1956 Dewey Kendrick dual 8 4-pedal - updates & pics!

[Chris Lucker]

Jim, I have seven Bigsbys, I have had thirteen different ones and have details on sixty three of them. I have also had my share of Wrights.
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.

[Jim Sliff]

Chris, I'm not sure if youre telling me I don't understand, or I still need to change something that works or ?..

As soon as I get out of the hospital (I had abdominal surgery last Wed and will be here another 2-3 days at least) I'll follow up and try to understand your last post. Without access to it I can't do anything anyway. But again, it's working as intended, so I'm not sure if I'm being told I need to understand something...or why....or something else entirely.

[Andy DePaule]

Now who has the headache?

Hi Erv,
I'm the one who has the headache now.
Bought it from him for what he had in it and it arrived today.

This is the e-mail I sent to Jim;
"Yes it is a mess, but the tone is great. Reminds me of that old Hawaiian sound from the older records.
Also the birds eye maple is quite nice and will look good when refinished.

Think I’ll re-work the entire guitar and perhaps install a pull release system with pull rods.
That lever on the front neck is one of those that can raise or lower some of the strings.
So for instance you can shift from C6th with the E on top to A6th with the E on top with just a flip of the lever.
It’s not set up right now.
I’ll have to take it apart to see how it is intended to work so that if I keep that changer I can use it.
If that is the case I will make all 4 pedals work on the back neck as E9th.

I’ll also make two of my fretboards to replace (Cover up) the dumb ones he put on it and the Spanish guitar frets will also go.

Just got out of surgery yesterday, (Having a non-malignant tumor removed from my *^&%#$@), so today feeling like a horse kicked me in the groin.
Won’t do a thing until I’m fully recovered.

The name Dewey Hendrick is just the name that was on the home made case on a strip of newer tape.
Nobody claimed responsibility for it on the steel itself.
Thinking of it as a poor mans Bigsby....

[Erv Niehaus]

Andy,
Good Luck!

[Andy DePaule]

Thanks Erv,
Yes it's going to be quite a mess to get it working right.
You might say I've bought a poor mans Bigsby, though I'd not want to attach that good name to this item.
Didn't know until it arrived because of no side view that the back legs lean back as they should, however the front legs are straight up and down looking ridiculous and making the guitar easy to push over!.....*^&%#$@


Will be a few months before I have the time, tools and space to work on it.
May make end plates for it and replace the entire pulling system and changers too?

Anyway this new mess (Poor mans Bigsby/Fender/Frankenstien Monster) will wait until later. No decisions until I see what I got to deal with.
Best wishes,
Andy

[Erv Niehaus]

Andy,
Will all those projects to look forward to, you should have been born twins!

[Andy DePaule]

Bigsby/Fender/Frankenstien Monster has great tone.
Reminds me a lot of the hawaiian tone on older vinyl records so that helps make it worth the effort.
It also has quite nice birds eye maple without any damage, not the very best, but good looking. Very thick by todays standards.

[Andy DePaule]

Andy,
Will all those projects to look forward to, you should have been born twins!

Will being manic depressive work?
Since I'll be 70 in December I'll need to stay until I'm 100 if the management agrees to allow that.

[Erv Niehaus]

I find it helps to be a little crazy too!

[Andy DePaule]

Getting started on this slowly now.
Think I will gut that mess, re-route the openings where the pull fingers come through to make them nice and neat. Right now they look like they were hacked out with an ax.

Think I will make and use a pulling system like this one in the Blankenship steel that Todd has.
It's so clean and simple compared to the mess in the Kendrick.




I had a nice name plate made 1" X 5.5" from polished stainless steel to attach to the front apron when it's done even though thats a ways off yet.



Will also make new fretboards using the same method to replace the silly ones that are on it now.
A big issue with this steel is that the front legs are straight vertical and the back legs tilt as they should. The leg mounting receptors seem to be those old ones that were used on couches years ago for those short little legs they had. I'll need to find a pair that have the same angle as the back leg ones have.


Not sure how I got myself into this, but I'm committed now. On the bright side it has great tone.
The wood is quite nice too so with a fresh finish when done it could be a nice period steel worth less than I'll have in it
Got some 8 string nuts with string rollers that just happen to be the exact right width for this. Not right for the instruments date, but will allow less string breakage... I'd like to think that Dewey wouldn't mind that?

[Erv Niehaus]

The nicest thing about that guitar is the name plate.

[Andy DePaule]

Given enough time and $$$ I'll get her in shape like she's never been.
Her bones are strong if not quite straight!

[Chris Scruggs]

Looks like Rickenbacker keyheads?

[Chris Scruggs]

Looks like Rickenbacker keyheads?

[Andy DePaule]

About the key head pans being from a Rickenbacker, I thought the same thing, but not sure how to tell?