PROJECTS
The instrument arrived at my shop in need of total restoration. Decades ago, the original owner brush painted the instrument with gold and silver lacquer.
Fortunately, the cone and interior of the instrument remained untouched.
The Silvertone and Harmony Espanada guitars were part of the Artist Jazz archtop family of instruments. The Harmony Guitar Company did not install top bracing in the Artist Jazz instruments, and cut corners on other aspects of the model’s design and construction, which resulted in top warping, and issues with the neck set and angle, making them virtually unplayable over time.
I received a call from an administrator of an orchestra in Philadelphia who had been directed to me by a violin shop in Manhattan. One of the violinists had an accident with her instrument and it needed to be inspected and repaired as soon as possible.
The Sonny Rhodes lap steel was built from the ground up by me. It was modeled after a 1940’s Gibson EH-150. I constructed the body with a tubular steel tone bar through its center to increase sustain. Sonny Rhodes used the instrument for several years until it burned up in a bus fire with the rest of his band’s equipment and possessions during a Canadian tour.
Prior attempts at correcting a variety of neck issues had completely savaged this instrument’s fret board, rendering it unplayable. Examination of the neck after removal of the fret board revealed hairline fractures along the length of the neck, which were invisible from its back contour.
The headstock on this vintage Les Paul Deluxe had suffered a near complete break with multiple fractures to the surrounding wood. A well meaning woodworker re-glued the headstock to the neck, and then carved out any severely damaged and compressed wood. Mahogany grafts and veneers were then applied to add strength to the repair.
The conversion of Matt Daniels’ 1954 Harmony Stratotone H-44 to a two pickup instrument was inspired by our good friend Rick Holmstrom, one of the West Coast’s foremost blues and swing guitarists. Rick has been largely credited with fostering the re-emergence of the Stratotone almost three decades ago.
These instruments had a history of serious neck issues. This instrument’s pear wood fretboard had disintegrated, and the neck had developed a nasty twist, making it unplayable. I sat for a few hours staring at the banjo before coming up with a solution for a jig that would allow me to both secure the neck, and dial in side to side tension adjustments during the heat treating of the wood.
