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Topic: Bigsby D8 Steel F/S--Rare Opportunity! |
Dana Duplan
From:
Ramona, CA
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Posted 30 Mar 2005 6:50 pm |
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After much deliberation, I have decided to offer up the pride and joy of my collection:
1959 Bigsby D8, 2 pedals on one neck, the other neck is nonpedal. Beautiful natural finished maple body with aluminum necks. The scale length is 25 1/2". Restored to excellent cosmetic and playing condition. It appears that all parts are original. The guitar was professionally set up with A&B pedals on the one neck, tuned to D9th, utilizing the string gages from an E9th set, without the chromatic strings (I think). I currently have a C6 on the nonpedal neck. It sounds great with this setup, and stays in tune remarkably well. I was amazed at how much music the previous owner (a very accomplished pedal steel player) was able to get with just those two pedals! I have the D9th neck tuned to a D13th (with same strings) and play it without the pedals as I am not a pedal steel player--many of the Bigsby's are used in that manner. It has the blade type pickups with original covers, silkscreened fretboards, volume and tone controls, and open-backed tuners, and adjustable legs. The guitar was reportedly originally owned by "Thelma Boyle" and her name was removed from the front apron. In it's place is a classy looking brass placque engraved: "Custom Made by Paul A. Bigsby-1959." I don't think it would take much for the new owner to have their name inlayed on the front--probably just by making an inlayed maple insert and replacing the placque, but I always liked the way it looked as is. It is housed in a custom made black leather look case, with compartments for the pedal bar, rods, legs, and additionally for a volume pedal an accessories. The guitar works great, needs nothing, and sounds like nothing else; except the best Bigsbys out there! My understanding is that Bigsby double necks are perhaps more rare than triples, and some of the best sounding.
I thought long and hard about the best way to offer this guitar up for sale. I have had several folks over the year ask me to contact them should I ever decide to sell, and I would like to be fair to all those interested in obtaining this fine instrument. I have found that many Bigsby owners prefer to remain anonymous, both to having ownership, and additionally the price paid. Out of respect to the potential new owner, this information will not be posted on the Forum. If the new owner wishes to announce their joy, then that is up to their discretion. As a result, I felt the best and most straightforward way to sell this guitar was by a private silent auction. Interested buyers may email or call me with their bids/offers. Offers will be accepted until Sunday, 4/10/05, at 9:00PM PST, at which time they will be considered. The buyer would be responsible for all shipping and insurance charges, which could be estimated by going to the UPS or FEDEX websites, and calculating about 65 lbs. in a 52" x 21" x 10" carton, from zipcode 92065 to your local zipcode.
I would love for a fellow Forum member to get this guitar, rather than turning it to the Ebay masses. Of couse, upon completion of the sale, a nice donation would go to the Forum. Please be respectful of my listing and choice of how to proceed with the sale. I have consulted with several honest and well-respected Forumites for feedback prior to composing this ad. I welcome positive on-topic comments, but please refrain from negativity. If you have any specific quesions about the guitar, please feel free to contact me and I will do my best to answer them. I invite anyone willing to travel to the San Diego area, to come see and play this guitar in person. Thanks to Ricky Davis who was kind enough to post pics for me (when he gets home from his gig tonight!).
Thanks much,
Dana
760-805-9873
DDuplan@aol.com
[This message was edited by Dana Duplan on 30 March 2005 at 07:44 PM.] [This message was edited by Dana Duplan on 30 March 2005 at 07:46 PM.] |
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Ricky Davis
From:
Bertram, Texas USA
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Posted 30 Mar 2005 11:06 pm
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WEll here are the main pics and if you want some other shots/closeups/details; email Dana and he'll email those to ya.
All I can say is WOWwhat a Steel.
Ricky |
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Paul Warnik
From:
Illinois,USA
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Posted 31 Mar 2005 7:50 am
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| Yep-as the song goes-"She used to be mine" not many double neck Bigsbys out there as triple neck production far outnumbered all others |
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John Rosett
From:
Missoula, MT
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Posted 31 Mar 2005 3:01 pm
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i couldn't even begin to bid on this beauty, and even if i could afford it, i'm not worthy.
still, i keep coming back here, just to gaze at it. that is one beautiful guitar... |
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Stephan Miller
From:
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
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Posted 31 Mar 2005 4:22 pm
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What John said. Still, I could sell my second car...wait, I don't have a second car. O.K., bicycling everywhere-- how bad could that be? Could I still hang out in No Peddlers?
Oh man, what a gem..... |
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Denny Turner
From:
Oahu, Hawaii USA
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Posted 1 Apr 2005 12:24 am
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Well let's see now; second mortgage rates are floating around 10% ....the oldest son's about old enough to go to work ....and the old lady, ...well.....
Thinking ...thinking ...thinking....  ........
Aloha,
DT~
[This message was edited by Denny Turner on 01 April 2005 at 12:26 AM.] |
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Jussi Huhtakangas
From:
Helsinki, Finland
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Posted 1 Apr 2005 2:09 am
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Oh heck guys, just go talk to a friendly bank manager. That's what I did!  |
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Paul Warnik
From:
Illinois,USA
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Posted 1 Apr 2005 1:54 pm
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When I owned Thelma she had the Isaacs E9th-looks like it has been changed over to split pedals-it also looks like a few unused fingers have been added to the changer-this would allow for addition of another pedal or two-Whoever gets this should contact me-no one else has has any quantity of original Bigsby parts as yours truly  [This message was edited by PAUL WARNIK on 01 April 2005 at 02:00 PM.] |
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Dana Duplan
From:
Ramona, CA
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Posted 1 Apr 2005 3:33 pm
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Ok, here's the skinny on the way the pedal neck is currently set up. Thanks to the previous owner for clarifying:
D9th tuning, split pedals, no chromatics. Tuning from low to high is:
A C D E F# A D F#
Pedal 1 pulls the A's to B
Pedal 2 pulls the F#'s to G
And thanks a million Paul for pointing out that a potential buyer could procure some original parts from you, should they decide to add more stuff or change the setup.
Dana |
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Paul Warnik
From:
Illinois,USA
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Posted 2 Apr 2005 5:09 am
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| Dana-I seem to recall that perhaps you got some extra parts from me? It appears to have seven changer fingers on it now where before it had only five-We are currently out of changer fingers and at this time we are not planning to run the mould pattern for them anytime soon-so with the extras you have one or two pedals could be added-I myself would change it to a chromatic D9th if any more pedals were added |
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Dana Duplan
From:
Ramona, CA
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Posted 6 Apr 2005 4:35 am
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Bump Up!
Thanks for the positive comments folks--this is one beauty! Yeah, when I heard Thelma was for sale when I acquired it, suddenly my whole collection was up for sale--I figured it would probably be my only opportunity to snag a Bigsby!
DD |
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Paul Honeycutt
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 7 Apr 2005 7:51 am
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Paul Bigsby was an amazing craftsman. From trems to steels...
I hope your guitar finds a good home. I wish it could be mine. |
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Paul Warnik
From:
Illinois,USA
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Posted 7 Apr 2005 8:44 am
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| Paul H-Not only was P.A. Bigsby a master craftsman-He was undoubtedly the man who built the first modern designed pedal steel as we have come to know it-the earliest two of his pedal steels that I have seen date from 1947 |
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Kevin Mincke
From:
Farmington, MN (Twin Cities-South Metro) USA
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Posted 7 Apr 2005 11:02 am
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| I have done business with Dana & he is a straight shooter! |
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Dana Duplan
From:
Ramona, CA
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Posted 8 Apr 2005 2:01 pm
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Thanks Kevin! Do you still have that other beautiful blonde!
Dana |
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Dana Duplan
From:
Ramona, CA
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Posted 10 Apr 2005 5:34 am
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Thanks folks for all the positve feedback.
Auction closes tonight, Sunday 4/10, at 6PM, West Coast time.
It looks like the guitar is going to a new home, so if you've ever wanted a Bigsby, this may be the last opportunity for a long time (if ever)to obtain one--especially a D8. This is truly a great sounding/playing guitar, and beautiful as you can see--I'm gonna miss her! Please feel free to email or call with bids until the close of auction.
Thanks again,
Dana
DDuplan@aol.com
760-805-9873 |
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Dana Duplan
From:
Ramona, CA
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Posted 10 Apr 2005 3:51 pm
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Auction closes in about an hour--6PM PST. Thanks again for all the nice emails and posts. A nice Forum donation will go out upon completion of the sale.
Dana |
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Dana Duplan
From:
Ramona, CA
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Posted 10 Apr 2005 5:00 pm
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bOb, please lock 'er up. And thanks again Ricky for posting pics.
Dana |
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