Tenor herd... I might have issues

[dburtnett]

I lurk here often and appreciate other's postings. Here, for your enjoyment is my herd of tenors, accumulated over the past 12 years or so.


front row L-R: '29 Martin 1-17p; early '29 Gibson TG-0; 30's Kalamazoo Oriole; '54 Martin 0-18t
middle: late 20's Vega tenor; 1933 Epiphone Beverly; late 20's wood body National triolian tenor
back row: no name (S.S. Stewart or Oscar Schmidt) short scale tenor
missing: 1950 Gibson TG-50; 40's era Vega Jumbo (17" lower bout) tenor

[billhay4]

Now that's a nice collection.
Bill

[fox]

Very nice!
Can you give a little more info on the playability of them, I mean which one do you think sounds the best or which one do you grab for first?

[JeffD]

Very impressive collection. Wonderful.

[dburtnett]

Thx all,

Regarding playability, they're all serviceable, though the jumbo Vega has pretty significant intonation issues... Needs the saddle moved via bridge reslotting.
The 0-18t is my main axe, with the TG-0 a close second. The little SS STewart is on the couch always, and is impossibly sweet sounding.
The Oriole is very mid-rangy, almost nasal what with that way high bridge placement.
The National sounds like a national, also gives me intonation grief.
The 1-17p is a big stretch in GDAE, it's more complex than a typical all mahogany boxes and it rings forever. Really fun for backing Celtic tunes... Less so trying to play melody.
The brand new to me Epi plays great and has that unique Rawlings voice. Wish I could play like that.
The little Vega has great cutting strength. It turns heads.

[BlowingRockNC]

Great collection. I'm not sure the 1929 Gibson TG-O is a 1929, because I think the 1929s had that extra peg behind the 4 pegs holding the string to the bridge. I might be wrong, but that's what I always though. Regardless, it's really nice collection of tenors, all of them.

[BlowingRockNC]

Oh, by the way, I love your National tenor. How well does it play, which is a backhanded way of asking about the neck. Many of the old Nationals have problems with the necks, but nothing a neck reset won't take care of. If you have one that's 100% original, with no significant repair work, then you have a real collector piece on your hands. Even if there have been significant repairs, you still would have a real collector piece.

[dburtnett]

Hey BlowingRockNC,

That TG-0 has been tough to pin down, Gibson was pretty inconsistent about features. Dating that guitar was doing forensics, and I was advised anywhere from 29-32. This one has the L-0 style 12 fret body, the "the Gibson" logo, the TG-1 style bridge... it's kinda all over the place. It was a bit of a mess when I got it, but all the bits appeared original (since re-braced). I think it's going to remain a bit of a mystery, but I agree, the bridge would say 30's.

The neck on the national is pretty darn good, very slight bow with hump, but too slight to inhibit playing action. Marc Schoenberger gave it a head-to-toe going over, including resetting the neck and his standard replacement of the neck stick blocking. The cone is original and roars pretty good. The original tuners were toast, Marc put basic replacement tuners on that are serviceable, I may upgrade to Waverly banjo tuners, which I love.

The wood bodies really are rare, Marc didn't believe I had one in my first e-mail. The body is made of plywood, which back then was touted as a big upgrade... nothing very finished looking about the body woodworking, appears never to have been painted, and any lacquer finish, if applied, is tough to make out. With the hard maple fretboard and "been thrown in the wagon" honest wear, it's a pretty endearing thing, but I wouldn't call it a collector piece.

I think I need to go play it again.

I pulled these all out last night so a friend could do a "tenor tasting". This little national made his eyes bug out.

[BlowingRockNC]

Well, Marc is the real deal when it comes to Nationals. I've never actually seen a wooden tenor from National. I bet it sounds really nice, regardless of the type of wood. As for the TG-O, Gibson was well known to assemble a guitar with whatever happened to be around at the moment, so it is hard to date them sometimes. I guess it could be a 1929. Happy picking.

[Baron Collins-Hill]

A mighty herd! Whatcha bringing to camp this year? Good to see you around these parts!

[JeffD]

The one on the top left, is that the SS Stewart? With the banjo style peg head. That looks like a real sweetheart.

[dburtnett]

Hey Baron! Good to see you too. Just had a visit from Owen and Elly up here in VT. You come sometime too!

You tell me which ones tempt you, I'll bring 'em!

[dburtnett]

Yes Jeff, that top left is the one I think is an SS Stewart. Whatever it is, it's a Total sweetheart. It had side cracks, a top crack and was WAY overdue for a neck reset when I got it. Had it all repaired correctly and for double what I paid for it. No regrets... none whatsoever.
I bring that little thing to an old-time jam occasionally and it does just fine.

[Baron Collins-Hill]

Oh man! Like a kid in a candy shop full of tenor guitars! The National looks pretty sweet, and that way we could really give the banjos a run for their money in the final showdown! Whatever happens I trust you will show up with something.

Would love to get up to your neck of the woods at some point. Any house concerts or small venues that Velocipede would fit in to?

See you at camp, if not before!

[dburtnett]

We don't host house concerts anymore, but there is one neighbor in East Montpelier who does. As a matter of fact, Owen, Joe Walsh and Brittany are playing a house concert on April 10th. Owen already played one there last year with Jeremiah, so it must've been a decent gig for him to go back, yes?

I'll def bring the national... the epi too maybe... always the 0-18t. Looking forward to Velocipede's next CD!! and terrific teaching site btw.

[Baron Collins-Hill]

Thanks! Hoping to have it out by the time the June camps roll around!

[Marty Jacobson]

You might have eight problems, but too many tenor guitars ain't one of them.

[GKWilson]

db. Your a sick man. But I'm here to help you out.
In the morning take two aspirin and send the SS S. to me.

More seriously, do you find any difference between the 12 frets and the others?
Gary

[dburtnett]

Gary,

The two little guys, the Vega and the SS Stewart, are twelve fret but small enough that they don't really behave differently due to that aspect of their builds.

The TG-0 is where the comparison gets interesting. That guitar is both 12 fret and a super light build, a magical combination. It has more depth across it's full bass-mid-treble range than the others when played lightly, which is it's forte. The Martins outshine it when pushed hard, but the Gibson is unbeatable for sound and "liveliness in the hands" when played solo in a quiet setting. I gigged it a few times into a mic and string-band mates thought it sounded great, but I couldn't hear myself so pretty much stuck with the 0-18t for playing out.

To my eye the TG-0 has something like the perfect proportions, kind of the fibonacci of guitars, but that might just be my esthetic response to it.

[Bernie Daniel]

Fabulous collection. Amazing how long the neck (and scale)is on the Martin.

Was the pick guard removed on your TG-0? Not sure I ever saw a Gibson TG without one but I might be confused on that

I have a 1935 TG-00 and it has a fire stripe guard. I know there were differences between TG-0 and TG-00 but I'm not sure I know what they were any more. This is a pic of mine.

[dburtnett]

Hi Bernie...
Yes, that Martin Plectrum is a very big stretch, almost 27".
I remember your TG-00 from when you got it... it's still stunning. My TG-0 never had a pick guard, though soon after many Gibson TG's got them.

[Jayyj]

The Gibson TGs from the 20s follow a pattern of: small body with large bridge with extra pin, then small body with very short rectangular bridge, then small body with longer rectangular bridge, then large body with 12 frets and no pickguard. They've been considered difficult to date in the past but with Joe Spann's book helping to pin down batches to a specific order the picture is getting a lot clearer. There are small body TGs with 1930 FONs, which would suggest it's unlikely to find a large body example from 1929 - it'd be interesting to know whether the FON on this one is in Spann's book.

It really is a stunning collection you have, and interesting to get your impressions about tone from them as well. I've always loved the look of the Oriole but never had a chance to play one.