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Author Topic:  What is this make?
Jimmy Gibson

 

From:
Cornwall, England
Post  Posted 26 Sep 2017 5:13 am    
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I recently acquired this old steel,that was found in a house clearance,it was in a filthy state,but I plugged it in and it still works,all the controls do what they are meant to do,but I have no idea what the make is,I have given it a good clean put new strings on,and it sounds absolutely awesome,But a mystery to what make ,so any help would be very much appreciated.

Cheers.




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Mick Hearn

 

From:
United Kingdom
Post  Posted 26 Sep 2017 5:39 am    
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Pickup style, controls, switches and fretboard all seem to point to Guyatone or at least from the same factory.
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Doug Beaumier


From:
Northampton, MA
Post  Posted 26 Sep 2017 6:42 am    
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Yes, it looks Japanese, probably 1960s or 70s.
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David M Brown


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 26 Sep 2017 7:40 am    
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Doug Beaumier wrote:
Yes, it looks Japanese, probably 1960s or 70s.


My thoughts exactly.
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Jimmy Gibson

 

From:
Cornwall, England
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2017 3:54 am     Update
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Hi guys,this lap steel was made in Germany in the 80s,that probably accounts for the good build quality and durability.not sure what this may be worth.
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Mark Helm


From:
Tennessee, USA
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2017 4:52 am     Japanese?
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Looks a bit like the old Valco-Supro laps, but the pick-up looks like something that might have come out of Japan in the 70s.

Hope that helps!
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Mark Helm


From:
Tennessee, USA
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2017 4:54 am     Worth?
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No more than $100 ($200, $300 tops if it was cleaned up nicely, strung and had a period case).

Hope the forum agrees.
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Noah Miller


From:
Rocky Hill, CT
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2017 5:03 am    
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It's not German, and it's not a Valco product. This is absolutely Japanese, most likely from the Guyatone factory as everyone else said. $2-300 is reasonable.
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Bill Sinclair


From:
Waynesboro, PA, USA
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2017 5:33 am     Re: Update
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Jimmy Gibson wrote:
Hi guys,this lap steel was made in Germany in the 80s,that probably accounts for the good build quality and durability.not sure what this may be worth.


You may be correct about the country. The pickups are identical to those on guitars made in the German Musima factory. Not a very German sounding name. I wonder if it was a German/Japanese collaboration?

Here's one (incorrectly?) identified as a Guyatone that sold recently on ebay for 98 pounds:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Guyatone-Steel-Lap-guitar-/132232386405?nma=true&si=r7K96a4RrRGBYZRmUY3C9sspmfo%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

I'd guess the value of yours is in that ballpark. Whether it's German or Japanese, it looks like an entry level model. Cool looking pickups though.
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Jerry Overstreet


From:
Louisville Ky
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2017 6:25 am     Re: Update
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Jimmy Gibson wrote:
Hi guys,this lap steel was made in Germany in the 80s,that probably accounts for the good build quality and durability.not sure what this may be worth.


Could it be a Framus?
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Bill Sinclair


From:
Waynesboro, PA, USA
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2017 6:40 am    
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Not a Framus. Digging a little further, Musima was an East German manufacturer. Here's an electric guitar with the same pickups on the wonderfully named "cheesyguitars.com" website that specializes in cheapo Soviet block instruments:

http://cheesyguitars.com/musima_eterna.html
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Doug Beaumier


From:
Northampton, MA
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2017 7:18 am    
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Below is one that was posted on the British Steelies forum about three years ago. The owner said he bought it new in 1983. Someone on that forum thought it might be a Musima, a German company that made cheap copy guitars.

At first I thought the guitar was 1960-70s, but I wondered about the control knobs. Those look too modern to be 1960s or 70s. I've seen those on entry level electric guitars of the 80s and 90s.


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