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Topic: Edwards Lectromaster |
Jerry Gleason
From:
Eugene, Oregon, USA
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Posted 7 Aug 2014 9:12 pm |
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Anybody ever seen one of these? I saw this "Edwards Lectromaster" 8/10/8 in a music store recently. I've never seen one like it, and a Google search turns up nothing. It looks like a manufactured product rather than a homemade build. It's Formica covered, has non-adjustable folding legs. Underneath is an output jack, and a slot with a bolt loosely running through it, function unknown. Possibly some parts missing there. No volume control, tone control, or neck selector switch that I could see, but I'll admit I didn't examine it that closely. I didn't even notice that the middle neck was ten strings until I started editing the photos. Looks like a missing tuner there. Under the pickup covers looked like a solid piece of wood to me, but it was hard to see.
I'm tempted to go back and buy it just as a curiosity piece. Can anyone shed some light on this mystery guitar?
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 8 Aug 2014 6:26 am
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I don't know but I would guess it was made by Don Edwards of Denver, Colorado. Here's a discussion about his pedal steel guitars:
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=201586
There's hardly anything out there about him, but that might be a start.
_________________
Brad’s Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
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Jerry Gleason
From:
Eugene, Oregon, USA
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Posted 8 Aug 2014 9:38 am
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| That sounds very plausible, Brad. The fretboard markers look similar. I've seen a similar script logo on an old Edwards light beam pedal, so I was thinking that it might be the same maker as that. I should have examined it more closely, and plugged it in to hear it. At the time, I wasn't thinking that It was something I would ever buy, but now it's piqued my interest. |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 8 Aug 2014 10:27 am
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| How much are the music store asking for it? |
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Catherine Starling
From:
California, USA
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Posted 11 Jul 2016 6:05 pm Made by my grandfather
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Hello,
That exact steel guitar was created and built by my grandfather, Slim Edwards, in Torrance, Ca in the 1950s. It was hand wound by my uncle and there were only 400 ever made. Slim owned a music shop in Torrance called Melody Music Center. His actual name was William Edwards and was even a one man band in Texas in the early 1920s. He was the teacher of Larry Carleton. I wish I had access to one out of nostalgia. |
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Jerry Gleason
From:
Eugene, Oregon, USA
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Posted 11 Jul 2016 6:39 pm
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| It's been a couple of years since I posted about this steel, but it wouldn't surprise me if it were still there, in that same music store. It was there for a long time before I photographed it. |
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Terry Nelson
From:
California, USA
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Posted 16 Oct 2016 10:13 pm
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I have an Edwards Lectromaster triple neck (8-10-8 string) console guitar. It was completed on 9/1/1956 and signed inside by your grandfather Slim Edwards and by Kenny Hamm. I have had it for a few years. It is in great shape for its age. I do not have any more information about it other than I suspect it was one of his earlier builds. The reason I think so is that the some the switch mounting and tuner mounting appears a somewhat "non-production" hand fabrication.
The tuners needed attention so they were all disassembled, cleaned, lubricated and realigned (if needed). Everything is original except for the following: The knob was missing off the leg controlled pickup selection lever; I replaced it with a bakelite round knob true to the period. The tuners are a strip mount type like classical guitar and were not mounted to the metal headstock at every hole in the strip (holes were skipped). This was allowing the tuner posts to move under string stress and bind, making tuner movement very hard with some posts. So, I found matching machine screws and nuts to fasten the tuner strips at every mounting hole. The wiring is all of thin clear coated wire that I suspect is the same as used on the pickup bobbins. The wiring is pretty much not attached with retainers as it courses from the knee switch, pickups, volume and tone control and output jack and was not shielded, subject to picking up a lot of 60 cycle ambient electrical noise. The case was not shielded either. So, I elected to shield the wiring by lining the console internally with foil shielding. Therefore, leaving all of the original wiring as is. It could be removed as the adhesive is not a permanent type. It has made a big difference. The case and one corner of the guitar appears to have been subject to moisture. The aluminum trim shows a patch of corrosion at one corner corresponding to water stains in one corner of the case and the severe musty smell of the case. This trim was left as is but buffed with the rest of the trim. I relined the case and that eliminated the odor. The formica overlay is grey and the bottom cover is flocked plywood. If you are really interested in owning one of these Lectromasters, let me know. If you send me your email address, I would be glad to share pictures with you.
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Chris Templeton
From:
The Green Mountain State
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