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EEL - It's a long story.
I am not crazy about the name, EEL, but for now, that it is what I will call this one.
E for my friend Eric (Badfinger), who gave me the Elmar pickup. I gave Eric a Lowe cone and he ended up with a similar looking guitar he calls the Pissonator.
E for Elmar, who was the first I know of to make flat and great sounding pickups. Others try to do the same and do pretty well. I do not know if they have matched him. He is hard to match.
And L for Lowe – Mike Lowe, out of Texas who made the resonator.
1.This was first made to be a pretty guitar. It had a piezo and shinny brass. It was fretted and tuned DGB back in 2010. That was the only tuning I could play back then. I played it at the open mic at the first Kansas City CBG fest. I was pretty nervous, but the guitar and I did okay.
2.Some time and a few builds later, I decided that 'pretty builds do not suit me'. I made this one a relic and it had a lot more dark paint on it and the brass was more tarnished.
3. I recently picked it up and played it. The frets worked fine near the peg head, but not so fine up the neck and toward the body. This pissed me off. I stripped the frets off and sanded some black paint off and cleaned up the brass a little
4.A different guitar, which I originally had the Elmar pickup on, SEEMED like the best guitar I ever made. I played it at Kansas City Fest #3 and also filmed a video of my friend Maddog playing it. But I had made the neck too thin where the pickup sat. Over time, the neck bowed up and the strings got higher off the fret board. When it got too bad., I stripped the good parts, but the Elmar pickup, which was hot glued in place, came up minus the wood trim
5.Today I combined the Elmar with the reso build. It still has a separate piezo. Both sound good, but the Elmar is smoother and warmer and the piezo is dirtier. :) I can take my pick. I am happy with the outcome.
Comment
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Comment by Jerry Jordan on February 8, 2017 at 4:06am
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nice story.,.,neat git.,.,.
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Comment by Maddog on April 26, 2014 at 3:31am
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Turned out real nice John!
Everything just "fits" this git, it was made to be :-)
When I was a kid I went to grade school with a Mexican girl named Ele, it was pronounced Ellie but spelled Ele.
I am with you on the name Eel, sounds a bit slimey lol
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Comment by Uncle John on April 26, 2014 at 3:07am
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Thanks guys. I think I like the Elmar pickup better with out the wood enclosure.
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Comment by Chipfat Fingerburn Jones on April 24, 2014 at 10:33pm
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Amazing pickup!
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Comment by Rob Ingram on April 21, 2014 at 11:06am
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Nice !
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Comment by Hudson Wolf on April 21, 2014 at 2:34am
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You are happy with the outcome. That is why we are doing it.Good job!
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Thanks, guys. It is fun to play plugged or unplugged.
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Comment by Dave Lynas on April 20, 2014 at 11:17pm
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BLUE: Badfinger, Lowe, Uncle, Elmar
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Comment by Richey Kay on April 20, 2014 at 6:54pm
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Well, I love it.
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Comment by Clock The Wolf on April 20, 2014 at 2:30pm
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BEM: Badfinger+Elmar+Mike
BEL: Badfinger+Elmar+Lowe
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