Marlen?

[Richard Shelley]

I'm considering buying a Marlen, but have absolutely zero experience with them. Any suggestions, opinions, critiques?
Thanks!

[Charles Campbell]

Richard,
You might try, Tony Arrowood or Arnet Mills, both play Marlens, and are forum members.

Charles

[Doug Palmer]

Richard, I have worked on many of them and have had positive results. The guitars are as stable as a tank. They sound great and I've never seen any better cabinet work.

Finding exact replacement parts might be a problem.

Doug

[Alan Rudd]

I would highly recommend Marlen. I have an SD 10 that I love.

[Tommy Shown]

A good friend on mine owned a Marlen, and he was thoroughly pleased with it. I tried at his home while, visting and was quite impressed with the smoothness of the action on it. Tommy

[Bill Ford]

Richard,
If you decide on a Marlin, I would recommend one of the all pull models over the pull/release models.I played an all pull Marlin that a friend has for sale and it was very stable, sounded great,good pedal action. Mr. Stadler (sp) built a very good guitar. The all pull model is easier to change setups.

JMHO...Bill

[Donny Hinson]

Avoid the flimsy-crude '60s models, and keep in mind that even the later pull/release models are rather limited compared to most all-pulls made since about 1970. They're fine if you want a simple instrument with a pretty cabinet, but IMHO a rather poor choice if you intend to do lots of upgrades and additions (like "Crawford cluster" levers). The few all-pull models they made are probably far more practical for most players.

[Bob Moore]

I have a Marlen D10 that I love. Beautiful cabinet and plays very well. I am not a pro but I love the sound that it gives. I would not trade. I got it here on the forum. Love it. Bob

[J. Michael Robbins]

Richard,
I have a 1980 Marlen D-10 which I bought from a local player in 1998. I love it. It is an all-pull. I met Leonard Stadler soon after I bought it. He was very helpful in getting it back into playing condition. He was a beautiful man and is sorely missed.
Mike Robbins

[frank rogers]

I've been playing my mid 70's Marlen since 1975. It has served me well. Pix and clips @ link below.

[Larry Bell]

If you buy that Marlen, you will know you have truly ARRIVED when you make it sound as sweet as Frank Rogers' blue Marlen. It is one of the finest sounding steel guitars I've ever heard. Frank's playing probably has something to do with it though.

And Frank's is a pull-release mechanism. Seems to work well for him.

And Mike is right, Len Stadler was a prince of a man and a brilliant pedal steel designer and maker.

[richard burton]

Im my humble opinion, the pull-release system, regardless of manufacturer, is inherently better tone-wise than all-pull systems, because of it's simplicity.

[Rick Winfield]

I once had a 73 Marlen D10 pull-release system.
It took me a while to figure out how the changer worked, but once i did, I had "tone to the bone"
never broke strings, stayed in tune.
But.... my poor spine could not handle lugging around the 70+ lbs it weighed in the case !
but again, it had that classic tone !
Rick

[Stephen Gregory]

Interesting, in light of the "push-pull" "all pull" debate

[Skip Cole]

I have to agree that Tony Arrowood and Arnett Mills have the best tone, to my ears, that i've heard on Youtube so far. Both those guys have a great touch with the steel.

Skip

[Frank Allen]

Hi! I'm new to the group and new to Pedal Steels. I just picked up a 1971 Marlen D10. Very much rode-hard and put-away wet. After tweaking the electronics and tuning pedal 1 and 2, I starting playing the big fella and I am now in love. It is going to be a while before she is ready for club play (78 lbs! oy!) but I'm aways away my self, so we can grow together. I wanted to thank everyone for the information posted above. It was the utube of the tone-rich marlens that made me take the flyer on this axe. But I'm half musician and half mechanic and follow the rule "If you can do no good, at least do no harm." Sorry for the long post. Once I get the old girl cleaned up, I post some pics.

[Dave Simonis]

Frank,

If you want to sweeten the sound up a bit, have Jerry Wallace rewind the pickup! I sent him mine (the output was somewhat weak) and put it back on after he returned it...wow was all I can say! My pull-release sounds sooo good, I am having a hard time thinking about selling it (I have 3 steels but told the wife I'd only keep 2!). Truthfully the guitar now sounds much more warmer than my Pro-II ever did. Enjoy the guitar, regardless of what folks hate about pull-release...they have their place in the steel world.

[b0b]

A well-designed pull-release machine has the most direct "feel" possible. I had a Marlen for a while and it was a real joy to play. It wasn't very versatile, but it was perfect for the old-time country music I was playing at the time. Great tone, too!

[J. Michael Robbins]

I visited with Gene Cuthrell this evening. He plays a 1975 pull-release D-10 Marlen with original pickups, through a custom made stereo amp system and two JBL's. I understand that Leonard Stadler wound his own pickups. The guitar was originally made by Leonard for John Hughey about 30 +/- years ago. Gene has owned it for most of this time. The guitar is original, beautiful and the tone is superb. Gene's playing is still as sweet as ever.