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Topic: Steel Guitar Co.'s building at least 24 Pedal Steels in 2009 |
Brad Malone
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 27 Dec 2009 6:14 am |
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| Who are the Steel Guitar Company's that are building at least 2 Pedals steels a month in 2009? I would say, Carter, Mullen and Williams but who are the others? |
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Allen Peterson
From:
Katy, Texas
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Posted 27 Dec 2009 6:34 am
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Rains
_________________
2008 D10 Rains Pedal Steel, 2000 D10 Carter Pedal Steel, BR-9 Lap Steel, Nashville 400, Nashville 112, '65 Fender Twin Re-issue, MB 200, Telonics Volume Pedal |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 27 Dec 2009 6:49 am
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I would assume that GFI is turning them out like corn flakes.  |
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Bernie Gonyea
From:
Sherman Tx. 75092 ,U.S.A. (deceased)
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Posted 27 Dec 2009 11:02 am Steel guitar builders/ 2009
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How about Eddie fulawka's Co. and how is Fred Justice's new guitars doing ?
Just curious..Bernie
_________________
2007 Zum S-10; 1967 Sho-Bud [ D-10 ]; 85 S-10 Sierra; 1953 Multi-Kord [ 6 String- 4 pedals ] A Sho-Bro six String Resonator Guitar; Nashville 112 Amp; hilton Vol. Pedal |
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Ned McIntosh
From:
New South Wales, Australia
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Posted 27 Dec 2009 11:50 am
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I'd guess the first four would be:-
Carter
GFI
MSA
Mullen
after that, I'd guess it gets a bit moot.
_________________
The steel guitar is a hard mistress. She will obsess you, bemuse and bewitch you. She will dash your hopes on what seems to be whim, only to tease you into renewing the relationship once more so she can do it to you all over again...and yet, if you somehow manage to touch her in that certain magic way, she will yield up a sound which has so much soul, raw emotion and heartfelt depth to it that she will pierce you to the very core of your being. |
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Tony Glassman
From:
The Great Northwest
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Posted 27 Dec 2009 11:56 am
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| How many does Bruce Zumsteg build per year? |
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Jim Smith
From:
Midlothian, TX, USA
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Posted 27 Dec 2009 12:47 pm
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Wow, things have sure slowed down since I was at Dekley in the late 70s. We used to build and ship 30 professional AND 50 student pedal steels every MONTH!
That was through a dealer network, so we only got 50% of the retail price. If the market was still there, and we could have sold direct to the customer, as most builders do today, Dekley would probably still be in business.
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Jim Smith
-=Dekley D-12 10&12=- |
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Bent Romnes
From:
London,Ontario, Canada
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Posted 27 Dec 2009 1:36 pm
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Bernie, Eddie's guitars have never been churned out by the dozens. He is just a one man operation without any hint of assembly line technique.
His operation is doing amazingly well, considering his advanced age and all the other things he needs to do to make a living.
Especially after the How It's Made show on Discovery channel, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iO_mjS2eU8
Ed's little operation has taken on a new life it seems like. He has more orders than he cares to have as an 80+ yr old. Whenever I contact him, he has 3 or 4 steels on the go.
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BenRom Pedal Steel Guitars
https://www.facebook.com/groups/212050572323614/ |
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Bent Romnes
From:
London,Ontario, Canada
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Posted 27 Dec 2009 1:38 pm
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| Jim Smith wrote: |
| Wow, things have sure slowed down since I was at Dekley in the late 70s. |
Jim, I have a Dekley sitting here and I am amazed at its playability and great tone. Really, I am acquiring a new found respect for these guitars.
_________________
BenRom Pedal Steel Guitars
https://www.facebook.com/groups/212050572323614/ |
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Brad Malone
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 27 Dec 2009 6:17 pm So far only 7 companies
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| So far we have seven companies that make at least 24 Pedal Steels a year: 1. Carter, 2. GFI, 3. MSA, 4. Mullen 5. RAINS 6. Williams 7. Sho-PRO....I guess that about does it. |
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Paddy Long
From:
Christchurch, New Zealand
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Posted 27 Dec 2009 6:31 pm
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Bruce used to build about 40 a year, but I think he's cut back a bit ...he wants time to go fishing !!
_________________
14'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
08'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
94' Franklin Stereo D10 9+8
Telonics, Peterson, Steelers Choice, Benado, Lexicon, Red Dirt Cases. |
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Jim Smith
From:
Midlothian, TX, USA
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Posted 27 Dec 2009 8:42 pm Re: So far only 7 companies
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| Brad Malone wrote: |
| So far we have seven companies that make at least 24 Pedal Steels a year: 1. Carter, 2. GFI, 3. MSA, 4. Mullen 5. RAINS 6. Williams 7. Sho-PRO....I guess that about does it. |
Where did you get these results from? The only firm answer in this thread was by Allen for Rains, but no numbers were given, and I don't know if he knows for sure. None of the other companies are represented here, and Sho-Pro wasn't even mentioned in this thread until this post. |
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Allen Peterson
From:
Katy, Texas
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Posted 28 Dec 2009 6:51 am
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When Gary was building my Rains in April of 2008 he said that he had been real busy. He had several orders at the time and turn around from startup to shipping was about six weeks. He actually got mine to me sooner. I know he built at least two guitars in the month that he built mine and probably more.
This was in 2008 and I am assuming that things didn't change too much in 2009.
Allen Peterson
_________________
2008 D10 Rains Pedal Steel, 2000 D10 Carter Pedal Steel, BR-9 Lap Steel, Nashville 400, Nashville 112, '65 Fender Twin Re-issue, MB 200, Telonics Volume Pedal |
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Brad Malone
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2009 7:19 am 2 Pedals Steels a month
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| Jim Smith, When I bought my Willy in 2007, I spoke to Bill Rudolph and he said he was building about 35 to 40 Steels a year...I do not know if that number still holds but it is probably pretty close. We all know that Carter, MSA, Mullen, Rains and GFI are top builders. Sho-Pro is probably near 24 a year. You are correct, I do not have any direct numbers from any company but sometimes we have to use collective information to try to see through the fog. I think a company would have to build at least two Pedal Steels a month to make a decent living out of the business, anything less would probably be more of a side-line than making a livelihood. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2009 7:45 am
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Bill Rudolph's son is helping him with the operation.
He has computerized the fabrication of quite a few of the parts going into the Williams and this has speeded up things considerably. |
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Jack Francis
From:
Queen Creek, Arizona, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2009 8:23 am
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Chuck Back is hardly ever on here so I will answer for him...he told me that he builds more than 24 "Desert Rose Steels" per year that you were asking about.
And you can bet that they're damn purdy too. 
_________________
DESERT ROSE D-10 8/5...Joe Naylor "SteelSeat"...
Gallien-Krueger MB200 amplifier through an Alessis MicroVerb w/15'Peavey cab.
TELES & STRATS...
FENDER TWIN & SEYMOUR DUNCAN 50W tube amps...1-12" 2-12" & 4-12" cabs and a FENDER MUSTANG-3 |
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Doug Earnest
From:
Branson, MO USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2009 8:24 am
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You can put Stage One Steel Guitars on the list of "over 24", by quite a bit!
It should also be noted that this is somewhat like asking a rancher how many head of cattle he has - it is a question that is asked merely out of curiousity and is not intended to be rude, but the rancher may not really want anyone to know.
Jim Smith, it is interesting about the number of Dekleys that were produced. This was when Sho Bud, Emmons and MSA were turning out lots of guitars too. It makes a person wonder if the demand is no longer there or if we as manufacturers are just not doing what it takes to put out a lot of guitars so people can see them easily. Or, which came first - supply or demand? In my case, if I were to hire any help I would need to sell about three times as many guitars before I could wind up with any more money in my pocket, so why do it? It's a shame, really.
_________________
Doug Earnest
Manufacturer of Stage One & Encore pedal steel guitars
http://www.stageonesteelguitars.com
"Teach Your Children Well" |
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Jim Smith
From:
Midlothian, TX, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2009 8:42 am
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Doug, I think Sho-Bud, Emmons, and MSA were all making about the same number of guitars back then, but I don't know for sure. Because the guitars were sold to dealers at 50% of list, the volume had to be up and the cost kept down to make a modest profit.
Our job was to sell to dealers and help them sell guitars. Since they could easily make several hundred dollars pure profit from selling just one guitar, they were eager to push them out the door, even at a substantial discount.
At its peak, Dekley had about 10 full-time employees. We did most of the machining and woodworking in house, but did have outside vendors for legs, cases, bars, strings, pickups, etc.
Back then a D-10 retailed for about $2,000, meaning we sold it to a dealer for $1,000. Our labor and bill of materials cost was about $900, so we were walking a fine line to keep everything going. I often wonder how we would have done in today's direct-to-the-picker market. |
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Jack Strayhorn
From:
Winston-Salem, NC
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Posted 28 Dec 2009 8:58 am
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| Throughout the 90's Emmons was shipping between 12-16 guitar per month. There were a few months that it was as many as 20, but never more than that. |
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Brad Malone
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2009 10:20 am List grows
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OK, it looks like we are now up to nine: So far the list includes: 1. CARTER, 2. GFI, 3. MSA, 4. MULLEN 5. RAINS, 6. WILLIAMS, 7. SHO-PRO, 8. DESERT ROSE, 9. STAGE ONE
Feel free to add or subtract, the list is just guesswork. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2009 10:25 am
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| Did you forget the Henway? |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Brad Malone
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2009 11:16 am Right to ask questions
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It should also be noted that this is somewhat like asking a rancher how many head of cattle he has - it is a question that is asked merely out of curiousity and is not intended to be rude, but the rancher may not really want anyone to know.<
Doug, The public has the right to ask "business people" questions. If the business person wants to hide something or not answer questions he may do so. I would be afraid to do business with people that are not open and honest. I do not think it is rude to ask questions from people with whom you might decide to do business. If you want to learn, you have to ask questions being obsequious is not a good trait. IMHO. |
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Roger Crawford
From:
Griffin, GA USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2009 11:27 am
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b0b, check out
http://showprosteelguitars.com
They really should be on your list!
As far as how many guitars a shop produces a month has no bearing to me as to whether I'll buy one or not. If there is only one ZumSteel built per month, would that mean the quality isn't there? I'd buy it in a heartbeat. |
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CrowBear Schmitt
From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
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Posted 28 Dec 2009 11:37 am
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if i go by the serial numbers on the Zumsteel site, it looks like Bruce builds an average of 40 psgs per year
40/12 = 3.33 per month ? |
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