Posted by tod
on May 31, 2006, 11:41 am, in reply to "Re: Looking for a good guitar for slide and old-time blues"
209.40.81.3
What year did Scmodt Company stop making Stellas and Harmony take over?
--Previous Message--
: ...John P...I'd strongly recommend finding an
: old Oscar Schimdt instrument from the 20's
: (Stella, Galiano etc) They're ladder braced
: and have a certain dry, woody sound that
: sustains nicely and really cuts w/ a
: slide...plus, they are light as a feather
: and retain that musty old smell that
: increases your skill level 20% or more ;-)
:
: I mentioned this story before on this board,
: I bought a 20's vintage Stella 6 string for
: $7 a few years back minus a bridge and nut,
: plus the sides and braces were all loose and
: popping...after ordering a replica bridge
: via internet ($25), some ebony to carve a
: nut ($5) and resorting to some yankee
: ingenuity to get glue into the loose braces,
: I strung that piece of junk up and, wham,
: it's 'the' guitar for slide! ...fingerpicks
: well, too, even though the action is set a
: little high w/ slide in mind...granted,
: cherry examples of these guitars are getting
: out of reach for the casual enthusiast, but
: investing some time and a little luck you
: can still find them at yard sales, flea
: mkts, guitar shops for an affordable price,
: even if you have to put some money into
: setup/repair you'll have a great guitar...a
: good place to start is Neal Harp's site
: stellaguitars.com...oh, and this is the
: guitar most of the old guys played back in
: the day, so you got that 'mojo' working,
: too...good luck, the fun is the hunt...keep
: us posted...PS...my .02 on Martins for
: blues: my experience, owning at various
: times 000's, 00's, M, D's in various wood
: and vintages, I've found they all were fine
: for blues picking, but lacked something when
: played with a slide..in some cases it was
: the action too low, but I, personally,
: haven't played a Martin with a slide that
: was a positive experience, especially when
: compared to a National or old
: Stella...perhaps others have had better
: experiences...regards
:
: --Previous Message--
: I play two guitars: a Dean Chrome S
: resonator
: (which sounds great for slide and/or
: non-slide open tunings), and a Taylor
: 410ce dreadnought for non-slide (which
: sounds great for non-slide standard
: tuning).
: I also pluck around on an Ibanez dreadnought
: which doesn't sound nearly as good as
: either of the above.
: But it sounds pretty good set up for slide
: (this setup involves slightly higher
: action and heavier strings, especially in
: the high string). Set up this way, the
: Ibanez provides a nice middle ground
: between the slicing resonator sound and
: the warm dreadnought.
: I am thinking about getting another quality
: guitar and setting it up for slide (I
: would also play non-slide open tunings on
: it). Any suggestions as to some good
: ones? I have been told to consider a
: smaller guitar, maybe even a parlor model
: -- can anyone offer first-hand experience
: playing slide on one of these?
: I have heard that Martin guitars are not
: good
: for blues -- opinions?
: Regards,
:
:
:
:
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