Caleb works on making this TrueTone a little more good looking, and a lot more playable. Website: www.mills-guitars.com Email: calebmills@mills-guitars.com Support the Channel: / millsguitars
Caleb- a couple of tips, the screws for the neck are #3 Phillips, get yourself a set of bits from your local big box or hardware store, they will fit into a screwdriver handle and or a drill driver, will make all of your jobs easier. And remove the chance of damaging the fasteners. 6/20 bucks and well worth the price. Epoxy is heat softened, 180 usually makes it easy to remove the parts. When you have a little money to spare a ultrasonic cleaning unit makes your life a lot easier, they are relatively inexpensive and won’t hurt your parts if you do a little research about their functions. Really good to see you following up with your apprenticeship!
Really loving how fast you've come, you've learned how to find your way to do something, which is a real testiment to Jerry's teaching and how attentive you were. You are going to go a long way
Iam 70 years old now our local western auto had one of those in the store i played it some when i was 14 thanks for sharing the video good job I got a harmony bob cat single pick up when i was 14 i still have it
Nice job man! Glad to see you understand the importance of preserving the original finish and patina. Don't stress too much about everything else it will come with time and experience, the fact that you care about what you are doing goes a long way!
Well done! A nice repair job, just so that the thing is in good playing condition again - while tastefully retaining the road worn appearance. Once again, you've found just the right balance! I like it...
As opposed to the numbers of sophisticated guitar repair subscribes I have, yours is special because I like the things you discover and figure out yourself with a minimum of tools and experience. Just like my "shop". Keep bringing life to these old guitars that almost nobody wants, but everybody loves to rediscover.
Caleb, in 1966 I bought my first guitar with money I earned mowing lawns. I got it from a J.C. Penney catalogue. It was the single pickup version of this guitar (neck position). It cost a whopping $29.99. In 1969 I sold it to a friend when I bought a Gibson Kalamazoo KG2A. At that time I was functioning under the delusion that you couldn't have more than one guitar. I've always regretted selling it. In 1979, I ran into the fellow I sold it to and asked if I could by it back. He said he'd just sold it that year. Hope you enjoy this vintage old piece.
I had a 63' Kay I played the frets off it they sound killer..for old style guitar tones...the pickups are dearmonds n the best ask ry cooder ..mine was so worn but never lost it's tone.. 40+ years I let it go to a guy really loved it n was alot younger than me so I figured he'd fix it and it,ll go another 58 yrs or so...I paid $30 for it...nice to see someone take interest like you... Nice....
Hi Caleb I have an old Kay that has the same body and neck 1 pickup brass frets plays nicely I've used it for slide practice for over 30 years it's a favourite of. mine ....good video friend 👍☮️
Caleb, i just found your channel, A great video here, great work on the guitar, I was Really Impressed on how you spent time on the Nut comments, if a nut is not cut right,,the Guitar will never Tune, it will never intonate, You can have a $5000 dollar Les Paul,,and if the nut is not cut right it will never tune, Have you ever heard of a Metal cleaning product called, Never Dull, it has been around for 80 years or so, it is easy to work with, no tools involved, just your finger, Cousin Figel
I wish that I had your skill and talent for this great repair/refurb and playing talent ... never seen a video like this before very pleased that your video appeared ... really enjoyed your work on this old guitar and to hear the great sound you achieved from playing it ... great job.
Hello! I "stumbled" upon your channel... immediately impressed with your vid and presentation skills... so I subbed! I'm a guitarist/singer and have been doing it since my early teens... 40 years... I've known some great Luthiers in my musical journey... men who had been working their trade for 50 + years... just amazing knowledge and skills... so always exciting to see a younger person so enthusiastic about working with instruments!
Nice job, Caleb - tastefully done! There's a soft spot in my heart for these old Kays with speed bump pickups (Got a K592 Red Devil). Who needs to "relic" a finish when you've got honest time on the surface of something. Really enjoyed the video - keep 'em coming!
Caleb, That’s a cool guitar man ! As a side note, Western Auto’s house brand of hand tools were made by about three of the FINEST major name brand tool companies of the day. They are highly prized and collectible today. I can only imagine the extra cool factor of having a Western Auto branded guitar ! Nice work!
Loving this video, I have a sister guitar to your Truetone, it’s a Silvertone that’s natural on the front and back with black sides and neck but like yours, it’s in disrepair. The pickups may need fixing or maybe the electronics need attention but, I can’t get any sound yet. Sure would like to get her going again. Those speed bump pickups sure are interesting looking. Great fun video.
Great old guitar! Cool vintage gear is always fun, and I love semi-hollow body guitars. I like the shape of that one. You should be able to do some cool things with it. Best of luck with the guitar, and for the New Year too! Subbed you.
Very compelling video. How well I recall the guitars on display at the old Western Auto store near the 7 Corners Shopping Center in Northern Virginia. The Lowe's store in Vienna, VA had guitars back in the 60's, too. I remember that the Western Auto store also had amps made by Rheem, the company that also made air conditioners. Everyone wanted to get in on the fervor created by the British Invasion. It's hard to grasp that so much time has passed since then.
You are getting good as Jerry ! (Your Austin neck first repair was hard and U did it perfect, so nothing will keep U awake) ALL JOB REPAIRS CAN BE EASILY TACKLED BY YOU) Congrats ! IMO.....one thing is that I would had done differently is to take that old epoxy shim and take the neck to your dad's shop and cut it straight with the band saw machine and add a new mini block without any angle to work with it until desired neck angle is achieved ! I believe the mini block would be extra hard and stable ! Anyways good job and awesome learning I had from you ! Specially on making nuts which i suck big time and they say it is the most important part of a guitar for intonation like you mentioned !! Keep it up and i will be learning from you a lot !
Nice old guitar. My first electric guitar was a solid body Kay and a Kalamazoo amp that I got from my cousin. Wish I still had it. You done a good job on that Silvertone. Was a nice guitar for young players to get started on. That neck still being straight says a lot for the quality that they put in them back then. Keep up the good work. Stay safe and God bless. Dan
Just found your channel, and I'm proud to see you keeping on. Nice work. I'm guessing you didn't get to the finish on the back due to time constraints.
Nice work! That guitar reminds me a bit of my 1962 Egmond "Kansas" guitar. Egmond was a Dutch manufacturer of mainly low-end guitars, with some oddities like a coil-spring operated neck adjustment / attachment, making the guitar rather flexible :-) . Love the ageing on those instruments, although my Egmond has less actual damage.. Greetings from Holland!
I have always ended up with a lot of the off brand stuff, most can be utilized if you modify a wee bit... Awesome 😎 channel stay at it.... Another fine job brought that one back into the land of the living.... Enjoyed the video
I kept waiting for the part where you addressed the finish damage on the back, but it never came! Otherwise, great job! If I was the owner, I would have sprung for an overall surface cleaning and waxing. The shiny pickups and knob faces looked strange against the grimy top. Glad to see this old guitar made into a good player.
Your guitar now looks as good as it sounds, I was impressed with your careful thought and planning process. When I was a similar age I can remember aborting several projects prematurely due to poor planning and obvious lack of patience resulting in some quality old gear ending up in the bin. Especially the case if there was any painting involved. I’m still a bit like that now so maybe it’s a skill, or lack there of; as it seems to be in my case, that you have to be born with!
Nice job on the guitar and video. This brought back great memories. This exact guitar was the 1st electric guitar I ever owned, probably in the mid to late 60's and I think I gave $25 or $30 for it. Anyway, thanks again for sharing this video.
I have three of those all Kay's !! One is absolutely perfect .I had a few over the years .yours is newer them 65 with the trust rod. I have parts lmk whatcha need !! The early models had amazing flame maple under the finish !
I have a Kay Speed Demon, single PUP, love it.Very nice acoustic and electric sound. When I got it, it was unplayable, got the neck straightened, but the neck ski jumps where it meets the body.
Nice clean-up job, Caleb. I'd be interested in knowing what you did on the back. Maybe because of time restraints, you did not show us. You learned many good techniques from Jerry.
Caleb, glad to see you are doing your own thing... I recommend a small ultrasonic cleaner. Harbor freight has a small one for a good price... that will serve you cleaning things for a long time.
Had a Western Auto store in my town growing up. i was sad when it closed. they had everything. the built a damn mall about 7 miles away and it was closed a year later.
You know having the skills and the patience to do repairs like that are kind of a rare thing for young people. And to play that good too, It would be interesting to hear you talk about how you acquired these skills at what appears to be a very young age. More power to you.
Very nice repair Caleb!!! The guitar is very quiet and was surprised ,was wondering if you were able to clean the pots theres a pot cleaning tool that works by screwing it on after you take off the knobs I have 1 it works ok I guess found it on amazon and wasnt very expensive but research it if you think it would be something you will use in future ,cheers!!!
Carl Perkins played a guitar with that electronic lay out for bit in the 70's i believe. I don't remember what it was but likely a Gibson or a Fender. Tone and Volume for each pick up. If there was a switch setting where you can make all 3 hot that would be cool as hell. A lot to remember though if you were mixing the tone and volume on each pick up at once.
Pretty damn cool! Guess that company made all kinds of stuff, though I haven't really researched it.. I currently have a Truetone rebranded RCA 7025 (low noise 12ax7) blackplate pre-amp tube in the v1 stage of my '66 Silvertone 1484 amp. Same logo and everything. I'd love to find another one! 😎
I still have a Teisco Checkmate 18 amp and Teisco SG with p90 style p’ups that came from Western Auto in 1970-71. Also have a 1968 Western Auto fall catalog that has that exact guitar in it. It is a Jazz King and sold for $69.95 in 1968.
Great repair Caleb, thats a really good sounding guitfiddle, thats what I call good guitars. That guitar would be great for country, rock, soft rock, Chet Atkins style thumb picking, and bluegrass would even sound good in my opinion. Oh yes I dont want to forget gospel. Good job, your skills and knowledge are growing, keep on keeping on.
Good video! That shim turned out to be a lot of work. I think I would have put it on the belt sander. I hate when you encounter epoxy glue. People don't realize how much work it can create.
Great job Caleb! Love the old "Rock a billy" sound & the slide tones! Just curious if you ever add a little graphite to a new nut at setup! The for sharing & keep them playing!
Great video. Best of luck with your channel!
Caleb- a couple of tips, the screws for the neck are #3 Phillips, get yourself a set of bits from your local big box or hardware store, they will fit into a screwdriver handle and or a drill driver, will make all of your jobs easier. And remove the chance of damaging the fasteners. 6/20 bucks and well worth the price. Epoxy is heat softened, 180 usually makes it easy to remove the parts. When you have a little money to spare a ultrasonic cleaning unit makes your life a lot easier, they are relatively inexpensive and won’t hurt your parts if you do a little research about their functions. Really good to see you following up with your apprenticeship!
What I like about you Caleb is you never look bored!
Really loving how fast you've come, you've learned how to find your way to do something, which is a real testiment to Jerry's teaching and how attentive you were.
You are going to go a long way
Iam 70 years old now our local western auto had one of those in the store i played it some when i was 14 thanks for sharing the video good job I got a harmony bob cat single pick up when i was 14 i still have it
Nice job man! Glad to see you understand the importance of preserving the original finish and patina. Don't stress too much about everything else it will come with time and experience, the fact that you care about what you are doing goes a long way!
Nice to see an axe most folks would ignore being made into a player. Great job Caleb!
I've got one and it's among my best sounding electrics.
Well done! A nice repair job, just so that the thing is in good playing condition again - while tastefully retaining the road worn appearance. Once again, you've found just the right balance!
I like it...
Caleb ! Fan from the netherlands here :) youre amazing really !!! keep on going with the good stuff
Just found you! Subscribed instantly... Wishing you the best. It has been great watching you with Jerry, and now on your own👍👍🙋
I know the feeling you get after working on a guitar. I fixed my friends daughter's acoustic a few years ago.
As opposed to the numbers of sophisticated guitar repair subscribes I have, yours is special because I like the things you discover and figure out yourself with a minimum of tools and experience. Just like my "shop". Keep bringing life to these old guitars that almost nobody wants, but everybody loves to rediscover.
Excellent job Caleb! We are rooting for you Buddy.
Caleb, in 1966 I bought my first guitar with money I earned mowing lawns. I got it from a J.C. Penney catalogue. It was the single pickup version of this guitar (neck position). It cost a whopping $29.99. In 1969 I sold it to a friend when I bought a Gibson Kalamazoo KG2A. At that time I was functioning under the delusion that you couldn't have more than one guitar. I've always regretted selling it. In 1979, I ran into the fellow I sold it to and asked if I could by it back. He said he'd just sold it that year. Hope you enjoy this vintage old piece.
Thats a sweet old treasure..the tone is amazing!...I'm Caleb super fan yes every RSW episode..love your new channel
Very cool guitar! Sounds good! Good playing. I have a Truetone flat top I received for Christmas back around 71.Brought back memories.
Nice work Caleb...Jerry did a good job of teaching you.You are making him proud...WELL DONE
I had a 63' Kay I played the frets off it they sound killer..for old style guitar tones...the pickups are dearmonds n the best ask ry cooder ..mine was so worn but never lost it's tone.. 40+ years I let it go to a guy really loved it n was alot younger than me so I figured he'd fix it and it,ll go another 58 yrs or so...I paid $30 for it...nice to see someone take interest like you... Nice....
Hi Caleb I have an old Kay that has the same body and neck 1 pickup brass frets plays nicely I've used it for slide practice for over 30 years it's a favourite of. mine ....good video friend 👍☮️
So happy and surprised when you popped up in my suggestion list. That old guitar has a very nice "old rock n roll" sound to it, Nice job.
Awesome little vid Caleb ... Very interesting to watch ... Thx and congrats to your channel ...
Caleb, i just found your channel, A great video here, great work on the guitar, I was Really Impressed on how you spent time on the Nut comments, if a nut is not cut right,,the Guitar will never Tune, it will never intonate, You can have a $5000 dollar Les Paul,,and if the nut is not cut right it will never tune, Have you ever heard of a Metal cleaning product called, Never Dull, it has been around for 80 years or so, it is easy to work with, no tools involved, just your finger, Cousin Figel
I wish that I had your skill and talent for this great repair/refurb and playing talent ... never seen a video like this before very pleased that your video appeared ... really enjoyed your work on this old guitar and to hear the great sound you achieved from playing it ... great job.
Hello! I "stumbled" upon your channel... immediately impressed with your vid and presentation skills... so I subbed! I'm a guitarist/singer and have been doing it since my early teens... 40 years... I've known some great Luthiers in my musical journey... men who had been working their trade for 50 + years... just amazing knowledge and skills... so always exciting to see a younger person so enthusiastic about working with instruments!
Great job Sir!
Nice job, Caleb - tastefully done! There's a soft spot in my heart for these old Kays with speed bump pickups (Got a K592 Red Devil). Who needs to "relic" a finish when you've got honest time on the surface of something. Really enjoyed the video - keep 'em coming!
Caleb,
That’s a cool guitar man ! As a side note, Western Auto’s house brand of hand tools were made by about three of the FINEST major name brand tool companies of the day. They are highly prized and collectible today.
I can only imagine the extra cool factor of having a Western Auto branded guitar !
Nice work!
Good job bringing that old guitar back from the edge of death. Great video, Caleb.
Great job! Here's hoping your channel takes off. Cheers!!
I'm happy to subscribe. You present your material very clearly.
Good luck on your channel. Been watching you since you were with Jerry. You popped up on my feed and I had to subscribe
Loving this video, I have a sister guitar to your Truetone, it’s a Silvertone that’s natural on the front and back with black sides and neck but like yours, it’s in disrepair. The pickups may need fixing or maybe the electronics need attention but, I can’t get any sound yet. Sure would like to get her going again. Those speed bump pickups sure are interesting looking. Great fun video.
Great old guitar! Cool vintage gear is always fun, and I love semi-hollow body guitars. I like the shape of that one. You should be able to do some cool things with it. Best of luck with the guitar, and for the New Year too! Subbed you.
Very compelling video. How well I recall the guitars on display at the old Western Auto store near the 7 Corners Shopping Center in Northern Virginia. The Lowe's store in Vienna, VA had guitars back in the 60's, too. I remember that the Western Auto store also had amps made by Rheem, the company that also made air conditioners. Everyone wanted to get in on the fervor created by the British Invasion. It's hard to grasp that so much time has passed since then.
Hi Caleb, I truly enjoyed your awesome work, keep it up, good chops, and that guitar sounds great, recording level, never expected it. Take care.
You are getting good as Jerry ! (Your Austin neck first repair was hard and U did it perfect, so nothing will keep U awake) ALL JOB REPAIRS CAN BE EASILY TACKLED BY YOU) Congrats !
IMO.....one thing is that I would had done differently is to take that old epoxy shim and take the neck to your dad's shop and cut it straight with the band saw machine and add a new mini block without any angle to work with it until desired neck angle is achieved !
I believe the mini block would be extra hard and stable !
Anyways good job and awesome learning I had from you !
Specially on making nuts which i suck big time and they say it is the most important part of a guitar for intonation like you mentioned !!
Keep it up and i will be learning from you a lot !
Well done Caleb. You ended up with a great sounding instrument.
Caleb you are a true craftsman!
Fine work like yours makes me wish I could play
Turned out good better than I imagined even. Its pretty cool.
Wow that's beautiful Caleb! I love the way that one sounds! Really great job man!
Nice old guitar. My first electric guitar was a solid body Kay and a Kalamazoo amp that I got from my cousin. Wish I still had it. You done a good job on that Silvertone. Was a nice guitar for young players to get started on. That neck still being straight says a lot for the quality that they put in them back then.
Keep up the good work. Stay safe and God bless. Dan
Nice work it looks and sounds great 🎼🎸🎼
Very good job! This guitar has a very funky and warm sound. Came out nice.
Half pencil ran over the frets onto the nut gives you a great guid for cutting nut slots and the radius of the board.
Great Job Caleb really nice sounding guitar 👍
Just found your channel, and I'm proud to see you keeping on. Nice work. I'm guessing you didn't get to the finish on the back due to time constraints.
Nice work! That guitar reminds me a bit of my 1962 Egmond "Kansas" guitar. Egmond was a Dutch manufacturer of mainly low-end guitars, with some oddities like a coil-spring operated neck adjustment / attachment, making the guitar rather flexible :-) . Love the ageing on those instruments, although my Egmond has less actual damage.. Greetings from Holland!
I have always ended up with a lot of the off brand stuff, most can be utilized if you modify a wee bit... Awesome 😎 channel stay at it.... Another fine job brought that one back into the land of the living.... Enjoyed the video
I kept waiting for the part where you addressed the finish damage on the back, but it never came! Otherwise, great job! If I was the owner, I would have sprung for an overall surface cleaning and waxing. The shiny pickups and knob faces looked strange against the grimy top. Glad to see this old guitar made into a good player.
Your guitar now looks as good as it sounds, I was impressed with your careful thought and planning process.
When I was a similar age I can remember aborting several projects prematurely due to poor planning and obvious lack of patience resulting in some quality old gear ending up in the bin.
Especially the case if there was any painting involved.
I’m still a bit like that now so maybe it’s a skill, or lack there of; as it seems to be in my case, that you have to be born with!
Looking good! Big improvement.
Nice job on the guitar and video. This brought back great memories. This exact guitar was the 1st electric guitar I ever owned, probably in the mid to late 60's and I think I gave $25 or $30 for it. Anyway, thanks again for sharing this video.
Nice work Caleb! It’s sounding sweet.
Sounds great Caleb, great work.
Outstanding Sir...
Nicely done.
Very interesting I've learned quite a bit. Has the jazzy sound like I thought it would sound.
Good job , well done and really like the tones of the guitar👍
That guitar is bad ass. Nice work.
I have three of those all Kay's !! One is absolutely perfect .I had a few over the years .yours is newer them 65 with the trust rod. I have parts lmk whatcha need !! The early models had amazing flame maple under the finish !
haha I love it. that thing has more DNA than lacquer. 😂 Caleb thanks for extending the life of this old Gem.!
Nice job. Good sound out of it too! Good point separating patina from damage. You wouldn’t want to un-relic it!😁
Nice. Like your presentation style too. Subbed.
You Explained everything very well !!! This was a well done video !!!!
It sounds really good.
Nice work!
I have a Kay Speed Demon, single PUP, love it.Very nice acoustic and electric sound. When I got it, it was unplayable, got the neck straightened, but the neck ski jumps where it meets the body.
Nice old guitar sounds good,like the slide
Nice clean-up job, Caleb. I'd be interested in knowing what you did on the back. Maybe because of time restraints, you did not show us. You learned many good techniques from Jerry.
I had an early 1960's Kay electric with those cool speed bump pickups. Played it through a Marshall 100 watt Superlead and man did that guitar howl.
Good luck Caleb 👍.
Caleb, glad to see you are doing your own thing... I recommend a small ultrasonic cleaner. Harbor freight has a small one for a good price... that will serve you cleaning things for a long time.
Had a Western Auto store in my town growing up. i was sad when it closed. they had everything. the built a damn mall about 7 miles away and it was closed a year later.
That guitar is a rockabilly monster!
Well that was just a killer job very cool
It's beautiful
You know having the skills and the patience to do repairs like that are kind of a rare thing for young people. And to play that good too, It would be interesting to hear you talk about how you acquired these skills at what appears to be a very young age. More power to you.
The bass response is interesting.It sounds real good.
Very nice repair Caleb!!! The guitar is very quiet and was surprised ,was wondering if you were able to clean the pots theres a pot cleaning tool that works by screwing it on after you take off the knobs I have 1 it works ok I guess found it on amazon and wasnt very expensive but research it if you think it would be something you will use in future ,cheers!!!
Great work!😌🙂
It's a great find! 👍
Carl Perkins played a guitar with that electronic lay out for bit in the 70's i believe. I don't remember what it was but likely a Gibson or a Fender. Tone and Volume for each pick up. If there was a switch setting where you can make all 3 hot that would be cool as hell. A lot to remember though if you were mixing the tone and volume on each pick up at once.
Pretty damn cool! Guess that company made all kinds of stuff, though I haven't really researched it.. I currently have a Truetone rebranded RCA 7025 (low noise 12ax7) blackplate pre-amp tube in the v1 stage of my '66 Silvertone 1484 amp. Same logo and everything. I'd love to find another one! 😎
great job very informative!
great job!
I still have a Teisco Checkmate 18 amp and Teisco SG with p90 style p’ups that came from Western Auto in 1970-71. Also have a 1968 Western Auto fall catalog that has that exact guitar in it. It is a Jazz King and sold for $69.95 in 1968.
Great Job
Right on Caleb.
Great repair Caleb, thats a really good sounding guitfiddle, thats what I call good guitars. That guitar would be great for country, rock, soft rock, Chet Atkins style thumb picking, and bluegrass would even sound good in my opinion. Oh yes I dont want to forget gospel. Good job, your skills and knowledge are growing, keep on keeping on.
Great restoration looks like a 1965"ish lot's of tone variations on that axe,Cheers!
Just found you and you are on your own and not at Rosa anymore? Also I had a friend who had a similar silvertone.That is a cool old guitar.
It's got a nice tone!
Nice job.
Keep up the good work👍👍
great job Im sold!
Good video! That shim turned out to be a lot of work. I think I would have put it on the belt sander. I hate when you encounter epoxy glue. People don't realize how much work it can create.
Looking good Caleb.......
Great job Caleb! Love the old "Rock a billy" sound & the slide tones! Just curious if you ever add a little graphite to a new nut at setup! The for sharing & keep them playing!
If the nut binds at all I definitely add a little graphite.
Good job I remember Western Auto alot of people don't.