teleharmonium
Member
I just got back one of my favorites from having some work done. I got this about 15 years ago through Ebay from a pawnshop in Philadelphia that I previously used to visit when I lived there for a couple of years ('89-'91); the only piece of music gear I bought in that period of low cash flow was a silverface Vibro Champ from the same place, for about $175. It was cheap because it had an ugly headstock break repair, and one of the old beveled top DeArmonds in the neck and a white Dynasonic in the bridge. It's marked as a Special (presumably because of the DeArmonds, which I assume were originally both Dynas, and the Grovers). The color is ebony, but it's faded to more of a green; in fact it's more green than my emerald green T100D, which in turn looks black in almost any lighting (?!).
I had my trusted guy re-do the headstock repair - he actually added a layer of new wood to the back of the headstock, but transplanted the original wood where the serial number was impressed - and refin the neck to hide the evidence. It turned out great, it's hard to see the repair now even if you know it is there. Of course, that's only possible with a dark translucent color or a solid color refin. I have the pickguard somewhere, but prefer it off.
I played it that way for years, and had a melita bridge on it for a long time, but it's just been tweaked with a string thru Bigsby axle, a low tension spring, a Duane style handle, a correct beveled top bridge pickup that I bought as a spare years ago, and I've gone back to the original Bigsby aluminum bridge. When I had that bridge on before, I remember thinking it was too bright and zingy, but it's sounding great now. Maybe I had roundwounds on it back then ?
The Bigsby now works better than any I have tried, and the two matching pickups work great together (unsurprisingly). This one seems to have more low mids than the Dyna; then again, the magnets are in the middle of the pickup, I might have gotten a similar effect by flipping the Dyna where they are closer to one side than the other. It will never be a high dollar collectible due to the repair, but as a playa, I couldn't be happier. (Except when it feeds back.)
I had my trusted guy re-do the headstock repair - he actually added a layer of new wood to the back of the headstock, but transplanted the original wood where the serial number was impressed - and refin the neck to hide the evidence. It turned out great, it's hard to see the repair now even if you know it is there. Of course, that's only possible with a dark translucent color or a solid color refin. I have the pickguard somewhere, but prefer it off.
I played it that way for years, and had a melita bridge on it for a long time, but it's just been tweaked with a string thru Bigsby axle, a low tension spring, a Duane style handle, a correct beveled top bridge pickup that I bought as a spare years ago, and I've gone back to the original Bigsby aluminum bridge. When I had that bridge on before, I remember thinking it was too bright and zingy, but it's sounding great now. Maybe I had roundwounds on it back then ?
The Bigsby now works better than any I have tried, and the two matching pickups work great together (unsurprisingly). This one seems to have more low mids than the Dyna; then again, the magnets are in the middle of the pickup, I might have gotten a similar effect by flipping the Dyna where they are closer to one side than the other. It will never be a high dollar collectible due to the repair, but as a playa, I couldn't be happier. (Except when it feeds back.)
. I will start a restoration of a Starfire III soon and am missing the Guard.
