I always get a kick when I see a Melobar make it on stage on TV- Have to tip my hat to Denny Hemingson with Tim McGraw doing an excellent job with a Melobar Skreemr on the left!

Youtubevideo

M.Green get's the Green Dragon

 This guitar was to be the Green Dragon one of a kind but was thought it to be lost in the Hardway fire because it had been stained green and then black soot encased it; on a lark I started sanding and found the soot didn't stain into the open wood but left the green of the CnC carved fretboard looking almost iridescent, did a little more green alcohol stain and the grain popped on the body, shot a dozen clear coats and put about 30 hours into it and it is one of my favorite Tele-Ratt's headed out to Margaret Green owner of one of the original Melobar TeleRatts, She will have two one of a kind guitars like nothing we ever built before...kinda cool to have a player with one of the first and one of the last ever built.

Bruce's Tel-O-Bar

Finally after 70+ hours Bruce's Tel-O-Bar is born.

Very interesting guitar with the Tele on top then the Melobar neck is able to convert from 6 to 8 to a 10 string configuration.

Don't ask me to build another one though, I made less than $5 an hour on this one and the pain and stress is wayyyy too much, but it's cool to see this one make it into the world.

Last lap steel I have time for right now

This is the last lap steel I get to put together for a while due to time but it was a fun one. William Arnold (owner of the Tel-O-Bar 6+6 model below) told me he was making pickguards out of old LP's which sounded very cool to me. I had this S-head that has sat on the shelf forever waiting for someone to purchase a 8-string pickup for it so I took an L-605 I had on the shelf since the late 80's! - and put it together with Black Grover keys, a custom red marble fretboard and laminated a old record dad had on Swing on the pickguard. Kinda cool. SOLD

 

 

 

Tel-O-Bars are sold...last original Steelgitr up for sale

 I will have the last production Melobar built in the Sweet shop(brass plate testifying to that will be on the upper head stock and back of the guitar) up for sale. This is also the last Steelgitr built (custom body) with Bill Lawrence Tele pickups and L-500. Difference from the Steelgitr to the Telobar is the necks are farther apart and the entire body was built from scratch (Tel-O-Bars use a donor Tele to get started so half the body is original Fender)

My personal custom CC-8

SOLD This was a CC-8 that never made it to production because I liked the dark blue color and snagged it for myself. I stole the 80's(the really good one with chrome case Bill said couldn't be duplicated exaclty the same anymore because the grade of magnets and wire were not available) L-705 - The pickup was on a guitar dad had built for Barbara Mandrell but kept it for himself...then I stole the pickup :), So hot I actually dialed it down a bit. Black Grovers 102B keys, it's definitely used but in very good shape -SOLD

Solid Maple Ratt

 

 

Solid Maple Rattler model, Black Grovers, clear fretboard, nice wood grain, with a very warm sweet sounding pickup and TKL Gig Bag $287 tedasmith001@gmail.com

SOLD