Krinky Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 (edited) Here is the guitar. More Pictures Here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/sijvikan50fa9cfeyvzyo/h?rlkey=i13k715benumo0xlz9g42jxwc&dl=0 So, this was my dad's guitar. I know he had it at least as far back as when he was drafted during the Korean war, because he spoke of playing it in officers' clubs. I knew it was one of the first commercially successful electric guitars and that the pickup is coveted, but I never thought much about its history. Then, I took it to a guitar shop to fix a crack that was developing in the back, and the shop owner asked, "Who's Dell Staton?" I had never really thought about the name on the truss rod cover, but his question sparked my curiosity. So, I searched "Del Staton Guitar" and found out that he was an accomplished enough American jazz guitarist to appear on the cover of Gibson's guitar catalog, with the likes of Les Paul and Barney Kessel, and to be featured as an up-and-coming guitarist in a Gibson ad. I won't go into detail about Staton, just search "Dell Staton guitar" and "Dell Staton Gibson" and check out the links and images. So, my next question was whether I had a guitar that Staton had owned or a "Dell Staton Edition" put out by Gibson. None of the images I found showed Staton playing an ES-150 with a Charley Christian pickup. However, I learned that Staton played upside down lefty, like Hendrix... Well, in the bottom image you can see a mounting hole on the "wrong" side of the guitar that mirrors the current pickguard placement. Likewise, there is a small hole on the top side mirroring the one on the bottom side of the guitar. So, given the era, truss rod cover, and previous pickguard placement, I am pretty certain this was Staton's guitar at some point. I would like to know more about this guitar and Staton, if anyone out there has more information. There are no serial numbers. One repairman thought some of the details indicated it is from the first year of production. I am also curious about its value, and whether the pedigree enhances it at all. I am happy to answer any questions about the instrument that y'all might have, if I am able. Edited January 4 by Krinky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 (edited) I'd not heard of him so I googled. Not an expert but pretty sure there wasn't a Dell Staton Edition, and that he would have had that TRC engraved - possibly even done at the factory? I've seen that sort of thing before many times. Edited January 4 by jdgm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krinky Posted January 5 Author Share Posted January 5 His bio says he was also a luthier, so he might have made the TRC himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR56 Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 Very interesting topic! I have been a jazz guitar enthusiast for many many years, and I've read about and collected the recordings of hundreds of players. Although Staton's name vaguely rings a bell, I don't think that I ever heard any of his recordings. At any rate, I don't think there's much if any doubt that your dad's guitar was previously owned by Staton. There is also the finger wear around the bass side of the pickup, where Staton must have played it with the pickguard in its current position, thus causing wear to the finish. ES-150s are somewhat iconic, and the Charlie Christian pickup is as well. I'm not seeing any notch in the "blade" of the pickup, suggesting that it is indeed early (you can do more research to learn when the notch was introduced, but it was in the early part of production. I once owned an ES-250, which was a slightly fancier and larger model. 150's were produced in much greater numbers than the 250, but they still have collector value. The Staton history probably won't add a great deal of value, to be completely honest. The condition of the guitar is a much bigger factor on the market value. I did try a web search on Staton, and came across this 1989 obituary, for whatever it might be worth (potential family contacts, for one thing)... DELL STATON, CLASSICAL JAZZ GUITARIST By PUBLISHED: July 4, 1989 at 4:00 a.m. | UPDATED: September 25, 2021 at 10:52 p.m. Dell Staton, the classical jazz musician known in South Florida as “The Guitar Man,” died at the Kendall AMI Hospital in south Dade County on Sunday. He was 69. The Hollywood resident was taken to the hospital after collapsing at 11 p.m. during a performance at the Miami Repertory Theatre at Apple City. A daughter, Donna Staton of Hollywood, said Mr. Staton had suffered a heart attack. Mr. Staton played at numerous clubs, weddings and conventions since moving to South Florida in 1950. He also taught classical guitar privately and to hundreds of students at Broward Community College and Miami-Dade Community College. Mr. Staton was born in Oak Hill, W. Va., and began to study the guitar when he was 6. He was largely self-taught, his daughter said. He studied at the Cincinnati Conservatory. During World War II, Mr. Staton served in Europe with the Army Infantry. After his discharge, he returned to the conservatory — this time to teach. Mr. Staton played on the old Arthur Godfrey and Ed Sullivan TV shows, was music director for the Benihana restaurant chain for six years, scored several movies and recorded several albums, including Your Place or Mine?, which was nominated for a Grammy award in 1982. “The Staton style is in a class by itself,” a critic wrote of a performance in 1986. “As soon as Dell picks up a guitar it ceases to be a separate instrument and becomes a part of him, a tangible expression of thought and mood that weaves a hypnotic spell.” He was described as a “guitarist’s guitarist” and his 6-foot-3 size belied the gentleness and passion that he displayed during his many solo performances. “The guitar looked like a toy in his hands,” recalled Alan Kole, a friend and president of the Miami Federation of Musicians Local 655. “But he was a great player, just tremendous. He (always) had the attitude of a young man, too. Everyone in this profession knew him … throughout the country.” In addition to Donna, Mr. Staton is survived by his wife, Terry; two sons, Dell Jr. of Columbia, S.C., and James of Hollywood; four other daughters, Judith of Albuquerque, N.M., Laura Hanna and Linda Walsh, both of Hollywood, and Jill Petty, of Miramar; a sister, Ellen Draheim of Lady Lake; and eight grandchildren. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 That 150 is a cool piece. I have a real clean es150 Cc guitar and amp set from a estate of a original owner. Its a real Gem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krinky Posted January 20 Author Share Posted January 20 (edited) On 1/8/2024 at 6:00 PM, JimR56 said: Very interesting topic! I have been a jazz guitar enthusiast for many many years, and I've read about and collected the recordings of hundreds of players. Although Staton's name vaguely rings a bell, I don't think that I ever heard any of his recordings. You have to use the Wayback Machine to find some links to Staton's recordings. DELL'S GIT'R BOOGIE : THE THREE STEPS : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive CARAVAN : THE THREE STEPS : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Live At My Place Miami Beach, Fla. : Dell Staton : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Message me, if you want to hear more of his recordings. I can share some zip files that a collector on Reddit shared with me. Here's a German podcast about Staton. https://www.ardaudiothek.de/episode/wdr-3-jazz/del-staton-live-at-my-place-miami-beach-florida/wdr-3/12914723/ Here Staton provides the soundtrack to an audio play. Finally, here are some liner notes about Staton. Live At My Place Miami Beach, Fla. (archive.org) He is definitely the most sophisticated guitarist I have heard in the upside-down-lefty style. But I am trying to imagine him teaching classical guitar... "Okay class, everyone rotate your guitar one hundred and eighty degrees." Edited January 20 by Krinky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krinky Posted January 20 Author Share Posted January 20 (edited) On 1/8/2024 at 6:00 PM, JimR56 said: I'm not seeing any notch in the "blade" of the pickup, suggesting that it is indeed early (you can do more research to learn when the notch was introduced, but it was in the early part of production. I found some pickup images with various notches and protrusions. On mine the blade protrudes under the high E string. I can't find any images online with the same type of pointy tone knobs--they are all have round tone knobs. The repair tech thought the deeply inset plug jack was interesting. My dad thought it was noteworthy that the pickup was "hand wound". As Staton was a luthier, he may have done some modifications. Edited January 20 by Krinky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krinky Posted January 20 Author Share Posted January 20 11 hours ago, slimt said: That 150 is a cool piece. I have a real clean es150 Cc guitar and amp set from a estate of a original owner. Its a real Gem I'd love to see it, if you can post a picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Whorton Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 I took classical guitar lessons with Mr. Staton for nearly two years before I joined the Air Force in 1975 and visited him a couple of times after when returning home on leave to Hollywood FL. He was a great guy, exceptional guitarist, and musician with a star-studded musical past. I play right-handed and he didn't have a problem teaching either way. Dell had several private students and taught at the local community college as well. He played several gigs in town including at the Benihana restaurant in Miami. He had several children, one of whom owned a music store in Hollywood. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR56 Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 On 1/20/2024 at 11:08 AM, Krinky said: I'd love to see it, if you can post a picture. I'd like to see slimt's too. I never owned a 150, but I did own a 250N (1940): [IMG]https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?attachments/40-es250n-w-zenith-jpg.718642/[/IMG] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR56 Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Been awhile since I tried to share a photo on this site. 9.4 kb max image size ?!? So instead I tried linking to the image where I shared it on another site, and... no dice. And I can't even edit a post I just made? Oh well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 18 hours ago, JimR56 said: Been awhile since I tried to share a photo on this site. 9.4 kb max image size ?!? So instead I tried linking to the image where I shared it on another site, and... no dice. And I can't even edit a post I just made? Oh well... True enough. The way this is set up doesn't help. I have to delete my content from previous to enter new content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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