The Steel Guitar Forum

Posted: **2 Jul 2004 6:01 pm**

Elva West is great!!! He has kept me up to date on the progress of my guitar, is great to deal with and a fine gentleman. I would encourage anyone to purchase one of his fine guitars. My guitar should arrive next week and Elva sent me these photos' of my guitar that are beautiful.

Gibson[This message was edited by Gibson on 03 July 2004 at 05:03 AM.][This message was edited by Gibson on 03 July 2004 at 11:44 AM.][This message was edited by Gibson on 03 July 2004 at 11:45 AM.][This message was edited by Gibson on 03 July 2004 at 11:46 AM.]

Posted: **2 Jul 2004 8:51 pm**

Yes, by all means - let's see this beauty!

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Rick Alexander
Fender Stringmaster D8, Fender Dual Professional, Fender Champion, Rickenbacker 6 String, Alkire Eharp

Posted: **3 Jul 2004 9:25 am**

I think I was possibly the one who first brought the name of "Elva West" to the Forum a few years ago. I have 5 of his guitars and they range from good to excellent. My double neck is especially special. Great tone and is made from light weight ash. Elva winds his own pickups as he had an extensive career in electronic prior to his retirement. The nice thing about Elva...he's a real gentleman and one of those guys who is so easy and pleasant to deal with. If you have a particular design in mind for a guitar, just draw a rough sketch and he'll make that custom guitar for you. You can reach him at elvawest@hotmail.com

Hey, that pic you just posted ! WOW...Elva has outdone himself ! It strongly resembles a Fender, but then the Fenders were produced very close to where he lives. It's a real beauty and I'm a bit envious!!!

[This message was edited by George Keoki Lake on 03 July 2004 at 11:54 AM.]

Posted: **3 Jul 2004 11:02 am**

Thank you for the compliments George. Elva is great to deal with. I was very specific in what I wanted and he built for me exactly what I wanted. It is a great feeling when a person/builder/artist such as Elva West listens and is exact in the finished product. In a way, he read my mind.

Gibson...

Posted: **3 Jul 2004 12:58 pm**

Wow, that's beautiful. Can you give us some of the details (scale length, wood/finish, electronics, etc.)?

-Travis

Posted: **3 Jul 2004 1:14 pm**

Travis the guitar is based on the Stringmaster. The scale on this guitar is 22.5 string spacing is 3/8". All of the metal parts were chromed at my request. As far as pick-ups are concerned, Elva winds his own and people have e-mailed me saying that he is great at winding pick-ups and that they sound great. I do not know what kind of wood was used but Elva got the finish exactly like I wanted concerning appearance. As George has written you can reach Elva at elvawest@hotmail.com. He can build you exactly what you want. In the very near future, I will ask him to build me another guitar.

Gibson[This message was edited by Gibson on 04 July 2004 at 09:42 AM.]

Posted: **3 Jul 2004 1:39 pm**

I suspect the guitar is made of ash wood which Elva prefers to use. It has a rich texture, and ash is generally lighter in weight than most other woods. It sure is a beauty !

Posted: **3 Jul 2004 2:09 pm**

I too have to chime in here on the quality of work that Elva does...He made my frypan copy to the exact specifications that I wanted...I was all set to order a horseshoe pickup to put on this steel, only to find that the pickup that Elva wound was just plain INCREDIBLE ...
I'm sure that anyone who deal's with Elva will find not only a top of the line craftsman, but will not find a nicer, and a more honest gentleman to deal with ....I HIGHLY reccomend Elva, and whatever he builds ... Have him build you a steel !!....You'll know exactly what I'm talking about ...Jim

Posted: **3 Jul 2004 2:11 pm**

G.K. Lake,
I have to admit that your ravings about Elva's work played a big part in my buying a steel from him ....Truer words were never said
Thank You for the introduction....Jim

Posted: **3 Jul 2004 5:17 pm**

You'll really like that guitar, Gibson. It's a beauty! I bet it will sound great with the dual pickups. I have a D-8 Tradewind lapsteel.

I'm curious, what is the circular thing between the strings at the bridge and tailpiece? I've seen those on an old Fender one time and I'm curious what they are....

Posted: **3 Jul 2004 5:25 pm**

Jeff,- it's a blend control for the pickups.
Very nice guitar, by the way!

Steinar

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www.gregertsen.com

Posted: **3 Jul 2004 7:04 pm**

I mentioned earlier that Elva "read my mind" concerning the design of my guitar: When I ordered it I requested that all of the metal parts be chrome plated but I forgot to mention chrome tuning knobs...When I got the photos' from Elva I thought of this when I noticed that the tuners were white which I thought looked fine on the guitar...Elva just left me a phone message saying that he did not like the way the tuners looked in the photos so he changed them to chrome!!! How about that!!!

Posted: **3 Jul 2004 8:55 pm**

And I'll bet he gave you a good deal on that guitar also. He has always strived to please me in all my requests. So folks, if you want a nice guitar at a reasonable cost,
I have no hesitation in recommending my friend Elva West in Anaheim CA.

[This message was edited by George Keoki Lake on 03 July 2004 at 09:55 PM.]

Posted: **4 Jul 2004 4:28 am**

The guitar looks great. Congrats on this fine steel.

Ironic. Here we have a "Gibson Stringmaster"...

Posted: **9 Jul 2004 9:22 am**

Is there a web site for Tradewinds Steel Guitars?

Posted: **9 Jul 2004 11:25 am**

There is no website for TRADEWIND guitars of which I am aware. E-mail Elva and I am sure he will supply pics of his guitars. As mentioned earlier, he will build to your design or sketch. He's a great guy and very approachable.

[This message was edited by George Keoki Lake on 10 July 2004 at 09:14 PM.]

Posted: **10 Jul 2004 1:04 pm**

I can't stress enough the fact that Elva will take YOUR design or his, or anybody else's , and if you want something changed , he'll accomodate your desires..
I had him change a string spacing on the steel he made me ...Like was mentioned earlier, Elva's prices are more than fair, not to mention that you're paying assembly line prices for truely high quality CUSTOM work ...Elva is a true craftsman, and gentleman ......Jim

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