Shedding some light on an old lap steel
Posted: 16 May 2019 2:21 pm
Wait, I have that backwards: this steel sheds light on you!
I've been looking for one of these for a long time. Apparently, they're like buses: none for years, then a bunch show up at once. I purchased this one a few days ago, knowing that I was probably paying way too much but that I was unlikely to find another. Two days later, another one shows up for 1/3 that price at Guitar Center. That second one is still in transit so I'm not sure of its condition yet, but after examining this first one, I've found that they're pretty easy to get inside should repairs be needed.
As an armchair historian, the big question for me is who built them. You may have seen other steels with lots of colored Lucite, particularly the Magnatone Jeweltone series and other instruments under the Aloha brand. Having owned both of the above, I don't think this Orpheum is related to either of those. Orpheum guitars in the post-War period were sourced from United Guitars, Kay, and a few Japanese and Italian factories. I think this one came from United.
For one thing, the Premier-branded lap steels built by United had Lucite fish and palm trees:
The craftsmanship on this Orpheum, particularly in the knobs, is a step more complex than anything on the Magnatone and Aloha steels and closer to the Premier. Also, while the pickup construction is similar to those other builders, it also strongly resembles the Franz units found on most United guitars from the '50s. However, there are a couple of snags with this attribution. One is the serial number, which is unlike I've seen on a Premier or Orpheum guitar. Another is the use of Kluson tuners; United used Waverlies on almost everything. Since the Orpheum brand was owned in the '50s by Maurice Lipsky, a distributor out of NYC, it's most likely that the steel was built in the NYC area. United (Jersey City) remains my best guess, but the builder remains unclear.
What is clear is that this is quite a nice instrument. The body is either ash or oak, but it's mostly hollowed out and covered by a Lucite top and a padded particle board back. The output is quite low, but that's because the bridge is quite a bit higher than the pickup. Alas, I can't lower the strings without mauling the original bridge. The sustain is excellent, and all that Lucite hardware is stronger and more durable than you might expect. The lights are powered from a second detachable cord, and they run on an independent circuit so there's no chance of shocking oneself even without a grounded plug. The nut and bridge are offset in asymmetrical directions, but it's possible that the bridge was removed and put back the wrong way around.
I've been looking for one of these for a long time. Apparently, they're like buses: none for years, then a bunch show up at once. I purchased this one a few days ago, knowing that I was probably paying way too much but that I was unlikely to find another. Two days later, another one shows up for 1/3 that price at Guitar Center. That second one is still in transit so I'm not sure of its condition yet, but after examining this first one, I've found that they're pretty easy to get inside should repairs be needed.
As an armchair historian, the big question for me is who built them. You may have seen other steels with lots of colored Lucite, particularly the Magnatone Jeweltone series and other instruments under the Aloha brand. Having owned both of the above, I don't think this Orpheum is related to either of those. Orpheum guitars in the post-War period were sourced from United Guitars, Kay, and a few Japanese and Italian factories. I think this one came from United.
For one thing, the Premier-branded lap steels built by United had Lucite fish and palm trees:
The craftsmanship on this Orpheum, particularly in the knobs, is a step more complex than anything on the Magnatone and Aloha steels and closer to the Premier. Also, while the pickup construction is similar to those other builders, it also strongly resembles the Franz units found on most United guitars from the '50s. However, there are a couple of snags with this attribution. One is the serial number, which is unlike I've seen on a Premier or Orpheum guitar. Another is the use of Kluson tuners; United used Waverlies on almost everything. Since the Orpheum brand was owned in the '50s by Maurice Lipsky, a distributor out of NYC, it's most likely that the steel was built in the NYC area. United (Jersey City) remains my best guess, but the builder remains unclear.
What is clear is that this is quite a nice instrument. The body is either ash or oak, but it's mostly hollowed out and covered by a Lucite top and a padded particle board back. The output is quite low, but that's because the bridge is quite a bit higher than the pickup. Alas, I can't lower the strings without mauling the original bridge. The sustain is excellent, and all that Lucite hardware is stronger and more durable than you might expect. The lights are powered from a second detachable cord, and they run on an independent circuit so there's no chance of shocking oneself even without a grounded plug. The nut and bridge are offset in asymmetrical directions, but it's possible that the bridge was removed and put back the wrong way around.
