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1978 1117-4 Legend...

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DetlefMichel
Posted 2017-04-20 10:16 AM (#533803 - in reply to #531569)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...



Joined:
May 2011
Posts: 751

Location: Muenster/Germany
These guitars should have a "DS" branding on the top
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marenostrum
Posted 2017-04-20 11:54 AM (#533804 - in reply to #531569)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...



Joined:
August 2007
Posts: 1008

Location: Tuscany, Italy
Amazing !!
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moody, p.i.
Posted 2017-04-20 12:17 PM (#533805 - in reply to #533803)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...


Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15651

Location: SoCal
DetlefMichel - 2017-04-20 8:16 AM

These guitars should have a "DS" branding on the top

Or on a special label inside.....
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Jonmark Stone
Posted 2017-04-20 1:19 PM (#533808 - in reply to #531569)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...


Joined:
May 2008
Posts: 1553

Location: Indiana
Great job Dan.
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DarenSavage
Posted 2017-04-20 2:12 PM (#533809 - in reply to #533805)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...


Joined:
December 2016
Posts: 128

moody, p.i. - 2017-04-20 12:17 PM
Or on a special label inside.....
I'm probably going to ask Dan to add one to mine, but it will be hidden and only seen with a mirror (which means printed backwards, too).
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DanSavage
Posted 2017-04-20 2:46 PM (#533810 - in reply to #533809)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...



Joined:
June 2012
Posts: 2303

Location: Lake Forest, CA
Thanks, everyone.

Now that Paul's is done I can concentrate my efforts to getting Daren's done. (won't be long now)

Edited by DanSavage 2017-04-20 2:48 PM
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DarenSavage
Posted 2017-04-20 7:20 PM (#533812 - in reply to #533810)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...


Joined:
December 2016
Posts: 128

DanSavage - 2017-04-20 2:46 PM

Now that Paul's is done I can concentrate my efforts to getting Daren's done. (won't be long now)

Hakuna Matata. You told me mine would take a little longer because of the neck work. Is it done yet?

Edited by DarenSavage 2017-04-20 7:21 PM
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DanSavage
Posted 2017-04-21 8:03 AM (#533814 - in reply to #533812)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...



Joined:
June 2012
Posts: 2303

Location: Lake Forest, CA
DarenSavage - 2017-04-20 5:20 PM

DanSavage - 2017-04-20 2:46 PM

Now that Paul's is done I can concentrate my efforts to getting Daren's done. (won't be long now)

Hakuna Matata. You told me mine would take a little longer because of the neck work. Is it done yet?


Almost done!
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DanSavage
Posted 2017-04-21 8:07 AM (#533815 - in reply to #531569)
Subject: RE: 1978 1117-4 Legend...



Joined:
June 2012
Posts: 2303

Location: Lake Forest, CA

All done and delivered.

d

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d'ovation
Posted 2017-04-21 9:35 AM (#533816 - in reply to #531569)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...


Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 846

Location: Canada
Thanks for sharing, it's nice to see the DS shop developing new devices for O enhancements. And as a residue of this project there is still the perfectly fine MS sitka top, which I imagine may serve well for a quick emergency restoration job in the future.
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DanSavage
Posted 2017-04-21 10:11 AM (#533817 - in reply to #533816)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...



Joined:
June 2012
Posts: 2303

Location: Lake Forest, CA
YVW.

Nah, that top is worthless for restorations. It's destined for the trophy wall along with all the rest.

I'm at the point where if I'm going to go to the trouble of re-topping a guitar, there's no substitute for torrefied wood. (yeah, it's that good)
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2wheeldrummer
Posted 2017-04-21 5:08 PM (#533831 - in reply to #531569)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...



Joined:
February 2014
Posts: 699

Location: moline,illinois
Gorgeous !!!! I love the silking on the top what a beautiful piece of wood


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arumako
Posted 2017-04-21 9:56 PM (#533834 - in reply to #531569)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...



Joined:
October 2012
Posts: 1018

Location: Yokohama, Japan
WOW! WOW! WOW! moody, p.i.'s silence kinda says it all...
When you come outta the cave, please share sound, video anything byte!
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DanSavage
Posted 2017-04-22 3:06 PM (#533845 - in reply to #531569)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...



Joined:
June 2012
Posts: 2303

Location: Lake Forest, CA
Thanks, Kevin & Ken.
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BanjoJ
Posted 2017-04-23 1:24 AM (#533854 - in reply to #531569)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...



Joined:
September 2012
Posts: 809

Location: Thredbo, NSW, Australia
Very impressive Dan. I've watched this restoration as keenly as the others and I've been loving the journey.

Keep 'em coming!
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DanSavage
Posted 2017-04-23 4:09 PM (#533862 - in reply to #531569)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...



Joined:
June 2012
Posts: 2303

Location: Lake Forest, CA
Thanks, Paul.

Actually, this wasn't a restoration, but a re-top. This guitar started out in more or less perfect condition.
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moody, p.i.
Posted 2017-04-24 1:10 AM (#533872 - in reply to #531569)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...


Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15651

Location: SoCal
Time to talk about this guitar. When I left Dan's with it, he told me that it would become my favorite guitar. Not certain that's possible with the 1537 (which Dan also had a hand in) but it may certainly move into the top two.

When I got it from Dan, it was very loud, but sounded to my ears, a bit crashy. More sound, not as much tone. What I'm finding very interesting is that as I play it, the tone is coming on. Still loud, but sounding better every day. At this point, it's already better than the top and guitar it used to be.

To review, it started life as a 1977 1117 Legend. VT braced and horrible sounding. I was young and stupid when I bought it. I sent it back to the factory in late 2008. We used the neck and put a new body on it. Hand laid clothe bowl and very nice looking A braced top. 5 point rosewood bridge. And still a 1117. No electronics. Sounded good, but not as great as I had hoped.

Dan and I decided to do a new top. A braced with a torrefied Adirondack top and braces. Absolutely no regrets on that. The only thing Dan did that I'm not certain about is using a rosette that he thought looked better than the original. I may see if we can go with the original. I'll see what he says.

The action on the guitar is great. A little low when I picked it up and yesterday I started to get a buzz on the open bass E string (light gauge Elixir phos/bronze strings). A half turn on the truss rod a and it's gone. And interestingly, the saddle is higher than it was going in. I'm a believer in a good solid break over the saddle which this guitar has.

I'm very pleased with the guitar and it's going to be played a lot. Today I played it out on the patio. Interestingly, it sounds better outside than inside. I'm looking forward to playing it when we start playing on Friday nights (next month), all summer, out at the Trabuco Canyon General Store.

Thanks Dan. Any thoughts on the rosette?
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DanSavage
Posted 2017-04-24 9:13 AM (#533876 - in reply to #531569)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...



Joined:
June 2012
Posts: 2303

Location: Lake Forest, CA
Hi Paul,

First, you're very welcome.

As I say, my personal preference for deep bowl Os is 80/20s rather than PBs. IMO, the PBs don't have the right tone profile for the volume of the deep bowl. I also think that part of the 'crashiness' comes from new strings. By the time you'd picked up the guitar, the strings were only a day old and had only been played a handful of times.

I can say that as you played it, it sounded a lot better when I was in front of it rather than behind it. In fact, I like how yours sounds so much that I've already decided to use torrefied Adi spruce and A-braces on the 1657 I bought.

Actually, the rosette on the guitar is one you gave to me to use on it. But, like I said when you picked it up, I like how it looks even though it's not the standard MOP. WRT to changing it out, I'm not so sure about that. It's epoxied into place. I didn't use a lot of glue, but wouldn't want to mess up the top or the finish trying to replace it with something else.

If this were my guitar, I'd leave it alone and play the tar out of it. Of course, I'd also put 80/20s on it.


Dan

Edited by DanSavage 2017-04-24 9:18 AM
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moody, p.i.
Posted 2017-04-24 12:05 PM (#533879 - in reply to #531569)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...


Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15651

Location: SoCal
If that was the rosette that I gave you (got it from Mother), then I'll easily learn to love it.

This is a guitar that demands to be played hard to get the tone out of it. I probably won't go with the 80/20 nano's, but rather I'll try the 80/20 polys. Per the Elixir website, they give a warmer tone.

But know that this sucker is going to be played a lot......
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DanSavage
Posted 2017-04-24 1:28 PM (#533883 - in reply to #533879)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...



Joined:
June 2012
Posts: 2303

Location: Lake Forest, CA
Yep. That one came from Mommy. :D

I agree. That's one of the things I've heard about Adi spruce. It's pretty stiff, so it needs to be played hard. No banjo is going to out-volume that guitar.

Like a lot of guitars, you'll probably need to experiment with a few different strings to find the ones that make the guitar sound its best.

So, try 80/20 polys and if you don't like how it sounds, try 80/20 nanos, etc.

Enjoy!
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moody, p.i.
Posted 2017-04-24 1:40 PM (#533884 - in reply to #531569)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...


Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15651

Location: SoCal
I shall....
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moody, p.i.
Posted 2017-04-24 3:51 PM (#533889 - in reply to #531569)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...


Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15651

Location: SoCal
Just as an interesting note about this guitar. I realized that it sounds very similar to videos I've seen where Glen Campbell is playing either of his first 2 GC Deluxe Balladeers
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DanSavage
Posted 2017-04-24 4:24 PM (#533890 - in reply to #533889)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...



Joined:
June 2012
Posts: 2303

Location: Lake Forest, CA

When you played Gentle On My Mind, I noticed the same thing. The sound of your guitar reminded me a lot of what I remember Glen sounding like.

Here's a clip that's similar.

Gentle On My Mind



Edited by DanSavage 2017-04-24 4:26 PM
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arumako
Posted 2017-04-24 5:32 PM (#533892 - in reply to #531569)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...



Joined:
October 2012
Posts: 1018

Location: Yokohama, Japan
Nice discussion moody, p.i. and Dan. Thanks for letting us in on your conversation. Hey Dan, I'm pretty close with my savings situation, are ya up for making one of those torrefied Savage specials for the Japan market? Not for resale of course!
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DanSavage
Posted 2017-04-24 6:17 PM (#533894 - in reply to #533892)
Subject: Re: 1978 1117-4 Legend...



Joined:
June 2012
Posts: 2303

Location: Lake Forest, CA
Hi Ken,

Sure thing. What did you have in mind?

FWIW, when I'm done with Daren's 1528, I'm going to be ready to finish the 1612. If you're interested, let's take the discussion over to that thread.

Dan
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