Dating Valco Instruments
- National Lap Steel Serial Numbers
- Vintage National Guitar Serial Numbers
- Supro Lap Steel Models
- Supro Lap Steel Guitar History
The serial numbers inside are N-1 and L6045 6891. I have a Supro Student Delux lap steel guitar. It is of wood and has a good finish. The string tighteners need. Supro Lap Steel Guitars Supro Amps have become legendary over the decades for their desirable vintage tube amp tones, and have been used by some of the most famous guitarists of all time like Jimi Hendrix, Albert Lee, and Jimmy Page. Though for years they neared mythical status in the vintage amp world, Supro has recently brought back an. True to the Supro sound, the Delta King 8 features a genuine Class A all-tube signal path, featuring a 12AX7 tube preamp, our custom 8-inch DK8 speaker, and vintage-style poplar cabinetry. The most luscious Chorus effect offered in pedal format to date. Sound design you can swim in.
The most effective way to date a Valco guitar or amp is by its serial number. From the ‘40s until 1964, the serial could be found stamped into a small metal plate that was tacked onto the back of the headstock or the back of the cabinet. From 1964-1968, the serial was ink-stamped onto a silver foil sticker that is found in the same place. The following is a key for decoding the serial number, but keep in mind that the numbers are approximate.
'N' prefix: 1935
Delivers the authentic 6V6-powered tube-amp tone of the Chicago-made Supro combos from the 1950s along with genuine analog spring reverb. Thanks, -=clouseau=- Clarification of Question by okie1-ga on 02 Mar 2004 18:55 PST National lap steel guitar has a serial number D487 Clarification of Question by okie1-ga on 03 Mar 2004 14:21 PST Hello clouseau, Thanks for your response. Don't have picture at this time and I assume serial number is not enough information.
'S' prefix: 1935-36
National Lap Steel Serial Numbers
'A' prefix: 1936-37*
'B' prefix: 1937-38
'C' prefix: 1938-40*
Vintage National Guitar Serial Numbers
'G' prefix: 1941-42
'G' suffix: 1943-47
V100-V7500: 1947
V7500-V15000: 1948
V15000-V25000: 1949
V25000-V35000: 1950
V35000-V38000: 1951
X100-X7000: 1951
X7000-X17000: 1952
X17000-X30000: 1953
X30000-X43000: 1954
X43000-X57000: 1955
X57000-X71000: 1956
X71000-X85000: 1957
X85000-X99000: 1958
T100-T5000: 1958
T5000-T25000: 1959
T25000-T50000: 1960
T50000-T75000: 1961
T75000-T90000: 1962
T90000-T99000: 1963
G5000-G15000: 1963
G15000-G40000: 1964
Starting with '1-': 1964-68
Starting with '2-': 1968
*'A' and 'C' prefixes also occur in some pre-1936 serials.
Supro Lap Steel Models
However, some of these plates and many of these stickers have disappeared over time. Often the speaker codes or potentiometer codes can help, assuming that these parts are original and legible. Pot codes can be decodedhere, and speaker codes can be decoded here. For dating pre-Valco acoustic instruments,see this page.
Supro Lap Steel Guitar History
This actually gets a bit tricky, because you don't have a conventional string-through pickup. You actually have a cover plate from the 1st generation that was re-drilled to accommodate the poles from a 2nd-generation pickup.Normally (in either version), the magnets would be held down by the top plate on either side of the coils:
They would not be visible in any of the pics you provided. However, it looks like the top plate has been trimmed and the whole thing pinned to the base plate instead of using the normal mounting screws. Normally, this would not leave room for magnets at all. I'm wondering if they snuck them into the middle of the pickup, in between the coils. If you have a spare piece of steel, I would poke various parts of the pickup and base plate to see if you can feel a magnetic attraction. If my suspicious are correct, you don't need any pickup parts at all (though the coils could always be in need of a rewind).
If you're looking for a plastic cover that hides the pickup, a steel this early wouldn't have come with it.
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