In today's world, we're so used to seeing one brand name on a multitude of different products (i.e., Yamaha motorcycles and Yamaha grand pianos) that we tend to forget there were once great, small companies who excelled in a narrow field of products.  Magnatone was a small company who specialized in lap steel guitars and small amps designed for lap steels.   Their products were always simple, yet striking.

This 1954 Magnatone lap steel is a good example of Magnatone's artistry.  One single coil pickup, one tone control, one volume control, black tuner buttons, and a greyish/greenish pearloid  MOTS (Mother of Toilet Seat) covering make this a striking instrument.

One of our good friends and customer brought this by for it's semi-centennial doctor's visit.  New black-button tuners (exact replacements, right down to the oil holes and the mounting footprint), and some general internal maintenance (CAT scan, MRI, one new pot) made the old war horse good as new.

Now, if we only had one of those cool, old, little amps with the Hawaiian scene painted on the speaker grill to play it through.

Pearloid MOTS finish.  This was a "wrap-around" finish, kind of like wrapping paper.

Exact replacement tuner installed.  No extra holes, truly exact replacement parts.

This angle shows how thick the neck is compared to the headstock.

One volume, one tone, strings enter through the end of the body. The original pots are dated January, 1954.