NGD: 1965 Silvertone 1423L Jupiter

[shadowplay]

Looks sharp with the Bigsby, I'm not a fan of the wee vestigial and generic tailpiece it originally had. On the bender; if it did something functional I needed, I'd not care about the looks.

D

[Despot]

I'm with D and Maggie on this one Todd - bigsby all the way.

And that's one seriously sweet Jupiter there too ... I've always had a thing for these guitars. I like what you did with the risers too (it's the same solution as the wooden risers you find in Harmonys, like my H75).

All the best,
Kevin

[invisible man]

Sooo rad! I've wanted to try something like this for a while, like a 60's Sears catalog version of Neil Young's Old Black. Would love to hear it. Keep that bender handy, sounded like you were having some fun despite yourself, no one has to know...

[Con-Tiki!]

Jupiter lives!
don't sell it.

I voted for two things, the plain Bigsby and back to stock.
I love Bigsbys, but only if I can install them without big shims, and Gretschy string-heights. You have a Jet or something, right? I'm thinking you are probably fine with the Gretschy string-height.
I might have switched it back to stock for that reason. (then 6 months later put a Bigsby back on it...)

The B-blender attachment may have been useful, but aesthetically, clashed with all the vintage. Shouldn't matter, but I feel the same way about old hotrods with shiny billet wheels.

I'd also be interested in your review of that bridge.
Is the radius close enough? Did you consider a space-control? Do the strings stay put?

Love it, btw.

[shadowplay]

Btw Todd that's a really nice floor. What kind of wood is it? I was looking at a Mercedes W108 6.3 300 SEL earlier and it had an optional (I think) Zebrano dash (well it didn't look like either straight or burl walnut and I'd read some had Zebrano) and it reminded me of your floor but with the grain shrunk to scale.

D

[Telliot]

Jupiter lives!
don't sell it.

I voted for two things, the plain Bigsby and back to stock.
I love Bigsbys, but only if I can install them without big shims, and Gretschy string-heights. You have a Jet or something, right? I'm thinking you are probably fine with the Gretschy string-height.
I might have switched it back to stock for that reason. (then 6 months later put a Bigsby back on it...)

The B-blender attachment may have been useful, but aesthetically, clashed with all the vintage. Shouldn't matter, but I feel the same way about old hotrods with shiny billet wheels.

I'd also be interested in your review of that bridge.
Is the radius close enough? Did you consider a space-control? Do the strings stay put?

Love it, btw.

I used to have a Duo Jet, but I sold it to buy the '54 ES-125. It's funny you mention it, because it does sort of remind me of that guitar. I'm pretty sure I've got a space-control bridge somewhere that I had on my old Jupiter. I've been meaning to dig for it and see how it works for this setup. I know what you mean about the new 'Gretsch height', and you aren't wrong. It's all a bit challenging but I think the payoff in the end will be worth the trouble after the kinks are all worked out. What's funny is how many people tell me they always wanted to do something like this but never found any information searching the interwebz. As far as the current bridge matching the curvature of the fretboard, I think it's really close, but I seem to remember the space-control being better suited to it.

Btw Todd that's a really nice floor. What kind of wood is it? I was looking at a Mercedes W108 6.3 300 SEL earlier and it had an optional (I think) Zebrano dash (well it didn't look like either straight or burl walnut and I'd read some had Zebrano) and it reminded me of your floor but with the grain shrunk to scale.

D

Haha, thanks! It came with the house and I'm pretty sure it's a laminate, but it does get a lot compliments. Unfortunately the rest of the house is carpeted. I have big plans to rip it out and put wood throughout.

[Ursa Minor]

Jupiter!

Love these. Sometime I wish I never sold mine either. I think the plain Bigsby is the best combo of form and function. Aren't you afraid that it will crack that fragile top?
I always feel like these guitars are soooo fragile?



PS - Carpet sucks! I always fully support those who want to remove carpet in favor of wood.

[Con-Tiki!]

Jupiter!

Love these. Sometime I wish I never sold mine either. I think the plain Bigsby is the best combo of form and function. Aren't you afraid that it will crack that fragile top?
I always feel like these guitars are soooo fragile?



PS - Carpet sucks! I always fully support those who want to remove carpet in favor of wood.

You'd be amazed the punishment these guitars can take.
I once saved an old Danelectro that had been covered with cement/mosaic tile/grout. Weighed 16 lbs, no idea if the person who did it ever played the guitar, or if it was bad art.
Anyway, after trying gentle techniques, I was forced to bust the tile off with a ball-peen hammer. Not one of those 1x1 tiles came off intact. Hammer and chisel for the cement bedding. No cracks, only one smal gouge where I got careless with the chisel. In the end, I was able to wet-sand the original finish. You'd have never known.
Jupiters are even sturdier. That top is some sort of plywood, much stronger than the Masonite on a dano.

[Telliot]

Jupiter!

Love these. Sometime I wish I never sold mine either. I think the plain Bigsby is the best combo of form and function. Aren't you afraid that it will crack that fragile top?
I always feel like these guitars are soooo fragile?



PS - Carpet sucks! I always fully support those who want to remove carpet in favor of wood.

You'd be amazed the punishment these guitars can take.
I once saved an old Danelectro that had been covered with cement/mosaic tile/grout. Weighed 16 lbs, no idea if the person who did it ever played the guitar, or if it was bad art.
Anyway, after trying gentle techniques, I was forced to bust the tile off with a ball-peen hammer. Not one of those 1x1 tiles came off intact. Hammer and chisel for the cement bedding. No cracks, only one smal gouge where I got careless with the chisel. In the end, I was able to wet-sand the original finish. You'd have never known.
Jupiters are even sturdier. That top is some sort of plywood, much stronger than the Masonite on a dano.

Plus, there's a solid block under the bridge, adding extra support there. It's fully hollow, otherwise.

[Oig]

Crap. You just gave me crazy GAS. So much hotness in one guitar. So much.

[Ursa Minor]

Good to know these are sturdier than I would give them credit for.
I can't believe the masonite story! Thats a resto tale for the annals of time.

I don't remember the wood block supporting the bridge - but that would definitely help!



Not. Helping. My. Silvertone / Dano GAS.

[Telliot]

Per Chris's suggestion, I dug out my old Space-Control bridge and stuck in on the Jupiter (seems appropriate, somehow ). I was amazed at the difference it made, more resonance, brighter tone, less string buzz (which I attribute to the aluminum bridge being slightly flatter than the neck radius), and much better intonation. Plus I get the added benefit of adjusting the string spacing.








I also started recording some sound clips last night. I'll try and finish those up and post them tonight or soon thereafter.

[therizzla]

Per Chris's suggestion, I dug out my old Space-Control bridge and stuck in on the Jupiter (seems appropriate, somehow ). I was amazed at the difference it made, more resonance, brighter tone, less string buzz (which I attribute to the aluminum bridge being slightly flatter than the neck radius), and much better intonation. Plus I get the added benefit of adjusting the string spacing.

It's perfect! The new bridge even looks better!

[Maggieo]

Per Chris's suggestion, I dug out my old Space-Control bridge and stuck in on the Jupiter (seems appropriate, somehow ). I was amazed at the difference it made, more resonance, brighter tone, less string buzz (which I attribute to the aluminum bridge being slightly flatter than the neck radius), and much better intonation. Plus I get the added benefit of adjusting the string spacing.

It's perfect! The new bridge even looks better!

EPIC! EPIC! EPIC!!!

[Con-Tiki!]

Good stuff.
I've wondered about those bridges. All my crappy Sears guitars have non-normal string spacing, this is the answer.
Todd, that guitar is perfect.