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Post by calvoi on May 9, 2019 8:26:04 GMT
How many were made? It seems they were only produced for a handful of years.
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Post by Ian McWee on May 9, 2019 15:31:03 GMT
I seem to remember the last serial number mentioned was #118 for the Tri-plates (mine is #104) although Steve Evans will be the person to verify this.
Slide On!
The Flaschenmiester.
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Post by Mark Makin on May 15, 2019 15:49:09 GMT
Just had a long conversation with Steve Evans and I thought I'd ask him about "numbers" while I was on the phone. Off the top of his head he believes there were 270ish instruments of all types made of metal. In the early years, all instruments had a letter prefix detailing the type of instrument - a ukulele had a U prefix, mandolin had M and Triplates had a T prefix. He remembers that the last series numbered Triplate was T042. After this, which was around late 1994, all instruments were sequentially numbered without a prefix. All the metal bodied instruments were finished by 2003 in New Zealand. He thinks the last Triplate was made in 1995 and there were something like 80 made in total.
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Post by leeophonic on May 15, 2019 18:21:25 GMT
Although Mark it is.not the end of the tale, when Steve Evans had gone back to N/z Bill Johnson continued to make a few metal bodies, Dave King was commisioned to make a few Triplates for the London Resonator centre called Angel Resonators, Dave then bought up the last bodies Bill ever made and made a batch of single cones in 2006, I had one commisioned with a 12 Fret body a custom coverplate and a flamed sycamore neck, knowing what I know now Mahogany is the warmest sounding wood for a resonator and is my preferred choice. For a neck Lee
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Post by calvoi on May 15, 2019 18:27:53 GMT
There is an angel resonator in No. Tom guitars on Denmark street at the moment. Or at least was a week ago. It sounded good but I much prefer a slightly radius fretboard.
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Post by Michael Messer on May 15, 2019 19:04:47 GMT
Lee, you are correct, but I believe the date was earlier. I remember Dave making the Angel guitars and I remember seeing them at the LRC in what must have been 2002/3.
I believe this is probably a contentious issue and should be discussed with care.
Angel guitars are extremely nice and very rare as there were so few built.
Mark, that is a good "numbers" job you did with Steve. These things are important to document, otherwise nobody knows any of this stuff. Thanks for sharing it on here.
Shine On Michael
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Post by snakehips on May 15, 2019 21:17:47 GMT
Hi there !
One time I was in Dave King’s workshop in his back garden, I think, circa late 2002, or early 2003, I think. He had a GOLD-plated Tricone he was building, for I think he said a local Police Chief, or something. I think I have a photo of the body with neck on, but no cones or coverplate. I’ll look for the photo. This was when he was making me a Baritone neck for an ex-bakelite necked Triolian. I was in Windsor one day a monthly for a Dental course, and would phone him to check on it’s progress - and he’d say it was nearly finished - and then I asked if I could pop round in an hour, to find he only had a pencil sketch of a neck outline, on a slab of wood, which he possibly did in the hour it took me to get there !! But you can’t rush quality !!!
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Post by Ian McWee on May 15, 2019 21:28:52 GMT
My own brass-bodied plated Triplate (#104) was built for me in April 1997 - Steve Evans modelled the neck shape from my buddies '30 Style 0 (rounded, not 'V' shaped) and we drove up to Leeds to collect it. Whilst there he confirmed the brass-bodied Tri-plates were coming to an end, but he still had several bodies in his shop awaiting completion Slide On! The Flaschenmiester
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Post by Michael Messer on May 16, 2019 13:03:04 GMT
I would like to add one point here; Mark was not trying to tell the story of Beltona or its history, he was just relaying a phone conversation he had with Steve Evans about Steve's numbering system.
Shine On Michael
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Post by Michael Messer on May 16, 2019 13:11:49 GMT
Now that we have this thread we can talk more about Beltona and its history...
I must dig out the photos of my Beltona electro that I had for a while in the 90s.
Shine On Michael
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Post by Michael Messer on May 16, 2019 13:13:31 GMT
....Here you go, here's one from 1995 Shine On Michael
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Post by leeophonic on Jun 1, 2019 6:21:27 GMT
[attachment id="5301" thumbnail="1"][attachment id="5302" thumbnail="1"] Beltona. Marketing brochure from the 1990,s, if memory serves me right Dave temple from the Kennet Sheiks was working in print at the time and had a hand in this, Lee Attachments:
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Post by Mark Makin on Jun 1, 2019 7:16:22 GMT
Lee, he certainly did NOT. I designed and printed this for Steve
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Post by Michael Messer on Jun 1, 2019 8:45:53 GMT
I remember this brochure well, it is a beautiful piece of work. I still have a copy or two in my "stuff about tin cans" collection.
Shine On Michael.
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Post by snakehips on Jun 1, 2019 9:13:08 GMT
Hi there !
I think I have one (or had one) as well.
I had a Beltona Tricone a few years back, for about 6months, then quickly sold it to quickly raise the cash for a half-decent price on a 1931 roundneck Style 1 Tricone. Also sold a nice 1930 Style O for the funds. I thing the serial number was T025.
Bought a replacement old, but later metal Beltona Tricone from Steve last year, serial number 109. Is that quite a high number in the list ? One of the last ?
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