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Author
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Topic: Bos-San Guitars
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Fred Layman
Member From: Springfield, Missouri USA
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posted 10 June 2002 04:43 AM
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Any Bos-San owners online? I need a photo of the undercarriage. I have a Bos-San brochure that has a partial photo of the undercarriage, but I need a fuller view. |
Damir Besic
Member From: La Vergne,TN
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posted 10 June 2002 04:48 AM
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What is Bos-San?------------------
http://hometown.aol.com/damirzanne/damirzanne1.html
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Tommy Detamore
Member From: Floresville, Texas
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posted 10 June 2002 06:31 AM
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Fred,Don Fullmer, a forum member, might be able to help you out. Hope you are doing well. Damir, The Bos-San was a fascinating steel guitar built by the late Harold Spain in Hopewell, Va. He was an innovator and a true gentleman. The guitar featured changers at both ends, with tuning keys affixed directly to the changers. Several guys in that area played this guitar (Don Fullmer, Sid Hudson) and as well as I can remember it was a great playing guitar and it sounded terrific. He used beautiful woods also, as I recall.
I would love to see pictures of the Bos-San myself. I have never forgotten the kindness of Mr. Spain and his handiwork certainly deserves to be displayed to the steel guitar world. |
C Dixon
Member From: Duluth, GA USA
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posted 10 June 2002 06:31 AM
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A Bos-San PSG was built by a man in Richmond VA. He made it from scratch. Even milling the end plates from a solid piece of aluminum in his small home garage.One of the recipients of this unique guitar was Don Fulmer who often plays at the Hawaiian shows in Joliet and Indianapolis and of course other shows. If my memory serves me right, he may have posted on this forum some time ago. Not sure. The Bos-San guitar is one where raises are done on one end and lowers on the other end. It is the only PSG I ever saw which did that. But I believe there may be others doing it now. Not sure. Fred, If you need for me to do it, I will try to contact Don and see if he can get in touch with you, carl |
Steve Feldman
Member From: Millbury, MA USA
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posted 10 June 2002 04:33 PM
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Last couple of times I was there, Billy Cooper had a Bos-San on the floor. |
Larry Clark
Member From: Herndon, VA.
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posted 10 June 2002 05:13 PM
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I was wondering why that name sounded familiar. Thanks Steve, I remember seeing one at Billy's too. Wish I had looked it over a little closer. |
Damir Besic
Member From: La Vergne,TN
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posted 10 June 2002 05:38 PM
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Anyone has any pictures?I would love to see that guitar,sounds very interesting.
Damir------------------
http://hometown.aol.com/damirzanne/damirzanne1.html
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Chuck Martin
Member From: Mc Lean, Virginia
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posted 10 June 2002 06:17 PM
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Carl,Some of the BMI's have that same set-up with the raise on one end and the lowers on the other. Take a look at this photo and you'll notice that it has tuning nuts on the left end.  Chuck [This message was edited by Chuck Martin on 10 June 2002 at 06:18 PM.]
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Fred Layman
Member From: Springfield, Missouri USA
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posted 10 June 2002 08:32 PM
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The BosSan pedal steels were built by Ken Boswell and Harold Spain in the Richmond, VA area during the 1980s. They showed them at St. Louis during that period. Their brochure says that the two of them had over 70 combined years of steel guitar playing and machine shop know how.There was a changer at each end of the guitar, one to raise strings and the other to lower them (Patent # 4007658), each with it's own tuning screws. The changers were keyed, not keyless as in the BMI, and the keys were attached to L-shaped changer mechanisms. They anticipated the later split-tuning facility in that any string could be lowered when it was raised or raised while it was lowered. The guitars were characterized by beautiful woodwork and excellent machining throughout. I have two of the BosSans with all of the parts, but that were never assembled. When Mr. Spain died in the late 80s/early 90s, Harold Flynn bought out from Mrs. Spain what was left of the machinery and inventory. This included a D-10 and a S-10 and all their parts. The D-10 body was completed externally, including the changer mechanisms, but the undercarriage was not assembled. When I bought the Flynn company and inventory from Harold's heirs, the guitars came with the purchase. The BosSan brochure gives a partial view of the undercarriage, but I'm trying to find some complete photos of the undercarriage so I can finish the guitars in their original format. Any such photos will be greatly appreciated. |
Jay Jessup
Member From: Charlottesville, VA, USA
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posted 12 June 2002 09:34 PM
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As of a month or so ago there was still a Bos-san 12 at Billy Coopers.
I would like to add that I was one of the benificiaries of Harold Spain's kindness back in the mid 70's when I appeared at his home machine shop with a homemade copy of a D-10 push pull that was almost unplayable. He fixed it up for me very quickly and I doubt he charged me a lot for doing it either! It was a long time ago but I met Don at about the same time and this was also when Harold was coming up with the idea for his guitar. I was tempted to buy the guitar at BC's just out of respect for the help and advice Harold gave me back then. Harold was a real perfectionist and was also soft spoken and modest, a wonderful gentleman. |
bob grossman
Member From: Visalia CA USA
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posted 13 June 2002 10:00 AM
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Fred:I sent this earlier, but it apparently didn't make it there. Around 1976, Winnie W. took some photos for me at St. Louis. Some were of the BosSan, I think incl. the undercarriage. I gave my vast collection of pedal steel bvrochures, pictures, patent dwgs. to Tom Bradshaw. He should have something. |
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