brannon67 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 How come the Roy Smeck Stage Deluxe's look and sound so great to me? Is it just a psychological brain fart, or what. Is it real. Do they really sound that great? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 How come the Roy Smeck Stage Deluxe's look and sound so great to me? Is it just a psychological brain fart, or what. Is it real. Do they really sound that great? it's not just you !!! a lot of people here love the Roy Smecks ! JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brannon67 Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 I wish I could find one, if I found one, I could not afford to buy it when I found it, I would have to sell all my guitars just to buy one of those, Ha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 it's not just you !!! a lot of people here love the Roy Smecks ! I played this guitar and Jackson's other original Roy Smeck (and a couple of dozen of his other guitars) while traveling with him for my Fretboard Journal cover story on him. Fabulous guitars. I'd love to own an original Smeck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brannon67 Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 I played this guitar and Jackson's other original Roy Smeck (and a couple of dozen of his other guitars) while traveling with him for my Fretboard Journal cover story on him. Fabulous guitars. I'd love to own an original Smeck. Oh yeah, I know its not just me. The Smecks are the Holy Grail to some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 In my experience, the Roy Smeck Stage Deluxe occupies a fairly narrow and unique place in guitar tonality. Historicallly, they were among the very earliest of the large bodied Gibson flattops and they shared a body shape with the Jumbo (1934-1936), the Trojan (1936) and the rosewood RSRG. Both they Jumbo and the Trojan had three tone bars, but the Smecks had two (with a tiny number of exceptions). However, my experience is that the Jumbo, Trojan, and RSSD all have the big, loud, raw tone that was the Hallmark of many early 30s Gibson flattops. I don't know when people mostly started to convert the Smecks for Spanish playing -- a tiny number came from the factory that way -- but I do know from Randy Wood that quite a lot of that was done in the early 1970s. The large necks on the Smecks made them problematic -- more so on average for the RGs than the SDs I think. Necks were sometimes left alone, reshaped, or replaced -- you fine all three out there, but replacement seems to be mostly a new phenomenon. The relative rarity of these guitars means that no genres really formed around them like they did for D-28s, etc. Because they are so strong and so percussive in tone, they can have several uses depending on genre and playing style. A modern gentle player like Jackson Brown plays on their responsive nature to craft light nuanced finger style pieces. As a straight power guitar, they rank with the greats but their raw sound makes them a more appropriate for old time and fiddle backup than bluegrass. For me, ours is the only guitar we own that can be heard finger style in a heavy BG session -- a truly unique property! They also make a spectacular guitar for traditional loud acoustic blues, but they were not really around to have an impact in that genre as it developed. You can find a couple of examples of ours in this album of Hawaiian conversions. Let's pick, -Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 You can find a couple of examples of ours in this album of Hawaiian conversions. Let's pick, -Tom Tom, I gotta say that David Dugas is one of the sweetest pickers I've ever heard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-1854Me Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 I wish I could find one, if I found one, I could not afford to buy it when I found it, I would have to sell all my guitars just to buy one of those, Ha. As others have noted, these are not that common or that easy to find as a result. And, as you probably realize, Gibson re-issued these at various times in Bozeman. As it happens, I was in Folkway Music in Ontario Canada a few weeks ago, and they happened not only to have in some lovely vintage Gibsons -- a late '40s J-45, an L-00, a '56 J-185 (which I specifically went to go see), and some other guitars. The surprising sleeper to me was this 1994 Roy Smeck re-issue: Although a different guitar in terms of woods and construction etc from the other Gibsons, I thought that this was a standout in terms of sound. And I wasn't expecting that, since my experience with the "Centennial Year" reissues has been, shall we say, less than impressive. The Folkway guitar is at this link, for those interested. Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy2 Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 My JB prototype is a wonderful guitar but I have noticed an attendant discomfort lately after playing it with its wider nut. I'm wondering if age might be making a decision for me about what I can and can't play for any length of time without considerable pain. Maybe it's a temporary thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yggdrasil Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 As others have noted, these are not that common or that easy to find as a result. And, as you probably realize, Gibson re-issued these at various times in Bozeman. As it happens, I was in Folkway Music in Ontario Canada a few weeks ago, and they happened not only to have in some lovely vintage Gibsons -- a late '40s J-45, an L-00, a '56 J-185 (which I specifically went to go see), and some other guitars. The surprising sleeper to me was this 1994 Roy Smeck re-issue: (pic snip) Although a different guitar in terms of woods and construction etc from the other Gibsons, I thought that this was a standout in terms of sound. And I wasn't expecting that, since my experience with the "Centennial Year" reissues has been, shall we say, less than impressive. The Folkway guitar is at this link, for those interested. Fred Looks identical to my old 2002 reissue - I let it go a couple of years ago only because of nut width. The 94s, IIRC, came with an additional saddle & nut to make them "Hawaiian" (I stand to be corrected should my memory be faulty on this). Most of the 100 built were Natural Top as well, so a burst Centennial is less common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarrellJ Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 They sound great. Keep looking for them, they're out there. I've gotten two in the past two years, a 1935 Stage Deluxe and a 1934 Radio Grande. The Stage Deluxe had already been converted from Hawaiian, the Radio Grande is being converted now. Great guitars. I've also got a HG-00 that was converted to Spanish that is spectacular. There is something special about the converted Hawaiians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 I guess you could say that the Roy Smeck conversion is one of the best guitars that Gibson didn't make....a lot of the final output depends on the luthier who does the neck reset, often neck narrowing, bridge and saddle work, AND, maybe most important, the "voicing" of the top by shaving down and scalloping or tapering the top braces. Two guys in this area do these conversions and Steve Swan has to be Roy Smeck Central, as he has done so many of these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 ... Steve Swan has to be Roy Smeck Central, as he has done so many of these. Absolutely! I think more RSSDs pass through Steve's shop than all others combined. Plus, he has them worked on by folks like Alan Perlman, who is flat out amazing. -- Bob R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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