The Steel Guitar Forum

My new ZB retro.

Hey Mike. I'm really happy that you are happy with the new Retro Steel. It really looks like a winner. Kevin, keep up the good work...your cases get rave reviews too.
I'd just like to bump the "good old ZB thread" and ask again if anyone owns the orange ZB, or knows someone who knows someone who owns that fantastic orange ZB. Come on, you can tell old Uncle Duncan. He won't bite you, or hurt you in any way. He won't even harass you, might make an offer, but definitely won't molest you, or any member of your family.
Duncan

Casting out a line brother Duncan to see what might bite? I remember that
orange beauty. I am from Tennessee

Chuck, my friend, As a bonafide fisherman I am always casting lines. Sometimes it plays out and you find a nice orange ZB on the end of said line and other times, you just have to be satisfied with the ZB and Fulawka that you have. Either way I am a blessed man.
I happen to be a lover of Tennessee in general and Tennesseans in particular. I am always mightily struck by their prodigious ability to remember things. I was also mightily impressed with the beauty of the women of Tennessee, especially in the Memphis area. What's not to like about Tennessee?
Have a beautiful day, Chuck,
Duncan

Well done Mike, a true feast for the eyes....

Well done Mike !
A wonderful collection of ZB's, Whilst drooling over
them I noticed that one of them, a black SD-10,nine
counting from Tom Brumley, has a different changer
head to all the others was this a modification or a
replacement I wonder ? has anyone else noticed this ?
All the best
Frank. Corfu

Thanks fellas. All I actually did was copy most of the photos from this thread though. I just thought it would be fun to see them all together.

Thanks, Mike!

Here are a couple more, thanks to the magic of the MacBook Pro camera!

ZBest,
LC

#0124 - Bakersfield, '69 or '70, S-10, 3+4, original everything, I believe. Green has faded beautifully to a bamboo yellow. Yeah, it sounds amazing...

#0215 - Phoenix, '71 or '72, D-10, this one was generously given to me with the C6 side disconnected several years ago, I restored it back to stock 8+4. The Blue finish has faded to a beautiful battleship gray. It sounds amazing, too...

...notice the same stupid, drool-infused grin on my face from several years ago with my S-11 (#0252, Phoenix, 4+4) in Mike's post above. Some things never change.

Whoopie!!! Looking at ZBs is funner, well, it's funner than a lot of things, but less funner than other things. It is, and this goes without saying, but is always implied and implicated, it is always up to an individual's tastes and proclivities, but for my taste it is really fun.
Thanks, Mike. I really like that picture of my SD-10 without the pad on it. I also like the picture of my red and blue one on my back deck. Still looking for that orange one...calling all cars...round up the usual suspects.
Duncan

Do you mean this one Duncan?

Joe, if you dangle my old blue ZB in front of my nose one more time I just might do something stupid like sell my Fulawka and buy it back. The only problem is it probably is too expensive for a poor man like me who is in the middle of being sued by his ex-wife. Poor meeeeee, wahhhhh!!!

Can someone shed light as to why some ZB's have an extra layer of wood between the body and the neck and some don't? My '69 has the '3 layer' design.

Also, is anyone from this thread going to St. Louis this year? Although I suck as a player I wanted to attend to both learn some stuff and party (not necessarily in that order).

Thanks,
Marty

Duncan Hodge wrote:Joe, if you dangle my old blue ZB in front of my nose one more time I just might do something stupid like sell my Fulawka and buy it back. The only problem is it probably is too expensive for a poor man like me who is in the middle of being sued by his ex-wife. Poor meeeeee, wahhhhh!!!

Sorry Dude, not for sale..

Joe, I can always count on you to keep me from doing something stupid. I do dream about that blue ZB at times, though. If I thought it was for sale I might do something stupid, whatever that might be.
Play it in good health, my friend.
Duncan

Marty I think you will find the single neck models have the extra "neck" . They sure look good .

Thanks Brendan, I feel pretty stoopid asking the question now! Not having seen that many ZB's, the fact wasn't obvious for me.

Anyone, Bobbie says there were about 5000 PP's made, how many ZB's?

Larry Behm

Hi Larry:

Great question, great name, too!

A best-guestimate from me - if serial numbers are a clue - probably a lot fewer than the 5,000 Emmons. I think only a few hundred (if that many) Scranton-built ZBs, plus perhaps a few hundred Bakersfield-built, plus several hundred (maybe 400-500) Phoenix-built ZBs. The company was also in Texas, don't know how many there, but can't imagine it's that much more. Total production of the pro models over the years could not have been much more that a few thousand (maybe even a couple thousand?) at most.

BTW - The student models seem to have a different numbering scheme, so perhaps there are alot more of those out there, but again, experience tells me that there aren't that many out there, I see pro-models at least as much if not more.

Greg, any thoughts? Maybe Tom Brumley would know? No claim to absolute, bullet-proof knowledge and facts here from me, either, so please help answer Larry B's question if you're able.

I have been playing my restored D-10 lately, and it sounds just wonderful.
ZBest,
LC

I think I just drooled all over my keyboard!!
Talk about BEAUTIFUL!!!
I feel naked since I have only 1 ZB.
Wally

We took my brother-inlaw to Renfro Valley, Ky last weekend. They are here visiting from Colorado Springs and they have only seen Greg play once before. We had a great time and they really enjoyed the shows. This is a shot from "The Legends Show" if your gonna play the part you may as well look the part.

Here is old whats his name, working hard to play the TB licks with the ZB tone on the real thing. His 1965 D-10 and a Fender Bassman, hope I got it right, if not greg will have to correct it.

Hello ZB world.

I am refurbing ZB D10 #0506, and have had to remove the pickups to sort out a wiring problem, which I have now done on the pickups as currently wired. However, my old mate Frank Bloomfield was here with me today, and reckoned that the pickups are not original.

I attach some photos to see if anyone can ID them, and also to see if anyone knows how to wire them up properly. As you will see, there is provision for 4 taps plus the earth. The tap points measure 20k, 16k, 12k and 8k respectively, but only the 3 lower values have been wired up through the switches. It would seem a shame not to maximise the number of combinations - but I have no idea where to start other than just switching in the 4th tap.

For reference, the pickups are potted into plastic housings, have Allen key adjustable pole pieces, and have the earth sign and impedance values scratched in the potting compound, possibly by the manufacturer, but I don't think this is the case as it has been done by hand.

Thank you for reading - hope you can help.

Regards,

Mick Breach

Larry,

Zane built a total of 170 guitars from 1964 to December of 1968. The 1st 42 guitars were built in Phoenix and the rest in Scranton until Tom Brumley bought the company. They were only in Bakersfield for a couple of years and then moved back to Phoenix. I dont have any production numbers for anything after 1968. All of the Zane built guitars were 4 digit serial numbers starting with #1001 and ending with #1171. The move to Bakersfield, the guitars started with #0001. Jim Florence ordered 2 guitars from Zane, but when they were ready, it was Tom Brumley that called him for the final details. The guitars #0013 and #0017, have all Scranton parts but were finished in Bakersfield and got the Bakersfield serial numbers.

I have no clue how many total were built. I have seen numbers up into the 0600's. When Tom moved the company to Texas, the serial numbers were changed again. I believe he started with #3000.

Sorry Dad, the guitar pictured above is a 66' model. It was bought and ordered new by Lee Gillespie, one of our forum members. I am running both the Bassman with a D-130 JBL and a Blackface Fender Twin right now. I think this old ZB sounds pretty good.

Greg

Michael
Most ZB pickups I have seen, that was wound by Zane, had a metal plate on the bottom.
Thanks
Billy