A Gibson-made 1930 Recording King Model 807 Nick Lucas Special
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- Опубліковано 11 тра 2021
- Folkway Music's Mark Stutman tours us through an incredibly rare Gibson-made Recording King 807 from 1930. Built for Montgomery-Ward, the 807 is essentially a Gibson Nick Lucas Special with different appointments. This model wasn't produced in significant numbers and very few remain in existence today.
Mark has just finished an interesting restoration to this guitar and describes the steps involved in detail.
Changing the scale length to obviate a bridge reset is genius. Thanks for the tip.
Awesome work, beautiful guitar. It will live to see 100, thanks to the work you've done.
Brilliant Mark!
a single truly elegant solution for multiple unrelated problems
Very smart repositionning of the frets didn't know that it was possible.
You're wonderfull 🤗
Played a mint one at Fred Oster’s shop, and Norman Blake owns one as well. Rare bird indeed…
Rare Bird for sure. Real Nice job going the new FB route👍. Good work. I X-braced my 1938’ Recording King model K about 10 years ago using my stash of 50 year old Brace wood. It’s settled in now and is a tone monster. But It had the huge chunky non-truss neck-difficult to play beyond first position. Couple years Ago. I decided to Install a carbon fiber square truss rod and capped it with some old rock hard Ebony. I actually performed the task leaving the neck on from the back side. Tricky but turned out awesome. Was able to Re-Profile the neck and give it a more standard L-00 shape. So much nicer to play. It actually improved the Tone a bit with little more sustain. Only someone very familiar with those huge necks would know it was done.
So clever. Looks killer.
Very cool. I like all the background info and your overall narrative. FWIW, OCD in me would have to touch up the bare wood areas with some black leather die. Great job, though. This is the first luthier video I’ve seen where the solution to a neck relief issue and misplaced bridge was to replace the fingerboard. Genius idea and well done.
very good. video. It's a talent to be able to explain things as clearly as you do
Many thanks!
This is a really excellent installment, Mark. You certainly are right to take pride in this one!
Love all the interesting tidbits you share Mark! Just fascinating!
Love it! Thanks again, Mark, for taking the time to share this with us!
A great solution to that problem. Thanks for sharing. Fret spacing errors plagued Gibson even back in the Loar era. I'm having a new fingerboard installed on a 1924 A-1 mandolin. The tone and volume are superb but the intonation makes playing it torture. The instrument shows very little play wear as a result. It is especially bad in first position. David Harvey examined the instrument and said it was the worst case of fret spacing he'd ever seen on a Gibson mandolin. Makes you wonder how time driven the folks in Kalamazoo were to meet their production targets. Measure twice, cut once. Cheers.
Thanks- I love seeing these videos, please keep them coming! It sure would be nice to see a demo video of the guitar before it gets sent back to its owner.
Great video. You should try some of Recording King's newest guitars. I've got the RD-328 and it's all solid wood with Adirondacks Spruce top and solid East Indian Rosewood back and sides. It sounds just like a Martin D28.
Simply brilliant work. Thanks for letting us see it.
Creative solution! Love these videos, Mark. Thanks!
Love watching what you do Mark. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Mark, I always learn a ton watching your videos.
As always great info and stunning instruments.. you really don't see see this high of a level of experience and such a close look at these rare treasures ..its amazing how much work you put into bringing them back to being better than factory.....Canadians or awesome!.......
Your stuff is so great. Thank you.
Dang, what a smart solution. I just love those simple, beautiful, unpretentious "Gibsons." You know Gibson's building on the ultra-cheap when they won't even rout a (non-adjustable) bar under the fretboard. My old Carson Robison has no rid, but it's a beautiful old piece of stable mahogany... and thick! Thanks for the great video.
Thanks for the kind note.
Wow, impressive stuff. Thanks for sharing!
cool thought to leave the bridge and install a new fretboard with the correct scale length for the bridge placement. I would always rather change a fretboard than moving a bridge.
Very interesting. Good work!
I love those Nick Lucas models ! I have a 1939 M2 , did they leave the truss rod out of those too? My guess is yes.
Mark excellent repair ,Do you ever show any of your actual work like Bridge removal or neck resets? would be insteresting to see your personal processes that you use
Not generally. I wouldn't want to risk damage to an instrument by loosing focus during the procedure due to the distraction of the camera.
Rare Bird. I a bit feel strange as I obsess to an unnatural obsession with these old guitars and I had never heard of this model. I’ve got a 1930 KK2 -same fingerboard, same intonation issue. I think I would have just knocked my head with that brilliant and practical solution.
I’ve got a feeling this video was made for me.....
Perfect! Glad to help!
Brilliant solution. I only wonder if the neck mortise had a fret that ended up over the bottom of that mortise, or close to it?
Originally the fret slot lined up with the tenon, it now no longer does.
Hi Mark, you mention a guitar at 4:20 that sounds like Cole Corigan or something like that. I can't understand what guitar that is. Please enlighten me. Love your videos especially the ones on quirky vintage Gibsons. With you and Ted Woodford there are great guitar videos coming out of Canada. Thanks!
Billy -
The guitar I'm mentioning is a Kel Kroydon. The recording king NLS is the same as a deep-bodied Kel Kroydon (which never existed). Thanks!
I have see one or two of these on the internet- and one had a truss rod embedded in the neck- but it was not adjustable. You can check your neck with a strong magnet. As you have made a new fingerboard then I assume there is no hidden steel rod.
Correct. Every now and then we'll find a 'hidden' truss-rod in the neck of a budget Gibson. The magnet trick is the best way to discover it.
John Fahey played a 1939 Gibson-made Recording King Ray Whitley, until he smashed it after a fight with a girlfriend. Federico Sheppard rebuilt it in the early 2000s and recently sold it, I believe.
He hasn’t sold it I, believe. He’s “put it into the hands of a broker” to sell. It’ll be a high price.
how much is a 1930 recording king 4 string is worth
Glen -
We'd need to know much more about the guitar to answer this question. Feel free to contact the shop directly for an appraisal. Thanks.
Terrific Mark! Great solution. Was it necessary to add a carbon fibre stiffener?
No neck stiffeners or truss rod added. The full-thickness fingerboard and compression fretwork took care of everything.
essentially a nick lucas but not really...8 minutes and you didn't think we would like to hear what it sounds like...fake news!!!
I get that, David. This is a right-handed guitar and I'm a left-handed player. Sorry I couldn't demo it for you.