Bridge Pickin’ in the Rain

[Ulu]

Chicken pickin’, flat pickin’, finger pickin’ . . . A lot more guitar picking has been going on here since Christmas.

 

Particularly since we have had several very rainy days, and lots of damp cold days, which have kept me indoors and away from my welding.

 

See, in the short time from Christmas to Valentine’s day, I bought 8 electric guitars and 2 amps, plus lots of cases and accessories.

 

Having learn to play the guitar in 1969, I have, all these years, only owned acoustic guitars. When I decided that I wanted an electric guitar, it set off a chain reaction of spending, prodded by recent high inflation rates, plus the growing interest in old guitars.

 

Since I played the bass violin in high school, I bought myself a bass guitar and an amplifier for it. I also bought a Hawaiian steel guitar, just because I always wanted to learn the slide.

 

I bought a rather expensive 1999 Eric Clapton model Fender Stratocaster guitar, which I won’t be playing. It’s more for investment.

 

I got a cheap 2024 foreign made Telecaster, for daily playing, and a more expensive local custom builder Strat for the the same.

 

I bought a Schecter Platinum, which is a tone monster. A heavy Gibson type solid mahogany pro concert-worthy instrument. I got it cheap due to a chip in the heavy resin finish.

 

I bought a 1958 Silvertone Speed Demon, also as investment. They are currently not as popular as old Fenders and Gibsons, but they are decidedly more rare.

This model was built for Sears by Kay, It was also sold through the Spiegel catalog as The Old Craftsman.
 

I also bought a ‘65 Silvertone and a ‘67 Silvertone, as investments, but both of those guitars need restoration work. More about that later.

The 1965 Silvertone was built by Danelectro and sold exclusively by Sears. This 67 model is really a Harmony Holiday in disguise. It was built exclusively for Sears.

I have currently got both taken apart, and that work is proceeding as I receive the parts.

 

Edited February 15 by Ulu

[Plymouthy Adams]

Speigel, that is a name I have not heard of in decades....names like Murphy's, Ben Franklin, Western Auto, JC Fields and Montgomery Wards to name a few more.  

[Ulu]

Danelectro also sold those Silvertone style guitars through JC Penny as the Penncrest. I think you could buy the Kay-made versions at Western Auto.

[Ulu]

Well I am still working on the guitars but today is my wife’s birthday and I took some time to help her out with her crafty projects.

 

I never did record Mama Didn’t Buy No Cookies, which I wrote for my mom‘s 85th birthday, but I wrote something for my wife’s 69th birthday.

I recorded the instrumental part, but It doesn’t have a bridge yet. Maybe I’ll pull out the harmonica. I won’t post up video until it gets more polished. It’s all too big to post up here of course. I would have to put it on my YouTube channel. It would be my first music video.

Imagine a basic 12 bar blues like Pride & Joy, key of G, with some slides and syncopation whenever I can manage it…

Titled:[b] Lordy Dontcha

I told my baby
Oh yes I do
I’m gonna love you ‘til the sun turns blue
In the sky

But I don’t know why

Some days she drives me crazy
But Lordy dontcha take her away

I drive my baby
All over town
She spends money like it’s raining down
From the sky

And I don’t know why

These days she drives me crazy
But Lordy dontcha take her away

(Instrumental bridge)

I took my baby
For some fine cuisine
I wanna feed her like the English Queen
Me Oh My

But I don’t know why

Today she drives me crazy
But Lordy dontcha take her away[/b]

Edited February 23 by Ulu

[Ulu]

I found out that Kay also sold guitars as TrueTone brand, through the TrueValue hardware store chain.

 

I have been doing a lot of work on the old Silvertones. The 1448 got a custom bridge, saddle, and pickguard.
 

It is in good shape now, but the Bobcat had delaminated veneer, and is getting glued.

 

I also made a bone nut to replace the molded plastic on the Speed Demon.

 

I will have to post some photos, after I make more space.

[Ulu]

It looks like the weather will be nice enough to work on the car again soon.
 

Meanwhile, stuck indoors, I built this old radio into a portable guitar amp.

it was my Dad’s, so it had sentimental value. It was also my garage radio for years after he died.

 

Needed a good cleanup, a new power switch and plate, plus a 1/4” phono jack for the guitar.

 

Just two wires: the blue wire goes to ground, and the tan wire goes to the base of the audio pre-amp transistor. I’ve attached it to that transistor’s shunt resistor lead just for convenience.

 

It sounds OK for 5 watts max (2 nom), and even better with the amplified pickups, or an external booster. I’m using the FullTone 2B booster seen here.
 

Both it and the radio will run from 9 volts, which is very convenient.

 

Edited 5 hours ago by Ulu

[Ulu]

Building another amp from a discarded boom box and four 8” Mexican alnico speakers from an early 70’s Sanyo quad.

 

 

Test rig on the bench: 1965 Silvertone guitar, played thru a Fulltone 2b booster amp, which I juiced up from 9v to 15v with the 2 amp power supply from an old aquarium pump, then the bare Sanyo mainboard.

 

It’s loud enough to be lots of fun. Now I need a cabinet.

Edited March 22 by Ulu

[Ulu]

Building the speaker cabinet.

 

 

 

Once that varnish dries I can finish this.  In the meantime I have purchased two old vacuum tube radios to work on. Niether one is completely dead, but each has a problem.

 

One is original and unmolested.

1950 Sears Silvertone. Early AM/FM did not say AM. They said “standard broadcast” for AM.  $26

The big one was $66 but it was highly molested. 1961 Zenith AM/FM hi-fi. 7” speaker + tweeter

All the tubes light up but there is a broken tuner string and there is no sound from the original amplifier.
 

The speaker wires are cut. Someone had tapped a modern Bluetooth device into the radio and it was playing out thru the original speakers.

 

I bought both of these with the intention of using them as vacuum tube guitar amplifiers.

Edited March 28 by Ulu

[Ulu]

Work on the speaker cabinet.

 

 

Amp is on it’s own board, in back.

 

 

Blacking out the baffles.

 

Painting the legs. These NOS legs came from my Dad’s collection of junk. They’ve been kicking about here since the 1960’s.

 

The grille cloth frames are re-sawn from reclaimed maple and oak. I rabeted the corners and lapped them.

 

Here they have been shellacked and are drying, but I painted them flat black too.