The Chetboard

I re-read the section in the MAMG book where Chet talks about having the new top put on it. He said in hindsight he never should have done that, that he should have left it as an electric. Paul repeatedly said the D' was a truly unique sounding guitar and in having the top replaced one of the core components (along with John's original sound posts) was lost. Still, Paul got a chance to play it in the old Fender amp Chet used and said it was still an excellent sounding combination of guitar and pickups.

And I agree, it is hard to imagine being able to walk into a shop and just buy one of John's handmades (and probably have more than one instrument to choose from.

What most people don't know is that Chet had John repair the break on the D'Angelico on a trip to New York. The guitar was broken in 1953 but there is irrefutable evidence that it was still in use in 1954 when he signed on with Gretstch, the main point being his mentioning that Ray Butts straightened out the pickups being out of phase on the D'Angelico. Ray didn't come into Chet's life until 1954. Barry Oliver gave us photos of Chet using the D'Angelico in 1954 and in them it doesn't have that toggle switch in the f-hole which suggests Ray's tinkering. What is odd is that Chet never mentions this repair except briefly in a period fan club newsletter reference.

Shaftesbury was another one that made a Del Vecchio clone. I believe that they were made in the same Japanesse factory as the Conrad. I had a Conrad once. It sounded pretty good, but I do think it wasn't quite a Del Vecchio in terms of tone. Also, I never was sure, but it looked to me like the woodgrain was some sort of printed woodgrain. I could be wrong but it didn't look quite right to me.