How many old "STEELS" still under the bed???

Ed Naylor · Post by **Ed Naylor** » 10 Jan 2005 12:00 pm

A friend of mine died some 20 years ago and his wife still has his mint 59 Sunburst Les Paul under the bed.I would guess 80% of all Steels built are still around somewhere. Many times the family wants to keep ULCLE JOE'S steel because it was so much a part of him. I get calls where people have found these at auctions or Estate sales, or the grandson wanted to get rid of it.Anybody have a story?? Ed Naylor Steel Guita Works.

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 10 Jan 2005 12:14 pm

Recently, a local twenty something year old guitar player put an ad "looking for a pedal steel guitar" on a local classified site, and got a '60's black Emmons push-pull D10 wrap-around for $500.
It was the sellers departed grandfathers, and had been under the bed for a while.
They also have a MSA Red Baron for sale.

Glenn Suchan · Post by **Glenn Suchan** » 10 Jan 2005 12:56 pm

So the guitar player bought the "Wrap-around" and NOT the "Red Barron"!?! What was he thinkin'? Sheesh!!

Keep on pickin'!
Glenn

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 10 Jan 2005 3:06 pm

Ed, tell your friends' wife to sell the 59 Les Paul, and buy a condo in Florida with the money! I would imagine that he would rather have her living in comfort, than hangin' on to his old guitar. How much is a mint 59 goin' for these days? $150,000? More? Less? I don't really keep up with their value, but they go for really big bucks.
JB

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 10 Jan 2005 3:40 pm

If that 59 is MINT.. you can name your price..$250 K is probably more like it..faded played out 59 bursts are going 125+... I'd sell it in a heartbeat and buy a new house. It just a piece of wood with a bit of metal on it.. Never could understand this"it was dad's" mentality.. dad would want the needs of his loved ones taken care of .. Not having an old unplayed musical instrument rotting away under a bed... bob[This message was edited by Bob Carlucci on 10 January 2005 at 03:42 PM.]

Les Anderson · Post by **Les Anderson** » 10 Jan 2005 3:50 pm

In October, an 84 year old widower a few doors down from our my place was selling out so she could move into an old folks home in our small city. Out of curiosity, my wife I stopped in to have a look at some of the ancient stuff she wanted to get rid of.

Propped up against a wall was a D-8 non pedal steel on legs, a volume pedal and a Fender Princeton Reverb amp: all for $50.00! Everything was/is in pristine condition. Needless to say I was not about to walk out without that deal. Hey, I am slow, not stupid!

My wife also picked up a sixteen piece set of original Cranberry glass plates, cups and glasses: $20.00!

Sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time.

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(I am not right all of the time but I sure like to think I am!)

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 10 Jan 2005 4:03 pm

.. Never could understand this"it was dad's" mentality.. dad would want the needs of his loved ones taken care of

How right you are. My dying grandad's last wish was that I was in his lap.....he was in the electric chair.......

Aaron Schiff · Post by **Aaron Schiff** » 10 Jan 2005 4:52 pm

I live in a town of 1500 (second largest in the county). A couple years ago I got a call from the local guitar shop about some instruments that the 55 year old daughter of some local farmers had brought in. I knew the daughter as a farmer's wife and art gallery owner, but had no idea that Mom and Papa were musicians. There was Mom's superb condition 1954 Fender Dual Pro, Moms mint condition 1942 000-28 Martin and Papa's good condition 1948 D-28. They played a lot of Grange Halls between 1940 and 1964, but darn few bars. The daughter said she remembered being put to bed in the D-28 case during gigs and later that her younger brother was put to bed in the Dual Pro Case. I named a reasonable price for the Dual Pro that I supported with info from SGF and bought it. I decided not to mortgage the house for the Martins. The 000-28 went to Japan for $21,000 and the D-48 sold here in the U.S. for $8,000. Last year the same shop owner got two "closet classic" 1957 Strats in within two months of each other, both from a nearby community of 500. I've also passed on a pretty good MSA and a patchwork Sho-Bud that came out of the woodwork. But I know that if I wait long enough, a mint condition Bigsby or push-pull Emmons will appear.

Jim Peters · Post by **Jim Peters** » 10 Jan 2005 5:16 pm

Eight or so years ago, a fellow that came into the store where I work heard me talk about guitars.
"I've got one you might want," he said.
"What you got?" I asked.
"An old Fender I bought when I got out of the service.What year was that? 1956 or 7!
Now I was excited!
"was it a Strat? No, I can't remember. How about a Telecaster? Yeah, that's it. It's been under my bed for 20 odd years! And you know, I got the matching amp too!
Well to make a long story short( I know, too late!), I could have bought guitar and amp for $500, but since I knew the guy a litle, I didn't feel right about "steeling" his guitar. I helped him shop it around St. Louis. he was offered 5 grand, sight unseen! He decided after all to keep it, eventually to will it to his son. It was truly a closet classic! JimP

Wally Maples · Post by **Wally Maples** » 10 Jan 2005 5:54 pm

I have a Fender 400 I bought in '59 new in case. In '61 I put it under the bed and it was there until last year. I have cleaned it up some and took strings off, ready for re-stringing. I am thinking hard about selling it but haven't arrived at that yet!!

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 10 Jan 2005 6:46 pm

Like the stories above, I have a Fender lap steel with great sentimental value attached. My grandfather, on his deathbed, sold me that steel.

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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

Al Terhune · Post by **Al Terhune** » 10 Jan 2005 8:12 pm

Jim Peters -- you're a class act.

John Pelz · Post by **John Pelz** » 10 Jan 2005 10:13 pm

I second what Al just said: kudos to Jim Peters!

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 10 Jan 2005 10:15 pm

I've got (and still play) my great-grandfather's 1897 Washburn guitar, which he had raised the nut on and turned into a hawaiian steel guitar, probably at least 100 years ago. It might have been some kind of kit as it still has machine printed, pasted-on note labels behind every fret. I began my steel guitar playing career as a child of three using a yardstick on it because nobody would let me handle the round brass or rectangular stainless bars that he used for fear of me doing some real damage (probably a pretty good idea at the time).

As a young man he worked as a teamster, driving heavy wagons and oxen over the Willamette Pass for the original owners of the Black Butte Ranch, worked in the mills at Oregon City and was one of the very first US Forest Rangers on Oregon's Mt. Hood. He owned a restaurant (the "Hebo Inn") on the Oregon Coast in his later years before retiring to live in Portland.

It's not worth enough to buy me a condo at the beach or even a cabin on Mt. Hood but I'd probably keep it anyway even if it was.

He died when I was very small but we liked each other a lot and and I seem to have inherited the steel guitar genes in spades. [This message was edited by Dave Grafe on 10 January 2005 at 10:19 PM.]

Eric West · Post by **Eric West** » 10 Jan 2005 10:42 pm

Well Dave it is a very small world. My father had his first USFS gig as a TMA at Hebo. I went to first and second grade there. The Inn in 59-60 was owned by the Cannons, I believe, who was probably who bought it from your grandpa. Of course I know the N's were backward. There was an old fiddler named Leonard Whitmore in Hebo that I'm sure he knew. Quite a place.

I had occaison after my former bosses' wife died to come down and look at her 4 string banjo. He acted like he wanted to give it to me. It was a 20s CF Martin four stringer he had bought her for over a grand in the 60s. I don't suppose it's worth the 30gs a guy'd think it was worth, though probably a good chunk of change. I turned him down demanding that he give it to a caring young relative. I hope he does.

I have never sold an instrument myself, but if somebody offered me 5 or 6 grand for my Red Baron I'd even pay shipping thgough the tears..

EJL

Ernie Renn · Post by **Ernie Renn** » 11 Jan 2005 7:38 am

Herb, you wrote him a check, right?

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My best,
Ernie

www.buddyemmons.com

Post by **Joey Ace** » 11 Jan 2005 10:10 am

I once purchased an old Tweed Fender Champ Amp at a Flea Market for $5.

I saw it under the table, as I was looking at used tools. I pointed at it and asked how much.

The dealer said,"That heater doesn't work right. Make an offer if you think you can use it.".

He probably would have taken $1.

L. D. Cochran · Post by **L. D. Cochran** » 11 Jan 2005 1:46 pm

Well,I have a very old Mosrite Bass guitar And original case,thinking about trading it for a s/10 with 3/5 if i find a good one.

Eric West · Post by **Eric West** » 11 Jan 2005 8:10 pm

Aw Geez Ernie..

But then which of us wasn't thinking it immediately? Hmm?

EJL

Toby Rider · Post by **Toby Rider** » 13 Jan 2005 5:38 pm

"Like the stories above, I have a Fender lap steel with great sentimental value attached. My grandfather, on his deathbed, sold me that steel."

Very funny Herb..