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Topic: old linkin d .newer msa classic ? |
David LeBlanc
From:
New Brunswick, Canada
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Posted 27 Oct 2007 7:02 pm |
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| Hello every one.I`m new to the forum and the steel,but I`m in love with both. My question is this; How much beter is a MSA classic then an old Linkon.I`ve had the Linkin for a year and I find it alright but somtimes it`s not 100% acurate. I know someone who has a MSA for sale and I`m wondering if it is beter? What is it worth? My Linkin has a good tone. What about a MSA? |
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Michael Hardee
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Posted 27 Oct 2007 7:58 pm
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| David, the older MSA Classics with formica finish were plywood body guitars. I played one for years and it was very accurate, and very heavy: built like a tank. Not the best tone to my ears for country though; remember, the guys who made them were Bb6th players. The plywood cabinet seemed to define the tone and swapping pickups didn't help much. If you can find one of the later SS models with maple cabinet and lacquer finish you would have a winner. Those were really nice steels with good country tone. More expensive though. If you like the tone of the MSA your friend has for sale, and the double raise/lower changer works for you, it should be a very reliable guitar. |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 27 Oct 2007 8:40 pm
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MSA retained the name "classic" when they went to the maple/lacquer bodies. The guitar shown in my avatar says classic. I think the name referred to guitars with the double raise double lower changer and they started renaming their guitars when they went to the triple raise changer.
The old MSA maple/lacquer guitars are still wonderful instruments. You can't go wrong with one.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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Michael Hardee
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Posted 27 Oct 2007 8:55 pm
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I had a senior moment there Mike. Forgot that for a while MSA built Classics with maple/lacquer bodies. I've never met an MSA I didn't like; I just like some more than others!
The last guitars that MSA made before the bankruptcy, the SS (for Super Small, I think) with compact maple/lacquer cabinet and triple raise changer, were really nice. |
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Ron !
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Posted 27 Oct 2007 9:18 pm
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David can you be a little more specific about the MSA you can buy?(pedals....levers ..etc)That would help a little in giving advice.
Ron |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 2:36 am
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| Ron Steenwijk wrote: |
| David can you be a little more specific about the MSA you can buy? |
Is it plywood/mica or maple/lacquer?
Can you post a picture?
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 4:53 am
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| Quote: |
| ...someone who has a MSA for sale and I`m wondering if it is beter? What is it worth? |
We'd have to know more about the guitar to guess what it's worth. Mechanically, the old MSA Classics were superior to just about anything out there, but some didn't care for their tone. (There's some players out there who like just one tone.  ) |
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Reece Anderson
From:
Keller Texas USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 5:27 am
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David L....If you will provide me with a serial number of the MSA you're considering, perhaps I can be of help to you.
If it is indeed a "plywood" guitar, don't be of the opinion the body is similar to everyday buiding material. The "plywood" we used was special ordered from Finland, and it was a very costly material which lended itself exceptionally well to steel guitar.
Michael H....Thank you for your comments about the older MSA's. For others like yourself who may have the impression that MSA filed for bankruptcy, that is not true. MSA has never filed for bankruptcy, I was simply forced to close the doors due to the world economic situation in 1983, as was explained within the MSA story as displayed on the MSA website. |
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Gene Jones
From:
Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 5:41 am
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edit
Last edited by Gene Jones on 31 Oct 2007 4:43 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 7:58 am
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| Reece Anderson wrote: |
If it is indeed a "plywood" guitar, don't be of the opinion the body is similar to everyday building material. The "plywood" we used was special ordered from Finland, and it was a very costly material which lended itself exceptionally well to steel guitar.
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Perhaps the term "laminated wood" is more appropriate.
I bought my laminate/mica guitar from a player who had used it in the road band of a singer named Rusty Draper. (I remember hearing the name when I was a kid, but can't remember his music.) This guitar has entertained people in over 40 states.
I prefer the Maple/lacquer one over it, but there's nothing wrong with this guitar. Today it sits in my living room. I use it to woodshed and still play it every day.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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David LeBlanc
From:
New Brunswick, Canada
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 8:06 am
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| Thank`s to everyone who replied. I think the MSA is mica-plywood. It has 4 pedals & 4 knee`s.Black. The owner is gone south and as soon as I can I will cheque for the serial number. |
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John McGlothlin
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 8:17 am
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| I have an older model of MSA Classic D-10 probably made in the mid seventies....I have played others like Sho-Bud, Fender and Emmons but my greatest experiance has been with the playability and the tone of this MSA Classic...it is a cadilac steel guitar. |
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David LeBlanc
From:
New Brunswick, Canada
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 8:19 am
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| What would the 4th pedal do? |
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David LeBlanc
From:
New Brunswick, Canada
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 8:30 am
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| Sorry for my poor memory.The MSA has 5 pedals & 4 Knee`s. |
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Bent Romnes
From:
London,Ontario, Canada
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 9:10 am
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Mike P ..I can vouch for the quality in craftsmanship and tone in the MSA Classics. Mine was a green one like yours(the green ones had the best tone  ) and it was a D10 8&4. It sounded oh so sweet when hooked up to my session 400 w/the JBL in it. After I installed a BW in my 400, tone was never the same after that. This of course cannot be blamed on the guitar obviously.
To me, the MSA had a clarity that really carried. It didn't need huge volume to be heard.
Jeff Newman tried it once. His remark was "Man this thing has a bite to it!"
One of the dumbest things I did in life was to sell that guitar. |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 9:35 am
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Bent, I understand exactly how you feel. I have a new Milly, which I love, and use when I play out, but I'm hanging on to both my older guitars. They truely are classics.
Michawl Hardee said it best. "I never met an MSA I didn't like."
David L, one thing you should be aware of is that an MSA is never going to sound like an Emmons or Sho-bud. They have their own sound, and the key to getting the best tone out of them is to accentuate their natural tone rather than trying to make them sound like something else.
It's like a big Gibson hollow body jazz guitar vs a Tele. The MSA being the jazz box and the Emmons being the Tele.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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Terry Winter
From:
Saskatchewan, Canada
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 1:31 pm
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David, I've had both a MSA SS and later a Linkon
"Duke" model. I liked them both and the Linkon kept it's tune as good as the MSA. The only thing that stood out for me was the Linkon was much lighter.Loved them both(wished I'd have kept the MSA though for sentimenal reasons) |
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Casey Lowmiller
From:
Kansas
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 2:03 pm
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I would love to have a Linkon...they are heard to find down around my parts.
Every Linkon that I've ever seen, always looked really slick & well built. Never got to sit behind one though.
Casey
_________________
Known Coast to Coast as
"The Man with The Plan" |
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David LeBlanc
From:
New Brunswick, Canada
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 2:05 pm
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| Thank you all so much for all youre replies. I will have to wait till I can try it to hear it live. I know for sure that it will play ligther and easier than my old Linkon as the Linkon has and old setup underneath.There are some plates that hold all the moving parts. But she has that Sho-bud tone. |
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Ulf Edlund
From:
Umeå, Sweden
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 3:30 pm
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Try it, and if you like it, buy it.
I have a Classic SS for sale and truly hope that no one buys it. It's mechanicly superior to many top brand steel guitars out there, and it has a pedal action like you wouldn't believe.
5 pedals and 4 knees - is that a universal?
Uffe |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 3:31 pm
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| i would think that any old mica msa has got great potential for working reliably and offering a platform for a steel player to learn with and progress. rusty draper had a hit with nightlife and a great song called 'there she goes'. i played many years with his son johnny draper.....johnny..where are you? |
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David LeBlanc
From:
New Brunswick, Canada
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 4:51 pm
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| What will 5 pedals do as oposed to the standard 3? Does anyone play whith a 5 pedal steel? |
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Michael Hardee
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 5:22 pm
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If you are talking about a 10 string E9 tuning, the standard three floor pedal and four knee lever Emmons setup will let you play 90% of the country licks you hear. Add a left knee vertical lever lowering the B's to Bb and you get 95%. Extra floor pedals are 'lick' pedals, like the Franklin change.
That MSA you described with four and four should you busy for quite a while. All the Classics were drilled for extra pedals and knee levers. Roy Thomas of Pedalmaster Guitars told me in 1992 that he had bought all of the original MSA parts inventory, he may still have kits for extra levers/pedals. You could easily convert that fourth floor pedal to a left knee vertical with the right parts.
Last edited by Michael Hardee on 28 Oct 2007 5:39 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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David LeBlanc
From:
New Brunswick, Canada
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 5:29 pm
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| Thanks Micheal . I`m just a beginner and I`ve never played on a 5 pedal steel. |
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Bill Ford
From:
Graniteville SC Aiken
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 6:40 pm
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MSA question for Mr Anderson,
While we're on an MSA thread, the 70s laquer models were called "Imperial", if I remember correctly, what were the mica one's called, and what was the flat bar pull system called. Had the mica D12 8+3,rock solid, and almost as heavy.BTW, still in the MSA family green S12 "the universal"1982 model.
David..You can't go wrong with an MSA!!!!
Thanks..Bill
_________________
Bill Ford S12 CLR, S12 Lamar keyless, Misc amps&toys Sharp Covers
Steeling for Jesus now!!! |
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