The Steel Guitar Forum

Steve, I can understand the confusion. I did weigh in on that thread about the appearance, but I wanted to say something about the sound. Jackson came out with the Blackjack, which is a laminate body, very light and highly stable. I played one and it sounded and played great. The laminate was black....

Joerg, I know in the "glory days" of pedal steel playing, all the differing makers had their committed players in Europe. It would be worth it for the Jacksons to get a guitar or two over there so you all could see and hear them... Elton, thanks for listening, and I agree with you about th...

Joerg,
The Madison is magnificent. I hope you will get a chance to play one. Are there players in Europe who have Jacksons?

Recently there was a lengthy discussion about what people liked and didn't like about the looks and features of the Jackson Blackjack Custom. This steel appeals to me not just because of how it plays, but how it sounds. Here are (I HOPE!) two links to Youtube videos of my Blackjack Custom being play...

TBHenry, Thank you for introducing me to Mooney Had His Back! I am going to spread the word about that one!!!

Wow. Thank you for the link!

Thank you, Roger. When I was 17 (37 years ago) I had the thrill of my life when I got to back Wynn Stewart, and all I wanted to do was create that Mooney sound behind him...

Exactly one month to the day before Ralph Mooney passed away, we were waiting for the rest of the band to arrive for rehearsal and I had my 1961 Double Sho-Bud Permanent (six pedals, pre-knees, actually set up for playing standing up) plugged in and we decided to do a little Crazy Arms. I am not say...

Exactly one month to the day before Ralph Mooney passed away, we were waiting for the rest of the band to arrive for rehearsal and I had my 1961 Double Sho-Bud Permanent (six pedals, pre-knees, actually set up for playing standing up) plugged in and we decided to do a little Crazy Arms. I am not say...

As Louie pointed out, the Jacksons had something that would appeal to just about anybody, and they understand how "picky"--no pun--steel players are. I would say one thing about the height of the strings relative to both the low profile fret board and the inset tuner pan. The strings ride ...

I have been thinking about Doc's observation on this thread that the low profile neck would be a deal breaker for him because he likes a "traditional" look. I admit that the low profile is eye-catchingly different from pedal steels being made now, but what appeals to me about it is that it...

When I wrote yesterday I should have acknowledged Stu for what he said about my steel when he got to play it in Phoenix. As you can see from the picture that Mike posted of Stu playing his Blackjack, Mike's guitar is stunning, too. Thanks to Mike, my steel guitar travels to more shows than I do! I g...

I want to thank Skip for complimenting my Blackjack Custom pictured in this thread. This instrument sounds fantastic and is the easiest, and most exact, pedal steel I have played in 40 years of playing. It took some getting used to the look of the tuning pan at first, but it now reminds me of a Fend...

These Jackson steels have the sound of a Sho-Bud with precision built into every aspect of the instrument. Well worth seeing--and hearing

I want to thank Mike for introducing me to his Jackson Madison model--it convinced me that the Jackson combines the sound of a classic steel with easy, modern functioning. I also want to thank David Jackson for building such a fine instrument--I have not purchased a new pedal steel in about 36 years...