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Author Topic:  Is this keyless?
Ron Victoria

 

From:
New Jersey, USA
Post  Posted 4 Jul 2005 11:55 am    
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I'm not familiar with what they look like. Is this an example? It would seem more difficult to get the tuning right on by turning a wrench instead of a tuner button. How touchy is it?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2384&item=7334641697&rd=1

Ron
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Denny Turner

 

From:
Oahu, Hawaii USA
Post  Posted 4 Jul 2005 1:16 pm    
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Ron,

The strings are tuned via allen wrench. The allen wrench that came with mine is a standard size (length of the "L" shafts), so a bit difficult to fine tune due to the wrench's short throw. I don't know if the wrench is original (I have assumed it is). I think an allen wrench with a longer throw (like an auto-harp tuning wrench) would make fine-tuning easier; But a bulky wrench could be un-wieldy. I have thought that there might be a machine / tool supply resource that might have screwdriver type handles allen-socketed for assorted tips, available in specific socket shaft sizes; And if so, such a handle could be slippend onto the Magnatone's tuning wrench as a working-handle extension, and conversely broken down for easy carriage / storage. A screwdriver shaft welded to the allen wrench could be an alternative.

I haven't had a chance to spend much time playing mine, and was not impressed by it's tone the short time I was able to play it; BUT, spending more time with it might find some electronic settings where it might sound better or even good, ...particularly volume-wise since the steel appears to be a monocoque hollow plastic shell (fibre glass?) which would obviously have some resonance in a speaker field. Or like metal shelled Rickenbachers, the Magnatone might benefit from a cavity stuffing of some sort.

It's certainly a conversation piece, especially with the accompanying Pal amp / stand; Which might also excite the steel's cavity resonance at high volume levels since the stand is directly coupled / connected to both the steel and amp cabinet.

Maybe other Fo'Bro's might have more / better reports.

Aloha,
DT~

[This message was edited by Denny Turner on 04 July 2005 at 02:19 PM.]

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Bobby Lee


From:
Cloverdale, California, USA
Post  Posted 4 Jul 2005 6:48 pm    
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The conga player in my band has one just like it, complete with amp/stand. His is in pitiful shape - just a conversation piece. I think that even if it were pristine, it wouldn't be a great guitar or amp. Sorta cool retro look though.
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Keith Cordell


From:
San Diego
Post  Posted 9 Jul 2005 3:25 pm    
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I played one that was at Midtown Music here in ATL a couple of days ago, and it had a very unique tone- kinda put me in mind of Sol Hoopii when I ran it into a Leilani mini Leslie kind of thing. Not a lot of drive, pickups were probably in need of a remag, but interesting tone.

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GFI D8 Non-Pedal, Peavey Delta Blues, Goodrich H10K VP, Modded Vox V-847, Ibanez DD1000 Digital Delay, Dunlop Lap Dawg bar

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