The Steel Guitar Forum

Mike Neer wrote: I can't harbor negative feelings towards people for something as innocent as collecting instruments. It comes off as envy, and I don't dig that. Truthfully, IMO steel guitars are nothing special until they are in the hands of people who can play them.

Well said.
I have to admit that I too sometimes catch myself falling into that trap. I see musicians and collectors with dozens, sometimes hundreds of high dollar vintage Martins, Gibson Les Pauls, 335's, etc, Fender Blackguard Teles, 50's strats and so forth and I wonder on occasion what on god's green earth do they need more than a few to cover their bases. But I recognize the root of this impulse to judge for what it is: envy, the flipside of greed. It's not like I'm envious of guys who own that many guitars and would want them to myself, no, it's mostly that I envy the ability to simply pursue these beautiful material possessions without a thought wasted on ethics, guilt, shame, etc. Must be nice...but it's not for me and so I feel compelled to add my negativity, but I don't because in the endstatements like "He doesn't even know how to play, he surely has no right to own them" say more about the person making them than the person being criticized.
So instead I make it a point to pay more attention to guys who make magic happen with only a couple of guitars and let the collectors collect, more power to them, I'm glad I don't have to look after all those guitars. And the coolest players are the ones least promiscuous when it comes to guitars anyway.
I'll take Willie and Trigger, Junior Brown and old yeller plus a spare or Peter Green with one Les Paul and a Strat over any of those guys touring with an arsenal the size of a music store any day.

...the end statements like "He doesn't even know how to play, he surely has no right to own them" say more about the person making them than the person being criticized.

If you're referring to my earlier reply, I did not say that "he has no right to own them". I was simply wondering if the guy is a steel guitar player. A lot of people collect things that they don't actually use. He has every right to buy whatever he wants.

Doug Beaumier wrote:

...the end statements like "He doesn't even know how to play, he surely has no right to own them" say more about the person making them than the person being criticized.

If you're referring to my earlier reply, I did not say that "he has no right to own them". I was simply wondering if the guy actually plays the steel guitar. A lot of people collect things that they don't actually use. He has every right to buy whatever he wants.

I wasn't referring to your reply, it was just directed at the hundreds of posts on various forums that have echoed that sentiment in one form or another in the past. I've heard that lament about undeserving collectors too may times I guess. Anyway, no offense intended, if I were specifically referring to a post made by you or any other forum member I'd certainly quote it.

No offense taken,

Mike said it best, I think. People collect for many reasons and I wouldn't begrudge a non-musician who collected instruments. There's a lot to appreciate beyond their utility as musical tools or museum collections wouldn't exist. I wouldn't be human if I didn't have a little envy for people who can go out buy whatever instrument they desire but it's not an impulse I want to own. Interestingly, I don't see people crying foul over people like Jay Leno who has one of the world's premier car and motorcycle collections.

I was thinking about Jay Leno's car collection too. Oh well, I once knew a woman who collected piggy banks, piggy dolls, piggy shirts... all things piggy. Her house was full of the stuff. Same thing at her work office. Her desk was covered with piggies, on top of the file cabinets, on the windowsills.

i wondered if the guy played, also.

at least leno can drive, which is lucky since he's not funny.

of course if i were obscenely rich, i wouldn't probably care what anyone thought.

...what difference does it make whether he plays or not? I have a friend of modest means who's a decent enough player. He owns a few guitars, among them a 6 figure guitar that he never plays. He's owned it for 30+ years and has played it a few times tops. Does he deserve to own that guitar? Should he give it to a more deserving player?
How proficient does one have to be to "legitimately" enjoy these instruments?
How often does one have to use them to "legitimately"keep them?
Who's business is it anyway?

I don't know why this issue get's under my skin, but it does so I better bow out of this discussion...unless we actually start talking about his collection

I suppose if there were known to be a couple dozen guys like this with a similar collecting vibe which might be construed as "hoarding," it would make a difference in the big picture of tracking down some of these instruments if you were in the market trying to seek one out.

It never occurred to me when I watched the video: "tsk, tsk - this is a terrible shame what this man is doing!"

I haven't gone back to watch the video again to do an eyeball count and estimate of what he has there that he's "collecting" and I probably won't.

I don't think it matters a whole lot in the grand scheme of things.

Look at this way. Once this guy's days are done these instruments will very likely become available to the next generation, so view him as a "caretaker" in the meantime.

Unless he is having a pyramid built on his property and he is planning on doing a King Tut deal where he is entombed with all his goodies.

I can assure you that Greed and envy are completely different. Because a person is greedy it doesn't mean those that call it what it is are envious.

In Fact he has crossed the border on OCD into crazy.

I really am not bothered with his collection it is his REASON I am bothered with.

I agree he is just a caretaker of the instruments and I'm sure him croaking would better the world not just the Lap Steel Guitar players.

But that mentality of "I see something I don't have and I must have it." is the definition of GREED.

If the word Greed seems to harsh. I'll use another word. POSER Wannabe.

Peace Out. And yes I am pissed that he is addicted to our beloved Lap Steel Guitars. I wish his addiction were on Cars like Jay Leno. Then I wouldn't care.

Stefan, saying the world would be a better place if he croaked is a bit hard for someone who has a passion about collecting lap steels or anything really. On any given day there are 100's of steels for sale so he's not depriving the world from getting one if they want
As someone who's Dr. told me I was "doing good for someone who died twice on the table" I hope he lives to be a 125.

Dennis Smith wrote:Stefan, saying the world would be a better place if he croaked is a bit hard for someone who has a passion about collecting lap steels or anything really. On any given day there are 100's of steels for sale so he's not depriving the world from getting one if they want
As someone who's Dr. told me I was "doing good for someone who died twice on the table" I hope he lives to be a 125.

Come to the UK. What Dozens????

Ebay, Reverb, steels for sale section and every vintage dealer on the web.

Hello Dennis Smith, do you have any Annie Laura Ceramics map ashtrays? My parents made those!

Most of mine are USA, McCoy and some others. I'll look up Annie Laura Ceramics and check them out. I like the shapes and colors.

Stefan Robertson wrote:Guys like this sicken me. That is GREED pure and simple. To make matters worse those beautiful instruments can be used to make music and bring joy to so many. But instead it is sitting gathering dust.

If this guy is on the forum he should be booted cause he doesn't want to further Lap Steel Guitar he only wants to hinder and withold.

Shame really disappointed in this type of behaviour. Greed is truly an ugly thing cause his need will never lessen.

"If the son of Adam had a mountain of gold, he would only want a second mountain of gold.
Nothing will fill the mouth of the son of Adam except for the dust from his own grave."

Adam Schmadam.....everybody & anybody has the right to collect anything available according to their means (cars, art, stamps..etc)..there is certainly no shortage of steels (new & old) for anybody ..your rant reeks of jealousy and failure....it's too bad that your wife dictates to you what you can own and what you can't......my life is a little different than yours.....but I made it that way......oh, and there are 5 more walls with more of my collection in addition to many more that I keep in my commercial space....and Patty thinks that I should keep them all.....

BTW....with regard to guys like me not wanting to further lap steel guitar.....I (along with Jeff Strouse) produced The Rick Alexander Non Pedal Room weekends at The TSGA Dallas show for 5 years....I donated plenty of my own time and money (more than a few thousand dollars over the years) towards that show (a free show to the public) to keep it running because guys like you never donated a penny!!.....

Stefan Robertson wrote:I'm sure him croaking would better the world

What kind of a person are you?.....That is despicable!....You should be booted off this forum....

That man's collection validates the reverence we hold for America's manufacturing history. Preservation of collectible items will, hopefully, inspire our youth, or future generations to produce quality tangible goods. I hope a lot more collectors, like this, are out there, lurking, preserving our benchmarks.

To those that think it is greed to amass such a collection, let's apply your viewpoint to other types of collections. Maybe then you'll hear how ridiculous you sound.
-Postage stamps: "Wow, think of all the letters that poor college kids could be sending with those."
-Cars: "Think of all the people that guy is keeping off the road because he's driving used car prices up." (See what I did there?)
-Ashtrays: "Think of all the people that have no place to put their cigarette, all because of this selfish individual."
-Tweed suitcases: "Think of all the people who can't go on vacation because this guy won't allow them to bring their luggage along."

Why is it that no one speaks out about his banjolins? Or his ukuleles?
Why is it that when people mourn the decline of "our instrument," the emphasis is on the word "our"?

Just to clarify... I said earlier that his behavior is bizarre, but I did not say he's greedy or that he does not have the right to collect a lot of instruments. It's a free country and it's his money. 4300 instruments, 450 steel guitars, 50 of the same model guitar. And that was in 2010, six years ago. No collector here on the forum even comes close to this. He's in a class all his own.

I imagine that this person simply has used his collection as an easy means to wealth. He probably has purchased the guitars at very low prices and because of supply and demand the value of each instrument is very much more than what he originally invested. Multiply that phenomenon by the number of instruments he has and it has simply become an easy means to substantial wealth. There is nothing to prevent anyone from taking this approach to significant net worth.

He must have about $1 million invested in instruments. He had 4300 instruments six years ago. He says he never sells, just buys.

In another YouTube video he is showing a rare metal body Chicago made lap steel, 1930s. He has only seen three of them. I was surprised because I had one of those about 15 years ago and I think I gave it away or may have sold it.

John D. Carter wrote:I imagine that this person simply has used his collection as an easy means to wealth. He probably has purchased the guitars at very low prices and because of supply and demand the value of each instrument is very much more than what he originally invested. Multiply that phenomenon by the number of instruments he has and it has simply become an easy means to substantial wealth. There is nothing to prevent anyone from taking this approach to significant net worth.

If his substantial wealth is tied up in assets it cannot be used unless he borrows and uses it as security. The one who will gain most will be whomever he leaves it all to in his will. He's unlikely to sell his collection.

Some of the poorest people around have enormous net worth.

Hi Dennis,

You have some pretty wild pieces there! Annie Laura Ceramics products are fairly sedate by comparison. Search "Annie Laura" on ebay to find them. Usually there are a dozen of so or ebay, though there are considerably more listed at this moment. My folks made these in Pico Rivera CA between roughly 1950 and 1960, probably at least a million or so pieces in total. The handwriting on most of these was done by a delightful lady named Jeanette Riddle, a lifelong friend of my mother, who lived not far from Paul Bigsby in Downey, CA. How's that for relevance? Now back to lap steels!

I watched the DVD of the collection again. He did say he was in a CSN or Pure P L type band after he got out of collage. He has matching amps for the steels that were sold in a set. Plus lines of Fender tweeds about one of everything and some one of a kinds. He gives a lot of info as he talks about his collection. I would pay to walk around and look at his collection and maybe play a couple. He lives on what looks like a farm in Springfield Mo. and had Lamas and Alpaca's.