About This Website
"I don't know, I'm making this up as I go." ~Indiana Jones
I've played guitar since I was a kid in the 60's, but over the past two years playing guitar has become painful due to arthritis in my hands. I wanted to continue with some kind of instrument, so I turned to my childhood guitar teacher, Dave Lindley, for advice. Luckily, he knows just a little about lap steel. He said that my problem was common and lap-steel might be something to consider. He was right! The new playing position has relieved most of my pain.
My main occupation over the past two decades has been producing live music events. A subset of those included producing about 25 ukulele festivals. When I first got into ukuleles I immersed myself in learning about them, buying and reselling a lot of used ones on eBay. When Covid shut down live music, I did the same with the lap-steel family of instruments. Recently I was told of a collection of vintage lap steels that was being sold by the estate of a deceased David Lindley fan and collector of Dave memorabilia and instruments–many the same make and model of those Dave played over the years. I received the shipment and went through each, consulting with Dave, lightly cleaning them, restringing them, and in some cases replacing old tuners. This page is that collection, up for sale at prices below what I found for examples in similar condition during online searches.
I have researched each instrument and posted information to the best of my abilities, but I did find conflicting information regarding some of the models so errors are possible. If any of you are more knowledgeable and you find any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct the posts immediately. Please email me at douglasjohnreynolds@gmail.com.
Gibson BR9 #2 - SOLD
See description under Gibson #1. This #2 is almost identical in all aspects. #2 also has new Kluson Deluxe tuners and I am also including the original tuners in case a buyer wants to restore them. Original case included, new D'Addario strings tuned to E. Shipping $38 to US addresses. See payment options at bottom of page.
Gibson BR9 #3 - $475
See description under Gibson #1. This #3 is almost identical in all aspects with the exception of more chips in paint, especially along the edges of the back of the neck, and it came to me with replacement open gear tuners that are good, but I do not have the original tuners, so I'm knocking $$$ off. Original case included. New D'Addario strings tuned to A. Shipping $38 to US addresses. See payment options at bottom of page. VIDEO SOUND SAMPLE
Supro Spectator 1953 - $695
Serial number X23748 1953 Supro Spectator 1414. Excellent overall condition, hardly any nicks. One original knob has been replaced. Original built-in cable works perfectly and is noise free. New Kluson Deluxe Tuners installed plus original tuners should you wish to clean and replace buttons. Includes Period-Correct Softshell Case. Shipping $38 to US addresses. See payment options at bottom of page.
VIDEO SOUND SAMPLE
Gibson BR9 #1 - SOLD
Gibson BR9s were manufactured from 1947-1959. There are no serial numbers so dating them is not straight forward, but because of a slight change in the paint finish in their later years, I believe all are early 1950 models. They all sound great and are in very good condition with the exception of chips in the paint, but they are about 70 years old so that's to be expected.
This #1 had bad tuner buttons so I replaced the tuners with new Kluson Deluxe tuners and am also including the original tuners in case a buyer wants to restore them. Original case included, new D'Addario strings tuned to E. All of the examples on Reverb.com are priced at $600 or more so I'm pricing these to sell in the low $500's. Shipping $38 to US addresses. See payment options at bottom of page.
Rickenbacher Model B "Panda" c. 1946-48 - SOLD
Supro Supreme 1953 - SOLD
Supro/Valco Dwight(?) 1956 - SOLD
Morrell Lap Steel - SOLD
G Style Lap Steel - SOLD
Ukulele Lap Steels Coming Soon!
In producing ukulele festivals I found that a majority of the attendees were older folks and many had hand problems like me. So I designed a five-string, hybrid lap steel-ukulele, with a few tweaks that should make for a short learning curve for my fellow sore-handed, old-dogs-looking-to-learn-new, less painful tricks. I'll be posting them here shortly.
