DATING FENDER CHAMPION LAP STEEL PROFESSIONAL

Most of the guitars I've seen have been double or triple neck guitars, with the name Bigsby prominently displayed on the front of the instrument, usually along with the name of the original owner. His steel guitars were played by Joaquin Murphey, Speedy West, and many other famous guitarists of the day. He's also famous for being one of the first builders of electric solidbody guitars, as well as for the vibrato mechanism seen on Gibson, Gretsch, and many other guitars. Paul Bigsby is generally considered to be one of the great steel guitar manufacturers. See this link for information on Eddie Alkire and his ten string steel guitars. Alkire Eharps were made by Harmony and Valco. The Alkire Eharp (a ten string lap steel) was developed by Eddie Alkire around 1939 in a search for more harmonic possibilities for the lap steel guitar. 2493 Embassy (different from the Embassy above)

DATING FENDER CHAMPION LAP STEEL PROFESSIONAL

2499 Alamo Dual Eight String Professional Model Alamo made many different guitars and amplifiers. I have information on Alamo, Alkire, Bigsby, Carvin, Danelectro, Dickerson, Dobro/Regal, Fender, Framus, Epiphone, Gibson, Gretsch, Guyatone, Harmony, Magnatone, National/Valco/Supro, Norman English, Rickenbacker, Teisco del Rey and Vega.Īlamo was founded by Charles Eilenberg as Southern Music of San Antonio, Texas around 1947. Many of the Gibson lap steels shown on this page are from his collection. His comments follow the discussion of each manufacturer.Ĭlay Harrel has a wonderful web site with much more information, not only about lap steels, but all kinds of musical instruments. It is available from any good music store or from Gruhn Guitars.Įric Shoaf has graciously provided me with additional information based on his many years collecting steel guitars. The suggested list price is $27.95 in the USA. If you want to find out more about your specific steel guitar (such as the date it was manufactured, or specifics about the model you own), you ought to buy this book. Published by the publishers of Guitar Player magazine, it's a essential resource if you want to find out anything about good American guitars. Much of the information provided in this page is paraphrased from Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars by George Gruhn and Walter Carter, ISBN 0-87930-195-3. If you are looking for information on pedal steel guitar models and manufacturers, try b0b's Steel Guitar Links. As I find out more, I'll try to add to this page. I've chosen to focus on electric lap steel guitars, as there still isn't a definitive reference book for these instruments (as there is for the National and Dobro® acoustic guitars).

Dating fender champion lap steel