My new Williams

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 4 Jun 2005 6:34 am

Richard,
Very, very nice!! I have a Williams very much like yours except for the difference in inlay. Is that abalone between the pearl inlay? I see Bill has come up with a different choice of fretboards. I know he talked about that. He sure is a nice guy to work with.
Erv

Richard Cooper · Post by **Richard Cooper** » 4 Jun 2005 7:57 am

That is Paua Abalone inlay with pearl
This is Bill's new fretboard red and white with a light
blue lines that shows up very well in dim light.
Red Mahog. Aprons and neck with a natural top all
curly mapel.
I also got the mini grovers tuners and a
George L 10-1 pickup.
It looks alot better than the pictures.
Bill gives you alot of opitons.
And he builds a great Steel, just the way you want it.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 4 Jun 2005 8:10 am

Richard,
I sent you a picture of my D-10 Williams. It is birdseye & curly maple with custom inlay w/pearl from Constantines and I put Jerry Wallace TruTones on it. It has 9 foot pedal and 10 knee levers.
Erv[This message was edited by Erv Niehaus on 04 June 2005 at 09:13 AM.]

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 4 Jun 2005 8:24 am

Red white and blue fretboards - I like it!

Al Marcus · Post by **Al Marcus** » 4 Jun 2005 11:01 am

Richard-That is a Beautiful guitar....al

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My Website..... www.cmedic.net/~almarcus/

Billy Easton · Post by **Billy Easton** » 4 Jun 2005 1:08 pm

Just beautiful. The more Williams guitars I see, the more I want one!! I am fantasizing about a D10 Crossover, all blonde birdseye with wood necks and pearl/abalone inlaid trim!

Billy Easton
Casa Grande, AZ

Doug Earnest · Post by **Doug Earnest** » 4 Jun 2005 1:23 pm

That is truly a beautiful instrument!
Are the aprons and neck mahogany stained maple or solid mahogany? I don't believe I have seen a nicer looking guitar.

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Doug Earnest
The only Zum Keyless U12, Fender Cyber Twin

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 4 Jun 2005 1:38 pm

Richard.. that is a magnificent steel! You should be proud to own it.. What a looker! bob

Larry Jamieson · Post by **Larry Jamieson** » 4 Jun 2005 4:10 pm

Hey Richard,
What a beautiful guitar! I want one...
I know you'll enjoy playing it and and it will sure look great in any playing venue. There is nothing like an all wood, laquer finished axe and that one is a masterpiece!

Carl Williams · Post by **Carl Williams** » 4 Jun 2005 5:09 pm

Richard, she's a looker

and the inlay is the "icing"! I've only bought one brand new steel in my life and it was a thrill! Good luck and happy picking with your new Williams!

Carl Williams

Wayne Dahl · Post by **Wayne Dahl** » 4 Jun 2005 9:05 pm

That is truly a beutiful guitar but what about the tone and feel of the Williams?
Great job Bill!!
Wayne

David Friedlander · Post by **David Friedlander** » 4 Jun 2005 9:29 pm

Seems like great minds think alike- I have an almost identical Williams S10.
The axe is a great workhorse.
Light as a feather, tiny- fits on any bandstand.
The pedal action could be a little more positive- but you get used to the action.
THe knee levers are just about perfect.
Stays in tune, nice tone.
It's an all around great guitar.

John Davis · Post by **John Davis** » 5 Jun 2005 1:49 am

David, please tell more about the pedal action......I have a real yen for one of these but coming from a P/Pull Emmons I wonder if it would be too fast and soft for me?????????????????????????????????????

I do like hard and posotive???????

Paul Brainard · Post by **Paul Brainard** » 5 Jun 2005 11:06 am

Beautiful guitar. Bill does great work. A special plug for his lacquering - whatever it is he uses (or how he does it) seems to be much more durable than most newer wood-bodied steels. Others I've owned have always ended up with a few dings or chips, but I toured extensively with my Williams and somehow it emerged completely unscathed.

I actually felt that my Williams had a remarkably positive pedal action - light, yes, but very solid & comfortable stops. He uses thick Delrin knobs for stops, solid but not clanky like metal. And nice thick pedal rods with a right-angle bend where they hook in to the cross-shaft (no binding). I didn't used to be as big a fan of his knee levers but I haven't tried the new extruded ones yet, I hear they're nice.

David Friedlander · Post by **David Friedlander** » 5 Jun 2005 5:57 pm

Hey Paul- I agree about Bill's laquer finish- it's very very nice, and durable.

John: As far as the pedals- make sure you order pedals with side mounted rods.
Mine mount in the center of the pedal.
This causes the pedal rods to flex as they pull- which, if you never look at it, is ok, I guess. Once it was pointed out to me, it bothered me if I think about it. So I stopped thinking about it.

Nobody ever made the case about the rationality of playing this insrtrument. Or it's players.

The light weight manifests itself in the pedal bar. It's simply a "softer" guitar than an emmons type guitar.
If one is used to an p/p, the Williams' pedal will require some getting used to. But ultimately I find it to be a satisfying guitar to play.

[This message was edited by David Friedlander on 05 June 2005 at 07:01 PM.][This message was edited by David Friedlander on 05 June 2005 at 07:02 PM.]

Duncan Hodge · Post by **Duncan Hodge** » 5 Jun 2005 6:21 pm

All I can say is WOW!!!
Duncan

Billy Carr · Post by **Billy Carr** » 5 Jun 2005 8:06 pm

Beautiful guitar!

mike nolan · Post by **mike nolan** » 6 Jun 2005 5:20 pm

I use heavier guage strings than the ones that came with the Williams originally.... so my action is a bit heavier. Still smooth and solid. The extruded knee levers feel great. The stops are really positive. No mushiness at all. I play a '73 LDG, a '73 D-10 PP and a '74 S-10 PP . There is no trouble switching among the different guitars. 

I went for a transparent black with rope inlays. That way I have tone and looks covered.

[This message was edited by mike nolan on 06 June 2005 at 06:24 PM.]

Hook Moore · Post by **Hook Moore** » 6 Jun 2005 5:53 pm

Both of those guitars are very pretty

Hook

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www.HookMoore.com

KENNY KRUPNICK · Post by **KENNY KRUPNICK** » 6 Jun 2005 7:13 pm

How is the pedal travel on Williams? Short,or long?

mike nolan · Post by **mike nolan** » 6 Jun 2005 7:49 pm

The Williams has 7 hole pullers, so there is a lot of room for adjusting the feel...

Darvin Willhoite · Post by **Darvin Willhoite** » 7 Jun 2005 4:42 am

"If you show me yours, I'll show you mine". Here is my '99 Williams 400 series, a great looking, playing, and sounding guitar. I love these lacquer finish guitars.

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Darvin Willhoite
Riva Ridge Recording

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 7 Jun 2005 5:55 am

I love Bill's knee levers with the extruded paddle. However, the way I sit at my Williams, the end of left knee levers hit me right in the middle of the knee. I contactred Bill and he made up some knee levers that were 2" longer and that made them sooooooo much more comfortable. He sure aims to please.

Erv

Chuck McGill · Post by **Chuck McGill** » 8 Jun 2005 3:02 am

I love the Williams. You have got to bring
it to my shop and let me check it out in person. Congrats Richard on a gorgeous guitar.