Clinesmith Frypan owners discussion

[Steve Lipsey]

Hey folks, tog my 'pan yesterday, thought maybe folks could share any insights or observations...and help persuade other folks to give Todd a call and get one of these amazing little puppies....

My first observation was to turn the ton halfway down (concentric volume/tone pot) - on the single pots todd suggests that even further down does the job...

Second observation was that it seemed to have some richness of sound that was almost like a 12-string regular guitar in some ways...a LOT going on when you pick...and it turns out that the original patent application explains that picking horizontally (i.e., normally) emphasizes the 2nd harmonic, while picking vertically emphasizes the fundamental…there is a definite difference (to my ear, maybe I’m crazy…) when you pick each way…

This doesn’t really matter - we pick horizontally - but it is possible to pick the first string vertically pretty easily….not sure why you’d want to, though…

[Steve Lipsey]

Another observation is that in the photos posted, the 'pans look absolutely perfect...but from close up you can see a few little clusters of black spots here and there, which it turns out is from gas escaping during the casting process...intentionally focused on the back side of the casting, and not visible from a few feet away. It just was a surprise at first, not a big deal...

[Steve Lipsey]

Oh yeah, I guess we have to do this, even though they do really all look the same...here's my 'pan, with its sibling.
I've come to the conclusion that it really is the pickup for the basic tone, modified by body material - the Valco string-through on the Oahu really gets that nice compressed hot tone, but is very fundamental-based, and warm, probably from the mahogany body. Interesting that a 1050s Les Paul would cost $200,000, but a 1050s Oahu - using the same kind of mahogany - was $300! I just read an analysis that figured out experimentally that it isn't really the age that makes 50's Pauls great - it is the mahogany that was available then...
The cast aluminum 'pan, in comparison, is a cooler tone, and a lot more sustain (and the Oahu has a lot to start with), plus the chimey tone.

[Dan Yeago]

i'm looking forward to joining this discussion in about 6 weeks...or so. Nice looking guitars in the pic.

[Bill Leff]

Would enjoy to listen to some soundclips of your frypan!

[Steve Lipsey]

Here's some clips from around - these are of the 8-string...the 6-string has only been around for a few days (I -and 3 other folks - just got the first ones, after Todd's prototype):

This one is Todd himself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-cEXlD ... ture=share

Here's Dick McIntire:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sF75jW ... riaOjWcNiU

And Justin Brown:
https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=348441

[Jim Newberry]

I’ll pipe in with something I discovered today (as owner of the first 8-string shipped)... I love the high-quality soft case and use it most of the time. However, when flying I’m very anxious about some knucklehead throwing their carryon on it and damaging tuners. I do have a modified hardshell baritone uke case that fits with room to spare, but today I discovered that the 40’s Valco case (from my wartime New Yorker) hosts it very nicely!





This will do wonders for my nerves on my next flight!

[Rick Barnhart]

Nick Fryer wrote a very interesting post in an earlier thread. I gotta say I find his description really accurate.

Nick Fryer said:

“The sustain is incredible and allows me to play in a way that I haven't been able to achieve on any other guitar I've ever played. Whether it's playing single note lines or full chords, the sound is unreal. It really feels like playing a horn. It allows you to play single note melodies in a very expressive way. The range of sounds and dynamics is vast. Rich warm chords, singing single notes to muted lines (a la David Keli'i), harmonics. The harmonics just jump out of the instrument so easily. I went with the two knob layout and it's great. The bass side knob is not in the way at all and I fell like it frees up the treble side volume knob to be worked very nicely (although I cannot say for sure as I haven't played one with a concentric knob). The volume knob allows for amazing "violin-ing" effects. I also love how portable and easy it is to carry around. Again, I cannot say enough good things about this instrument. I honestly feel like I could get rid of all my other guitars and be totally fine. It's kind of humbling to know that this guitar is going to be around for many many years after I am long gone. For now, I am digging in and playing it non stop!”

[Nick Fryer]

Here’s a clip of me playing my Elektro 8 w/ a Clinesmith bar through a Peavey

https://youtu.be/ZEed3LxIejs

[Bill Leff]

Great sounding guitar. . Thanks everyone for all the videos.

[Bill Groner]

Here’s a clip of me playing my Elektro 8 w/ a Clinesmith bar through a Peavey

https://youtu.be/ZEed3LxIejs

Man that was SWEET!!!!!!

[Steve Lipsey]

Played out for the first time tonight. WOW WOW WOW! I didn't really get the tone until I heard it in a mix...what a lovely sound! So different than any other instrument I've had. A bit like my hollow-neck myrtle tricone, where the cones interact to provide a sort of reverb and chorus effect - the dense harmonics in the frypan do a similar thing...I turned my delay and reverb way down, just not needed...

Another owner compared the 'pan to the Clinesmith Joaquin model by saying that the Joaquin was easier to control - the 'pan notes just leap out at you and can get away if you aren't on top of them...I'm not as concerned with perfectly clean playing (well, I strive for it, but it happens when it happens, and sometimes not), and just can bask in the lovely tone...

[Steve Marinak]

I just got my 6 string A25 Clinesmith pan today. It's amazingly beautiful and every bit as beautiful sounding too. I have an original short scale Rick pan A22 that was primped by Rick Aiello, it's my go to guitar. The two sound a little different. Solid neck vs hollow neck, longer string length, pickup is probably slightly different. It's like choosing between Bridgitte Bardot and Sophia Loren...both please. So glad I got one. The original A25's rarely come up for sale and when they do they are $5K and up.

[Steve Lipsey]

A few more observations....
-The wound strings have much more of that "horsehoe 'pan" thick tone...the plain strings are very different - more different in tone than on other guitars, it seems....
-Tuning stability is odd...it seems to change by up to 10 cents or so now and then...probably a temperature thing? Rest your hand on it and it heats up? At least it isn't black like the bakelite pandas, hot lights shouldn't make as much of a difference as with that....
-It takes pedals really well...at a jam last night I tried it all at various points, and it sounded lovely - chorus, overdrive (Zendrive Dumble-Type drive), and even wah-wah...

[Andy Volk]

I agonized quite a while before finally deciding to get a short scale Joaquin style with horseshoe in lieu of the frypan as I figured I could better see the frets. Both instruments sound amazing.

My perception is that the pan has a slightly more scooped aspect to its tone but in a mix, there's little difference. The dynamic range of the Clinesmith horseshoes surpasses that of the original Rickenbacher pickup. I formerly owned a '37 Bakelite and the Clinesmith captures much of that tonal vibe but with a more high-fidelity, full-color spectrum sound. The low strings are particularly well defined. Close-voiced chords sound better and less muddy on the Clinesmith than any other non-pedal I've played without the sometimes brittle edge a pedal steel can impart on those kinds of voicing. If you so desire, the sustain of the pickup and the weight of the body allows you to play lines that approach sax or harmonica territory.

While I realize that all this is highly subjective and different amps, rooms, players, will color the sound in different ways, these guitars really do carve out unique sonic territory.

[Steve Lipsey]

Andy-
Yes, your comment a while ago on why you picked the Joaquin had me worried..but I decided that if I was going to do it, I might as well go all the way...so far the fret visibility hasn't been an issue, but I'm sure I'll hit some odd lighting somewhere and it will happen...
Your tonal comments are right on for the 'pan. But rather than a harmonica or sax, I just noticed that it sounded like I was playing a trombone, with all the sliding, on top of the sustain, which is amazing - it seems to just keep going, not even really dropping in volume at first, for longer than you can even imagine...brings a real grin every time...

All-
In my previous comment about the tuning drifting, I forgot to mention that the strings seem to drift as a set, pretty close to each other, so it is easy to adjust by ear while playing, once you remember that you have to compensate when looking at the frets...and of course the tuners are nice and easy to turn (advantage of a new guitar), and pointing right up at you, so it is easy to fix it...

[Steve Lipsey]

Aha- figured it out. room-temperature metal hits body-temperature human legs...metal is a good conductor of heat..so things bounce around a bit till temperature settles...not used to this from just wood bodies or stuff on a stand...

[Steve Lipsey]

Whoops...I put my 'pan on one of those nice little Ultimate folding stands...and being top-heavy, and with a round bottom, it took a dive....don't think I even touched it, it just gradually rotated and dropped...

Detuned, but didn't bend a tuner...but the stacked pots came loose...don't know how it didn't actually break, but just tightening the nut seems to have fixed it...

ANYBODY HAVE A RECOMMENDATION FOR A GOOD STAND? It doesn't really hang well, either, the headstock isn't really wider than the neck..it would rotate off the hangar, I think...

At home I use a hangar with two prongs stuck through the tuner slots...

Would love to find a traveling stand that works...and folds...

[Lance Clifford]

Steve,

Though not folding, would one of these suit your needs?

https://deluxe34.com/pdfs/brochure_universal.pdf

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=243710

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=349211

[Bill Groner]

Aha- figured it out. room-temperature metal hits body-temperature human legs...metal is a good conductor of heat..so things bounce around a bit till temperature settles...not used to this from just wood bodies or stuff on a stand...

My homemade aluminum lap steels I tune just a tad flat at room temp. By the time I'm playing for 10 minutes they come right in.

[Steve Lipsey]

Lance-
I'm not looking for a stand to play it on - my lap is fine for that. I'm looking for a stand to rest it on when not playing.- that was the problem

I found a pretty good solution - a velcro strap on the stand to stop it from rotating - but would still like a more secure one.

sorry about strangely rotated pictures...

[Lance Clifford]

Gotcha Steve...

Your solution looks good, for a mighty fine looking guitar!

[David Ball]

Lance-
I'm not looking for a stand to play it on - my lap is fine for that. I'm looking for a stand to rest it on when not playing.- that was the problem

I found a pretty good solution - a velcro strap on the stand to stop it from rotating - but would still like a more secure one.

There are several guitar stands out there with "security straps" that do pretty much what you're doing with velcro--a lot like the violin stands that have been around for awhile. Google guitar stand with security strap, and quite a few options come up.

Dave

[Steve Lipsey]

thanks for the recommendation...I'll have to go to a store and try it out...the frypan is pretty narrow, and many of those stands have wide prints to rest it on...and I used that type of standard stand for many years, and they just never fit wherever they need to go - why don't they fold up? and the prong thing comes out and falls off and ....and.,..so the safety strap isn't the only odd need for a 'pan.

[Hideki Hattori]

Alan Akaka’s HIMELE staff Addison Ching wrote about Clinesmith Frypan on his blog. I contributed some comments and put a sample video on YouTube.
https://steeltrappings.com/201909/st201 ... l?sfns=xmo

https://youtu.be/QarIH-0H1V0
https://youtu.be/amAb0-UqP-k