Tadeo Gomez made my D8 and T8

[Michael Kiese]

Aloha no!

Been a while since I've been on the forum. Been busy playing music, instead of talking about playing music, and that's always a blessing. haha.

Finally got around to taking apart the Dual Professional and the Custom I got back in December.

Just doing the basics: polishing up the chrome with fine steel wool, spraying DeOxit in the pots, tightening nuts/bolts, etc.

Oh, I also recharged the mags on the trap pups. Interestingly enough, some of the magnets only took about a 20-30 gauss increase, while some increased by 130-150 gauss. Physics and magnetism are both strange and fascinating.

Here's the cool thing I think you all will appreciate: upon removing the tuning pans, I discovered that Tadeo Gomez made both my 1951 Dual Professional, and 1953 Custom. The Custom is dark brown natural wood, and Tadeo wrote "Tadeo" in pencil on it. Hard to see even with the naked eye, but it's there!

Funny how guys are paying $54K for a Telecaster made by Tadeo, but we can get a steel made by him for much less. LMAO.

Enjoy!

[Dennis Belt]

Very cool! That’s Fender royalty right there.

[Pete Martin]

Uh oh, I see a B@nj0!!!!

[Michael Kiese]

Uh oh, I see a B@nj0!!!!

Hey Pete!

LOL. I was at Cream City Music in Wisconsin, a bunch of years ago, and it was just standing there. $100. Made in Japan.

I was like "I don't even play that thing, but SOLD!" lol.

I learned some clawhammer tunes once upon a time. But once I got the forward and reverse rolls down, I immediately applied it to Chet Atkins fingerstyle, and never looked back.

Poor thing has about 1 hour of playing on it from me. haha.

[Jack Hanson]

Tadeo's distinctive "TG" also graces the chassis of my '70s Champ Amp & Princeton Reverb. The man got around! From the original huts on Harbor Boulevard to the famous building on Raymond Avenue to the massive edifice on Fender Avenue, Tadeo saw it all. Royalty indeed!

[Glenn Wilde]

Lucky
My friends '56 Esquire had TG, my '57 Tele did not, my '50 Deluxe 8 has nothing at all, I dated it with the pot codes,
Seeing your two steels together reminds me of my early days haunting guitar shops, I remember seeing a four neck Stringmaster and thinking " how could you even play that outer neck?"

[Mike B. Scott]

Hi! I mostly just lurk here, but I got my dad’s triple 8 custom a couple of summers ago, also made by Tadeo. My grandparents bought it back in ‘54 or’55 from Fuzzy Owen who was teaching my dad.

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[Michael Kiese]

Hi! I mostly just lurk here, but I got my dad’s triple 8 custom a couple of summers ago, also made by Tadeo. My grandparents bought it back in ‘54 or’55 from Fuzzy Owen who was teaching my dad.IMG_1579.jpeg
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Hey Mike,

That's super cool! Your Blonde Custom is dated 12/31/51, and my Blonde Dual Pro is dated 11/28/51.

That means both of our steels were being made by Tadeo at the same time. Probably painted at the same time with the same batch of paint! They were definitely being birthed right next to each other in the shop, and then went their separate ways for 75 years, and they're both still alive and kickin!

That's just TOO COOL. These instruments certainly have a history. I'm glad they're still around, and that Tadeo made them so well for us to enjoy.

Enjoy that Custom!

[Michael Kiese]

Lucky
My friends '56 Esquire had TG, my '57 Tele did not, my '50 Deluxe 8 has nothing at all, I dated it with the pot codes,
Seeing your two steels together reminds me of my early days haunting guitar shops, I remember seeing a four neck Stringmaster and thinking " how could you even play that outer neck?"

Aloha Glenn,

HAHA. Are you suggesting that I glue 'em together and make a Quintuple neck steel? lol.

[Mike B. Scott]

Hi Mike,
I used to drag that thing out of the closet at my grandparents house back when I was a kid (early 70’s) and play with it. When my grandparents moved into another house, my dad took it home and it spent the next 35 years up in his attic, although for a brief time I did try to figure it out. I’d been working on him for years to get him to send it to me, (I live in Germany) but he kept putting it off. When I visited in 2024 I convinced him to let me take it home, as I am playing in a country band over here. Got it back, and had to get the 2 outside pickups rewound, 3 weeks after the repair, it played its first gig in 70 years!

[Michael Kiese]

Hi Mike,
I used to drag that thing out of the closet at my grandparents house back when I was a kid (early 70’s) and play with it. When my grandparents moved into another house, my dad took it home and it spent the next 35 years up in his attic, although for a brief time I did try to figure it out. I’d been working on him for years to get him to send it to me, (I live in Germany) but he kept putting it off. When I visited in 2024 I convinced him to let me take it home, as I am playing in a country band over here. Got it back, and had to get the 2 outside pickups rewound, 3 weeks after the repair, it played its first gig in 70 years!

Wow, that's really cool! If only these instruments can speak and tell us about the travels they've had.

Kinda crazy to think our steels were created side by side, and one ended up in Germany 75 years late.

If you ever record one of your gigs, please post it and share the link with me!

Enjoy!

[Glenn Wilde]

Lucky
My friends '56 Esquire had TG, my '57 Tele did not, my '50 Deluxe 8 has nothing at all, I dated it with the pot codes,
Seeing your two steels together reminds me of my early days haunting guitar shops, I remember seeing a four neck Stringmaster and thinking " how could you even play that outer neck?"

Aloha Glenn,

HAHA. Are you suggesting that I glue 'em together and make a Quintuple neck steel? lol.

If you do, make sure the outside necks are turned 180 deg so you can walk around to play them