Luke Winslow King ,is that a Supro he`s playing?

[zak71]

Nov 19, 2013 19:38:16 GMT mitchfit said:

Pete & Zak,

doubt there is a better authority out there than Mark.

mitchfit

Considering I've owned a couple of Belmonts (and a pile of other Valco electrics over the years) I would venture to say that I might know a thing or two about 'em, as well.




Aside from the earliest Valco solidbodies (1st version of the Ozark, Cosmopolitan, etc which used a different bolt-on system that was phased out on the National line last), the non-archtop Valcos had this single bolt + neck tilt adjustment system:



The earlier (Ozark style) necks were indeed bolt-on as well, but used the bulky chunk of metal "front loader" neck heel adjustment for tilt, the same way the Valco bolt-on neck archtops did:






The mechanism itself was concealed under the removable plastic heel cap, just like the archtops.




The '53 Ozark I used to own was one of the raunchiest sounding electrics I have ever heard, even at low volumes!

[mitchfit]

Zak,

nice horses in that stable!

[assuming] the Belmont is a hollow body,
are they really prone to feedback, even
at lower volumes?

i see his amp is close-mic'd, which
could help to reach venue volumes
while lessening feedback problems.

mitchfit

[zak71]

Oh no, the Belmont is a slab body, roughly the size and weight of a Les Paul. A HEAVY one at that. Later models (wood bodied National "map" shaped guitars, 60s pre-"Jetsons" Airlines, etc) had a honeycomb of weight-relieving routing under a plastic back cover to alleviate this problem. The Belmont didn't have this. The pickups, however, are microphonic - that's what makes them somewhat feedback prone at stage volumes, especially with any kind of gain boosting pedal between the guitar and amp.

[mitchfit]

Zak,

thanks for info. thought all of the Res-o-Glas
offerings were true hollow body designs.

even with a small column under the bridge,
have had feedback issues from hollow body
designs in the past.

thanks again,
mitchfit

[Deleted]

Nov 15, 2013 17:08:39 GMT pete1951 said:

( I`ve lent my copy of Marks Book to someone)

Have you gone all doolally?
TT

[zak71]

Nov 19, 2013 21:29:09 GMT mitchfit said:

Zak,

thanks for info. thought all of the Res-o-Glas
offerings were true hollow body designs.

Ah, here's the thing - the guitar in the video, and the Belmont I pictured are NOT res-o-glas models.
It is the earlier, mid-to-late 50s (fully solid) wood bodied version.
The shift to res-o-glas happened in the early 60s.
The res-o-glas Belmonts have a different headstock and body shape (the entire line was switched over to this styling):




They are a "semi-hollow" design, in the sense that a block of wood runs the length of the body, and the neck bolts into this wooden "core" which is accompanied by several small wooden blocks into which the other fiberglass body "half" is attached via screws:

[oscar]

Just came back from a small club where the Luke Winslow King Trio was playing. Had the chance to talk with him: the guitar in the video is a 1958 Supro Belmont. He did not play it this evening but used a National (with that flat magnetic pickup) for all songs. Roberto Luti was playing his Strat. A great band!