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Topic: Strange bender mechanism on my Supro! |
Asbjorn Karstensen
From:
Norway
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Posted 21 Sep 2009 1:14 am |
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Hi there!
I'm new to lap steels and just bought myself an old Supro with a '52 serial number. It looks like the Clipper model to me. Anyhow, it has what I suppose is a bender mechanism that I've never seen on any photos.
Can anyone tell me what that thing is, and if it's original from Supro? I'm also looking for parts for the mechanism, as you can see it's not complete.
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D Schubert
From:
Columbia, MO, USA
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Posted 21 Sep 2009 7:32 am
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That looks like the internals from a Rowe (DeArmond)
Stringtone 3-way bridge tuner. I think you can do a search here and find some threads on the subject.
If all the parts were there, there would be a cover and a short "arm" that would let you use these multiple tunings...lo to hi
A............EAEAC#E
E............EBEG#BE
C#m7.........EBEG#C#E
Hard to keep adjusted, I finally removed mine. A forerunner of the Hipshot Trilogy tailpiece. |
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Roman Sonnleitner
From:
Vienna, Austria
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Posted 21 Sep 2009 11:51 pm
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| Can't tell you about the bender - but I've got exactly the same model (without bender), and was told it was a 1952 Supro Supreme (I'm not an expert, though, myself). |
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Asbjorn Karstensen
From:
Norway
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Posted 22 Sep 2009 2:35 am
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Thanks guys, I will try to take this thing off as soon as possible. To illustrate my own ignorance when it comes to lap steels - it came with three strings when I bought it and I don't even know what kind of strings to use! However, I just ordered a Tribo-Tone slide for it, so I think I'm on the right track in some areas. 
Do you use some kind of capo on these things, or just buy a heap of them and tune them differently?
Roman, you are probably right about this being a Supro Supreme. It was called the Clipper up until about '47 I think. Can't wait to get this up and running with my even older Gibson EH150 amp! |
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Roman Sonnleitner
From:
Vienna, Austria
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Posted 22 Sep 2009 2:46 am
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Look at the top of the forum page - there's a link for buying strings through the forum; you won't find any place in Europe where you can get specialised sets for the various lap steel tunings as easily...
BTW, talking about tunings: You'll have to decide on a tuning to use before buying the strings and there are plenty of possibilities: http://www.well.com/~wellvis/tuning.html
Blues and rock players often prefer the open tunings (Open E, G, or D, etc.), for modern country styles E7 or E9 seems to be popular, Hawaiian, classic country or Western Swing players prefer C6 or A6, etc.
Personally, I like C6 (CEGACE from low to high strings) best, since it gives you both major and minor chords with a straight bar position, and while it is very easy to make Hawaiian or Western sounds with this tuning, it is also quite useful for rock playing - plenty of power chords, scales harmonized in thirds, pentatonic boxes, etc. there; for blues playing a dom7 would be useful, though... |
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Asbjorn Karstensen
From:
Norway
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Posted 22 Sep 2009 6:03 am
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Vielen Dank, three sets for C6 ordered!
My only fear is that my interest for lap steels will make me buy several more old Supros or Nationals or Fenders or Gibsons or... |
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Don Kona Woods
From:
Hawaiian Kama'aina
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Posted 22 Sep 2009 9:33 am
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Asbjorn says,
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| My only fear is that my interest for lap steels will make me buy several more old Supros or Nationals or Fenders or Gibsons or |
Asbjorn, you are starting to acquire GAS - Guitar Acquisition Syndrome. This Syndrome is what most Forum members have acquired. 
I have the Syndrome with only 9 steels.
Aloha,
Don |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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Roman Sonnleitner
From:
Vienna, Austria
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Posted 22 Sep 2009 12:38 pm
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BTW, if you're new to C6 lap steel, I can recommend the "Anyone Can Play C6 Lap Steel Guitar"-DVD by Rob Haines (MelBay) for starters; once you've got the basics down, the two Cindy Cashdollar "Western Swing"-DVDs are the next step.
There's also a C6 lap steel book by DeWitt Scott, but I personally did not really like that one a lot... |
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Asbjorn Karstensen
From:
Norway
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Posted 22 Oct 2009 3:14 pm
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| One of the tuners disintegrated when I tried to turn it, so I'm thinking about replacing all of them. What would be the correct replacement tuners for this lap steel? |
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D Schubert
From:
Columbia, MO, USA
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Pete Honychurch
From:
British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 22 Oct 2009 10:19 pm
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| Hey thanks for the link to the knob replacement store. I've been needing to do that to my National Grand console for some time now. Much appreciated. |
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