Hello,
"The Knopfler connection came when the former Dire Straits musician’s guitar technician discovered one of Cambio’s Leadbelly 12-string reproductions for sale at a high-end Boston music store. Knopfler was not completely happy with the tuning pegs. Cambio delivered a new guitar to England, and while he never did meet Knopfler, he heard from numerous sources that Knopfler played the instrument on stage in Madison last year during his tour with Bob Dylan." David Atkinson, a London based musician, bought the first 12 string Francesca from Todd Cambio and later had a LR bags pickup installed. I had always wanted this kind of guitar so got in touch with David Atkinson who travelled up to Chesterfield with it. David told me that was going country and was going to get a very expensive country pedal guitar setup "forgot what they call em" . I loved the very different sound this guitar makes, David didn't tell me the story till after I'd bought it, don't know what the issue was about the tuning pegs they are brill and in keeping with the historic effect.
Just for info ,
Todd Cambio is a luthier based in Madison, WI who specializes in recreating some of the classic, and often mythical, early 20th century guitars from makers such as Lyon & Healy, Larsen Bros., Regal, and the like. The Francesca twelve-string reproduces the tone and feel of one of the most sought after twelve-strings of all time. It is an auditorium-sized instrument, based on the classic ladder-braced Oscar Schmidt designs of the early 20th century. With it's long baritone scale, it is tuned down 2 or 2-1/2 steps, to as low as B in the bass!! The combination of body size, tuning and ladder-bracing creates a huge, brawny sound that bowls over player and listener alike. A great accompaniment to vocals, Both Leadbelly and Blind Willie McTell used 12-string guitars of this design during their careers.
In fact, Cambio custom-built this particular Francesca to be an authentic recreation of Leadbelly's famous Stella 12-string. The purfling is an exact replica of what was used on the fanciest Stella guitars, including of course, Leadbelly's. The tailpiece is handmade by Todd Cambio as well, and is a replica of the old style 12-string tailpieces that accepted both ball and loop-end strings. The tuners are handmade in Italy, and are without question the finest 6-on-a-side in existence.
Upgraded German Spruce top and braces
Mahogany back and sides
Custom $500 Italian tuners
Reply from Tod Cambio, confirms the story and that MK has a different one?
geoff
