Formica covered steels look cheap and ugly

John Walden · Post by **John Walden** » 14 Dec 2008 1:17 pm

I'm with Doug on this one. Either way, they are both very sweet horns !

J. W.

Malcolm McMaster · Post by **Malcolm McMaster** » 14 Dec 2008 2:22 pm

Richard, I always enjoy your posts but this one is just "pure codswallop" to use that old British expresion.The only person it matters to is the person playing that guitar, and is normally purchased to please the person buying it, not other steel players.There is nothing cheap about mica covered guitars, and in my humble opinion stand up to wood finished guitars in tone(all in ear of beholder), and certainly for wear and tear when out on the road six nights a week.I have had two wood bodies in the past, and no matter how carefully looked after,and believe me I am careful , both ended up with numerous dings, ending up losing cash when trying to sell them on.My current D10rosewood mica Mullen has no marks on it after a couple of years road use,Thus as well as sounding great holds its value when I come to sell it or trade it for the next guitar I want.A CARBON body, bought not for looks ,but for weight(as well as great sound and engineering), as the old discs in back are giving up ,and I need lightest guitar possible to keep playing, and whether or not other players like it I couldn't care less.Come on Richard up your game and get back to the usual high quality posts you normally submit.

John Ummel · Post by **John Ummel** » 14 Dec 2008 2:35 pm

Utterly superficial. wood, mica, mica wood...
so "Us/Them"...
The hippie & the cop are the same person when you peel back the layers.

Danny Bates · Post by **Danny Bates** » 14 Dec 2008 3:24 pm

Cartwright Thompson · Post by **Cartwright Thompson** » 14 Dec 2008 4:10 pm

This is a classic example of a "Steel Forum Incendiary Post". It's kind of amusing how easy it is to get people all hot and bothered. Nice job Richard!

Danny Bates · Post by **Danny Bates** » 14 Dec 2008 4:52 pm

Hi Cartwright

I think it's called

Fo-Bait

Bill Duve · Post by **Bill Duve** » 14 Dec 2008 5:38 pm

Its in the gloss, You need high gloss BLACK and chrome, lots of chrome,Even polish the strings, The girls cant tell from there if its mica or paint,Shiny things attract them and they will then come closer and say how great you sound

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 14 Dec 2008 5:57 pm

Bill: Are you sure you're not confusing girls and moths ?

Bill Duve · Post by **Bill Duve** » 14 Dec 2008 6:32 pm

It used to be girls, Today its moths

Glen Derksen · Post by **Glen Derksen** » 14 Dec 2008 7:55 pm

If someone called my steel ugly, I could care less. It's a steel guitar, not my wife.

David Ziegler · Post by **David Ziegler** » 14 Dec 2008 8:09 pm

They use mica cause most of us steel guys ain't too purtty ourselves so if'n we want the girls to notice us we can't have a gitter purtier than we are! That;s my story and I'm stickin; with it!

Tom Quinn · Post by **Tom Quinn** » 14 Dec 2008 8:13 pm

Richard Burton is British boys. He comes around and insults one guy directly and shoots his mouth off in general
.
I have a killer-diller Pro II with flame out the kazzoo. I love black Emmons push-pulls and have owned a couple of them. They look every bit as good.

Bottom line? Pedal steels are American instruments for American music. You can watch soccer pansies and listen to Boy George sing about left field. I can watch the Patriots tear the Raiders a new one and listen to George Jones with Buddy Emmons on a formica-covered pedal steel.

I'll take mine ANY day thank you.

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 14 Dec 2008 8:27 pm

I guess maybe I shouldn't be, but I'm actually amazed that this topic is still going 5 pages later. I guess there's just not much useful in the world of PSG to talk about these days. Maybe we've beaten every important issue into the ground 500 times already. Of course, that is probably true for this one also. Or maybe it's just a slow news day.

I'm not offended in the least, but I find serious discussion of this "issue" laughable, at best.

But please don't let me interrupt your fun - carry on.

Danny Bates · Post by **Danny Bates** » 14 Dec 2008 8:52 pm

Marc Jenkins · Post by **Marc Jenkins** » 14 Dec 2008 10:05 pm

Tom Quinn wrote:Richard Burton is British boys. He comes around and insults one guy directly and shoots his mouth off in general
.
I have a killer-diller Pro II with flame out the kazzoo. I love black Emmons push-pulls and have owned a couple of them. They look every bit as good.

Bottom line? Pedal steels are American instruments for American music. You can watch soccer pansies and listen to Boy George sing about left field. I can watch the Patriots tear the Raiders a new one and listen to George Jones with Buddy Emmons on a formica-covered pedal steel.

I'll take mine ANY day thank you.

That's just not nice.

Damir Besic · Post by **Damir Besic** » 14 Dec 2008 11:08 pm

is this topic a joke?

Db

Malcolm McMaster · Post by **Malcolm McMaster** » 15 Dec 2008 4:33 am

No Damir, but I think Mr Quinns comments are..

Ken Byng · Post by **Ken Byng** » 15 Dec 2008 4:43 am

Malcolm McMaster wrote:No Damir, but I think Mr Quinns comments are..

As well as being inaccurate Quinn's comments are totally unnecessary. Richard was merely expressing an opinion - what has that got to do with the fact that he is British. He is a steel player for God sake - his place of birth is irrelevant!!

Malcolm McMaster · Post by **Malcolm McMaster** » 15 Dec 2008 4:50 am

Well said Ken, I was being too polite.I find Mr Quinn's comments hilarious, coming from someone with a British/Irish originated name.

Jimmy Gibson · Post by **Jimmy Gibson** » 15 Dec 2008 5:15 am

Richard is a nice guy,and i`m sure he did not mean to offend anyone,it`s just the way he put it,and i did not mind his dig at my steel

,he has the right to his opinions,maybe he could have put it a bit better when he started this topic,but he sure has got a good topic going.

JG

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 15 Dec 2008 5:21 am

To me, the intrigue about all this is how over the years the acceptance of a plastic covering has come to be the norm in regards to the steel guitar.
If you look at early steels by Bigsby and Fender, you see no covering on these. ALL wood with different types used. Then you see the introduction of plastic encased bodies which were done so NOT to enhance the acoustic properties of the wood, but to make the surface more durable and THAT has become the standard.

Take two pieces of tonewood no matter the species. Tap on them and listen for the tonal properties that all luthiers listen for when building and instrument. What is the resonant frequency, the duration of the tone etc. Now finish one with a thin coat of a sprayed on finish and the then smear the other with adhesive and then press on a plastic covering. Now tap on them again and you will hear a difference in the sound.

Since the sound of Mica covered guitars has also become an accepted standard then Mr. Burtons original post has a lot of validity since he is mainly voicing his disdain over the appearance of the plastic covered guitar. I also have to agree with him from the manufacturing standpoint. It is MUCH easier to buy plain Jane looking maple, a can of glue and some plastic rather the expense and the time to fine beautifully figured maple and the hours and hours it takes to spray finish on and hand rub it out. There are only a few builders like Williams that have an expensive spray set up that is so modern that the finish work time has been cut down to a manageable level.

I prefer a beautiful wooden guitar, but I can understand why some don't want them and prefer the plastic coated variety. It is very obvious that the tonal sound of the mica guitar is accepted by players just as much as the wooden body guitar sound or the modern composite body sound also.

Billy Murdoch · Post by **Billy Murdoch** » 15 Dec 2008 5:35 am

I love steel guitars in any finish.
The beauty of wood is a good idea for a "house" guitar but the minute it leaves the safety of the bedroom my heart would be in My mouth everytime one of these roughie toughie "Boy George"fans got anywhere near it

Mr Quinn surely forgot to insert a smiley in His post.
Best regards
Billy

Howard Tate · Post by **Howard Tate** » 15 Dec 2008 6:01 am

Yeah? Well I dare him to come here and say that face to face with my wife. Of course I'll wait in the house with the doors locked.

Damir Besic · Post by **Damir Besic** » 15 Dec 2008 6:08 am

I personaly don`t buy guitar based on the way it looks but because of the tone. If guitar has a killer tone and than on top of that looks great, even better. Now, I do think that carbonfiber guitars,in the other hand, are something I will never own. I know that Promat makes their guitars with mica only, and that`s because their opinion is that a big part of the push/pull tone is actually ,in the fact that guitar is covered in mica...
Db

Tom Quinn · Post by **Tom Quinn** » 15 Dec 2008 6:51 am

I didn't see any so-called "smily faces" in Burton's post where he called one guy's guitar hidious. If you have something mean or unkind to say about someone or a someone's guitar they worked their butts off to save the money to purchase, please keep it to yourself.

And yes the pedal steel is an American instrument for American music. Like C&W, R&B, Blues, Jazz and Rocka & Roll. Get over it. You have Morris Minors, sackhorns, BSA motorcycles, soccer and bubbles and squeak. Smiley faces indeed...

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Formica covered steels look cheap and ugly

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