59 Custom
Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 7:30 pm
Hi All,
We have been busy at Hallmark working on the new Double-neck for Larry Collins (based on the Barris Kustom Car, Fireball 500) as well as a hollow body for Lorrie Collins. I have been reading the site, but have not had a chance to write till now. I have spent the last couple of days polishing parts for the 59 Custom and we appreciate the questions and interest in the 59 Custom as well as the Hallmark II which we are calling the Sheena model at this point. The design is not finalized for the 59 Custom, but we are working feverishly on the prototype so we can get pictures up so everyone knows what the future will bring for Hallmark. I can tell you the 59 Custom will have the early vibrato tailpiece with the flip-mute ( ours will stay in place and will not have to be held in place with your pinky finger) like on Damons 63 double-neck. We currently, do not plan to recess the plate in the body, but it will have the "mistake plate". We are also planning for the sidejack, but want to make it smaller so it does not crack and is stronger than the original. Also, the plan is for the white, black, white binding closer to the early ones than the 60 Custom. We are currently discussing, whether it should have the early 1/2 round string guide, or the fretwire slotted to hold the strings, above the zero fret for a string guide. These questions are in the air now, and Bob and I would welcome your input as we are committed to making the guitars with the vintage features players want, but with the improvements players demand so that these will be guitars you want to play at every gig, not just a wall hanger!! The neck is currently slated to be like the 60 Custom, with the slightly wider neck at the string guide and the same fretboard radius as the 60 Custom, rather than the very round radius and skinny neck on the earliest models of this design. The pickups will still be the same as the 60 Custom and the standard color will be 3 tone Sunburst as the originals. Of course, we can custom build whatever you want.
I also wanted to speak to the threads comparing Hallmark pickups to the original. Both Bob Shade and I have dissected numerous original pickups from the 60's, 70's, and 80's and have rewound numerous pickups for vintage guitars. There are many things that account for tone, including the wood, players touch, amp, and scale length. The primary difference between Hallmark pickups, and the originals, are Hallmark pickups are wax potted. Bob Shade went this way as the original pickup design was highly microphonic as it was never properly potted save for the slab body Ventures II pickups that Johnny Ramone used which had no screw pole pieces which they could fill with epoxy all the way with no leakage thru the polepiece holes. This explains why Johnny was able to get that chainsaw sound with stock vintage pickups, but when he needed to replace them, he couldn't use the adjustable pole piece pickups as the Ventures II ( potted pickups), were no longer available until now! On the originals, you can reduce feedback at high distortion/volume levels by having the volume at 3.5 to 4. With the Hallmarks or the original Ventures II, just crank it up and go for broke as the windings are fully encased. It was done this way on the Hallmarks to make the guitars more versatile for more than just Surf or Rockabilly. Once again, we want these guitars to be your go to weapon of choice for all your musical endeavors, not just one or two songs or styles!
On to Bob's bridge designs. The original Hallmark bridges are not direct replacements for the original bridges. These are few and far between. Bob redesigned the bridge to be a direct replacement for the original vintage bridges and improved on the design by adding the lock screws on the bottom of the bridge plate as there was an occasional problem with buzzing (as referenced in another thread) in the vintage bridges as well as the 1st run Hallmarks. By being able to lock down the bridge saddles, buzz problem solved!
We are gearing up for the Deke Fest and I am not sure if the prototype images will be up before or after the Deke Fest, but we are looking forward to seeing as many of you there that can make it, and will be ready to answer all your questions in person at the show.
Again, thanks for all your kind words and support and as always.......... Mosrite ( and Hallmark) Forever!!!
We have been busy at Hallmark working on the new Double-neck for Larry Collins (based on the Barris Kustom Car, Fireball 500) as well as a hollow body for Lorrie Collins. I have been reading the site, but have not had a chance to write till now. I have spent the last couple of days polishing parts for the 59 Custom and we appreciate the questions and interest in the 59 Custom as well as the Hallmark II which we are calling the Sheena model at this point. The design is not finalized for the 59 Custom, but we are working feverishly on the prototype so we can get pictures up so everyone knows what the future will bring for Hallmark. I can tell you the 59 Custom will have the early vibrato tailpiece with the flip-mute ( ours will stay in place and will not have to be held in place with your pinky finger) like on Damons 63 double-neck. We currently, do not plan to recess the plate in the body, but it will have the "mistake plate". We are also planning for the sidejack, but want to make it smaller so it does not crack and is stronger than the original. Also, the plan is for the white, black, white binding closer to the early ones than the 60 Custom. We are currently discussing, whether it should have the early 1/2 round string guide, or the fretwire slotted to hold the strings, above the zero fret for a string guide. These questions are in the air now, and Bob and I would welcome your input as we are committed to making the guitars with the vintage features players want, but with the improvements players demand so that these will be guitars you want to play at every gig, not just a wall hanger!! The neck is currently slated to be like the 60 Custom, with the slightly wider neck at the string guide and the same fretboard radius as the 60 Custom, rather than the very round radius and skinny neck on the earliest models of this design. The pickups will still be the same as the 60 Custom and the standard color will be 3 tone Sunburst as the originals. Of course, we can custom build whatever you want.
I also wanted to speak to the threads comparing Hallmark pickups to the original. Both Bob Shade and I have dissected numerous original pickups from the 60's, 70's, and 80's and have rewound numerous pickups for vintage guitars. There are many things that account for tone, including the wood, players touch, amp, and scale length. The primary difference between Hallmark pickups, and the originals, are Hallmark pickups are wax potted. Bob Shade went this way as the original pickup design was highly microphonic as it was never properly potted save for the slab body Ventures II pickups that Johnny Ramone used which had no screw pole pieces which they could fill with epoxy all the way with no leakage thru the polepiece holes. This explains why Johnny was able to get that chainsaw sound with stock vintage pickups, but when he needed to replace them, he couldn't use the adjustable pole piece pickups as the Ventures II ( potted pickups), were no longer available until now! On the originals, you can reduce feedback at high distortion/volume levels by having the volume at 3.5 to 4. With the Hallmarks or the original Ventures II, just crank it up and go for broke as the windings are fully encased. It was done this way on the Hallmarks to make the guitars more versatile for more than just Surf or Rockabilly. Once again, we want these guitars to be your go to weapon of choice for all your musical endeavors, not just one or two songs or styles!
On to Bob's bridge designs. The original Hallmark bridges are not direct replacements for the original bridges. These are few and far between. Bob redesigned the bridge to be a direct replacement for the original vintage bridges and improved on the design by adding the lock screws on the bottom of the bridge plate as there was an occasional problem with buzzing (as referenced in another thread) in the vintage bridges as well as the 1st run Hallmarks. By being able to lock down the bridge saddles, buzz problem solved!
We are gearing up for the Deke Fest and I am not sure if the prototype images will be up before or after the Deke Fest, but we are looking forward to seeing as many of you there that can make it, and will be ready to answer all your questions in person at the show.
Again, thanks for all your kind words and support and as always.......... Mosrite ( and Hallmark) Forever!!!
