Show us your MCI and EMCI psg's

[John Drury]

I just picked this up yesterday from Damir Besic, real nice guitar! The original pickup, a "Barkless-Berry" as Bobbe used to call them, was removed and replaced with an E66 wich seems to be the perfect pickup for these guitars.

I am in the process of putting my 5 X 5 setup on it, I found all the parts I need except two. The plate with a hole in the center that holds one end of the pedal to the rack with 2 screws, and the other is a standard length pedal rod 24 3/8" from threaded end to the hook.

Anyone out there have these parts that they would sell?

Really pleased with this axe! Nice color, a blueish gray?

S/N 18574 Anyone know the build date?

BTW, this was originally a D-10, it was converted to an SD-10 by Johnny King of Lavergne, TN

[Mark Kuziak]

Always second guessed whether mine had a legit logo until I found this pic. Anyone else have one with this logo on it? I think I have seen one other on the forum. Never did find out the history on it.
M

[Tommy Shown]

Here are a few pics of my EMCI. one of the seven I was told made as the Golden Eagle. This was built for Ron Elliott and is a great guitar.

I owned that guitar too. Two of the best guitars I ever owned was that one and the one I currently own.
Tommy Shown

[Tommy Shown]

Bobbe Seymour said these guitars were the best kept secret in Nashville. He was right.

[Terje Uv]

Hi! First post here on the forum. I've got this MCI s10. It's my first and only pedal steel. Bought it in 2009 from a norwegian steel guitar player, Dag Wolf. Since I haven't tried any other steels I have nothing to compare with. But it sounds good, plays well and stays in tune very well. S/N is SS1001. Maybe someone here on the forum can tell me what year this was built? Posting a few more pics

Terje Uv

[Brian Hollands]

Terje, MCI serial numbers are a bit of a mystery. Your guitar is not a welded frame guitar so it should have been built no later than April of 1986.
While I'm not sure, I do not believe the "SS" numbers are serial numbers - the same number seems to appear on multiple guitars so I think it's something else.
If you can find any other number on it, I'd like to know. S/N's I've seen are stamped into aluminum, either an end plate or along an aluminum rail.
Also, if your guitar has a sticker on it (underneath) that may indicate a serial number or at least whether it's a Waco or Arlington guitar. The Waco guitars are earlier, '82 to '84ish I think.

[Henry Brooks]

Your guitar appears to be the same variation as mine except mine is a SD-10 and the color is deep blue. It has the black pedals, open key head, back screwed into end plates not welded.
Model number is punched in just like yours but is H3009. Mine was made in 1985. Also it was made in Arlington.
Henry
P.S. mine is pictured here:
https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtop ... 05284d59ba

[Terje Uv]

Thanks! I can not find any other numbers anywhere. Been looking everywhere, but nothing... At least I know it's made in the early eighties. I have been thinking about getting myself another guitar, so I can have one up for practice, one for gigs etc. There isn't a lot of steelguitars for sale here in Norway, but I recently found a GFI Expo sd 10 at a reasonable price. Would this guitar be in the same ballpark as far as playability, sound and quality goes? Maybe this is a question for another thread, but I thought I might as well ask the MCI owners here.

Terje

[Quentin Hickey]

[Quentin Hickey]

Can anyone give me an idea of when this guitar qas prodeuced? Thanks

So I confirmed that this serial number is cira 88'-89' ish

[John Drury]

I was told that on account of the emblem on mine with "By Carter" underneath, it makes it a Waco guitar built in 82, 83, or 84. Anybody out there that can confirm this?

Thanks

[Mike Bacciarini]

John
Seems like all the Arlingtons I’ve seen don’t say by Carter. But won’t be surprised if there are exceptions to the rule. Terje’s Waco doesn’t say by Carter.... but who knows....

Terje
Yours looks just like mine (top of the thread), but mine’s welded.

Here’s the recent thread showing Buddy on his black MCI. He sounds ok
https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=357854

[Paddy Long]

Quentin it will definitely be after late 86 ... I got my MCI Rangexpander D10 in April 86 and it was built in Arlington, and a few months later they changed to the EMCI name... not sure how the serial numbers go but mine is LA3067 (D10s) ...so obviously they didn't build as many S10's if your serial number is SL1058 ... !!

[John Goux]

Did they make 12 strings?
John

[Brian Hollands]

Yes. As far as I know all were 7 and 4 U-12s. I have one pictured earlier in the thread.

[Jerry Overstreet]

The thing about MCI guitars I hate is that besides the early Barcus Berry pickups, they used a ton of BL705s and many of them have been scavenged out of the guitars and replaced with other pickups.

I think the 705 might have been the best thing about the MCI guitars besides going to the welded frame.

I had one very close to Paddy's serial number that had GL 10-1s that the owner swore were the original pickups. I know they used different ones over the years.

That doesn't change anything about the build quality of course, and many people find them great guitars still. I know the one I had sounded just fine, but I couldn't help wondering how it would be with the 705s. Snobbery? Maybe. Nerdy? Maybe. Gearhead? Guilty.

I just don't think they are the same guitar without the 705. Occasionally one will pop up for sale here that has the original BL's but rarely. Many times they have been switched out for something else as they bring a nice price these days.

I remember going to the ISGC the first or second year they were in production. Red Rhodes was there with about a dozen of them on display and all of them had the 705s. I think these were the first production before the welded frames.

[Duane Reese]

Taking inspiration from the Domland Stereo I had years before, I added some much needed rhinestones to the fretboard if a D-10 I once had..



I believe that this is what EMCI owners should do to their fretboards.

[Mike Bacciarini]

Any one else?

[Peter Freiberger]

Here's my D10. 8x8, Tonealigners, Michael Yahl's adjustable return springs. One of the MCI's Frank Carter modded before building his Infinity's, undercarriage very similar to an Infinity. Frank built this one for Jay Dee, who sounded incredible on it, me somewhat less so. Not as refined as an Infinity, but a great axe, nonetheless. I also have a black welded frame model Frank converted to SD-10, 3x5, Kroger neck. Similar undercarriage with Infinity style bellcranks and pull rods.
Considerably lighter.

[Paddy Long]

Very nice Peter - it's almost as populated as my 9 and 8 :-} ... I put Michael Yahls adjustable return springs on mine too when I was doing my full refurbish! .. makes the guitar complete !!!

[Dyke Corson]

Here's 3 pics of the same guitar, Buddy playing it with old and new logos (yes Jeff put a sheet over his head) - I'm guessing he must have swapped out the old decal for a new one. He indicated to me this guitar had the original proto type E66 pickups on it.

[Bill C. Buntin]

The bl705 has always been the best pickup for me with the mci

I didn’t care for the barcus berry’s

As far as Carter made. Still my favorite one of these was the early Carter made Arlington guitar. Non welded. The ones I’ve owned were just fantastic tone monsters.

I do think the gene fields welded frame mci and emci was a huge improvement overall. And is what I use still today. Without a doubt the most rock solid tunable guitar I’ve ever owned.

I would like to some day find a good u12 mci.

Another thing is they are easy to work on.

The only thing I wish it had was split tuners. I use the extra rod method still. Which works fine.

Incidentally the rhinestones are cool. I even thought about putting led lights where the rhinestones are.....??

Bill

[Duane Reese]

Hey, here's another variation of the EMCI badge, the third one I've seen on this thread...

[Ryan Lunenfeld]

Some pics of a newly acquired EMCI:



Serial # HA 3148. It doesn't seem to have a sticker inside saying where it's from, and the logo has fallen off.

But the thing sounds great. My first PSG...I think it's a keeper!

Right now just trying to learn e9th, got it tuned to b0b's tuning dloaded on from the Paterson site, thanks b0b!

[David Rattray]

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