New guy with an MSA and questions

[Deane Cahoon]

Hi all, new 'kid' here, up in the PSG hotbed state of Massachusetts. I think this site is going to come in handy as I begin my journey down this road. I became interested in PSG after watching a guy play as part of a trio at a local brewery. I've spoken to him a few times; he's willing to take me on as a student once I get my steel up and running. So, with my wife's blessing, I've taken on a new project and hobby.

As I said, being here in Mass, not a lot of PSGs around, considered a road trip to Nashville, saw an MSA D12 for sale up in Maine (not a bad 4 hr drive), expressed my desire for one to a young co-worker (he, a bag piper, no less). To my surprise, he informed me that his brother had a PSG that he bought to fix but never did anything with and would probably sell me for cheap. So, long story short, I am now the owner of an MSA Classic D12 with 8 and 4....well, most of one, at least. Somewhere along the way, the legs, pedal bar, pedals, pedal rods and case got separated from the guitar and, by now, are long gone.

What I have appears to be complete and in decent shape, just dirty and gunked up (actually, the underside is pretty clean). I'm now in the process of disassembling, cleaning and reassembling.
SO, from my searching on the net, I see that I can buy legs, pedal rods and couplers without much trouble, but not much luck with pedals, so far. I have access to a machine shop, so I can make the pedal bar and pedal bracket mounts myself.

Therefore, my questions so far are:
1. What length legs should I buy for this guitar. I'm 5'11”.
2. Where might I buy some pedals? (8) Since I am making my own bar and mounts, I assume I can make nearly any brand of pedal work? Does anyone know if any current manufacturers would sell me new pedals?
3. Now here's a big one – Should I leave it a D12 or store the C6 stuff, make a pad and set it up as an SD12 or 10? I'll have my work cut out for me to learn the E9 as it is. Opinions?

Thank you all in advance. Hoping that one day I'll be able to contribute more than just money to this forum.

Deane

[Larry Jamieson]

Deane,
You have a great resource fairly close to you. Mr. Tommy Cass
lives in Gardner, Mass. He is a great player and a master at
repairing and rebuilding pedal steel guitars. Try him at 978
632-5878.

You are not too tall and can probably use standard size legs.
Learning E9 will keep you busy for along time. If you want to play jazz or western swing, put that C6 neck back in shape...
OR you could build a single 12 universal tuning. Someone like
Tommy could advise you on the amount of work it will be to
get you up and running. He may know of a source for MSA parts.
Good luck and welcome to the addiction...

Larry J.

[Jess Tolbirt]

Hi all, new 'kid' here, up in the PSG hotbed state of Massachusetts. I think this site is going to come in handy as I begin my journey down this road. I became interested in PSG after watching a guy play as part of a trio at a local brewery. I've spoken to him a few times; he's willing to take me on as a student once I get my steel up and running. So, with my wife's blessing, I've taken on a new project and hobby.

As I said, being here in Mass, not a lot of PSGs around, considered a road trip to Nashville, saw an MSA D12 for sale up in Maine (not a bad 4 hr drive), expressed my desire for one to a young co-worker (he, a bag piper, no less). To my surprise, he informed me that his brother had a PSG that he bought to fix but never did anything with and would probably sell me for cheap. So, long story short, I am now the owner of an MSA Classic D12 with 8 and 4....well, most of one, at least. Somewhere along the way, the legs, pedal bar, pedals, pedal rods and case got separated from the guitar and, by now, are long gone.

What I have appears to be complete and in decent shape, just dirty and gunked up (actually, the underside is pretty clean). I'm now in the process of disassembling, cleaning and reassembling.
SO, from my searching on the net, I see that I can buy legs, pedal rods and couplers without much trouble, but not much luck with pedals, so far. I have access to a machine shop, so I can make the pedal bar and pedal bracket mounts myself.

Therefore, my questions so far are:
1. What length legs should I buy for this guitar. I'm 5'11”.
2. Where might I buy some pedals? (8) Since I am making my own bar and mounts, I assume I can make nearly any brand of pedal work? Does anyone know if any current manufacturers would sell me new pedals?
3. Now here's a big one – Should I leave it a D12 or store the C6 stuff, make a pad and set it up as an SD12 or 10? I'll have my work cut out for me to learn the E9 as it is. Opinions?

Thank you all in advance. Hoping that one day I'll be able to contribute more than just money to this forum.

Deane

looks to me like my guitars legs are upside down mic stands

[Charlie McDonald]

Welcome Deane.
It's exciting to hear about someone with an MSA project. I hope you'll let us know how it progresses.
'MSA's are like cockroaches!' Larry Bell says (meaning they'll be around longer than we will).

[Lane Gray]

Legs ARE upside down mic stands, with a threaded insert.
See the link up top labeled "links"? Click it and click on BSG and Don Burrows will set you up with replacement legs.

[Jerry Overstreet]

'MSA's are like cockroaches!' Larry Bell says (meaning they'll be around longer than we will).

....and there must thousands of them out there. Several different eras, models, etc., but if you keep posting notices and can be patient, you might be able to round up all the original pedal bar and pedal parts to save you from a lot of machining and fitting. Lots of knowledgeable MSA people here. Anyway, Welcome and good luck...whatever you decide.

[Donny Hinson]

I hope it was cheap...very cheap! (You're missing a lotta stuff that's expensive to replace.) Cautions: The D12 is heavy when complete, and parts like pedalboards, pedals, and pullrods just don't come up for sale that often. The legs are readily available, but a set will easily cost $160 new, or slightly less, if used. Advantages: It's highly reliable and built like a tank, and it has a unique tone...with great lows. Stable, too - once properly set up, tuning problems are non-existent.

As far as what to keep it as, I suggest that it stay a D12. And, if you find that the 12-strings are daunting, you can sell or trade it for an S10 or SD10.

p.s.

If you stay with an MSA, realize you'll find that a certain segment of players out there will think you're a deaf deviant who has no taste. Realize that they are ignorant pinheads, and just go on playing the thing. (That's what I've done...for well over 40 years. )

Good luck!

[Jerry Overstreet]

Donny you certainly know way more about MSA's than I do, but I've seen a lot of them over the years that have had the back necks taken off and made into SD's. Those parts have to be rattling around out there somewhere. I've seen lots of MSA parts on ebay etc. for sale. Pedal bars, pedals, other mechanical pieces etc. Worth a look and worth waiting for if I were the owner. The thing is, you have to know your model, era and what to look for.

No, probably not too cheap, but you never know. I'd stay in touch with people like Jim Palenscar at Steel Guitars of North County, Tommy Cass, Michael Yahl, Jerry Roller, David Wright et al. Watch here, eBay etc. You might get lucky. JMO.

And post a photo of yours so people will know which model you own.

BTW, standard pedal guitar legs are 26" with some adjustment at the rear of your guitar. At 5'11", you might need a 1" extension kit to raise 'er up, but those are available.

Some guys have gone to the lighter weight alum legs and probably have some of the regular chrome plated steel ones they would like to sell. Just let your wants be known. I think You'll have some good results.