I've been perusing the jam videos from SPBGMA, and in Rob Haines' video, we hear a gorgeous Redline Peabody at about 30 seconds, and catch a glimpse of Steve around 50 seconds :-)

youtube.com/watch?v=GW0HAEc7TEA

LOVE the air-zooka! That guy looks like he's having a ball! haha

Hi Angie,

Yes, and now that SPBGMA is over, I can get back to concentrating on your guitar and Bobby's guitar. I had to get all those other acoustic guitars, reso. guitars, and mandolins done and show-ready. Now we have cleared the decks here at the shop, so to speak, and can dig back into the work of getting your two guitars done.

Oh yeah, the Peabody you saw on the video was being played at that moment by Tim Graves. He had very kind words to say about our resophonic guitars, and I appreciated his input. As I recall, he especially liked the one that you see him playing on the video. That particular guitar will be pretty busy, as it went to a Brad Hudson, a fine dobro player. He plays with Lorraine Jordan and the Carolina Road band. They are a very busy band, so that particular guitar will be getting quite a workout.

I hope to get more pictures posted once I get some SPBGMA follow-up work done. Stay tuned!

Steve Smith
RedLineResophonics.com
CumberlandAcoustic.com

Although I don't go looking for it, sometimes we pick up some repair work at the RedLine shop. I posted a few more pictures of this project over on my Photobucket page regarding this 8 string Dobro I just worked on, but check out this picture. The owner of this particular Dobro is Billy Robinson, a very accomplished local steel guitar player. In fact, as it turns out, we live less than a mile from each other in Gallatin, TN.

Does anyone else see a somewhat eerie resemblance to someone else I am building a reso guitar for....?



Steve Smith
RedLineResophonics.com

Naw!!!!!!!! You don't mean ???????

Just checking in -- Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Right back at you Angie !!!!

DITO & DITO !!!!!

MOM IS DOING
G R E A T ! ! ! !
About 3 to 4 weeks in Rehab and then home
Thanks for all your thoughts and PRAYERS

I don't really look like him











DO I?

Great news Bobby! Thanks so much for posting the update. God bless.

Vic

Yeeeeeeeee haaaaaaaaa. Glad to hear it Bobby. We'll keep those prayers up until she's at home dancin to your playin and beyond. You make sure to tell her we said HI.
Mike

Edited by - Grizz on 02/17/2010 19:32:16

Thanks Mike and Vic,

I will be glad when things settle down and I can get my new Peabody


Thanks again to all of your thoughts and prayers!!!!!
Bobby

Hey Bobby, do you have a rough idea when you will get Steve's Creation? Just curious. I'm sure after you have it you will find it was worth the wait. I only waited 2 months for my James but I couldn't be any happier.
Mike

It can't be much longer now, maybe!!!!!!

Mom is improving better than expected YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More this weekend..

NUFF SAID
Bobby

I talked to Steve today -- not too much longer on the reso front!!! I am beyond excited!! :-)

That's great to hear Angie. Was beginning to think you and Bobby got em and are to busy pickin' Keep us posted !

Mike

I have read this whole thread and it makes me want to have one of those guitars. I would definatly look into them if I ever decide to buy a custom. You all must be like little kids a month before christmas with the excitement and antisipation allmost unbearable:) By the looks of the pics your gonna play non stop for days when you get them!!

Hope you enjoy
Claude

Mike and all --

Bobby and Angie have been patiently waiting. This time, the bit of a time lag was due to some previous commitments I had, and some other stuff that came up along the way.

We're back on track now, though. Bobby stopped by the shop a couple of days ago, and we changed everything from how the guitar was bound to fretboard and peghead materials and shapes. That might slow his down a notch, but he said he won't be ready for it for about six weeks, anyway. We should have it done well before Bean Blossom, as he said he would really like it for that festival.

Concerning the progress of Angie's guitar, her body is ready to start applying that sweet CoverGirl stain on. We finish sanded her, drilled the neck holes, and attached the finish-room handle yesterday, so she's ready for color. I haven't posted any pictures in a while, so I'll try to get some up soon.

Steve
RedLineReso.com
CumberlandAcoustic.com

Steve, I am dancing in my chair I am so excited!!!

Claude, it is funny you mention a kid at Christmas -- I think I've said that line several times to Steve and Bobby regarding the Great Reso Wait -- haha. I know it'll be worth every second of anticipation.

In other reso news, I am headed to the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation's festival in Texas this weekend, and looking forward to hopefully meeting some of my bluegrass idols, Rob Ickes and Alecia Nugent :-)

Steve,
Please don't think that i, in any way, was questioning the time frame of your builds. I just happened to see Angie's post and was kidding her. All good things come to those who wait. I am positive that when all is said and done that they will be happier than the proverbial pigs in poop. See there, Claude, when he's ready will be checking out a Red Line and I certainly would/will pass your name to those who are seeking a fine instrument.

Mike

Hey Steve -- do you remember John Gathright of Foreman, Ark.? He was at SPGBMA this year. John is the builder who made Chris' custom dream mandolin. When John heard that I was having a custom Redline made, he said, "You couldn't have found a better, nicer builder than Steve Smith."

John's son Jake, who has played with Ralph Stanley II, Goldwing Express and IIIrd Generation, said Redlines are the new hot dobro in Nashville among grassers, and that they are overtaking the Scheerhorns!

I figured it would make you feel good to hear other people bragging on you and your amazing Redlines! :-)

All this talk about new guitars got me to thinking that I just put a new set of strings on my RedLine and "poof!" it's like I've got a new guitar. Actually it still is a new guitar since I just got it this past August. I had put on a set of Scheerhorn Cryogenics on 11/26/09 and have played daily since then and even been to at least 3 lengthy jam sessions and I have to say the tone of my RedLine was a bit mellower on the low strings but still crisp and sweet as could be right up until I put on the new set. I almost didn't have the heart to change them yet. I don't have a lot of acid or sweat in my fingers but I'm not giving all the credit to the strings either. These are just great guitars. I will never get tired of the tone and projection. Angie and Bobby, you've got good reason to be giddy. Hang in there, your day is coming.

Dan

Hi Gang,

I snapped a few pictures at the shop yesterday, so here's some more updates on Bobby and Angie's RedLine Reso Build...

Bobby stopped by the shop the other day, and we changed a few things on his guitar. We had to go backwards in a couple of areas, so that is why some of these shots might seem out of sequence.

Some of the changes were: body and neck binding change, peghead shape change, fretboard and peghead wood species changed. Since he wanted maple binding on a maple body, I figured it might be best to side-bind the body, or in this case, add a strip of black-white celluloid to the edge of the binding, where it meets the side of the body, neck, etc. This turns out to be a pretty big deal, as you will see from the following pictures, which, for the most part deal only with this seemingly simple modification...

Here's how I stock Black-White celluloid. You can buy it in pre-cut strips, but I like to have it in sheet form as well, so you can make your own width of strips.




After jointing a nice fresh edge on the sheet, you then cut it to slightly oversized strips on the bandsaw...




Then, using a special fixture on the table router, you machine away the bandsawn edge, and bring the strip to the exact width you are looking for. We are trimming the thinner of the two celluloid strips in this shot, but you can see the wider ones, along with the pre-milled curly maple binding strips in this shot as well...





After all of the strips are cut to size, they are laminated together. Here's a shot of Christian, our most recent addition to Team RedLine, using a special fixture designed to help laminate binding strips together. We tip our RedLine caps to Stewart MacDonald for inventing this simple, yet ingenious device!



Here's how the binding strips look after they are laminated together...




Here's a closer shot. I situated them so you can see all four sides. They will be cleaned up a bit more, and then bent to shape in the guitar side bender...




Here's what the binding "assembly" looks like after a trip through the side bender. That is Bobby's reso. body in the background, with previous binding now removed, and just about ready for the new stuff...





We figured if we were going through all this trouble, we might as well bind his fretboard too. First, a shot of the dot marker cavities being laid-out and cut in Bobby's East indian Rosewood fretboard. Both he and Angie requested slotted squares instead of holes, so here I have started by drilling holes, then chiseling them to squares, 45 degrees to the axis of the fretboard, for sort of a "diamond" look. Note: Altoid cans are a great way to store small pieces of cut pearl...



Somewhere between these two photos, I milled some thin strips of curly maple, and inlaid them into the fretboard. It all went so fast that I forgot to take a picture of it, but here we see Christian again, now leveling the first layer of black-white binding so that it is flush with the top and back faces of Bobby's fretboard....




The next steps will be to re-route the binding ledge on Bobby's body, bend the four pre-laminated strips, glue them onto the body, then level it all, etc. We also have a bit of neck work to do on both guitars, as we have to finish up both of these fretboards, glue them to the necks, along with the peghead overlays, tuner holes, misc. more inlay, etc.

After all that is done, Bobby's body and neck will once again meet up with Angies, which is now hanging in the finish room and ready for it's first coat of color.

Get ready for these two guitars to start looking quite a bit different from one another than they now do,a s the two color schemes are quite different . . .

Steve Smith
RedLineResophonics.com

ATTENTION ALL WHO DOUBT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To the "anal orrifice" that refered to Steve Smith and his Awesome Crew as SLACKERS
Well young man, not because this is my build but because you and some other doubters
have no idea what goes into building this works of maticulous detail and workmanship..
I hope all the extra time and effort that steve is putting into mine and
Angie's peabody by taking pictures of each step, will show you and other people,
that think this is so simple,now you can see what Steve (Redline), Phil (Mastereso), Tooter (Merrideth)
and other Master Craftsmen go through to make these BEAUTIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Steve thank you from all of us REDLINE RESOHEADS for you Awesome Work!!!!!


I Believe now,
NUFF SAID

Bobby

Hey Bobby,
First how's your mom?
Now, Joe Kuter, me thinks got the message. He hasn't posted anything since he was admonished on this thread. Well as far as I'm concerned I don't really care to see posts from someone with that attitude. We are here to talk Res and have some fun along the way. I look at it like this, if you want a reso right now, you can go buy a Japanese import. They are all over e-bay and cheap !! Sooner or later, if you continue with this instrument you will want a creation made by the aforementioned builders. And guess what, there is a reason they don't have them laying around for sale. Think about it.

Mike

P.S. By the way. Angie, if you are gonna dance on your chair while playin the reso, make sure you have a spotter. strap lock and post the video here. roflmao

Edited by - Grizz on 03/06/2010 11:10:14