Value of a pedal steel

[Reggie Duncan]

I have a BMI S-10 Pedal steel. It has 3 floor pedals and
4 knee levers.



It is from the early 1980s.
It plays very good and also sounds very good!



As you might can tell, the chrome is pitted. I don't know
what caused that. The body is also warped, but it doesn't
affect the neck, it seems. It is still in place.



Here are a few other pics. I actually played it on a recording and couldn't tell for sure that it wasn't my
main guitar.













Case is orginal but in good shape! Any guidance appreciated.

[Reggie Duncan]

I'd like to know what you think the value
would be...

[Dana Blodgett]

How does it play? Is it smooth or not, stay in tune? I wouldn’t worry too much about cosmetics. Warping of the wood and pitting of chrome might have something to do with humidity.
The under carriage looks pretty clean. A change of strings, and fine tuning would help if you are gonna sell imo.
I’ve seen a couple for sale recently at just below 2K$ to just over 2k$
So I’ve heard these are good steels in case that helps…I’m not convinced that the wood warpage is a serious problem.

[David Higginbotham]

I believe this may be the same BMI that I drove to purchase 90 minutes away from me years ago. The seller failed to disclose any of the issues you’ve listed here. Imagine if he would’ve of shipped it to someone across the country after taking their money? But he lived on river front and the BMI had been in recent flood waters. I strongly encouraged him to disclose the issues to prospective buyers after I wasted 4 hours of my time.

This damage did not occur from humidity!!! I live in a very humid area along the gulf coast and never would humidity have such a negative impact on any instrument or anything made of wood. We wouldn’t have any furniture or wood frame homes if that were the case.

I don’t know value wise. It certainly can’t be expected to be of the same value as other BMI’s that have been listed. It’s dependent on who would be interested. To have it up to par and functioning as intended, a new body would need to be built and all parts disassembled and cleaned or replaced as needed. The warped body will affect tone, sustain, and stability of all mechanical aspects.

My suggestion would be to be upfront to prospective buyers, as you have been here, and take offers. Someone with the ability to rebuild it or a new player looking for something to learn on would have different values each for example.

[Reggie Duncan]

Anyone else?

[Donny Hinson]

I would put the value right around $1,800 based on the condition and the present market, which has risen a bit, of late. To the average buyer out there, looks is equally important as mechanical condition. Road-worn or “reliced” guitars may command big dollars, but such is not the case with pedal steels.

[memphislim]

I'd put the value at $900. I see many better BMI's for sale here on the forum in the $1400-$1600 range and they don't have any of the issues of this guitar. Personally, I would not even buy it for that though.

[Reggie Duncan]

Thanks for all of your input.

[W. C. Edgar]

Hey
Yes, probably $775-825
Just bought a sweet 77 Pro 1 for $800
That BMI will be a lot better guitar to learn on than a Maverick or another brand student model with really limited changer.
WC

[Terry Sneed]

Hey Reggie, how are you doing? Good I hope!
I always known you to be an Emmons man .
Always enjoyed your steel playing. And thanks
again for all those Gospel tracks you sent me
years ago. Excellent tracks for sure !!
And BMI are great sounding steels. Dan Rollans
builder of Steelers Choice plays one, and he can
make that steel sound awesome! Not sure of a value price, good luck on your sell Reggie.

[Reggie Duncan]

Hi Terry! So good to hear from you!
I decided to gift the guitar to a very
talented guitarist who wants to learn steel.
He is over the moon about it!

[Ken Pippus]

Good outcome. Great idea.

Kudos.

[Donny Hinson]

Hey
Yes, probably $775-825
Just bought a sweet 77 Pro 1 for $800

Boy, you got one heckuva deal! I went back over the last 5 years of sales here on the forum, and the cheapest S-10 BMI guitars I found was one that sold for $1200, and two that sold for $1400. Most went for $1500-$2000, and a few were even higher. And you almost never see any Sho~Bud sell under a grand (unless it’s a Maverick, or basket case).

All the aluminum on that guitar could all be buffed out in an hour, or a little more. And the warped area behind the changer could be wetted, clamped, and then left to dry for a few days. Both issues are cosmetic, and don’t affect playability. (I don’t see any other warping or cracking.)

[Jon Light]

Not saying this is what happened because I can't see it nearly well enough but --
BMI is not wood. It is a wood product -- either a ply or a pressed fibre/resin product. Might be similar to Dekley. Might not. Somebody surely knows. It's not an issue -- BMI & Dekley are good sounding and stable guitars.

My first impression from the photos here was that the deck got saturated and expanded. Warped wood is one thing. Waterlogged manufactured wood product is another.

Anyway, good job on donating this to an eager player.

[Dave Grafe]

Pitting is cosmetic and easily overlooked, but the warping is evidence of a design flaw and will ultimately cause changer fingers to bind, if they are not already. It appears similar to the issue with an early Desert Rose guitar I recently encountered. In that case the body warped under the changer because it was only secured in the center and not the outer edges, causing the string tension to pull the wood out of shape. In one of your photos it appears the outer changer fingers are already askew, and unfortunately to my knowledge there is no way to repair this problem.

As for a dollar value, perhaps $600-$800 in parts value to a builder, as a pedal guitar it is ultimately doomed. Sad news but you are not alone...

[Donny Hinson]

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” And having dealt in antiques for a few decades, I know first-hand what that’s all about!

[Donny Hinson]

Pitting is cosmetic and easily overlooked, but the warping is evidence of a design flaw and will ultimately cause changer fingers to bind, if they are not already…

As for a dollar value, perhaps $600-$800 in parts value to a builder, as a pedal guitar it is ultimately doomed. Sad news but you are not alone...

The changer block on a BMI is massive, and only held on by two small bolts. There’s no way it will ever be affected by the particle board deck, which is also easily removed and replaced.

You may see it as a basket case, But I see it as an easily repaired instrument for anyone with a modicum of skills.

[Dave Grafe]

I hope you are correct Donny, in the images posted the changer appears to be warped, the fingers to the right slanted outward. Perhaps that is camera distortion, but it looks like string 2 is going to eventually have trouble coming back to pitch from a lower.

Maybe I have just encountered too many basket cases, it sounds like you are familiar with this construction and I don't want to be unnecessary discouraging.

[Reggie Duncan]

It does appear warped but only in the picture!