DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Lap steels, resonators, multi-neck consoles and acoustic steel guitars

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John Drury
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DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by John Drury »

Always wondered why anyone in their right mind would blow
3 large on a lap steel!

I get it now! What a tone monster!

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Last edited by John Drury on 18 Jul 2025 12:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
John Drury
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Brian Dellinger
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by Brian Dellinger »

Congratulations, John... I've been trying to talk myself into one of these but happy to live vicariously through you. :)
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John Drury
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by John Drury »

Thanks Brian!

I have been looking at these guitars for a while now, watched some Youtube videos
and was amazed at their lush tone and what all they are capable of!

They are like a "Pocket PSG" !

Kinda spendy, but well worth it!

YOLO!

J. D.
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Will Houston
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by Will Houston »

Pocket PSG, I like that, enjoy that baby. It's only money and it looks good too.
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John Drury
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by John Drury »

Thanks Will!

And yes, 3 G's isn't really all that much if you say it fast! Ha!
Great guitars, I highly recommend!
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John Drury
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by John Drury »

Will,

I think the term "Pocket PSG" was originally coined by forumite and Duesenberg player Steve Lipsey.
Good analogy Steve!
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John Drury
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by John Drury »

Added 3rd bender to 4th string D to work around the "Happy Note" .
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Earl Foote
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by Earl Foote »

I have the Duesenberg Fairy Tale Split King. I'm with you on spending 3 grand on a lap steel, but I ran into some extra disposable income so I did the deal and bought one. At first, I was a little scared that I may have made a mistake. Manipulating those levers while using thumb and finger picks was very tricky for me, but I kept working on it and now I am developing decent technique, and getting the muscle-memory.

I like the finish on your guitar, Sweetwater didn't have one of those when I was ready to order.

Did you have to experiment with different gauge strings to find the right set on your Duesenberg? I found the stock strings a little heavy for my taste and they made the levers a little harder to actuate. I think I ended up using .012 electric guitar set on mine. I have both of my levers set up to raise. I notice you have a lower on yours. Did you have to play with the string gage (or spring tension) to get it to work right?

Definitely (to me) worth the three grand though.
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John Drury
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by John Drury »

Earl,

The string gauges in the Duesenberg set has a lot to do with their lush tone, and sustain IMOHO.
I am a huge Proponent of the D'Addario NYXL's but am sticking with the set it came with, rather
than going to lighter gauges.

The lever kit comes with 2 springs, a long and a short, I had to go with the longer spring to get it
to return to pitch reliably.

The cool thing about the Duesenbergs is their capability of raising or lowering any string,
all other benders are raise only.

Yes, very spendy instruments! But after having it a while I get it, these guitars are dripping
with quality and their tone and sustain is incredible!

J. D.
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Earl Foote
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by Earl Foote »

Hey John, what stand it that you are using for your Fairly Tale?

I bought one off Amazon that was designed for a mandolin, but its a little unsteady. I like the wide span of the legs on your stand.
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John Drury
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by John Drury »

Earl Foote wrote: 23 Jul 2025 10:09 am Hey John, what stand it that you are using for your Fairly Tale?

I bought one off Amazon that was designed for a mandolin, but its a little unsteady. I like the wide span of the legs on your stand.
That is an SRO Kaman acoustic stand, doesn't really fit it, it normally sits in, a Musicians gear electric guitar stand.
And yes, that is one guitar you don't want hitting the floor!
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by John Drury »

Looks like the Man himself has given Duesenberg's the nod!
Anxious to hear him on one!
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Joseph Lazo
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by Joseph Lazo »

I love the Duesenberg demos I've seen/heard, and love the design of the instrument. Was tempted to get one awhile back, but went with the less pricey Certano instead. I find manipulating the levers on the Certano awkward because they rotate out of position so easily. Do the levers on the Duesenberg move freely from side to side, or are they fixed in place?

On a side note, that Duesenberg ad really needs a proofreader. The first sentence has the quotation mark sitting where a comma would sit, there's an extra space before the exclamation mark at the end of the first sentence, and this sentence makes no sense: "I have never been able to capture that tone as good before."
Lastly, there's no period after the last sentence.
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Brooks Montgomery
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by Brooks Montgomery »

Somebody’s grammar was baking biscuits that day.
A banjo, like a pet monkey, seems like a good idea at first.
Joseph Lazo
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by Joseph Lazo »

OMG, I just noticed they spelled "effortlessly" as "affortlessly" and I MISSED THAT!
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Earl Foote
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by Earl Foote »

They made him a Red one to match his Franklin. Awesome.
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Earl Foote
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by Earl Foote »

I wonder how he has that guitar tuned and set up. There is a one-string space between the two benders.

Mine (and most of them) came set up with a open 'D' tuning, with a one-step raise on the 2nd string and a half-step raise on the 3rd string. I left mine set up that way but I have lighter gauge strings than what came on it.
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John Drury
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by John Drury »

Really liking this Duesenberg guitar! Big step up from what I had.

I built this one out of a scrap 2x4 and parts laying around the shop.
Copy of my old Montgomery Ward Rocket 6 I had years ago.
Emmons 24 1/4" scale length. Benders are my own design.
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Earl Foote
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by Earl Foote »

Sweet! How did you have it tuned and the levers set up?
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John Drury
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by John Drury »

Earl Foote wrote: 8 Aug 2025 7:31 am Sweet! How did you have it tuned and the levers set up?
D Vestapol, from the top D-A-F#-D-A-D Raises on 2nd and 3rd strings.

Same tuning as my Duesy with an added 3rd bender lowering the 4th string.
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Earl Foote
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by Earl Foote »

I have been playing gigs on guitar, pedal steel, and bass for about 55 years now. I have never heard the word Vestapol. :mrgreen: (i even had to add it to my dictionary on my PC to keep it from showing as a mis-spelled word) :mrgreen:

Burt I did a Google search and it's all over the place. Learned something new today.
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by John Drury »

Earl Foote wrote: 9 Aug 2025 5:17 pm I have been playing gigs on guitar, pedal steel, and bass for about 55 years now. I have never heard the word Vestapol. :mrgreen: (i even had to add it to my dictionary on my PC to keep it from showing as a mis-spelled word) :mrgreen:

Burt I did a Google search and it's all over the place. Learned something new today.
Ha-Ha! Yeah, just a 6-cylinder word for Open D!
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John Drury
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by John Drury »

This guy makes me want to feed my Duesenberg into a limb shredder!

www.youtube.com/results?search_query=st ... nningmeyer
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Stephen Cowell
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by Stephen Cowell »

John Drury wrote: 14 Aug 2025 1:42 pm This guy makes me want to feed my Duesenberg into a limb shredder!

www.youtube.com/results?search_query=st ... nningmeyer
Troy's great, but Luke's the king of this guitar for me:

https://youtu.be/osst1JN5Yk4?si=em4gsv3hr6G-O1O8

Want want WANT! That Lollar adds another 400$ or so to the mix.
Too much junk to list... always getting more.
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Re: DUESENBERG FAIRY TALE

Post by Jeff Highland »

I have one for sale, Stephen, with the Lollar String thru pickup
Duesenberg Fairytale
1949 Supro Supreme
2008 Highland Baritone Weissenborn
2020 Highland New Yorker.
2020 Highland Mohan Veena
2021 Highland Weissencone