot in my opinion. I haven't had a guitar/bass/steel guitar with a more musically useful tone pot... you could do the boo-wah with it (mine is on the port side of the pickup so not a great position for that) but just the broadness of the tone you can get out of it...its warm and dark on one end but not muddy, and then plenty of brightness on tap as you move up. The effectiveness of this control is what made me change my mind on some guitar amps I was considering with a limited tone control stack...I would consider an amp like the Fender Excelsior with this one maybe since honestly I can do all the tone shaping I need to do at the guitar. I'm sure half of the reason it is so effective is the frequency range of the pickup itself.

I showed it to Alan Akaka (albeit via Skype) on Thursday and he was impressed! Mentioned how basically just the width of the neck and extended headstock gave it away...he complimented the tone as well. Maybe in a year if I get back to "my little grass shack" or at least O'ahu I can get him to play it at one of the festivals over there!

I got my JM Style Clinesmith with the Blue Heron case over two years ago.
Since then I've taken it with me over my shoulder along with my carry on bag on 6 round trip international flights from Asia to the US without any hassle from anyone. All of those trips took 3 flights each way to get to my destination, so thats 36 flights.

Then within the US I've done the same on 5 round trip domestic flights so that equals another 10 trips. In all of those I've put the steel into the overhead on top of my carry on. Total of 46 flights.
The steel has received not even a nick on any flight I've been on.
The Blue Heron case is great. Even has a pocket for your bar, picks and a few strings. Well padded without excessive size.

I travel so often that I've thought of getting a set of those headphone amps so I could play for myself when the flights not too crowded.
Every airline that I have been on allows one carry on bag and a brief case. Well the steel is my brief case and no airline employee or TSA moron has bothered me about it.
Happy travels!