Z Steel Guitar

[Andy DePaule]

Thought you guys might like to see the Z mounting system designed by Tom Bradshaw.
I think this was in the early 60's and maybe he will chime in on that detail.
It was getting the pedal steel guitars to be less wobbly.
The PSG was built by legendary Chuck Wright who started to build them in the late 40's or very early 50's as "Sierra" steels guitars.

This is in Bob Muller's steel guitar collection.
Bob said this PSG weighs about 100 pounds in the case!





This is a photo of Chuck Wright with a very early pre-Sierra steel he had built.

[Tom Bradshaw]

Yes, I designed this "Delta" model of the Brads-Rack. It's history and pictures are covered well in my Steel Guitarist magazine, Issue 6/7. The other model (the "Concord)," and often referred to as the "Singer Sewing Machine" model, was one I also designed. Only one guitar was ever built using that elevation. I also designed the SIERRA logo (on the front of the pictured guitar), as well as the fretboards.

Chuck Wright added the Brads-Rack to about 10 of his steels. It also was added to a couple (maybe 3) MSA guitars built after Chuck was hired on by MSA in the late '70s. All those guitars need a van to haul them, since assembling and disassembling them, besides carrying them in their large cases was quite a chore.

I have one now (a single-12) that I'm refurbishing and modernizing its changer. I'll post a picture of it when I finish it. I've had it since the mid-'80s, but never took it out of its case.

Chuck was a master builder and I'm hoping to be as proud of my S-12 as Chuck was when he finished it back in the '70s.

[Andy DePaule]

Hi Tom,
I didn't know that one was called the Delta, good name.
Always liked the look of it since I first saw both of them in pictures in your house so many years ago.
Andy