I am proud to say I have been a pal of Doug for over 35 years, he is a master craftsman and the ONLY guy who touches my geetars. He even rocks a Wishbone Ash t-shirt in the video!
Turning a Sromber into a strummer. Impressive demonstration of restoring a difficult guitar using skill and basic hand tools.Brought a smile to my face when I saw you using the hand drill and realising , yes , that's how we did things a long time ago and it works every time. Maybe the next generation can learn some useful lessons too.
Thanks Tracy! People kept asking me to do it because of the little snippets I would post. Now I'm full in and I enjoy sharing all the stuff in my head I take for granted. See you in the funny papers!
Like to see the extensive use of the egg beater drill and tapered reamer.Yoy really brought it back and it really sounds good! Did you use an old Fender or Gibson tube amp to get that sound?
I'm guessing the neck pocket on an actual Stromberg would be cleaner and more precisely fitted than this, but hey - you can't have everything. Great work! Enjoy the Stromber!!!
Nice work! What you have is an early 30s Gretsch Model 35. Someone made a new headstock inlay with the name Stromber; maybe the owner's name. You will find images if you just google Gretsch Model 35.
Yes! That's it! Someone else also had an ID, similar model. A-25. I agree. Someone modded the logo or it was made for a music store, catalog or something. Right down to the weird sunburst around the sound holes! Thanks!
I know of Stromberg-Voisinet, but it says Stromber on the headstock. My suspicion is that it was made by S.S. Stewart for either a catalog, music store or modified by a luthier. The shape of the F holes, bridge, body shape and pickguard are an exact match for S.S. Stewart.
I'd love to hear the owners history on this guitar, as there's always a reason these old 'non-famous' bands get restored by their owners. I bet this one has quite a story to tell.
Since then, we have discovered the true identity of the Stromber. Please watch the follow up video! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-v-7HFf53LO8.html
Yes it is but it does sound very nice. It wasn't as much of a pain as getting the input jack out of there. There's about 25 minutes of that mess on the cutting room floor!
I have a 1959 guild slim Jim but the b string doesn’t fit the trapeze style all the way in.so what strings do you recommend for that style of guitar.thanks
@@dougmaccormack9485 elixir light 12-53 thair colored on the ends purple and orange package but I found it in the trash at my sister in law’s parents house and It had a flat wound on the first string and orange material on the bottom of the string maybe old string
@@ralphbenites1312 Purple and orange indicate that you have a set of acoustic guitar strings. They have a steel core so the magnetic pickup will see them but I think a set of electric guitar strings would be better for your type of instrument. Maybe go a gauge lighter as well like 11- 49. As far as tone is concerned, it depends on the style of music you like. Flat wounds are mellower, less string noise, good for jazzy stuff, round wounds are brighter and good for everything else. I prefer to lean towards heavier gauge strings on hollow/semi-hollow guitars to "drive" the top and get that punchy tone. Go lighter but not lighter than 10's. 11's should be about right and fit your tailpeice slots better.
By the time this guitar was made, S S Stewart was a brand owned by B & J of NYC and their instruments were made by just about every US maker- Gibson made a flat top so everybody selling an S S Stewart guitar likes to say it was made by Gibson. The S S Stewart guitar you showed at the start- for sale at Twelfth Fret was a 1930s made guitar- that was basically a Harmony Cremona model- the large volute on the neck identifies it as such. Harmony used rosewood not ebony on its higher quality archtop fingerboards. Your guitar has a number of quirky features that mean it is not a product of the usual suspects like Harmony and Regal or Kay. It looks like this Gretsch in many ways: Google Skinners Gretsch Archtop Guitar, 1930s, Style A-25 Interesting video and interesting insights!
Nick I do believe the mystery is solved! That A-25 is the exact same guitar right down to the headstock, logo banner, f-holes, weird sunburst and all! I've repaired thousands upon thousands of guitars in my 45 years but I've never run across an A-25 (to my memory) and a Google image search revealed nothing either. Thanks so much. Your a better sleuth than I ! It may spawn another episode!
@@dougmaccormack9485 Let me know if you do a follow up. The most quirky thing is that bit of wood that sticks out with the screw hole for the pickguard- you only get to see that if the guard has been removed and that is just so unique. I don't know how long Gretsch did this but it means no drilling (and cracking) the top. I enjoyed watching your work and learned along the way, so it was very instructive! I look forward to the next video.
Yes! Since publishing the vid I've had a couple people positively identify it as Gretsch A-25 or model 35. Thanks for helping confirm that! Even after 45 years I've never come across one.
STROMBERG Guitars are highly collectible and expensive However like you I found NO RECORD whatsoever of a STROMBER guitar and I have never heard of one either and im 80 years young and played both guitar and piano ALL my life. I even looked for the STROMBERG logo andd found none that even resembles the one on that guitar THINKING MAYBE the G got rubbed off at some point.
Since then, we have discovered the true identity of the Stromber. Please watch the follow up video! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-v-7HFf53LO8.html
I was about 30 feet away getting a clamp. The shop is in an old mill building. My guess is that the floors are a little bouncy and that might explain it. I confess that I put that segment in there for entertainment value and to tie in with the "mystery" theme.
