Oahu Lap Steel Guitar with Stringtone Chord ChangerMade by Supro/Valco/National – Circa 1952Another favorite art-deco style model with very hot pickups. Valco made with their classic string through pickup. They have that much sought after unique growl. Supro/Valco/National pickups are legendary among the realm of guitar pickups. String through design with separate coils for bass and treble utilizing AlNiCo magnets. Jason Lollar was impressed enough by their sound & design he recreated a modern version of them. See Lollar pickups web site under Supro pickups. (Valco/Supro/National are various evolutions/convolutions of the same company.) This pickup has such great qualities that some guitarists have swapped these for their regular solid bodied electric pickups. These p’ups put out a sound favored by many slide players. Ry Cooder, Peter Green, Jeff Healy, Jeff Lind, Rick Alexander, Jody Carver, Herb Remington, are some that come to mind. Ry Cooder used them in his Coodercasters. Peter Green reversed the polarity in some for some of his early FM recordings. The consensus seems to define the pickup quality as “dirty”. It does overdrive readily and creates remarkable sustain. But it also handles clean well if that’s how you dial it in. These are versatile fun instruments to play.Fred Layman: “The Stringtone Pitch Changer was invented by Ron Dearth of Lima, Ohio, teacher of Jerry Byrd. Ron had a guitar studio and gave lessons on steel and guitar. Ron's niece Kathy Davis inherited the studio after Ron's death and may still have it. The first time I ever saw the device was in that studio. Several years later I wanted to add one to a 6-string National lap steel and contacted Kathy. She told me that Ron had sold the patent to the Hohner music company in Toledo. I contacted them and they responded that the device was no longer in production.” What it does is change the notes of various strings enabling different tunings on one neck, even in the middle of songs. It is very functional, and seems to stay in tune reasonably well. Think of it as a "junior" Trilogy bridge.There is a rotary lever with three positions, marked A (closed) and E (straight up) and C# (all the way back). It is set up to raise or lower the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th strings, with adjustment screws for each on the changer. You tune the strings at the keyhead for the highest note, and adjust the lower note with the screw.A tuning lo/hi = E A E A C# E E tuning = E B E G# B E C# tuning = E B E G# C# E = C#m7/E6 Mint condition. Museum quality.This example is one of the cleanest guitars imaginable from it’s era. It’s even got all it’s original paperwork. A rare find in this condition. *Please see our other listings and store for many other Vintage Lap Steel Guitars and Amplifiers. We currently have Alamos, Audio Vox, Bronsons, Dickersons, Dobros, English, Epiphones, Fenders, Gibsons, Harmonys, Kays, Maestros, Magnatones, McKinney, Nationals, Oahus, Rickenbachers, Sho Bud, Silvertones, Supertones, Supros, Vegas, and White Lap Steels.* *We also accept Cashier's Checks, Personal checks (have to clear) and Bank Transfers. Please contact for information.*