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A new member & making a silk purse, etc....UPDATED ON PAGE 4


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On 4/8/2021 at 12:24 PM, Marvel said:

 

You can get it in different colors or tint it yourself, too.

 

Hi Marvel,

I noticed the lap steel in your avatar is probably a Gibson, and isn't that the infamous P-13 pickup?

 

Very cool. I've played lap steel and dobro since 1970 or so. 

 

Howard

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12 hours ago, Howard Emerson said:

Hi Marvel,

I noticed the lap steel in your avatar is probably a Gibson, and isn't that the infamous P-13 pickup?

 

Very cool. I've played lap steel and dobro since 1970 or so. 

 

Howard

 

It came to me as a Kalamazoo Oriole, painted with a brown wrinkly finish, for which I paid between $50-100. I got it sometime in the late '60s. It was so ugly, I stripped off the paint and underneath was a sunburst finish and Gibson painted on the Gibson style peghead. I realize I killed off any hope of getting money back out of it, but knew I would keep it. 

 

There was a huge flaw in the back (bottom), which I assume got them to make it a second and sell as a Kalamazoo. The original also had both the volume and tone controls on the one side, one of which was plugged when they put the controls on each side of the pickup. Never had a case  for it, but I keep it in a heavy cardboard box my dad glued up when he gave my daughter a dulcimer (It hangs on the wall along with a Vega mandolin banjo). I had a Dobro, but sold it to buy a baby bed for my daughter, who is now 43.

 

I love it, the pickup sounds great, you just have to be careful and keep a hand on the strings or pickup, or it might buzz. I mostly pretend I can play it, but have played on a couple of albums of friends. I recently found there are lots of lapsteel videos on YT. Always been a fan of David Lindley's lapsteel playing.

 

Probably way too much info...

 

Bruce

 

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17 hours ago, Marvel said:

 

It came to me as a Kalamazoo Oriole, painted with a brown wrinkly finish, for which I paid between $50-100. I got it sometime in the late '60s. It was so ugly, I stripped off the paint and underneath was a sunburst finish and Gibson painted on the Gibson style peghead. I realize I killed off any hope of getting money back out of it, but knew I would keep it. 

 

There was a huge flaw in the back (bottom), which I assume got them to make it a second and sell as a Kalamazoo. The original also had both the volume and tone controls on the one side, one of which was plugged when they put the controls on each side of the pickup. Never had a case  for it, but I keep it in a heavy cardboard box my dad glued up when he gave my daughter a dulcimer (It hangs on the wall along with a Vega mandolin banjo). I had a Dobro, but sold it to buy a baby bed for my daughter, who is now 43.

 

I love it, the pickup sounds great, you just have to be careful and keep a hand on the strings or pickup, or it might buzz. I mostly pretend I can play it, but have played on a couple of albums of friends. I recently found there are lots of lapsteel videos on YT. Always been a fan of David Lindley's lapsteel playing.

 

Probably way too much info...

 

Bruce

 

Hi Bruce,

Although I don't currently own a lap steel, I've owned a bunch of Gibson EH models and at one point while out on the road I found a Fender Champ set with the lap steel and amp. Glorious Mother Of Toilet Seat in all its splendor! Here's a shot of me playing it in 1976, somewhere, when I was touring with Billy Joel.....and no, I'm not plugged into the Acoustic 360 Bass amp in back of me:-). At this juncture I was playing through a Fender Twin Reverb with JBL's. 

 

3Wk8hVI.jpg

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3 hours ago, wetowne said:

Beautiful work. Better than original. I'm curious about the spring clip terminals. What not binding posts?

 

Thanks for the kind words!

 

I guess my reason is that I wanted something small, and when I saw these units that only required a round hole to install, I got them. It was simple and inexpensive, and frankly if all the JBL drivers I own have spring clips to hold the wire, then this is good enough for me! Long ago when I worked in a hi-fi store, I quickly grew immune to the nonsense products that people swore up and down would 'improve' the sound, but I'm in no way inferring that about binding posts.

 

I've spent over 40 years touring & recording with major acts, doing studio work, and 5 CD's of my own compositions, etc, and if it sounds good to my ears then that's all that counts. 

 

14 gauge lamp cord is all I need. It ain't sexy, but as long as I can feel the ridges on the 'positive' leg, I'm good:-)

 

The other thing was that in searching older Heresy speakers I saw some really basic speaker connectors, compared to which the ones I got are high-tech. The ones mine came with were thick panel Switchcraft 1/4" jacks for phone plugs, although there were 2 small holes on either side which hints at something different from the factory. I did see some rather large binding post units on some newish Heresy models.

 

Anyway.......thanks again!

 

Howard

Edited by Howard Emerson
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While I'm at it: A question regarding the Logo badges on the grill cloth:

 

What are they attached with?

 

I'm reasonably sure they're anodized aluminum that was then filled and wiped with black lacquer. The anodizing is funky on mine, and before I go doing something stupid it would be helpful to know what I can possibly do to 'renew' them just a little bit.

 

If not they'll just be a badge of a life lived rough.

 

Thanks!

 

Howard

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4 minutes ago, billybob said:

Guess it is possible to make a silk purse from a sow's ear.

Very cool...

Thank you kindly, Billybob!

 

The final product looks good to me, and I'm sure it'll sound really good too! I should have them loaded up and situated in a day or so.

 

Now I have to make a worthy 'hi-fi table' of some sort..........It's always something.....

 

HEPRIsEbu.jpg

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2 hours ago, Marvel said:

Outstanding! So these have a clear coat on them or still to be decided?

Hi Bruce,

They're finished with Tru-Oil, a polymerized linseed oil that dries very quickly. I did it with 3 coat, lightly sanding in between coats.

 

It basically looks like the wood is wet, but really doesn't change the color much.

 

Howard

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