Magnatones (1965-1967) (Pics heavy)

Discussion of vintage Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Bass VIs, Electric XIIs and any other offset-waist instruments.
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Lozboy
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Re: Magnatones (1965-1967) (Pics heavy)

Post by Lozboy » Wed Jun 15, 2016 6:52 am

What a great collection of pics.Is there a Magnatone Time line/Forum?

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HH1978
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Re: Magnatones (1965-1967) (Pics heavy)

Post by HH1978 » Sun Oct 16, 2016 1:08 am

There is a lot of info here, mostly on amps, but on guitars as well : http://www.magnatoneamps.com

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Mechanical Birds
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Re: Magnatones (1965-1967) (Pics heavy)

Post by Mechanical Birds » Mon Apr 13, 2020 11:37 pm

Really annoyed with how totally impossible it’s gonna be to find any replacement parts/hardware for these things. I’ve got my eye on one but from what I can see not only is the trem arm missing, but probably the collet as well. I’ve owned a few guitars with trem systems that were obviously derived from the Offset trem and faced similar issues, but all of them were import guitars and usually old, when allegedly some thread size they used on all their guitars/tremolos until like 1980 before universally switching to another size and thus making it impossible to buy modern parts to get them up to snuff.

I’m hung up because I love this guitar and have wanted to try one since I first saw one, but I NEED that tremolo, and was the reason I became interested/drawn to them in the first place. Maybe I’ll be lucky and the arm is in a hard case that’s attached to the guitar and the picture making it look like the collet is gone just a bad picture and the collet is intact? If it’s not though, is there really anything I can do?

People selling guitars without the trem arm or amps with non-original boxes, grills, handles, etc. is like my biggest pet peeve of all time. I’ve spent literally 5 years trying to find a Sunn model T grill and have yet to really even come close :(

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Re: Magnatones (1965-1967) (Pics heavy)

Post by mgeek » Tue Apr 14, 2020 1:06 am

Mechanical Birds wrote:
Mon Apr 13, 2020 11:37 pm

I’m hung up because I love this guitar and have wanted to try one since I first saw one, but I NEED that tremolo, and was the reason I became interested/drawn to them in the first place. Maybe I’ll be lucky and the arm is in a hard case that’s attached to the guitar and the picture making it look like the collet is gone just a bad picture and the collet is intact? If it’s not though, is there really anything I can do?
Steel rod and thread cutters are cheap! Won't be original but it'd get the trem functioning til a real one turns up. I'm not really sure what a collet is. Some sort of nut?

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Re: Magnatones (1965-1967) (Pics heavy)

Post by Mechanical Birds » Tue Apr 14, 2020 1:56 am

Used to Fender terminology! It’s the part of the trem where the arm is inserted. I’d ask if you’d mind measuring one of yours for me so I could compare it to a typical Fender/Squier version but that’d be a pretty annoying pain in the ass. This is the one I’m looking at - and I know, leaves a lot to be desired AFA any kind of description or anything goes:

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Magna ... 8LEALw_wcB

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Re: Magnatones (1965-1967) (Pics heavy)

Post by mcatano » Tue Apr 14, 2020 4:45 am

If the collet is missing and the system works essentially like the fender one, your best bet is to get an AVRI collet (i would assume that a us-made guitar from the 60s is not using metric anything) and then re-tap the threads on one side or the other as needed. You might need to use a helicoil to make it work, but it's not an unsurmountable problem. If you know a bicycle mechanic, take it to them—making incompatible threaded things play nicely is their wheelhouse.

To get an original-spec piece you'd probably need to make a precise drawing and then take it to someone and have it machined, which would be super expensive (unless you know a hobbyist machinist).

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Re: Magnatones (1965-1967) (Pics heavy)

Post by Mechanical Birds » Wed Apr 15, 2020 7:40 pm

Santos12 wrote:
Tue Apr 14, 2020 4:42 am
Mechanical Birds wrote:
Tue Apr 14, 2020 1:56 am
Used to Fender terminology! It’s the part of the trem where the arm is inserted. I’d ask if you’d mind measuring one of yours for me so I could compare it to a typical Fender/Squier version but that’d be a pretty annoying pain in the ass. This is the one I’m looking at - and I know, leaves a lot to be desired AFA any kind of description or anything goes:

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Magna ... 8LEALw_wcB paris shuttle airport transfers
Thank you very much for sharing link
For the love of god is this some cryptic thing where yr gonna swoop underneath me and buy it cuz I really hope not and will never stop hating myself if that’s a thing

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andy_tchp
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Re: Magnatones (1965-1967) (Pics heavy)

Post by andy_tchp » Wed Apr 15, 2020 9:15 pm

Mechanical Birds wrote:
Wed Apr 15, 2020 7:40 pm
Santos12 wrote:
Tue Apr 14, 2020 4:42 am
Mechanical Birds wrote:
Tue Apr 14, 2020 1:56 am
Used to Fender terminology! It’s the part of the trem where the arm is inserted. I’d ask if you’d mind measuring one of yours for me so I could compare it to a typical Fender/Squier version but that’d be a pretty annoying pain in the ass. This is the one I’m looking at - and I know, leaves a lot to be desired AFA any kind of description or anything goes:

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Magna ... 8LEALw_wcB paris shuttle airport transfers
Thank you very much for sharing link
For the love of god is this some cryptic thing where yr gonna swoop underneath me and buy it cuz I really hope not and will never stop hating myself if that’s a thing
Nope, it's a spambot which inserted a link for 'paris shuttle airport transfers' into the quoted material; I have reported the post.

I can't imagine there's much call for airport shuttles (in Paris or anywhere else on the planet) at the moment.
"I don't know why we asked him to join the band 'cause the rest of us don't like country music all that much; we just like Graham Lee."
David McComb, 1987.

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Mechanical Birds
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Re: Magnatones (1965-1967) (Pics heavy)

Post by Mechanical Birds » Wed Apr 15, 2020 11:40 pm

I actually meant to delete that after looking and seeing that they had one post and joined like today haha thanks for helping to temper my fears a little though!

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Re: Magnatones (1965-1967) (Pics heavy)

Post by zhivago » Thu Apr 16, 2020 12:08 am

I nuked the post when Andy reported it, thanks for doing that, Andy :)
Resident Spartan.

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HH1978
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Re: Magnatones (1965-1967) (Pics heavy)

Post by HH1978 » Sat Apr 18, 2020 3:52 pm

Hey,

I'm glad to see this thread revived :)

As I discussed with MechanicalBirds in PM, there's no collet. The end of the arm is threaded and attached to the plate with a nut.

Image

I'm not sure you can still see the pictures in the thread since I've never upgraded when Photobucket ceased to be free. I can repost them if you wish (might take some time before I find them, or at worst I can take some new ones).

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mcatano
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Re: Magnatones (1965-1967) (Pics heavy)

Post by mcatano » Sun Apr 19, 2020 6:55 am

Oh, then I guess all you'd need is some round stock, a bench vise, and a tap/thread kit from the hardware store.

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Re: Magnatones (1965-1967) (Pics heavy)

Post by chmclean6 » Tue Nov 02, 2021 1:57 pm

Hey guys, I have a '65 tornado. Does anyone have one with all of the vibrato parts? I saw the one with just the spring and body plate on this thread, i have those parts too. As I am restoring this I am trying to get figure out what the original parts looked like to adjust spring tension through the 'sharp - flat' hole.

Pictures would be GREAT!!! :)

Thanks,

Chris

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Re: Magnatones (1965-1967) (Pics heavy)

Post by Jplayer » Wed Aug 10, 2022 11:25 am

All-

I am new to this site but found it because I am looking for a Magnatone 65 Typhoon in teal. There is one (several photos) in this thread. Does anyone know of one that is available?

Thanks,

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Re: Magnatones (1965-1967) (Pics heavy)

Post by Jplayer » Mon Aug 15, 2022 10:26 am

Hello All-

Looking for a Magnatone Tyhpoon teal (blue). Does anyone know where I might find one that won't kill me to purchase?

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