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Topic: Hawaiian Guitar Experts. HELP! |
Joe Savage
From:
St. Paul, MN
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Posted 14 Apr 2006 3:44 pm |
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A lady brought this to one of my gigs and wondered if I knew what kind of guitar it is. I took some pictures. Did a patent search on the only # on it and found patent for the bridge piece from 1936. The top is solid wood 3/4 inch thick! Through the hole in the top, the back looked like mahogany... or maybe even rosewood as it was very dark in color almost purplish. Not sure of the wood type of the top. The pickup is a string through type, at first I thought it might be a H/Shoe, but the piece across the top of the coil is flat and solid. There are posts flanking the coil that have bolts running through them and the bottom plate. I didn't want to twist it around too much as the wires are quite brittle as could be expected. The pickup cover came off with the pickup as one piece. It's non-magnetic, but really substantial. Think "Buick".
The tuning gears have cool covers and the posts are brass. The headstock has the initials MEN in clear and green rhinestones.
It's built like a truck. Came with flatwound strings. It's not for sale. I asked. She bought it in the 60's. Has no idea where it came from before that.
It's a neat guitar.
Link to pictures.
Thanks. Joe
Edited by Brad Bechtel to correct URL.[This message was edited by Brad Bechtel on 14 April 2006 at 04:53 PM.] |
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 14 Apr 2006 3:58 pm
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Joe, I modified your message above to include the link to your photos, then deleted a separate message you created which just had the link to the photos.
That's a very interesting looking lap steel - sort of like the old Slingerland Songster, but different in a couple of different ways. I don't know who made it, but I'd guess it was sometime in the 1930s.
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Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars
[This message was edited by Brad Bechtel on 14 April 2006 at 08:53 PM.] |
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Joe Savage
From:
St. Paul, MN
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Posted 14 Apr 2006 3:59 pm
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| Thanks Brad. What did I do wrong? Email me, OK? |
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HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
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Posted 14 Apr 2006 4:50 pm
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Brad, I believe it's Slingerland, if I may be so bold....  [This message was edited by HowardR on 14 April 2006 at 05:51 PM.] |
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 14 Apr 2006 7:53 pm
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Thanks for catching that, Howard.
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Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars
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Joe Savage
From:
St. Paul, MN
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Posted 14 Apr 2006 9:57 pm
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| I don't know if it's clear from the pictures...but this guitar is the size of a Tricone..not like an EH-150 or that type of lap steel. Thx-Joe |
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John Bushouse
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Posted 15 Apr 2006 3:42 am
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| The guitar bridge was patented by Harry Stanley and Vincent Moir, Cleveland, OH, filed Dec. 5, 1934. Maybe that suggests a company connected with Oahu? |
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Joe Savage
From:
St. Paul, MN
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Posted 15 Apr 2006 7:23 am
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Thanks John...and the patent was granted Jan. 28, 1936. I did searches on both of those names and came up with only 1 reference each. They were on a list of American stringed instrument makers, but other than the cities they were connected to, Rocky Point, Ohio for Stanley and Cleveland Heights for Moir I came up with ziltch. It's a mystery.
Thx-Joe |
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Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Posted 15 Apr 2006 12:13 pm
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Interesting to note the metal bridge has "pyramids", similar to those found on old Martin acoustic guitars.
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Michael Lee Allen
From:
Portage Park / Irving Park, Chicago, Illinois
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Posted 21 Apr 2006 7:19 am
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REMOVED
Last edited by Michael Lee Allen on 28 Feb 2011 3:25 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Joe Savage
From:
St. Paul, MN
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Posted 21 Apr 2006 12:08 pm
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I did find info in the Lorene Ruymer book about Oahu and Stanley.
The pickup cover and pickup all came out in one piece. I didn't dare to take them apart since it's not mine and the wiring was delicate.
I'm fairly convinced it has a strong Oahu influence. Someone suggested it may have been a 'one of a kind' made for an instructor or stage performer, considering the initials. I was told probably Chicago made, late '30's. Tuners implied a National connection. Any more Oahu students out there?
Thx-Joe (There's an Oahu lap steel on ebay now, that has the exact same bridge) [This message was edited by Joe Savage on 21 April 2006 at 05:09 PM.] |
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Nick Reed
From:
Russellville, KY USA
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 21 Apr 2006 12:42 pm
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| Nick, what are you doing taking pictures of Linda? can't you see there's a basket of laundry for you to fold? |
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Nick Reed
From:
Russellville, KY USA
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Posted 21 Apr 2006 9:41 pm
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Yeah. . . . .some of them honeydooooz I forgot to dooooooooz!  [This message was edited by Nick Reed on 21 April 2006 at 10:42 PM.] |
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Joe Savage
From:
St. Paul, MN
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Posted 23 Apr 2006 6:53 pm
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Thanks Nick. Appreciate it. Brad, you could close this up, doesn't seem to be much info available.
Thanks for any and all assistance.
Joe |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 24 Apr 2006 9:46 am
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Joe, the only thing I recognize are the covered tuning machines. They are identical to the tuners on my 38 Dobro, roundneck reso. edit: except the buttons on mine are black.
Watched you play on this weeks repeat.Great playin' but I had a hard time takin' my eyes off Becky Shlegel![This message was edited by John Billings on 24 April 2006 at 10:57 AM.] |
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Joe Savage
From:
St. Paul, MN
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Posted 24 Apr 2006 10:39 pm
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| I know what you mean, John. |
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