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Author Topic:  What Lap Steel is this?
Alan Cannell

 

From:
United Kingdom
Post  Posted 5 Aug 2020 11:21 pm    
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A friend of mine has cleared out his cupboard and came across this. He bought it secondhand in 1970 and just wanted to know more about it. Any ideas most welcome , at first I thought Hofner but the serial number doesn’t tie up and there’s no name.Here’s some pics...

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Noah Miller


From:
Rocky Hill, CT
Post  Posted 6 Aug 2020 2:42 am    
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It's a Selmer 379 (UK)/Hofner 111, '50s to early '60s, with an added pickup.

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Alan Cannell

 

From:
United Kingdom
Post  Posted 6 Aug 2020 4:59 am     Many thanks
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Thanks Noah , that’s very helpful and I’m sure 18gns was a lot of money back then. He did mention the original pickup was faulty and replaced. Just wonder how much it’s worth in today’s bleak times. Thanks again for your reply.
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Nic Neufeld


From:
Kansas City, Missouri
Post  Posted 6 Aug 2020 5:56 am    
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What's the story behind the (apparent) two bridges? Is the wood one original? Kind of hard to tell in the graphic in the ad. If original I wonder why that little metal bridge behind the wooden bridge is there. If not original...wouldn't that throw your tuning and fret positions off?
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Noah Miller


From:
Rocky Hill, CT
Post  Posted 6 Aug 2020 6:06 am    
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The metal bridge is original. My guess is that the wooden one was added to allow the strings to clear the added pickup. And yes, it would throw your intonation off.
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Alan Cannell

 

From:
United Kingdom
Post  Posted 6 Aug 2020 7:44 am    
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These are is all good inputs , guess the cost of repairing etc is going up by the minute... Whoa!
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Nic Neufeld


From:
Kansas City, Missouri
Post  Posted 6 Aug 2020 12:13 pm    
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If it were me and I was interested in it...I'd probably try to either get the original pickup rewound (if its even possible) or find another pickup that might fit in the route, and ditch the second bridge and the new mounted pickup. Might be a way to get it back to its original form and function (whether or not its worth it, up to you).
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Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me
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Rainer Schmidt

 

From:
Eastwestfalia - Germany
Post  Posted 8 Aug 2020 12:35 am    
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Also appears that a nut raiser is missing. This could help with the string clearance issue. (Weird thing: some of those came fretted IIRC, this one isn't)
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Alan Cannell

 

From:
United Kingdom
Post  Posted 8 Aug 2020 5:23 am    
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Many thanks for all your comments , my friend has now decided to take it to a Professional Luthier to have it all put back to its original state. I’ll post again when it’s all completed and I’ve had a chance to try her out.
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