profgalen Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 I bought it off CL for $200. The seller didn't have any pickups installed but he sold me a set of 80s Gibson Firebird pickups for $30 more. I checked them out, the Real Deal. Sounds fantastic. Guitar is chrome plated brass non resonator with etched palm tree design front and back, mahogany neck, bone nut, TOM bridge w/locking stop bar, Tele style 3-way switch, Tele knobs, abalone and mop neck inlays, Imperial Grovers and real cool abalone and mop headstock palm tree inlay. There are no markings of any kind as to manufacturer, point of origin or SN#. I set it up with chrome 11s for bottle neck. It doesn't feedback even at high volume. It sounds better than it looks and the visual appeal is jaw dropping. I've posted pics on a bunch of forums but no one's seen anything like it. If you can't tell me what it is, perhaps you could tell me who I could contact that might identify it. I'm dieing to learn something about it. http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab202/profgalen/unknownsteel.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreySeraph Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 that palm tree signifies Dean as the guitar company. They make some resonators like that. http://folk-instruments.musiciansfriend.com/product/Dean-Chrome-G-AcousticElectric-Resonator-Guitar-?sku=515945&src=3WFRWXX&ZYXSEM=0&CAWELAID=211656491 You owe me a nice sushi dinner now. edit: I mean, if you were literally "dying" to learn about it, the least you could do is a 25 buck meal ;D My Gear: 82 Gibson Explorer Ibanez 03 JEM7VWH PRS McCarty Soapbar Diezel Herbert 2007 Peters '11 Brahms Guitar Byers '01 Classical Hippner 8-Str Classical Taylor 614ce Framus Texan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profgalen Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share Posted September 10, 2009 That headstock and the inlays sure do look like mine. I was never aware of Dean making a non-resonator metal body guitar. I'll drop them a line and see what they can tell me. Thanks alot. If you're ever in SoFla dinner's on me at Makino's. Best sushi around these parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreySeraph Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 ahaha i live in SoCal, but I might tour there next year. If I do, I'll hold ya to that (SoFla means southern Florida yes?) My Gear: 82 Gibson Explorer Ibanez 03 JEM7VWH PRS McCarty Soapbar Diezel Herbert 2007 Peters '11 Brahms Guitar Byers '01 Classical Hippner 8-Str Classical Taylor 614ce Framus Texan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Yeah, the palm tree looks Dean. Odd that there is no resonator plate, and the Tunamatic bridge/stop tailpiece assembly is not something that I'd expect to see on such a guitar. And if I got original Firebird pickups, I'd be calling Warmoth for some parts. George Gruhn in Nashville will identify it for you, and appraise it too for a nominal fee. "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profgalen Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share Posted September 10, 2009 And if I got original Firebird pickups, I'd be calling Warmoth for some parts. Huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 " ...he sold me a set of 80s Gibson Firebird pickups for $30 more. I checked them out, the Real Deal. " Les Paul himself said that with the mini-humbuckers (which are what Firebird pickups are...) Gibson "got it right". Under-rated by places like this but (and you can find references to this, even ont he Taylor website) a Les Paul Deluxe equipped with the mini-hbs is a 'secret weapon' of many studio guitarists. So, if I got a pair (for $30) I'd be calling Warmoth for a body, neck, spray job, tuners, and a bridge, and I'd be building me a mahogany soloist with a maple cap and maple neck. "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Cool guitar! If you look inside the "f"-holes with a flashlight, is there ANY sort of label inside? And if I got original Firebird pickups, I'd be calling Warmoth for some parts. Huh? I think Bill meant that if he had those pickups, he'd build a solid-body guitar around 'em, with a neck and body from Warmoth ( <- that's a link). Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profgalen Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share Posted September 10, 2009 So, if I got a pair (for $30) I'd be calling Warmoth for a body, neck, spray job, tuners, and a bridge, and I'd be building me a mahogany soloist with a maple cap and maple neck. I see your point. Perhaps in the future I'll try that I agree these are fantastic sounding pups. Balanced clear and fat sounding with just the right crunch. Especially with those flat-wound 11s Caevan, I took the plate off of the back and looked around inside with a flashlight and mirror. Nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Uhmn- where did the person you bought it from get it? Could you contact them and ask for more information about it? Hmmnn; it almost looks like something that someone who worked at a given guitar-factory might put together with some of the "left-over" parts from various models, and took home with them, possibly with full permission from their employers. That's happened before. Or, a prototype; or, simply a model that I haven't run across before! Overall it does make me think of a Dean, although (and I might be mistaken) I thought that most newer Deans (not the original '70s/'80s models) used a different looking stop-bar tail-pice, one that is broader and more squared. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profgalen Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share Posted September 10, 2009 Uhmn- where did the person you bought it from get it? Could you contact them and ask for more information about it? The guy I bought it from came from India and was moving back to India so I can't get hold of him. He said he bought it from a friend for $400. I should have asked him where he bought it. The guy I corresponded with at Dean (Brad) sez they never made anything like it. However the etching on the back is Identical to the etching on the Dean Chrome G Resonator, also the neck inlays. I don't think it was a home modification. Either a factory left over parts or a prototype like you said. http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab202/profgalen/rescg9.jpg http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab202/profgalen/rescg10.jpg http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab202/profgalen/rescg6.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreySeraph Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 man i wish i could hear it My Gear: 82 Gibson Explorer Ibanez 03 JEM7VWH PRS McCarty Soapbar Diezel Herbert 2007 Peters '11 Brahms Guitar Byers '01 Classical Hippner 8-Str Classical Taylor 614ce Framus Texan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 "The guy I bought it from came from India and was moving back to India.." on that basis perhaps it is an offshore knockoff/ripoff? The current Dean line of resonators, none have TOMs or stud tailpieces. "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picker Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Under-rated by places like this but (and you can find references to this, even ont he Taylor website) a Les Paul Deluxe equipped with the mini-hbs is a 'secret weapon' of many studio guitarists. It really depends. I had a 1968 Les Paul Deluxe Goldtop that absolutely sucked wind and blew chunks...simultaneously. I bought it when I was young and dumb and thought the words "Gibson Les Paul" automatically made a guitar great, and I had no idea what good tone was or how it was achieved. I A/B-ed mine with a couple of other Deluxes friends of mine had, even asked a couple of guys who taste I trusted to give me their opinion, and it was a complete & total egg-suckin' dog of a guitar. By the same token, my good buddy Ron had this Iced Tea Sunburst Deluxe, which he named Emmylou. When Ron played it through his Marshall Mk II 50 watt, it could float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, to borrow a phrase. It really was one of the best Les Paul's I ever heard. So, it's kind of a case by case deal. Some are great, some stink, and most are somewhere in between. Me, I like Firebirds better than LP Deluxes... Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 "Some are great, some stink, and most are somewhere in between. Me, I like Firebirds better than LP Deluxes..." Fair enough. But the pickups are the same. (Unless you are talking about the later 1960s Firebird with P-90s, or some re-issue.) So what would cause your Deluxe to sound worse than others? I wonder if there could have been a wanky pot, switch or some other piece of stuff int he signal path that was causing the problem. The reason that i don't suspect the pickups is because there are two of them, and if there was one good one and one bad one, you would have said so. "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 oh, and from a 'cool' standpoint I always prefered Firebirds too. Heres mine. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/BillPark/studio%20pics/05-29-0512strings.jpg "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profgalen Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share Posted September 10, 2009 From what i understand...and I may be wrong...the mini HBs in LP Deluxe and the Firebird pups are two different animals. mini HBs have adjustable pole pieces with the magnet being under the coils like a regular HB. A Firebird looks more like a hot-rail type pup under the cover with the coils wrapped around two magnets. This gives a much brighter sound to the Firebirds. http://www.300guitars.com/articles/gibson-mini-humbucker-vs-gibson-firebird-pickup/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profgalen Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share Posted September 10, 2009 on that basis perhaps it is an offshore knockoff/ripoff? The current Dean line of resonators, none have TOMs or stud tailpieces. True, but I've never seen any Resonator with a TOM and stop-bar. I don't think that would work. Where would you put the studs? Dean resonators such as the Chrome G are made in China as I'm almost sure my guitar is. So what would it be an offshore knockoff/ripoff of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picker Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 From what i understand...and I may be wrong...the mini HBs in LP Deluxe and the Firebird pups are two different animals. mini HBs have adjustable pole pieces with the magnet being under the coils like a regular HB. A Firebird looks more like a hot-rail type pup under the cover with the coils wrapped around two magnets. This gives a much brighter sound to the Firebirds. http://www.300guitars.com/articles/gibson-mini-humbucker-vs-gibson-firebird-pickup/ Yeah, I was gonna say that having adjustable pole pieces makes a very measurable difference in the tone of a pickup. I never figured out why my Goldtop was such a dog. I have come to wonder what the impedance value of the pots was. If the pots were 500k instead of 250k, it would have been harsher and brighter. The sound it made was nastily similar to the sound of someone beating on a medium sized tin can, and it didn't change regardless of the amp I put it through. Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Uhmn- where did the person you bought it from get it? Could you contact them and ask for more information about it? The guy I bought it from came from India and was moving back to India so I can't get hold of him. He said he bought it from a friend for $400. I should have asked him where he bought it. The guy I corresponded with at Dean (Brad) sez they never made anything like it. However the etching on the back is Identical to the etching on the Dean Chrome G Resonator, also the neck inlays. I don't think it was a home modification. Either a factory left over parts or a prototype like you said. "The guy I bought it from came from India and was moving back to India.." on that basis perhaps it is an offshore knockoff/ripoff? The current Dean line of resonators, none have TOMs or stud tailpieces. Well, it's not a big stretch for it to possibly be a leftover-parts-assembly or prototype from the same factory where those Deans were made, put together by people who had worked on the Dean contract; many of those Deans are of Pacific-Rim manufacture, aren't they? In any case, it sure looks sharp, and between its being an engraved metal-bodied NON-resonator flat-top with a stop-tail and T-o-M bridge, and having those Gibson mini-humbuckers installed, it's not likely that you're going to run into anyone else with even a remotely similar axe anytime soon! That is so cool, good Professor Galen! If you ever consider having saddle-transducers installed for the option of a more amplified-acoustic type sound that could be blended in with the mini-humbuckers or used by itself, look up Dave Wendler of Wendler ElectroCoustic and his proprietary MagPi system. Dave's a member here of very high standing and his unique guitars and electronics are exceptional. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picker Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 I believe I've seen guitars similar if not exactly like that one on Ebay. They weren't ultra cheap, but they weren't very expensive either. I recall thinking that they were probably Deans because of the similarities. My guess is that they are made by the same factory in China/Korea/Indonesia/East Jabip/wherever that Dean pays to build their resonator guitars. If it sounds good, who cares? Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picker Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Check this and this out. It has the same sort of headstock facing on it. It's a Galveston, so it was probably made by the same factory that made yours... Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Thanks for that informative article on vintage Gibson mini humbuckers, Bill! By the way, FWIW- my good friend "Teahead" (who many of you here may recall) scored an old Gibson ES-325 a while back, which has a pair of the same mini-humbuckers as found on vintage Les Paul Deluxe models (the ones with the adjustable poles), and that guitar sounds phenomenal. There are a number of mp3 sound-clips of it through various Cornell and Vox amps here. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profgalen Posted September 11, 2009 Author Share Posted September 11, 2009 OK. Here's the bottom line. I talked to Dean, I talked to Galveston. Nobody's owning up to this monster. We can be fairly sure it was made in the same off-shore factory as Deans and Galvestons. Whether this thing is a "one-off" or a "prototype" is anybody's guess. At this point I really don't care. It looks cool, plays smooth and makes a fantastic sound. I'll try to get some video posted on YouTube real soon. Thank you all for your help. Galen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 It looks cool, plays smooth and makes a fantastic sound. That's all that really matters! Again, I think it's a very cool guitar, and would love it myself. I'll try to get some video posted on YouTube real soon. Keep us posted, I'd like to see and hear it in action! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anderz Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 It looks like a dean really. Stick it to the man. http://profile.ultimate-guitar.com/anderseb/ (Muh homepage of greatness) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesape Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 Regardless what is, with those pups, the look, the sound, it's the best $230.00 you'll ever spend. Enjoy it! Never a DUH! moment! Well, almost never. OK, OK! Sometimes never! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picker Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 If you ever want to sell it for $230, let me know and give me a little time to raise the bux... Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picker Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 I knew I had seen something like that before... Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 I knew I had seen something like that before... Ah-HAHH! You and your luthiery-sleuthcat Watson have dunnitt again! "Come, Watson! Treble is afoot!" Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.