Carving out plastics for the old Silvertones. Busted nut cover:
Mine is much more stylish.
Pickguard for the 1448.
Still needs a little shaping.
Mine is much more stylish.
Pickguard for the 1448.
Still needs a little shaping.
Pickin’ and Grinnin’
- Thread starter Ulu
- Start date
I finally figured out who built this guitar. It was made by a local luthier where I buy all my strings. He built this for himself, but of course sold it when he built a better one.
This is my most playable instrument, and the tremolo really works without frequent flicking or resettling.
It really craps all over the Clapton Strat.
This is my most playable instrument, and the tremolo really works without frequent flicking or resettling.
It really craps all over the Clapton Strat.
I finally finished my pickguard for the 1448. I blew it twice. This is slightly smaller than the original, right near to where all the pick wear is.
I wasn’t trying to make it original anyhow. It’s a custom.
And as such it can (somehow) stand alone.
There’s lots of “roadwear.” My wife says to repaint it. I might just buff it some more instead.
I wasn’t trying to make it original anyhow. It’s a custom.
And as such it can (somehow) stand alone.
There’s lots of “roadwear.” My wife says to repaint it. I might just buff it some more instead.
That's not "wear"...it's "character"...
My wife occasionally asks why I don't re-finish the wood stocks on some of my favourite hunting rifles, getting rid of all those little dings and nicks and kisses that recall some interesting and memorable times afield. I always respond with a look of horrified disbelief...
My wife occasionally asks why I don't re-finish the wood stocks on some of my favourite hunting rifles, getting rid of all those little dings and nicks and kisses that recall some interesting and memorable times afield. I always respond with a look of horrified disbelief...
My machine heads came , and I’m back to the “Bobkat” guitar.
I have been calling it “the 1967 Bobcat” because it’s not really a Harmony H17 Bobkat. It’s their Sears Silvertone Model 14773 (AFAICT.) No name. Just a number, and even that is missing.
At that time in history, Sears owned Harmony, but also sold Silvertones made by Kay and Danelectro and others.
Anyhow, it took a while to get those holes reamed out and properly aligned so that the tuner’s sat exactly straight. There was a bit of exactly X-Acto knife wittlin’ involved.
I also got the roller bridge assembly all cleaned up and polished. That thing was a crusty mess. Too bad that it’s missing the decorative cover.
Next I have to deal with the vibrato tail piece.
I have been calling it “the 1967 Bobcat” because it’s not really a Harmony H17 Bobkat. It’s their Sears Silvertone Model 14773 (AFAICT.) No name. Just a number, and even that is missing.
At that time in history, Sears owned Harmony, but also sold Silvertones made by Kay and Danelectro and others.
Anyhow, it took a while to get those holes reamed out and properly aligned so that the tuner’s sat exactly straight. There was a bit of exactly X-Acto knife wittlin’ involved.
I also got the roller bridge assembly all cleaned up and polished. That thing was a crusty mess. Too bad that it’s missing the decorative cover.
Next I have to deal with the vibrato tail piece.
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If you ever wanted to know what was inside a complicated electric guitar, this one has three pick ups, three control knobs, a push-pull switch, and a five way switch.
Each of those pick ups has a big ceramic bar magnet on the bottom of it. There’s only one electronic semiconductor: that small green capacitor, which reduces the tone.
The five-way switch allows you to select any pickup, or either adjacent pair in parallel.
The push-pull kicks in the bridge pickup in parallel with whatever else is selected.
But it’s already in with position 3 or 4.
So, you can add it to the neck pickup, or both neck and mid pickup.
That runs all three in parallel (and with tone bleed.) Something regular Strats don’t do.
So now you can quit laying awake at night wondering how these things work.
Each of those pick ups has a big ceramic bar magnet on the bottom of it. There’s only one electronic semiconductor: that small green capacitor, which reduces the tone.
The five-way switch allows you to select any pickup, or either adjacent pair in parallel.
The push-pull kicks in the bridge pickup in parallel with whatever else is selected.
But it’s already in with position 3 or 4.
So, you can add it to the neck pickup, or both neck and mid pickup.
That runs all three in parallel (and with tone bleed.) Something regular Strats don’t do.
So now you can quit laying awake at night wondering how these things work.
There was some delamination of the maple veneer on my ‘67 Silvertone bobcat guitar. I had to glue it in three different places and I clamped it to dry for a couple days before I look at it again.
The weather was so nice here that I did this on the outdoor bench.
The weather was so nice here that I did this on the outdoor bench.
I wrote something for my wife’s 69th birthday. I blew the vocal recording though. It takes everything I can manage to sing and play guitar at the same time. Even poorly
I recorded the instrumental part, but It doesn’t have a bridge yet. Maybe I’ll pull out the harmonica. I won’t post up video until it gets more polished.
Imagine a basic 12 bar blues like Pride & Joy, Key of G, with some slides and syncopation whenever I can manage it…
Titled: Lordy Dontcha
I told my baby
Oh yes I do
I’m gonna love you ‘til the sun turns blue
In the sky
But I don’t know why
Some days she drives me crazy
But Lordy don't ya take her away
I drive my baby
All over town
She spends money like it’s raining down
From the sky
And I don’t know why
These days she drives me crazy
But Lordy don't ya take her away
(Instrumental bridge)
I took my baby
For some fine cuisine
I wanna feed her like the English Queen
Me Oh My
But I don’t know why
Today she drives me crazy
But Lordy don’t ya take her away
I recorded the instrumental part, but It doesn’t have a bridge yet. Maybe I’ll pull out the harmonica. I won’t post up video until it gets more polished.
Imagine a basic 12 bar blues like Pride & Joy, Key of G, with some slides and syncopation whenever I can manage it…
Titled: Lordy Dontcha
I told my baby
Oh yes I do
I’m gonna love you ‘til the sun turns blue
In the sky
But I don’t know why
Some days she drives me crazy
But Lordy don't ya take her away
I drive my baby
All over town
She spends money like it’s raining down
From the sky
And I don’t know why
These days she drives me crazy
But Lordy don't ya take her away
(Instrumental bridge)
I took my baby
For some fine cuisine
I wanna feed her like the English Queen
Me Oh My
But I don’t know why
Today she drives me crazy
But Lordy don’t ya take her away
