The Steel Guitar Forum

I got my password this afternoon and this is my first post. I have been surfing the forum since I stumbled upon it while researching Steel Guitars. Jason Dumont
built my wife a Lap King steel last year (a fabulous
sounding steel and work of art) Thanks to the forum for the link to Jason! I will be 50 yrs. old in a little over a week and I have loved the old country tunes about 48 0f those 50 years. Stuff by Webb, Buck, Wynn,
Little Jimmy, Louvin and Wilburn Bros., Johnnie and Jack Etc. Thats all I've ever cared to listen to in music. I have a good collection of stuff from probably every major artist from the 50's and 60's. What always
raised the hair on my neck in these old tunes was the pedal steel. I sat in with my uncle and aunts band on occasion playing Floyd style piano and my uncle would
throw in lick after pedal steel lick on his 62 Strat.
You could swear he was playing pedal steel on that Strat. He was Ken Swanson from Sherman Texas and some of you Texas guys might have known him. I plan to attend the Dallas show and I want to be prepared to buy a pedal steel hopefully then or sometime after. For this raw beginner I need suggestions on pedal steel brands and what is THE steel to get for just starting out. I will have a budget of 1600.00 to work with. If this is hard to read, sorry, I don't type often.

Hi Dan,welcome from Alabama,don't you know.

Hi Dan,

Welcome to the forum, if you've been surfing thru for a while then you know this is the place!

I wish I could attend the Dallas show, but looks like I'm stuck out here in Az.

I wish you lots of luck in finding a steel, with the budget you listed I think you should do just fine finding a good guitar to start with. I'm sure there will be plenty of folks along directly to give you some good opinions on the best steel to buy,
so enjoy.

Larry

Dan-Welcome to the Forum. Your last name reminded me of a great western, Steel player, my good friend from the 70's ,Bob Meadows from Scottsdale . AZ...al.:)

yep, Bob Meadows, are you related?

Thanks for the big Texas sized welcome. I am not any relation to Bob Meadows that I know of. My Dad passed away when I was 6 years old. He was born near Jackson Tennessee but moved to Texas around 1933 I think. I do have some relatives around that area but too distant to have ever known. None in AZ. My dad was on the WFAA Saturday Night Shindig show in Dallas from time to time in the 1950's. His name was Joe Meadows. Besides him,
his sister, my brother and I there weren't any other musicians that I know of on that side.

welcome aboard Dan

as i have mentioned on other posts , i started with a sho-bud mavrick then i got a carter starter and then i bought a Zum stage one. they are all in the same price range . the Zum is about as good as a student steel gets (a very good student guitar) its pretty close to being a pro model. it will be all you will need for quite a while.
i have not owned one but from what i hear GFI makes a very good student model also.
if i had to start over again i would buy one of these Zum or GFI...just my 2 cents
it also seems you and i share a love of the same type of music.
as a beginer PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP it is frustrating for a while but you can learn it IF you are determined enough, ask lots of questions . the fellas here are great about answering just about anything you throw at them . i have been asking questions for about 5 years now and they are still hanging in there with me .
also keep in mind there are no dumb questions here so don't be shy about asking anything.
feel free to e-mail me if i can help in any way

calvin

Welcome from another Texan Dan!

$1600 will buy you a good pro-model S10 or SD10..check the forum classified section. There is a guy selling a Pedalmaster SD-10 on there, they are great steels, and Roy Thomas is an excellent builder.

Brandon

Greetings, from South Texas!

hiya Dan - welcome

That Pedalmaster would do good I'm sure. I use the links and have looked at that Stage One and the GFI.
Also the Blackjack might be in the picture. I e-mailed
Jackson and they will be in Dallas. I think GFI is local too. The Beck S10 has me thinking. Problem is I have little clue what I'm looking at underneath. I would only want something with new modern mechanics as
I'm just starting. I can't buy one that needs work or constant attention so I can focus on learning only. I want to make that part as easy as possible. I still don't even get the all-pull, push-pull and whatever else thing. And is 4 knees about 3 knees too many starting out? I won't be ready to buy until the Dallas show so I'll have time to learn. There is a lot to learn but I'm ready.

Dan,

3 pedals & 4 knee levers is now the standard amd as far as being to many to start with. its not . you can just fold the knee levers up outa your way till you think your ready for them, but you will need them sooner than you think. anything less than the 3 & 4 set up would be a waste of time and money.
now as far as you are worried about mechanical issues there should be none with the Zum of the GFI

Calvin:
Thanks a bunch. I see that adding knee levers later on might cost more than just getting one that way to start. And I notice that most now come with a minimum of 4 knees and it seems the teaching materials are geared toward 3 and 4 ? The Jackson Blackjack looks to have VERY sturdy and well done mechanics underneath compared to some others in that price range. Maybe that is just me not knowing what I'm looking at underneath
in comparison. Is the GFI student steels with 4 knees
seriously worth looking into? I won't buy until I hear one first. Maybe Dallas will give me a chance to sample
sounds. I've never been to a show of any kind.

Stage one looks like the deal of the century. Is parts and construction quality good for a beginner steel? I
may not get to hear one unless I can in March.

don't forget that you will need a steel guitar amp to go with it ...not just any old amp will do
there are several such as the nashville 112 or 400s also fender made a steel king there are other to choose from but you get the idea. and you might as well go ahead and start looking into instructional material, Jeff Newman is a good place to start. he was the best as far as many (including myself) are concerned .and has a wide range of materials, from beginer to pro.

Dan
trust me on this ONE THING you will never regret buying a Zum.
its as good as a student steel gets.
i kept mine for 1 1/2 years sold it for $50.00 less that i paid for it. and then the ONLY reason i sold it was to move up to the Mullen that i am playing now .i would buy another Zum without any hesitation

Calvin:
The Zum you are referring to is the Stage One built by Greg Earnest? I went to the link under manuf. again.
Sounds like you had a good sounding and trouble free Zum. I can't have it any other way. Thanks. This kind of help is exactly what I'm looking for to guide me through the process.

yes the Zum stage one
here is a picture of me playing the one i had

Calvin:

I notice your stage one has a humbucker. Was it pretty noise free and decent quality. Also easy to play? And did it stay in tune well? It looks good. Really good in fact.

Dan

to be honest , i'm not the one to ask about pick ups . i just used what came on it. i do know it sounded very good, and it was none other than Bobby Bowman himself that found this guitar and recommended it to me. as anyone here on the forum can tell you, Bobby is an expert when it come to working on steel guitars . also Bobby is as good a steel player as anyone... bar none.
so when he said it was a great guitar i jumped on it and had no regrets

Dan,

Welcome to our world. You're very wise to visit the Dallas show and check out many brands/models. These things are too mechanical to buy sight unseen, especially pre-owned units. You'll want to feel the pedal and lever action as well as checkout the workmanship both on and beneath the guitar. I think you need to go with a professional level and not a student model, with 3 pedals and 4 knees.

If you look around enough you're bound to find a very lightly played guitar in your price range. A lot of steels belong to guys like me who rarely take them out of their home. Take some time and look around. Buy one off of someone who has given up without wearing it out.

As Calvin mentioned, you will need an amp. You will also want an electronic tuner, several amp cords (couple of 10-ft and couple of 3-ft), a volume pedal, string sets, a string winder, finger and thumb picks and a seat. You'll also want at least one comprehensive training course.

Also, check into the shipping costs. They can be pretty significant these days.

Hi Dan: Nice to have you in the group. I am new myself having been talked into joining by Al Vesel, a great gentleman with a love for 'steel'. I have been playing since 1956, stopped for a while, then got the urge to get back into it. Glad I did! Nothing like the sound of a steel guitar! Play well, play often! Marty Z