Oahu Lap Steel

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Milnoque

Milnoque

Resident Curmudgeon
I just got this off of e-bay. Its an Oahu lap steel set from (I believe) the early '40s. Does anyone have any info? The amp doesn't work, I'm trying to find a schematic or manufacturer. Oahu didn't make their own stuff. Any help would be appreciated.
 

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I'm thoroughly jealous based on cool factor alone. If you're unsure, it's probably best to trace out a schematic as I think those are all of two tubes maybe and one knob. Really simple circuit.
 
Three tubes and no knob. It doesn't even have volume control.

Do you have any idea where I can find anything about this rig?
 
we have a supro at work right now!

It has a guitar that looks a lot like that but the amp is not the same, has volume and tone controls....

the little tube amp has three inputs, 2 for guitar, one for a vocal mic :D

all class A tube gear with about 1.5 watts of power.

steel guitars can be pretty cool, have fun!
 
I've got an old Oahu lap steel myself. Bought it used in the 70's. I was under the impression that Oahu did make their own guitars.. Hawaiian, that is. It has a fairly junky set of electronics on it, single coil pickup that is pretty poor, but thru an overdrive unit, plays Montrose's "Bad Motor Scooter" really nice.

So...how much are these things worth nowadays?
 
I got the rig for about $200. Haven't recieved it yet.

Further searching has me convinced this setup was made by Dickerson from about '41 to about '47 under several brand names including Dickerson, Bronson and Oahu. Shortly afterward the company was sold to Magnatone. Oahu never made any of their own instruments. They were made by Kay, Regal, and others and sold as a house brand. This was a common practice at the time.
 
i thought i had one

in my pile of guitars


no amp though

and missing a knob
 

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Cannabis,

I was actually looking for that model. My wife's name is Diana. How does it sound?
 
Milnoque said:
Cannabis,

I was actually looking for that model. My wife's name is Diana. How does it sound?
well, i could make some nice jokes here

but i won't :D



it plays a tune if you guide it along

but the strings are at least 30 years old

so the tone is variable

from one string to the next



also, i only have a solid state amp

available at the present

it's a little strident and might sound better

with tubes



i haven't really played it much

as i'm more into acoustic resonator
 
Cool piece anyway.

I got the rig. There's a short in the guitar. I'll have to trace out the wiring and break out the soldering iron before I can tell you how it sounds. It looks great. It'll be a good buy even if the pickup's gone.

The amp is a total mystery. It has 3 GE tubes marked XE5. One of them is 4 pins to a 4 pin socket. They are coke bottle style. I can't find any reference to an XE5 anywhere. I haven't traced out the wiring fully but it looks like it may be the rectifier. It has a 4th tube by Philco that looks similar to a 5y3 but it has no markings. As I said I believe it was made by Dickerson. I'm thinking it was made between '38 & '41. Any information would be helpful.
 
I found out this bit of info on the web at

http://www.well.com/~wellvis/gitinfo.html


Dickerson

Dickerson steels were the precursors of the Magnatone line. Delbert J. Dickerson began manufacturing guitars in the 1930s. At the height of the company's manufacturing career they were building 200 guitars a week under 10 different brands, including Varsity, Southern California Music Company, Oahu, Bronson, and Roland Ball (father of Ernie Ball). The patent rights were sold to Gaston Factor in 1944, who later sold the rights to Magna Electronics. Apparently Sol Ho'opi'i was an endorser of the Dickerson line. The cover of the book "The Hawaiian Steel Guitar" is an artist's rendition of Sol holding a National. Inside the book is the real photo, with Sol holding a Dickerson

This line might also help: http://www.steelguitarinfo.com/downloads/OwnersManuals/index.html
 
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