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ENGLISH ELECTRONICS TONEMASTER® LAP STEEL GUITAR - (1956)

Estimated price for orientation: 599 $

Category: Lap and Steel Guitars
Class:











Description
Exact Year: 1956 Type: Electric
Brand: English Electronics Tonemaster Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
UPC: Does not apply


ENGLISH ELECTRONICS TONEMASTER® LAP STEEL GUITAR - (1956) Made by Supro/Valco for (Norm) English Electronics of Lansing, MiExcellent Condition. A Great Player  Thoroughly gone through.  Clean Instrument & Electronics. New Tuner Buttons. Setup with Pyramid Nickel Classics, Supro’s famous String-thru Pickup, 24-3/4" scale, Pearloid (Vinyl-acetate) Body Shell (MOTS), new Volume and Tone Control Knobs, Case shows wear, but is fully functional . SN X58774Norman English was an old school lap steel player who ran a music studio in Lansing, Michigan. He had a good relationship with Valco & was able to order custom instruments from them. English Electronics offered several sought after Valco made instruments. Reso-glass Guitars & Amps as well as this Lap Steel.“English Electronics' "Tonemaster" guitars were made by Valco, the same company that made National and Supro solidbody electrics and lap steels, and many Oahu and Airline guitars.” “Despite the name that would lead you to believe that it is a British guitar, "English Electronics" guitars and amps were actually made for the Norman English Studios of Lansing, Michigan.”This has a very hot pickup. String through design with separate coils for bass and treble utilizing AlNiCo magnets. It is such a winning design that Lollar Pickups emulated the design for one of their fantastic re-creations. This pickup has such great qualities that some guitarists have swapped these for their regular solid bodied electric pickups. I recall Peter Green, Ry Cooder and Jeff Lind being among some of the fans of this set-up. 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 if that’s how you dial it in. These are versatile fun instruments to play. Sling a guitar and play 2 different guitars in one song like Steve Howe or David Gilmour or while sitting comfortably.*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, Harlin Bros, Harmonys, Kays, Maestros, Magnatones, McKinney, Nationals, Oahus, Rickenbachers, Sho Bud, Silvertones, Supertones, Supros, Vegas, and White Lap Steels as well as several others. We've been in the guitar business for over 50 years. We encourage you to contact us with any questions or comments* *We also accept Cashier's Checks, Bank Transfers & other forms of payment. We ship (worldwide) at cost. Please contact for information.*