Blues strike your heart just like church songs do. I've played blues at churches before and had the preacher patting his foot. 'Cause music ain't but music, and a song ain't but a song - Robert Diggs to George Mitchell
Just got this one back from repair, Rick Sellens in St Leonards did a fantatsic job.
Prof Scratchy brought his almost identical one to Euroweenie last year which sounded so good, I thought, 'I've got to get me one of those'. Six months later one turned up on ebay and here it is. Sounds really good, very loud and with a bit more bass than other ladder braced guitars I've played.
Not sure who made it, but my first guess is Regal, due to the body shape. If anyone else has any ideas, let me know.
« Last Edit: May 22, 2008, 02:04:32 AM by natterjack »
Natterjack - Rick Sellens (rick218) is in St. Leonards/Hastings (I'm in Rye).
It seems that whatever guitar (mainly acoustic but occasionally electric as well) Rick gets his hands on, the improvement is breathtaking. He's worked wonders on both new and old models, but he has a particular affinity for the pre-war guitars. I've introduced many players to him and they invariably are amazed at the apparent miracles he achieves.
He's also a great guitar maker, with impeccable workmanship, but like many craftsmen has to do other work to earn a living. This means the guitars often have to go on the back burner while he makes a window for someone or suchlike. He's currently close to finishing a couple of OMs (one in walnut and one in rosewood) with a rosewood 00 following behind. They've been in progress for several years now, but hopefully will be finished soon.
To cap it all, he's a good country blues picker himself as well.
Logged
"I ain't good looking, teeth don't shine like pearls, So glad good looks don't take you through this world." Barbecue Bob
Nice to see the Tonk brought back to life! I think they were fine guitars with loads of volume, lots of presence in the bass (which I like) and lots of volume from that oval soundhole (which puts off the day when I have to invest in digital hearing aids)! Next Euroweenie we'll have to have a Tonk reunion! Yes, I think they were made by Regal - but Cambio might know for sure?
Here's another .. never thought I'd see another one! ..just goes to show.. one of several things that make them unusual is that they are 14-fret slot heads..pretty rare combo..and I think the back and sides are ash..? At first I thought birch, then possibly maple, but I'm sort of thinking ash .. How 'bout yours, natterjack? ..Tom
« Last Edit: May 22, 2008, 07:29:14 PM by onewent »
I think the back and sides are ash..? At first I thought birch, then possibly maple, but I'm sort of thinking ash .. How 'bout yours, natterjack? ..Tom
Mine has a lot of finish on the back and sides, it matches the edges of the sunburst, almost black, so you can't see a lot of wood through it. Looking through the soundhole the back wood looks pretty birchy to me, although I'm not 100% sure.
You wouldn't happen to have any tiniest audio sample of this guitar, would you?
I'm wondering how does this guitar sound, when recorded. Usually the smaller body sized guitars sound better than big guitars, when recorded fingerpicking, I believe.
But, on the other hand, you say that the instrument has more bass response, than the usual ladder braced little guitars.
Also, may I ask what restoration work was needed to get your instruments playable, and how costly it may have been?
I thank you on any information you might be able to share.
Mine just needed a neck reset (as do pretty much all old guitars) and the bridge re-glued. Rick Sellens (a weenie) did a great job for ?140. The guitar only cost $275 on ebay, so definitely the best value for money guitar I own (or am ever likely to).
Mine just needed a neck reset (as do pretty much all old guitars) and the bridge re-glued. Rick Sellens (a weenie) did a great job for ?140. The guitar only cost $275 on ebay, so definitely the best value for money guitar I own (or am ever likely to).
Thanks for the info, Natterjack!
Cheers
Pan
Edit: I agree that the guitar sounds great, and so do you, Prof Scratchy, and Natterjack!
« Last Edit: August 21, 2008, 05:05:46 AM by Pan »
Michael Roach was selling a Kalamazoo that looked rather similiar at the EBA meet last week, I did'nt take that much notice except to say it looked rather similar but sound nice.
Yes, the Kalamazoo KG-12 and KG-14 both looked very similar to this guitar. They were ever so slightly larger (14 3/4" lower bout vs. 14 1/4") and did not have slotted headstocks. I used to have a KG-12 and it was a very nice guitar. The Kalamzoo was not a heavy guitar by any means, but this Tonk is even lighter, which makes it very responsive.
I just joined the Tonk club, purchasing the Tonk American 14 fret slothead w/oval soundhole advertised on Garage Sale recently. I'll post some pics later.
Tonk on the examination table at Erlewine Guitars this morning. Neck reset: Check. Top crack under the pickguard repair: Check. Bridge crack, minor: Check. Undiscovered issues when the neck comes off: Probably. It's gonna cost but it'll be worth it!
PP, the pickguard is pristine bakelite, much as I like the look with it off (see below) there's no way I'd ever remove it.
I think I could be easily persuaded to love the pickguard - I didn't feel that strongly about it, but my initial reaction was that it was a bit bulky and might impede the sound a bit.
Whatever, I reiterate: a nice guitar!
Logged
"I ain't good looking, teeth don't shine like pearls, So glad good looks don't take you through this world." Barbecue Bob
PP, the good thing about the pick guard is it's floating off the top for the most part. There's a bracket on the bottom end raising it off the top, and a felt washer under where it's screwed into the top near the neck.
However I know what you're saying and you could well be right. I will definitely A-B it with the guard on- and off when I get it back.
« Last Edit: September 20, 2012, 05:42:18 PM by Rivers »
Definately leave it on. If you rest your pinky on the pick guard instead of the face, when the pick guard is raised like it it on the Tonk, better tone.
Took my Tonk to the repair guy yesterday as it had developed a buzz. He announced there was a loose brace, but then examined it with various lights and mirrors and said all the braces were tight. After about half an hour he traced the problem to the pick up (which I'd installed...badly). A couple of tweaks and it was fixed. It's a very fine sounding guitar and I'm sure yours will be too!
There is some information in John Teagle's book "Washburn: Over One Hundred Years of FIne Stringed Instruments." Tonk was one of several interconnected Chicago-based music houses in the early 1900s. In a nutshell, they set up operation around 1893. Twenty years later, the last Tonk left the business, which was taken over by Paul Moenning, who continued to run the Tonk Bros. firm.
In 1928, Lyon & Healy decided to concentrate on pianos and harps. They sold their Washburn name to J. R. Stewart and their wholesaling operation to Tonk Bros. The arrangement had Stewart building Washburns for exclusive distribution by Tonk Bros. (A slightly different version of the story has Tonk buying the Washburn name from Lyon & Healy and then hiring Stewart to do their manufacturing.) Stewart, expecting big things, geared up production and opened a new factory. Then the Depression hit when the market crashed in '29. Stewart was left overextended with Tonk not ordering any Washburns for fear of not being able to sell them. He went bankrupt in 1930.
Tonk Bros. then bought the Stewart factory for a fraction of its value when it was auctioned off as a result of Stewart's bankruptcy. It also acquired the Washburn, Stewart and LeDomino brand names from the Stewart Co. Tonk sold the Stewart and LeDomino names to the Regal Co. When Tonk geared up Washburn production again, Regal was their builder, using the same factory that Stewart had built before the crash. Tonk continued to wholesale instruments from a variety of sources, including Kay and Stella. Many of these companies had interconnections that are difficult to sort out. Chicago was the center of instrument sales and manufacture by the 1930s and there are many incestuous linkages among the various firms it housed, including Tonk.
Other snippets: Tonk Bros disappeared in 1947 for unknown reasons.
« Last Edit: September 23, 2012, 08:27:09 PM by Rivers »
jobber = wholesaler, according to Webster. What intrigues me is, since Tonk was a wholesaler, and they were putting their logo on Regals, Washburns and so on, guitars, mandos, banjos and ukes, what was their connection to the retail outlets? So far I've found no evidence of a direct sales mail order catalogs like Sears & Roebuck's. So I'm assuming the retail sales were made through independent music stores, who would order through the Tonk wholesale catalogs.
So I'm also assuming the individual stores would write a no doubt beautifully-penned letter subscribing to the Tonk catalog, and then order, via an equally beautifully-penned letter, which no doubt took a couple of weeks to arrive, to stock.
Just tryin' to understand the supply chain here, how our Tonk Americans ended up on sales floors around the US
I am informed the Tonk will be out of the guitar hospital this week and will post some more stuff. I have no idea at this point how it turned out but fingers are very much crossed.
I realized I hadn't provided an update on the Tonk. I brought it home about 3 weeks ago. It's currently strung with lights and tuned to standard. I absolutely love it and haven't picked up another guitar since. Been working on Blind Blake tunes.
Mark Erlewine did a literally amazing job on the setup. I've always had trouble with thumb brushes and index finger brushes in the past, tending to get tangled-up in the strings sometimes making for a lot of inconsistency and flubs. What a difference a great setup across the strings makes to your confidence, those brushes are important if you want to get the right feel. The pickguard is a great aid in this also, it level-sets your hand generally a bit higher so you don't tend to miss the brush strokes.
Unexpected pleasant surprise after several hours playing, pinched false harmonics are extremely easy to produce on the top 2 strings and quite startling. This opens up new possibilities for expression, though you can overdo it of course. I've been trying to nail those things for years.