1960 D8 Stringmaster info requested

[Jared Boyd]

Hey everyone! I’ve browsed the forum a bit for a while now but I finally decided to make an account and this is my first post. So please forgive me for the introduction below!

I’m fairly new to steel guitar, started early last year on a Silvertone 1319 tuned to C6 and have already played a handful of gigs at a local Honky Tonk night. While I’m new to steel, I’ve played banjo and guitar for nearly two decades as well as dabbling in fiddle, mandolin, and bass, so I know my way around music in general a bit (despite not being formally trained, only learned “by ear”).

This year I’m wanting to step up my game a bit and so I decided to get an 8-string. I wound up with an early ‘70s Fender Deluxe 8 in decent enough condition and for a fair enough price. Replaced the F-logo tuners as some had already came apart leaving old lube gunk all in the tuner pan cavity. Also mysteriously one of the legs was missing the coupler parts inside and wouldn’t tighten. Ordered some replacements and got it fixed up. Now it’s ready to go in A6 tuning for my next gig!

Now for the actual question I have for you all… I came across a seemingly good deal on this D8 Stringmaster advertised as being a 1960 model. When it arrived I wasn’t sure what to think… it just seemed in too good of condition. Its brown tolex cast with yellow interior matched the 1960 date, but it’s kind of in rough shape, and also the legs are also rough (but seem to work fine at least). I also pulled the tuner pan and found the date 6/60 as seen in one of the photos. I also saw a photo on the forum here of someone’s 1961 Stringmaster where the date was written in the same handwriting so I don’t believe it to be fake.

So I finally came to the conclusion that, yes, the guitar is most likely an actual 1960 model, but someone must have refinished it and did a fairly detailed job at it. The hardware looks to have been re-plated maybe (?), as I doubt there are many new-looking Stringmaster parts out there to be had. Also the pickup/control cavity for the far neck (I have yet to check the close/1st neck) is missing the silver foil shielding beneath the pickups which I’ve seen on all of the photos of Stringmasters on here and elsewhere.

I guess now is actually the question after all that info… (sorry!)
Can anyone tell me what kind of pickups these are? From the photos I’ve seen of other Stringmasters, they are not original. Or perhaps they are but have been worked on? There is a signature within the stamped numbers on the stickers, looks like maybe it starts with a V?
Also any other comments or info you all might have about the guitar are welcome.

I’m not entirely sure everything is working 100% correctly on the Stringmaster, as the blend pots on both necks don’t seem to change the tone anywhere close to as much as it does on the Deluxe 8. Never seems to really get to that true bridge-pickup-only tone like the Deluxe 8 does. Maybe that has to do with the non-original pickups? Or the blend pot could just be wired wrong, I’ll inspect closer sometime in the future. While I haven’t A/B’d them directly yet (plugged in), that’s the one thing I’ve noticed already. I do quite like the acoustic tone/resonance of the Stringmaster, probably because it’s the 24.5” scale, though the Deluxe 8 is certainly no slouch either in that department. That being said, I don’t have a need for the second neck yet, still getting the hang of a single 8-string neck so I’ll be sticking with the Deluxe 8 for the next several gigs at least.

Also randomly including a photo of my young cat JJ who decided he wanted to hang out on the steel this evening.

Thanks!
Jared

[Dave Mudgett]

I addressed the wiring and pickups on your other thread in Electronics. The wiring and pickups are clearly not original, and I suspect the pickups are Seymour Duncan Antiquity Stringmaster pickups. More info on that thread.

As to the body - it does look like it's likely been refinished (at least in places) and re-decal'd. The finish is uneven in places and looks much fresher than what you describe as a case and legs in rough shape. You could confirm by blacklighting the body (lots of info online about how to do this).

If all this kind of stuff was disclosed to you, or the seller told you they didn't know the originality status, you have no beef. But if it was sold to you as 'original' or 'all-original', I think you have a legitimate beef. I suppose if it was cheap enough, it might not matter - in that case, you have a decent playable but modified vintage guitar for a great price. But if I paid an "original vintage guitar" type of price, I'd be all over the seller.

[Jared Boyd]

Thanks! I replied over on the other forum as well. Confirmed they are SD Antiquity pickups based on the sticker.

I’ll do some checking about the pickups and wiring to get it sounding more correct (like my Deluxe .

I got this guitar used off of GC, with their vague (and I suspect usually AI- written) item descriptions. It said it was a 1960 model but didn’t advertise any specific parts being original or not. It was a decent enough price that I’m happy with it even without original electronics. I like it well enough as-is, but I know I’ll really love it once I get the electronics straightened out and get it sounding more like my Deluxe 8.

I’ve seen some old Stringmaster bodies for sale online that have been stripped of all parts. I’m guessing this is probably one of those that has then been refinished and put back together with new parts and electronics.

[Dave Mudgett]

Lots of vintage Fender steels have been stripped of their parts to be sold in the insanely lucrative vintage guitar part biz. Some people take 50s and 60s pots, wire, switches, and anything else they can put on an adulterated vintage Fender to make it "all-original".

I think it's great that these stripped old steels get restored. But I really despise it when changes like this that are totally obvious when the guitar is taken apart, but are not obvious in a photo, are not disclosed.