STROMBERG or STROMBER? / Archtop restoration

Restoring an archtop jazz guitar of unknown pedigree.
Mystery solved! We have a Gretsch A-25 or model 30!

[@fredr2694]

I am proud to say I have been a pal of Doug for over 35 years, he is a master craftsman and the ONLY guy who touches my geetars. He even rocks a Wishbone Ash t-shirt in the video!

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Thanks Fred! Cheers!

[@racheltaylor6578]

Beautiful restoration.

[@dougmaccormack9485]

@@racheltaylor6578 Thanks so much!

[@laurencehastings7473]

Turning a Sromber into a strummer. Impressive demonstration of restoring a difficult guitar using skill and basic hand tools.Brought a smile to my face when I saw you using the hand drill and realising , yes , that's how we did things a long time ago and it works every time. Maybe the next generation can learn some useful lessons too.

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Hi Laurence, Thank you! I agree! Sometimes simpler is better!

[@pascalfleury461]

Exceptionnel……merci de nous faire partager ces moments d’art.❤

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Merci beaucoup! C'est avec plaisir que je le fais !

[@leelossi1257]

Another old guitar saved!! nice job....thanks for your video

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Thanks for watching! If you enjoyed it, check out some of the other vids. There will be much more!

[@jazz2959]

Love the T-shirt. My favorite band. Newly subscribed🎸

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Thanks for the sub! Love prog music! Yes is one of my top faves of the Golden age of prog!

[@markboreen3359]

Fantastic work, as always. Thanks for posting, I really enjoyed this.

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Glad you enjoyed it!!!

[@Sammywhat]

Agreed! Fantastic work and much appreciated!!

[@TracyLongo]

Luv this Doug!!!!! keep it going!

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Thanks Tracy! People kept asking me to do it because of the little snippets I would post. Now I'm full in and I enjoy sharing all the stuff in my head I take for granted. See you in the funny papers!

[@medgerly]

Another awesome job by a master !!

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Hi Mark! Thanks man!

[@michelnagumaqmorton]

Great Job , thank you for the good video ! Very inspired , I want to make one like that now ,they play and sound so nice .

[@dougmaccormack9485]

It did have a really nice tone! This one had soul!

[@michelnagumaqmorton]

I think you helped that soul get reincarnated now :o) @@dougmaccormack9485

[@brettbunke9096]

The Man at work ❤️

[@dougmaccormack9485]

work work work.... :)

[@maxwellbowden9961]

Hey Doug nice work. That old box sounds great

[@dougmaccormack9485]

It does!

[@jeffhildreth9244]

Damn ! That was fine work. Liked and subscribed.

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Thanks for the sub and kind words Jeff!

[@jeffhildreth9244]

@@dougmaccormack9485 Well deserved. Thanks again.

[@douglasmorrison9098]

I did find out that if that IS a STROMBERG The Stromberg & Son Logo will be visible thru the upper F hole of the guitar

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Since then, we have discovered the true identity of the Stromber. Please watch the follow up video! kzbin.info/www/bejne/rF6aeXmcaph_hZo

[@mrclaus859]

Thanks for posting

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Our pleasure!

[@anthonyf4439]

Subscribed! Nice work.

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Thanks Anthony! Thanks for the sub!

[@jamesmoon8947]

Splendid 💯

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Thanks James!

[@waltermailhot6296]

Hey Doug, that hole at the waist held the pick guard, that pick up looked like the one on my 43 epiphany emperor deluxe . Nice work.

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Thanks Walt! d'Armond pickups are old school but get it done! Hope your well brother! God bless!

[@Yougotadollar]

Great video. Cool shirt too!

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Wishbone Ash! Yes, I also got to repair a few guitars for Andy Powell and got the shirt a couple years ago when they played here locally.

[@Yougotadollar]

Very cool. I’ve subscribed.

[@dougmaccormack9485]

@@Yougotadollar That's Great! Thank you!

[@JazzStrat781]

Fantastic job 🎸👍 new subscriber here!

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Thanks for the Sub! I really appreciate it!

[@ijosef]

I'm guessing the neck pocket on an actual Stromberg would be cleaner and more precisely fitted than this, but hey - you can't have everything. Great work! Enjoy the Stromber!!!

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Yes I agree. It's my suspicion that this was made at the SS Stewart factory and rebranded for a store or catalog.

[@bobbymcleod6568]

Not even in my time I've worked on name brands with more shims than a Glarry.

[@AnyMajorDude-et2ub]

I'd love to hear the owners history on this guitar, as there's always a reason these old 'non-famous' bands get restored by their owners. I bet this one has quite a story to tell.

[@dougmaccormack9485]

All I know about it is that a little old lady brought it in for her husband. Perhaps as a gift to have it repaired.

[@brettbunke9096]

Love the longer videos screw the KZbin algorithm

[@dougmaccormack9485]

The algorithm seems to like it too!

[@lbfred8146]

Nice work! What you have is an early 30s Gretsch Model 35. Someone made a new headstock inlay with the name Stromber; maybe the owner's name. You will find images if you just google Gretsch Model 35.

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Yes! That's it! Someone else also had an ID, similar model. A-25. I agree. Someone modded the logo or it was made for a music store, catalog or something. Right down to the weird sunburst around the sound holes! Thanks!

[@richsackett3423]

Try this: Stromberg-Voisinet. My initial hunch was that it was a Chicago catalog guitar. Yup.

[@dougmaccormack9485]

I know of Stromberg-Voisinet, but it says Stromber on the headstock. My suspicion is that it was made by S.S. Stewart for either a catalog, music store or modified by a luthier. The shape of the F holes, bridge, body shape and pickguard are an exact match for S.S. Stewart.

[@dougmaccormack9485]

www.12fret.com/instruments/ss-stewart-model-4024-archtop-guitar-sunburst-1930s/

[@kellyswoodyard]

The pick up mounting, that looks to be a right royal pain. Take off the thing when ever you need to change strings.

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Yes it is but it does sound very nice. It wasn't as much of a pain as getting the input jack out of there. There's about 25 minutes of that mess on the cutting room floor!

[@NickRatnieks]

By the time this guitar was made, S S Stewart was a brand owned by B & J of NYC and their instruments were made by just about every US maker- Gibson made a flat top so everybody selling an S S Stewart guitar likes to say it was made by Gibson. The S S Stewart guitar you showed at the start- for sale at Twelfth Fret was a 1930s made guitar- that was basically a Harmony Cremona model- the large volute on the neck identifies it as such. Harmony used rosewood not ebony on its higher quality archtop fingerboards. Your guitar has a number of quirky features that mean it is not a product of the usual suspects like Harmony and Regal or Kay. It looks like this Gretsch in many ways: Google Skinners Gretsch Archtop Guitar, 1930s, Style A-25 Interesting video and interesting insights!

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Nick I do believe the mystery is solved! That A-25 is the exact same guitar right down to the headstock, logo banner, f-holes, weird sunburst and all! I've repaired thousands upon thousands of guitars in my 45 years but I've never run across an A-25 (to my memory) and a Google image search revealed nothing either. Thanks so much. Your a better sleuth than I ! It may spawn another episode!

[@NickRatnieks]

@@dougmaccormack9485 Let me know if you do a follow up. The most quirky thing is that bit of wood that sticks out with the screw hole for the pickguard- you only get to see that if the guard has been removed and that is just so unique. I don't know how long Gretsch did this but it means no drilling (and cracking) the top. I enjoyed watching your work and learned along the way, so it was very instructive! I look forward to the next video.

[@user-in7nk1iq2j]

I believe that is a 60s Harmony. I have one very similar to that. Look in the F holes for a stamp.

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Not a Harmony- The mystery has been solved! Stay tuned!

[@vazquez808]

great work

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Thanks so much! be sure to check out my other vids!

[@johnwhitaker545]

Okay so… everyone’s choosing to ignore that thing that happened at 12:15? That was really interesting…

[@dougmaccormack9485]

I was about 30 feet away getting a clamp. The shop is in an old mill building. My guess is that the floors are a little bouncy and that might explain it. I confess that I put that segment in there for entertainment value and to tie in with the "mystery" theme.

[@bassplayer8815]

Hallo to you too

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Howdy?

[@CaffeineNightOwl]

wunderbar

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Vielen Dank!

[@philliprowe2656]

Like to see the extensive use of the egg beater drill and tapered reamer.Yoy really brought it back and it really sounds good! Did you use an old Fender or Gibson tube amp to get that sound?

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Thanks Phil, actually its a Peavey Special 112!

[@philliprowe2656]

Sounds great!

[@ralphbenites1312]

I have a 1959 guild slim Jim but the b string doesn’t fit the trapeze style all the way in.so what strings do you recommend for that style of guitar.thanks

[@dougmaccormack9485]

It's usually the low E string that's the culprit and is too tight for the string slot. Are you using a heavier gauge string set? Flat wounds?

[@ralphbenites1312]

@@dougmaccormack9485 elixir light 12-53 thair colored on the ends purple and orange package but I found it in the trash at my sister in law’s parents house and It had a flat wound on the first string and orange material on the bottom of the string maybe old string

[@dougmaccormack9485]

@@ralphbenites1312 Purple and orange indicate that you have a set of acoustic guitar strings. They have a steel core so the magnetic pickup will see them but I think a set of electric guitar strings would be better for your type of instrument. Maybe go a gauge lighter as well like 11- 49. As far as tone is concerned, it depends on the style of music you like. Flat wounds are mellower, less string noise, good for jazzy stuff, round wounds are brighter and good for everything else. I prefer to lean towards heavier gauge strings on hollow/semi-hollow guitars to "drive" the top and get that punchy tone. Go lighter but not lighter than 10's. 11's should be about right and fit your tailpeice slots better.

[@ralphbenites1312]

@@dougmaccormack9485 thank you so much basically for strumming I like the 50’s music 🎶🎙🎸

[@joeeverett9775]

I’m here

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Welcome!

[@AltGrendel]

19:04 Couldn’t you put the ratchet at the curve of the ‘waist’ of the guitar?

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Sometime I do on larger bodies. It's seems a little easier to judge the tension of the ratchet when it's resting on a solid surface.

[@jazz2959]

Yessongs

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Incredible performance. It would bring tingles to my spine! Especially "Yours is no Disgrace" guitar solo!

[@cousinharleyb]

Judging by the build and the headstock. That is a the same instrument as a Gretsch model 35.

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Yes! Since publishing the vid I've had a couple people positively identify it as Gretsch A-25 or model 35. Thanks for helping confirm that! Even after 45 years I've never come across one.

[@douglasmorrison9098]

STROMBERG Guitars are highly collectible and expensive However like you I found NO RECORD whatsoever of a STROMBER guitar and I have never heard of one either and im 80 years young and played both guitar and piano ALL my life. I even looked for the STROMBERG logo andd found none that even resembles the one on that guitar THINKING MAYBE the G got rubbed off at some point.

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Since then, we have discovered the true identity of the Stromber. Please watch the follow up video! kzbin.info/www/bejne/rF6aeXmcaph_hZo

[@williamkennonjr1147]

It looks like an old truton

[@dougmaccormack9485]

Nope. See here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rF6aeXmcaph_hZo