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Author Topic:  trotmore castings
Hugh Roche


From:
Florida, USA
Post  Posted 7 Jun 2013 3:15 am    
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Do any of the steel guitar historians out there know who and where the the trotmore was cast? What alloy are the metal bodies made of? Any information would be appreciated.
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Brad Bechtel


From:
San Francisco, CA
Post  Posted 7 Jun 2013 6:24 am    
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I couldn't find anything specific regarding your questions, but there are a lot of earlier discussions about Trotmore steel guitars on this forum.
Here's a very old discussion from 2002 to start you off.
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James Williamson


From:
California & Hawaii
Post  Posted 9 Jun 2013 2:31 pm     Troutmore Double Neck
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Hugh had asked to see the double neck that I got so I'm sending this along

I got it a couple years back from Forum Member Bill Joerger.







Bill Joerger


From:
Cape Cod, Mass., USA Posted 10 Aug 10 11:02am
________________________________________
Jerry Byrd, "Master of Touch and Tone" personally used this guitar on the road in the mid 50"s. He and the late Ira Trotter of Nashville at the time, collaborated in design and production of this and a single neck model.
In a personal letter, Jerry told me he used it on a few instrumental recordings. But before ever getting up into production, he was asked by Rickenbacker to design and signature a console model under their name which led to my direct purchase and procurement of this guitar from Jerry back around 1956. To the best of my knowledge, aside from a single lap model which Jerry has been photographed with, this double-neck is the only one of it's kind they ever produced.
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Scott Thomas

 

Post  Posted 9 Jun 2013 2:40 pm    
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That double is a rare bird (rare byrd?) and a great looking steel. I see in the original "for sale" listing that it's referred to as "mag-alum"...magnesium aluminum alloy?
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Tom Snook

 

From:
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA
Post  Posted 9 Jun 2013 3:02 pm    
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Sweet! Are those real horseshoe magnet pickups?
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Ray Montee


From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
Post  Posted 9 Jun 2013 3:22 pm     The ONLY ONE??????????
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Some time back, there was a newspaper article about an elderly fellow in Kentucky that had a double neck version of the Trot-Mor.

Per chance, is this the same unit?

Jerry told me that the alloy included Magnesium that was supposed to eliminate the shrinking/stretching of the guitar causing the 'out of tune' characteristics common in the Bakelites, during hot sunny days and television studio lighting.
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James Williamson


From:
California & Hawaii
Post  Posted 10 Jun 2013 2:49 pm     Trotmore
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@Tom Snook,

Yes, those are real Horseshoes.

@Ray Montee,

I guess we'd have to ask Bill Joerger as he claimed this was the only double neck made and he got it directly from Jerry Byrd...so couldn't have been acquired from someone in KY...
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Hugh Roche


From:
Florida, USA
Post  Posted 15 Jun 2013 10:46 am     single neck trotmore
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So I got the single neck guitar with the bad paint for a rehab project. It has a wonderful tone and appears to be all original with the exception of the volume knobs. Guitar uses mallory u41 pots and a 1 1/2 " horseshoe pickup. i have not removed paint to determine if there are any interior markings, will keep interested parties updated.

At this point have been unable find much info on Ira Trotter or his partner Grady More. Casting origin is unknown at this point. So far it seems to me that the production of this guitar with Jerry Byrds involvement went trough many of the difficulties that Shot Jackson encountered in the late 70s with the Jerry Byrd Frypan A and B series.
HR
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Hugh Roche


From:
Florida, USA
Post  Posted 15 Jun 2013 10:48 am    
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sorry for the spelling errors
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Hugh Roche


From:
Florida, USA
Post  Posted 17 Jun 2013 6:13 am     trotmore castings
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It is possible that Superior in Nashville cast these as they did work for showbud.
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Hugh Roche


From:
Florida, USA
Post  Posted 18 Jan 2018 2:44 pm    
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Last edited by Hugh Roche on 18 Jan 2018 3:21 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Chris Templeton


From:
The Green Mountain State
Post  Posted 18 Jan 2018 3:03 pm    
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Jerry Byrd played a single neck Trot-mor and he gave it to Ray Knapp. From what I understand, Jerry was endorsing the guitar, but according to Ray, Jerry was disappointed with the decrease in quality of the next guitars he saw/played and decided not to endorse the company.
He didn't play one for long.
Remembering its weight, I think it was semi-hollowbody.
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Hugh Roche


From:
Florida, USA
Post  Posted 18 Jan 2018 3:26 pm    
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i wonder where Ray Knapps wound up? I would love to locate the others. I only know of 3 in metal.
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Chris Templeton


From:
The Green Mountain State
Post  Posted 18 Jan 2018 3:46 pm    
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Hugh,
Ray Knapp's daughter, Luana Knapp Campbell contacted me a couple of years ago.
This is her email if you want to contact her:
Elsie5860@yahoo.com
Say "hi" to her from me if you contact her.
_________________
Excel 3/4 Pedal With An 8 String Hawaiian Neck, Tapper (10 string with a raised fretboard to fret with fingers), Single neck Fessenden 3/5
"The Tapper" : https://christophertempleton.bandcamp.com/album/the-tapper
Soundcloud Playlist: https://soundcloud.com/bluespruce8:
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Noah Miller


From:
Rocky Hill, CT
Post  Posted 18 Jan 2018 3:55 pm    
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Hugh Roche wrote:
i wonder where Ray Knapps wound up? I would love to locate the others. I only know of 3 in metal.


I have one that used to belong to Charles Miller (no relation): https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=310998
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