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Re: Chet Atkins and the Del Vecchio

PostPosted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 12:53 am
by albertgen
Well they are not near as well made as Paul's, and the wood isn't finished as well, they are lighter and project louder than Paul's IMO, however Paul's is very well made and beautiful too. Al

Re: Chet Atkins and the Del Vecchio

PostPosted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 1:23 am
by Mike Nye
That's the first DV without the metal tag on the peg head, and the finish detail is far better than any other DV I've ever seen -and I've seen a few in my day!

Re: Chet Atkins and the Del Vecchio

PostPosted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 8:26 am
by gmoseley
Beautiful DV Chuck! I have a 60's long scale, Brazilian rosewood, has the big pink tuning keys. Years ago I had Charlie Derrington plane the fretboard and refret it and set it up. It plays good, holds true tune, so I'm happy with it. I'd have to agree with Norm and Al, the McGill is MUCH better made, absolutely beautiful and flawless but I prefer the sound of the "real" DV over McGill's guitar,,,,and as said, the DV is lighter in weight and thinner material, that probably has a lot to do with it. Chuck, you're going to really enjoy that guitar, its one of the nicest ones I've ever seen!

Gayle Moseley

Re: Chet Atkins and the Del Vecchio

PostPosted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 9:37 am
by guitarchuck
Thanks Albert, Mike, and Paul,
As everyone is saying I do think the lightweight body has something to do with the sound. I've only played a McGill once at CAAS and that's been several years ago. I can't really remember the sound to compare, but I do know that his finish and fit was perfect on the guitar that I played there.
Yes, Mike, this is the first one that I've seen without the metal nametag on the headstock also. It's my 4th Del Vecchio and I've finally found a keeper! All the others that I had had too many problems and I didn't want to invest a lot of money to get them corrected. (I also had a Conrad DV copy, I thought it sounded pretty good, but it wasn't quite the same).
One thing different I noticed on this one is that all the sound holes are exactly the same size. Normally the 2 upper soundholes are larger. I don't know how much effect this has on the sound. I'm thinking they use whatever they have available at the time.
Del Vecchio also uses whatever wood that they have available. This one has pretty nice wood, but I'm sure you've noticed the dark spot just above the bass E string on the resonator cover. Also there is a couple of small knots in the cedar on the back of the neck and a dark spot on the edge of the maple strip on the back of the headstock. Overall this one is pretty nice, but because it is a Del Vecchio it's not perfect. Others that I've had were full of worm holes and not so good wood.
This one is the long scale and the neck is 1 7/8" at the nut.

Re: Chet Atkins and the Del Vecchio

PostPosted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 5:28 pm
by albertgen
Yours is very beautiful Chuck, I think the larger louber on top project better. Mine has small ones on top too. I also think the one Chet played with material and V cuts softened tone tone somewhat. Sometimes I think Chet had the best one ever made. I believe he bought it off of Nato for 300.00 dollars, but he knew it was a good one. Chet's also has 6 loubers on the bottom and mine only has 5. I think it is a life long journey to find a perfect one like Chet had.