|
Author
|
Topic: J.C.H. Steels
|
B.Jenkins
Member From: Parkersburg, WV...U.S.A
|
posted 08 February 2005 04:23 AM
profile
With the passing of the master builder, will there be anyone going on with Jimmys work, building the J.C.H.?
I sure hope so. Rest in peace my friend..
God Bless his Family
Billy |
Nick Reed
Member From: Springfield, TN
|
posted 08 February 2005 04:32 PM
profile
Elsie told my wife at the funeral home, there would be no more new JCH guitars built. Reason being, Jimmie was such a perfectionist where every detail had to have his personal attention and be perfect before it left the shop.
IMHO, NO ONE could ever possibly continue the same high quality care & workmanship Jimmie put into these guitars. It really looks as of now that the JCH chapter of the book will be closed. Now these fine instruments will become rare collector guitars like Sho-Buds. Nick[This message was edited by Nick Reed on 11 February 2005 at 05:05 PM.] |
B.Jenkins
Member From: Parkersburg, WV...U.S.A
|
posted 09 February 2005 06:32 AM
profile
Thanks Mr. Reed for the heads up on the J.C.H. steels
Billy |
Roger Rettig
Member From: NAPLES, FL
|
posted 09 February 2005 10:32 PM
profile
This is only appropriate. My black D10 was to have been the next JCH completed, but, without the Master's touch, it just wouldn't be a JCH.As sad as this makes me, it is of no consequence when compared to the loss of my friend, Jimmie; as the days pass, I'm more and more aware of the loss the whole steel guitar world has suffered. RR |
Jon Graboff
Member From: NYC, NY
|
posted 10 February 2005 04:06 PM
profile
This news breaks my heart. I'm proud that Jimmie chose pictures of my JCH for his web site, and as long as musicians play the pedal steel, I hope to see many JCH logos. That the Crawford family could someday find a person who could carry on the high standards of Jimmie's work, would be a fantastic tribute to the man and his legacy as a one of the GREAT steel guitar builders. It pains me to think that so many worthy players might be denied the opportunity to sit behind and play such a fine instrument. I'm one of the lucky ones. Long live the JCH! |
George King
Member From: Woodlawn,Illinois
|
posted 10 February 2005 09:36 PM
profile
I was wondering how many JCH guitars were built?How many are out there? |
Mike Weirauch
Member From: Harrisburg, Illinois**The Hub of the Universe
|
posted 10 February 2005 10:36 PM
profile
quote:
I was wondering how many JCH guitars were built?How many are out there?
Somewhere around 100 plus. I think my D-10 is 98 or 99 and Jimmie made about 4 to 6 others after it including Buddy Emmons' guitar. It was never an issue of quantity with Jimmie, it was always quality. |
Jon Graboff
Member From: NYC, NY
|
posted 11 February 2005 07:49 AM
profile
Mike, What's the serial number on your JCH? Mine is 2500 and I seem to remember that yours was built sometime near mine. Am I correct on that? Thanks, Jon. |
Mike Weirauch
Member From: Harrisburg, Illinois**The Hub of the Universe
|
posted 11 February 2005 08:21 AM
profile
Jon, I watched your guitar being built from when the cabinet arrived to Jimmie test driving it. If memory serves me correctly, the next 2 guitars were the George Draber guitar and Bucky Reid's guitar. I'm not sure what came after that but mine was built in 02 and I picked it up in December of 02. I always have thought that your guitar with the carbon fiber mica pattern was the sharpest one Jimmie ever built. My son had Carter Guitar build him one with the same mica pattern as yours. I remember getting to play your guitar before it was shipped out and it played and sounded great! Bucky Reid did a lot of the work on my guitar and he is a particular as Jimmie was. Bucky is the only person I know who could come close to filling Jimmie's shoes when it came to building guitars. |
stevepo
Member From: Knox, PA. USA
|
posted 11 February 2005 11:08 AM
profile
Roger, your guitar and mine was on the bench for Jimmie's next masterpieces. Jimmie had told me in January that he expected to finish my guitar shortly after February. Jon, I would agree that someone might be able to carry on the tradition of building great JCH guitars. Mike, Bucky might be the right person if he is inclined to do so. He and Jimmie were close and I understand that Bucky worked on JCH's with Jimmie. Nick, Elsie mentioned that no new guitars would be started, I have to wonder if the in-process orders could be finished someday. Eventually, I will have to ask. Steve Porter |
Charles Curtis
Member From: Bethesda, Maryland, USA
|
posted 11 February 2005 01:33 PM
profile
Last week, if I remember correctly, Jimmie told me that he was trying to get three finished at the same time. I believe he was still missing a couple of parts for mine. He also remarked that his son is an excellent engineer with the psg. A few months before he had invited me to stop by and he would show me around; so what I had planned to do was to visit with Jimmie when the guitar was finished and bring my camcorder. I still find it hard to believe that he is gone. We're all going to miss this man; what a great pioneer and one of the most likable men I've ever met. |
autry andress
Member From: Plano, Tx.
|
posted 11 February 2005 03:45 PM
profile
I hope the Crawford family will reconsider & let the JCH Steel Live on in Honor of The
Late & Great Jimmy Crawford. Please let the JCH Legacy live on. |
Roger Rettig
Member From: NAPLES, FL
|
posted 11 February 2005 09:38 PM
profile
Right, Steve. Jimmie told me he was trying to do two or three at once, so exact order of delivery would have been hard to predict, but I know mine was imminent. He asked when I'd be back off the road and, when I told him March, he said, 'It'll be done by then...' It had crossed my mind that Buck might be capable of approaching Jimmie's high standards if anybody is. RR |
Jody Carver
Member From: The Knight Of Fender Tweed~ Dodger Blue Forever
|
posted 11 February 2005 11:41 PM
profile
When John D'Angelico passed the family chose
not to continue in spite of an offer from Fender to buy the rights and name and headstock from the D'Angelico family. I know the deal that CBS offered the D'Angelico family as I was right in the middle of it. John's brother told Don Randall Leo's partner that when John died the name D'Angelico went with him to his grave.Jimmy D'Aquisto tried to assume the family tradition as he was Johns protege,,but the family having strong feelings declined.
|
Scott Henderson
Member From: Eldon, Missouri, USA
|
posted 12 February 2005 10:52 PM
profile
My guitar has a serial number in the 1400's
I don't know it's age but it has push button switches instead of toggle. I love my guitar and will never part with it (willingly anyway)Told my wife I'm takin it with me when I go. ------------------
Steelin' away in the ozarks and life,
Scott
www.scottyhenderson.com |
Jon Graboff
Member From: NYC, NY
|
posted 13 February 2005 07:43 PM
profile
Mike, Jimmie must have felt the same way about the carbon fiber mica. During our last conversation a few weeks ago, he told me that he was building a new guitar for for himself and using the same carbon fiber mica. This is kinda choking me up just thinking about my last chat with Jimmie. I will miss him... Jon |
Mike Sweeney
Member From: Nashville,TN,USA
|
posted 13 February 2005 08:45 PM
profile
Jimmie had 4 guitars in line to finish. Rogers' was next then Charles' then mine and his in his spare time. I hate that they never got done but most of all I miss my friend. Jimmie was building mine on a body he had picked out for himself several years ago and he often told me " Mike, that thing is gonna be a real honker. That wood has aged and the grain is perfect." I didn't doubt his words for a minute.
The thing for everyone who had a guitar on order is to let the dust settle down and see what Elsie decides to do.Mike Sweeney www.freewebs.com/steelguitarmusic/ ------------------
Mike Sweeney |
Mike Weirauch
Member From: Harrisburg, Illinois**The Hub of the Universe
|
posted 13 February 2005 08:50 PM
profile
Jon, Jimmie only built one carbon fiber guitar and one "tomato puke" guitar and we have them both and my Lloyd Green JCH with the brushed silver aprons and the blue top is also a one of a kind. Lloyd had it custom made for himself but decided to stick with his trusty Sho~Bud so he sold it to me. |
Mike Sweeney
Member From: Nashville,TN,USA
|
posted 13 February 2005 09:04 PM
profile
Mike, You're right about the one of a kind. Mine wasn't. But, Jimmie picked it out for me and that's kind of special. And besides you can't go wrong with black. At least that's what I've heard. Mike |
B.Jenkins
Member From: Parkersburg, WV...U.S.A
|
posted 14 February 2005 03:02 AM
profile
I have a photo of Jimmy and John taken in 1982 in Jimmy's basement .
Bill Carr and I was working at the Nissan Plant on construction, and Jimmy had ran an add for a machinist, I called him and he invited us over to talk about doing some work for them.
And He and John played a few tunes for Bill and I, and I took some photos,
The way they both treated us , one would have thought we all had been friends for years, they were very nice and greeted two strangers with a warm and friendly spirt, I'll never for get Jimmy, I called him several times after that, and we would talk about one thing or another, and he was never in a hurry to get off of the phone,
Rest in peace my friend..
Billy |
Sonny Priddy
Member From: Elizabethtown, Kentucky, USA
|
posted 24 February 2005 06:56 PM
profile
I Would Like Very Much To See Buck Go On With JCH Don't Let A Great Guitar Go Down. SONNY.------------------
|
Mike Weirauch
Member From: Harrisburg, Illinois**The Hub of the Universe
|
posted 24 February 2005 08:28 PM
profile
Bucky Reid did most of the work on my D-10 while Jimmie was in England and it was and still is as perfect as it can be. Bucky is as particular and meticulous as Jimmie was. If I ever need anything done to my guitar, Bucky will be the one to do it as he knows it well. |
Wayne Brown
Member From: Strathmore, Alberta, Canada
|
posted 22 March 2005 07:59 PM
profile
I thought this might be appropriate for this thread.
On November 20 / 2003 I ordered a brand new JCH black d-10 from jimmy Crawford. On January 31 / 2005 I talked with jimmy and he told me that except for the name plate and sitting down to play and tweak the guitar, it was finished. And on February 02 /2005 the unthinkable happened. On that day I was in my shop, when I got the call from my very good friend john lacey. So I shut down the shop and went straight home, to find at least a dozen messages on my answering machine. I need to tell you folks that I felt a little out in the cold up here, not being in the U.S.A. however, one of the messages was from my good friend Danny Cormier. He told me that Tommy minniear was trying to get a hold of me, and for me to call him. So I called Tommy. Since he has been a friend of the Crawford’s for years and new about this guitar from its conception, he said that he would take care of this situation on my behalf. I need to stop here and tell you about Tom. To this day I have never met tom. My only dealing was that I built him a case for his old sho-bud. Now since then, I have had countless hours on the phone with him, talking about everything from squirrels to guitars, and he has grown into being a very dear and close friend to me and my family. Anyways, since I had never met or talked to Elsie Crawford except in casual conversation on the phone. Tommy stepped in and sort of became a go between.
After Elsie had some time to deal with her situation she contacted Tommy to let me know when would be a good time to call, and when buck reid would be over at the house. I need to stop here again. You need to know about Elsie Crawford. Through my dealings in the steel guitar business. I have talked with two ladies that I honor and respect. One is Elsie Crawford the other is Dixie Mullen. These two women are like two peas in a pod. Loving, caring and total straight shooters, and know exactly what there doing and are honest as the day is long. And trust me on this. This is a huge complement. And I love them both dearly. Anyways buck reid being as busy as he is and everything that was going on in the Crawford household, found the time to finish my guitar and I might add wonderfully and between Elsie and buck got it shipped out to me, I received it this last Friday. I cannot thank everybody involved with getting me this guitar enough. Thank you. I need to say what was going to be a very joyous occasion is now a bitter sweet one, as I now own the last guitar that jimmy built and played. I will cherish this guitar for as long as I live. With Elsie’s and Tommy’s help there is going to be a gold plack installed on this guitar with what Elsie wishes to say on it. Now it is official that the JCH STEEL GUITAR CO. is closed and there will be no more jch’s built. However Elsie has informed me that all jimmy’s cd’s, and printed material etc. will continue to be sold directly through her. Elsie’s info is as follows.
Elsie Crawford
112 south valley road
Hendersonville, TN 37075
1-615-824-8938
 Sincerely
Wayne brown
[This message was edited by Wayne Brown on 22 March 2005 at 08:01 PM.] [This message was edited by b0b on 23 March 2005 at 01:40 PM.] |
Rick Johnson
Member From: Wheelwright, Ky USA
|
posted 23 March 2005 04:37 AM
profile
Wayne
What a great story.
------------------
Rick Johnson
|
Roger Rettig
Member From: NAPLES, FL
|
posted 23 March 2005 10:35 AM
profile
Wayne - that's a great 'post'.Seeing the picture of your new guitar is particularly poignant for me - mine was to be next, and it would have been identical in appearance to yours. Today happens to be my birthday, and I'd hoped to be playing my own JCH by now - I am feeling a little sad, I confess.... RR |
Wayne Brown
Member From: Strathmore, Alberta, Canada
|
posted 23 March 2005 04:36 PM
profile
thanks guys but actually there’s a add on to this story, that just surfaced a couple of days ago. I may have owned the 1st publicly build jch too. My serial number on it was 1004. According to Elsie this was the 4th jch guitar built. Between Tommy minniear and Elsie and I we have been trying to come up with the order of who got what. We figure jimmy had 1001 Mr. hughey had 1002 and Mr. hicks had 1003 then mine. Maybe Mr. hughey or Mr. hicks could shed some light on this. I have seen a pic of this old guitar of mine on the steel guitar server but that was before bob swiched to the new one. If this is true it’s pretty ironic that I had the 1st publicly built guitar and the last….hmmmm. Tommy says he may have a old picture of jimmy playing this guitar. If it is my old guitar as there was only one built with this color I will post it when I receive the pictureThanks
Wayne
[This message was edited by Wayne Brown on 23 March 2005 at 04:36 PM.] [This message was edited by Wayne Brown on 23 March 2005 at 05:10 PM.] |
Buck Reid
Member From: Nashville,TN
|
posted 23 March 2005 07:33 PM
profile
That is a great story Wayne and i'm glad to know you're happy with the guitar. For what ever it's worth,there were a few tears shed while finishing that one. Enjoy !!
|
Jeff Hogsten
Member From: Flatwoods Ky USA
|
posted 24 March 2005 09:02 AM
profile
I was taking lessons off of Jimmie when he first started building the guitar. He used to go out in the hall with John and have me switch back and forth between the JCH and push pull and see if they could tell which one I was playing as if they could tell anything with my playing I had number 7 and later got number two from a neighbor of Jimmies, a rosewood single on a pad and played it for years. I had to sell during some hard times and have always regreted it. I hadnt seen Jimmie in a few years but we were close for a long time. I would give anything to have my guitar back, Yesterday I found the receipt where I bought the guitar and a note from Jimmie. I will always miss him and the many memories I have of him. In my opionion he was as good as they come, my favorite player of all time Jeff Hogsten |
Roger Shackelton
Member From: Everett, Wa.
|
posted 24 March 2005 11:07 AM
profile
Did Jimmie ever build any S-12U guitars? I don't recall ever seeing one.Roger |
Connie Burton
Member From: Sebastian, Florida, USA
|
posted 27 March 2005 07:07 PM
profile
I have a J.C.H. LLoyd Green model.It was made for Danny Jones of the Bellamy Bros.The numbers are 98GS 512. |
Scott Henderson
Member From: Eldon, Missouri, USA
|
posted 28 March 2005 07:04 AM
profile
mine is 1055 curious who owned it originally------------------
Steelin' away in the ozarks and life,
Scott
www.scottyhenderson.com |
DIETMAR WAECHTLER
Member From: RAUNHEIM,GERMANY
|
posted 16 September 2005 11:32 AM
profile
Hi guys,
my D10 JCH have the serialnumber 103. I own the orig. John Hughey Steelguitar (Vince Gill which you can listen "Pocket full of gold" album) I think it's a pretty early model ?
Best wishes to all
Didi Waechtler, Germany------------------
[This message was edited by DIETMAR WAECHTLER on 16 September 2005 at 11:37 AM.] |
Mike Shefrin
Member From: New York
|
posted 08 July 2006 10:04 AM
profile
After reading all the entries here about JCH and Jimmy I just thought I'd toss my hat into the arena.Way back in the early nineties I was looking for a new steel to buy and someone suggested I try a JCH. To make a long story short, I finally ordered one from Jimmy and when it was finished I flew out to Hendersonville to pick it up. Sometime after meeting Jimmy, I realized that he was genius. He was also a genuinely warm, friendly,humble, down to earth person with a wonderful sense of humor. Jimmy was real nice to me as were all the folks from Hendersonville whom I met that day. Lloyd Green stopped by the shop and spent a good hour talking with me and a couple of other steel players and showed us some stuff on my new JCH steel.He also made me laugh when he shared some stories about his experiences in the music biz. I told Jimmy how much I enjoyed meeting Lloyd and he replied "Yep...he's a dandy". I will always treasure the memory of that day in Hendersonville.[This message was edited by Mike Shefrin on 19 September 2006 at 03:07 PM.] |
Bobby Caldwell
Member From: St. Louis, Missouri, USA
|
posted 08 July 2006 12:29 PM
profile
Jimmy was a perfectionist in everything he did. It shows in his playing, his building of steel guitars and his devotion to his family and friends. I know I am a better person for having met and befriending Jimmy Crawford. We had great times together on stage and off. I will miss his talent and humor as long as I live. He will live on in the music and steel guitars he left us and we will always remember the man named Jimmy. Peace my friend. Bobby [This message was edited by Bobby Caldwell on 08 July 2006 at 12:31 PM.] |
Danny Letz
Member From: Old Glory,Texas, USA 79540
|
posted 08 July 2006 06:27 PM
profile
I have JCH #1036. It's a rosewood D-10.It was a little beat up when I got it, but I have done new fretboards and a lot of cleaning and polishing. It's beginning to look pretty good. It's kind of a stiff playing guitar but it is fun to play because of the sound it has. It do have the tone. If anyone knows it,s history or has a source of any parts for it, let me know. |
David Nugent
Member From: Gum Spring, Va.
|
posted 09 July 2006 04:02 AM
profile
A few years back while still residing in Ct., I met a steel player named Rusty Park who was playing what I thought to be a JCH. When I asked him how he liked his JCH he commented that it was a "Crawford-Park" (although it bore the identical badge and fretboards as a JCH)and that he and Jimmy had entered into a partnership. Can anyone shed any light on this? Thanks |
The Steel Guitar Forum
