The Steel Guitar Forum

Imagine if Paul Sr. had built twice the amount of these over his career. Would they fetch the prices they are now? Or if he had a son who went into dentistry instead of music?

As others have mentioned, it's not just how an instrument sounds but how it plays. Which is very personal and subjective.

Some people like Chevrolets, some like Fords. Not that much difference, really.

My Franklin has it's quirks like every instrument I've ever owned, but I like how it plays and sounds. If I had to pay what I see them going for now, I probably couldn't afford it.

Don't get me wrong as I am not insinuating that all engineers don't know enough about steel guitar or have an ear for a certain tone, but in all the years that I've done road gigs and countless sessions I have never been asked what guitar I play nor have I ever been turned away from a job by a client or producer because I didn't play a Franklin. Now to clarify I love the Franklin family and I think Paul is awesome and he has always been real nice to me and I think a Franklin would be a great guitar to own, but there are too many guitar companies that have put countless years, time and money into building great guitars that are as equally as good as a Franklin for less money and I just can't see where Franklins are worth the extra cost. I'm not saying they aren't probably worth a little more because of the fact no more are being made and that Paul plays one, but there is not enough steel players or as big of market for steel guitars in general to be asking 12 grand or more and to say this is a supply and demand market, at least not like there is for more common instruments. But this is just my opinion and all is good.

I think what most of us Po' Folks see, is a steel guitar that will never be within our price range. So, some of us wonder why anyone would pay a exorbitant amount of money for one guitar instead of getting three of another brand? On the other hand, guys playing sessions and making several 100,000bucks a yr., these high dollar guitars are tools of their trade.....I actually thought I was spending way to much money on a '95 Emmons LG II, when I paid 2500bucks for it in '05....But insurance money from a truck wreck made that purchase, and a 20'x30' shop possible. I'm Very Blessed to have that Old Road Dog Emmons, it never lets me down, in my book that Emmons Tone can't be beat.... And if I had 10,000bucks to buy a Franklin, I would put in another shop instead, but that's just me.

It will never end. Varying opinions.

At our steel club jam, I let a visitor play my Franklin and his comment was basically that he was not impressed and didn't see anything special. Another player sat down at it and after a very short period his comment was now I see what is special about these.

Jack. like the old saying , opinions are like noses. every buddy got one. i never dreamed i would get such a response on asking this question about the Franklin guitar. like i said i never got to try one .and they are a beautiful looking guitar. but i do love my . Carter, and i do love my Mullen . each in a different way

Please delete

I can say my Franklin was worth every penny,and if I could buy another I 'do that too.The quality of craftmanship was obvious to me.Beautiful to even look at.I could tell by looking at em which guitar I really wanted.The smoothness and ease of playing is supurb.Action is precise and dead on.Tone is different from any other.I like the tone.They put out exactly what YOU put in. And sustain...... mine will sustain all day.When I walked around Scotty's convention a couple years looking to buy,looking at craftsmanship Franklin was it, for me.And.....what a family.Not knocking any guitar maker, there are lots of honeys out there.

Is this not also the same situation with Scheerhorn resonator guitars? One could buy several reso's for what a Scheerhorn would set you back. There always seems to be a buyer waiting.

Tom Keller

I would agree with that Tom, I'm just saying I don't hear enough difference in the quality to justify the quantity of money spent, that's all. To those who can afford it, more power to you, but it's not me.

My 2 cents, YMMV.

I don't personally own a Franklin but do have a close friend who owns one that I have played a number of times. It's a great instrument but not superior to my ZumSteel. Other brands are equal in quality like Rittenberry , Infinity, Justice and the new MSA's. (Others no doubt)
That's my story and I'm sticking to it !

I had a Webb steel amp for sale and a noted steel player from Las Vegas came to my home to play through it and used my Desert Rose to try out the Webb. His Franklin was in his trunk, but decided to play my Desert Rose D 10. After playing through the amp for a few hours he bought the Webb. His comment was that the sound and playability and quality of the Desert Rose D10 was very similar to his Franklin. He really liked the Desert Rose. I bought a Sho-Bud D 12 Pro II Custom built by Paul Franklin Sr , and I have owned several Sho Buds, well the D-12 was the cream of the crop for me. I believe there is a big plus on who builds these guitars. I think Duane Marrs was also in this kind of company when it comes to building quality steel guitars. IMHO the most important thing is the love one builds into the instrument.

I know this is an old thread but may this old recording engineer shed some light on this subject. I've been recording famous and not so famous steel guitar players since 1972 and I are one myself on my own projects.
All the steels I've ever heard all sound great when a gifted player plays one provided they have a new set of strings and the ground hasn't come lose on the pickup. Believe it or not I've had people have me repair there electronics, vol. pedals and switches before they could record. Players like instruments that easily respond to their input. You can't put your heart and soul into your music especially at the level of current steel playing if you feel you are fighting the instrument. It's been a long time since I played Corky Owens Franklin and I didn't mess with it long enough to get an opinion but it recorded very well with him playing it. That was about 1980. Now on the subject of audio recording engineers most any guitar can have an amazing tone in it's own right with a good player but when you go to mix a record it's a different story. Some instruments fit easily in a mix without major surgical EQ and this is an area where the Franklin might shine. Guitars with strong overtones and harmonics might sound quite impressive by themselves but they fight for space in the grand scheme of things when trying to mix. Someone used the word sterile which is usually the best recorded sound because their is no peaky harmonics masking other instruments. From my own experience after owning about 50 pedal steel guitars I had 3 that recorded just perfect with no help. A Jack Strayhorn Emmons LeGrande lll that was Walter Haynes and Buddy Emmons set it up for him, a Fessenden and my current guitar which is one Junior Knight and I built from NOS EMCI and Carter parts. It also doesn't matter which pickup is in them. A different pickup may change the tone from bass to treble but the smoothness of the guitars frequencies is always there. Don't ask me why but it just is. Guitars with strong overtones and harmonics are not desirable in the huge wall of sound mixes engineers have today so I fully understand why an engineer would ask a picker with his Franklin playing a laid back song like Blue Jade with just a piano, upright bass and drums "Did you bring your Emmons"? That's where overtones and bell harmonics really shine. I also can understand if a picker was playing an Emmons on a Faith Hill session with 200 tracks and a compressed wall of sound would ask him if he brought his Franklin. One shoe does not fit all when recording.

That was a very well written post, David. It clearly explains why our favorite steel could sound great on stage, but not in the studio. A lot of pickers may not understand such things. Thanks for laying it out for us.

My pleasure Mike. I have probably spent more time trying to make steels sound good in the studio then vocals or other instruments because I dearly love the sound of them. It really saddens me that all these steel players spend thousands of dollars to get a good rig that sounds really good then transmits their sound to the world over a 5 cent cellphone microphone the size of a pencil eraser head. Kinda ironic isn't it?

I never cared much about what guitar someone played; I cared how they played. No matter who it is - singers, players, engineers, or just listeners, you'll inevitably find some who are "hooked" on a certain brand name or "sound" when it comes to equipment. More power to 'em. But as for myself...

"Stuff" don't impress me, playin' do!

Me too. I'd rather have a great musician with a mediocre guitar on my session than a mediocre player with one of the finest instruments.

I bought my first Franklin because I liked the way they sounded on records, and I wanted to have that in my arsenal. I bought my next 3 because of the great service and friendship from Paul Sr. and his wife, Miss Oleda. Although I firmly believe they are the best-sounding guitars available, I choose my Franklins over other brands I own because I think of the care and attention that was put into them by these great people.

Kyle no right or wrong answer just looking for opinions. So in your opinion a Franklin is 3 times better than any other pedal steel? I don't know. Just wondering. One week I spent $30,000.00 on pedal steels but failed to buy a Franklin. Maybe I bought the wrong ones. I buy steel guitars pretty regular but at $12,000.00 I don't think there is much room to profit.

Hi David, I'm not sure I understand the "profit" part of your question. Are you in the business of selling/flipping guitars? I don't have experience in that field, so I can't comment. I've only sold personal guitars that I no longer use, and generally at a loss
I play for a living, and it's important to me to play a guitar I enjoy and am able to manipulate to the sound my client wants. That's what makes me choose my Franklins.

Hi Kyle, I see. I can relate to having a good instrument you feel comfortable with. I use to play for a living myself. Yes I'm in Texas so there is lots of good used steels for sale and I buy them and resale them if I can get them for a good price. I never really had a good chance to check out a Franklin and never ever saw one for sale in North Texas.

Right on, David. I still have an Emmons that I love, and it certainly gets the call from time to time. If you get the chance to check out a Franklin, I can guarantee you'll enjoy it. Take care.

It would be great if mr Franklin could license his design to someone else and profit from its' further production. The demand is there, the marketting, already done. There would certainly be room in the budget for a licensing fee.

The wonderful thing about the Franklin guitar is that every part of it touches Paul, Sr.'s hands. He's a brilliant engineer, and even in repairing or updating a guitar, he made the parts and installed them himself (sometimes while you wait and visit). It's not really a factory-style instrument, although I agree that it would be great if someone figured out how to scale it up.

But at the end of the day, is a high-power 100w tweed Twin from the 1950s equal to a 1970s ultra linear CBS silverface Twin since they both say Fender? Sadly not. One cost hundreds and the other dozens of thousands.
My 2 cents.

I find it interesting that guitar players especially session guys bring 3 or more guitars to a session, and use whats best for a song. Amps same thing.

Steel guys , one guitar , but really every guitar makes you play in a different way, brings out different vibes, kinda narrows the scope with only one guitar, thats why they call different guys to fit different songs I guess.
Franklin, She -bud, Emmons, all have a cool tone.

I like Both my Franklin and my Emmons for different reasons,

Franklin is a great guitar . Unique sound, plays so well.

Greg

Mike Johnson records with a Franklin!