My 6-8 console steel

Lap steels, resonators, multi-neck consoles and acoustic steel guitars

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Tom Wolverton
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My 6-8 console steel

Post by Tom Wolverton »

I wanted the best of my non-pedal steels. A Stringmaster 8-string and a Supro 6-string. So I combined them into a single guitar. I ordered blank bodies from Jimmie Hudson and joined them up. 24.5” scale lengths. Stringmaster pickups by Cavalier. Supro pickup by Lollar. It works great.

Image
Last edited by Tom Wolverton on 20 Jan 2024 2:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Bill Sinclair
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Post by Bill Sinclair »

Fantastic and really nicely done! More pics if you get a chance. Are the necks reasonably balanced or is that not really an issue for you?
Mark Perrodin
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stringmaster

Post by Mark Perrodin »

you did a great job in conceiving this and then making it happen. very creative solution to wanting two completely unique and distinct guitars in one. i like it.
Greg Forsyth
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Post by Greg Forsyth »

What a well conceived idea and build. I notice one of Ryan Rukavina's bridges on the 6 string neck. Would love to see photos of your build from start to finish is you have them.
Last edited by Greg Forsyth on 13 Jan 2024 10:26 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Jerry Overstreet
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Post by Jerry Overstreet »

Brilliant conception and beautiful build. Very versatile setup there. Great job.
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Tom Wolverton
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Post by Tom Wolverton »

I lucked out. It is well balanced from neck to neck. And yes, Ryan made a custom bridge for me that put the strings in the right spot for that Lollar string-thru pickup. There was much planning and measurements.

Here’s a few more photos:

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Stephen Cowell
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Post by Stephen Cowell »

With the two dots past the 24th it would normally be a 22.5" scale... is there something funny going on? Beautiful axe btw.
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Tom Wolverton
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Post by Tom Wolverton »

These are non-Fender fretboards. They SHOULD have the third dot, but don’t. They measure 12.25” from the zero fret to the 12th fret. In my thinking that’s a 24.5” scale. Right?
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Eric Dahlhoff
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Post by Eric Dahlhoff »

Very cool :!:
How did you join the necks? Just glue? Or dowels, biscuits, or? Excellent job
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Tom Wolverton
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Post by Tom Wolverton »

Eric Dahlhoff wrote:Very cool :!:
How did you join the necks? Just glue? Or dowels, biscuits, or? Excellent job
I just butt-bonded the edges with yellow wood glue. It seemed to hold ok. It will probably out last me. If it comes apart, I’ll add a spline or biscuits. But for now, it should hold.
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Bill Groner
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Post by Bill Groner »

:D Can't get a bigger, better joint than that!
Currently own, 6 Groner-tone lap steels, one 1953 Alamo Lap steel, Roland Cube, Fender Champion 40
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Joe Cook
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Post by Joe Cook »

That's really cool,Tom! Nice job. I made one of Jimmy Hudson's StringMaster clones (one neck) and it's great.
Jimmie Hudson
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looks great

Post by Jimmie Hudson »

Looks great!!!!!!
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Tony Oresteen
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Post by Tony Oresteen »

Well done! Best of both worlds.
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Newnan, GA

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Dean Gray
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Post by Dean Gray »

Hey Tom! The MasterBlaster looks great! Do you run both necks through the same amp?
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Tom Wolverton
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Post by Tom Wolverton »

Dean, I have one output jack. But with an A/B switch at the guitar, I can run the signal thru 2 different paths in my pedalboard. One is a clean path, the other is more distorted (Earth Drive & compressor). I use the dirty path for the Supro neck. Then all of this comes out thru a single, mono jack. I run the cable into my amp. I have several amps I use depending on the room.
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Dean Gray
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Post by Dean Gray »

Tom Wolverton wrote:Dean, I have one output jack. But with an A/B switch at the guitar, I can run the signal thru 2 different paths in my pedalboard. One is a clean path, the other is more distorted (Earth Drive & compressor). I use the dirty path for the Supro neck. Then all of this comes out thru a single, mono jack. I run the cable into my amp. I have several amps I use depending on the room.
That sounds like a great solution. Are you using a ToneMaster Twin? I’m thinking about getting one for the Williams.
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Will Houston
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Post by Will Houston »

Good thinking, nicely done, looks great.
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Tom Wolverton
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Post by Tom Wolverton »

I use several amps, but mostly the Twin Reverb Tone Master for gigs. It has high utility value.

For the finish, I sent it to MJT guitars for a Fender style nitro finish. It took months to get it back and it cost a bundle. I probably wouldn’t do that again. If I ever did another one, I’d probably do it my self with ReRanch products.
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