zombywoof Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 (edited) My Fairbanks F30 take on a Gibson Roy Smeck arrived safe and sound. Just needed some time for me and the guitar to circle one another and do some sniffing out before I posted about it. Personally, I do not know how you guys who order guitars sight unseen do it. I was a nervous wreck second guessing myself on this one. But I am thinking I was riding with the angels and it may just be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. This guitar was built in 2013 so has been around the block and is not pristine showing a few dings and scratches. Also somebody added a neck strap button and a K & K mini pickup. I did not get the TKL case it originally came with (I got it in a semi-hard-shell case) but found it fits snugly in an old Guild case I had laying around. First impression, Lawdy what a burst. Dale's aniline bursts under a shellac sealer with a final thin nitro clear coat are truly something to see. What I love is you can see the wood grain even though the blackest black at the edge of the burst. Other than that - a red spruce top, Honduran mahogany body and Madagascar rosewood board and bridge. Has a 1 3/4" nut and a 2 3/8" string spread at the bridge. The guitar has un-scalloped red spruce bracing. The back braces are tall and thin but not as delicate as that in my 1932 L1. Where Dale does take liberties is the neck. The carve is what I would call a Mid-Century Modern C having a similar feel to a 1950s Gibson in which he installs a dual action truss rod. OK, sound. The guitar has a good dose of raw power and punch. It has, as best as I can describe it, a dry, crisp fundamental sound. A thunderous bass and lots of high end cut with an overall clarity. Lots of growl when you dig in. I tried taking some photos but they sucked. So I will also throw in some I got from the seller which do a far better job of representing the guitar. Edited July 15, 2020 by zombywoof 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoSoxBiker Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 That looks quite wonderful. Congrats! That really is quite a looker. I'm going to try to hunt one or two down on YouTube for a taste of what that might possibly sound like. I know I despise not being able to buy guitars I've not played, but I've lucked out big time. I guess we're all adapting to the new world order (pre-covid). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Ive been told Fairbanks guitars are really nice. Nice ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted July 15, 2020 Author Share Posted July 15, 2020 36 minutes ago, PatriotsBiker said: That looks quite wonderful. Congrats! That really is quite a looker. I'm going to try to hunt one or two down on YouTube for a taste of what that might possibly sound like. I know I despise not being able to buy guitars I've not played, but I've lucked out big time. I guess we're all adapting to the new world order (pre-covid). I know you just went through the waiting game yourself for a whole lot longer than I did so know it can be nerve wracking. But some of these guitars are not easy to find under the best of circumstances and with what the country is dealing with right now it can be next to impossible. There are a number of Youtube vids on Fairbanks Guitars as well as some interviews with Dale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted July 15, 2020 Author Share Posted July 15, 2020 13 minutes ago, slimt said: Ive been told Fairbanks guitars are really nice. Nice ... If you will recall a few years back Dale collaborated with John Thomas to produce a run of 25 Kalamazoo Gals guitars copied from JTs 1943 SJ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhanners623 Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Beautiful guitar! Would love to hear it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 That's a beautiful version of an interesting model. I too would like to hear what it sound like. Lars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 A beautiful guitar! Congratulations and thanks for sharing it with us. I know your guitar well, having played it a number of times. If I'd had room for another guitar, it would be in my home, not yours! 🙂 Play it in good health. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Looks both kool and kind - the burst makes you wanna take it up forever. Hope it has the sound. Congratulations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle fester Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Wow, that's a beaut! Congrats ZW - may many years of enjoyment occur between you two Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayoubengal1954 Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Yes!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted July 15, 2020 Author Share Posted July 15, 2020 1 hour ago, bayoubengal1954 said: Yes!!!!!!!!!! Everything we have heard about Dale's abilities has been the Gospel. By the way how is New Orleans doing. That was my home away from home for many years when I worked for the National Park Service. I was working out of Natchez, MS but they loaned me out to New Orleans Jazz to help deal with historic preservation issues surrounding the rehabilitation of Louis Armstrong Park and Preservation Hall whatever number it was. I also spent a ton of time up in Natchitoches helping getting it up and running. I truly do miss those days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayoubengal1954 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 1 hour ago, zombywoof said: Everything we have heard about Dale's abilities has been the Gospel. By the way how is New Orleans doing. That was my home away from home for many years when I worked for the National Park Service. I was working out of Natchez, MS but they loaned me out to New Orleans Jazz to help deal with historic preservation issues surrounding the rehabilitation of Louis Armstrong Park and Preservation Hall whatever number it was. I also spent a ton of time up in Natchitoches helping getting it up and running. I truly do miss those days. Wow, cool history with New Orleans! It’s rough down here with the Virus, but I know that’s true everywhere. The only shows I can or want to do are outdoors and it can a BIT hot down here. 😉 Enjoy that guitar, Buddy!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Congratulations! That sure is a great looking guitar. I have never seen a Fairbanks, I would love to check one out. Enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Could we possibly hear how it sounds? Lars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted July 18, 2020 Author Share Posted July 18, 2020 19 minutes ago, Lars68 said: Could we possibly hear how it sounds? Lars One of the things we did during our exile from society was to get my daughter set up to make recordings for school. Marching band is a flippin' religion around here and she gets graded on it. Anyway, once we are finished muddling our way through a bunch of house renovations we undertook to occupy ourselves (meaning not only time but no splinters, squished fingers and such) I should be able to get to doing some sound bites of the Fairbanks, L1, L3 and the J50. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slinky1 Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 I love the Roy Smeck guitars. Fairbanks is especially sweet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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