The Steel Guitar Forum

This is a newbie question but I am really looking for some feedback, im at a crossroads. What would be your opinion on both 2 or 3 year old GFI Ultra vs. Roy Thomas Pedalmaster General (top of the line)?

this would be my upgrade guitar from a student model

both are used but in top shape

thank you for any advice!

I Love My GFI Ultra Never Played The Other One. SONNY.

Jason, I can't speak for the Pedalmaster but I think you'll be very satisfied with the GFI Ultra. Lightweight, supersmooth pedals and knees, stays in tune, and sounds great. Check out Mike Sigler's playing if you want to hear one in action - he swears by his. Also you might want to do a Forum search for previous "testimonials" on both guitars. I'm not familiar with the Pedalmaster so make sure to also research that fully (I'm sure it's a great guitar as well) but I know the Ultra has been discussed at length on several occasions and most owners seem to be pretty happy with them. Also if you ever need any "tweaking" or work done, Gene Fields service is top-notch.

I'd go with the GFI Ultra.A couple of years ago I saw Ray Price at Floore's Country Store and Mike Cass played a GFI Ultra thru a Fender Twin and that combo sounded fantastic!!!!

I think I would go for the Ultra GFI, I think over a period time, it would hold its value more than that other brand.

Ernie

Ok I am going to be the odd one....I vote for Pedalmaster...I have a keyless SD-10 thats one heck of a steel, great tone and smooth pedal action. Plus Roy Thomas is an excellent guy who stands behind his work. I have never played a GFI, but sat behind one, they are lightweight, and I havent hardly heard of bad thing about them....But since I own a Pedalmaster, it gets my vote!

Jason, what part of Texas??

Brandon

PedalMater - have owned two of them ( D-10 and U-12). They are great guitars and Roy Thomas, the builder of these guitar is tops in my book

If you hear Pee Wee Whitewing on his Pedalmaster you will probably want one. It's a very good guitar. I think the one that feels more comfortable to you is the right one.

Hey thanks for to all of you for responding. I posted this cause, well for one I wish I could see both in person, this is all over the phone stuff and Ive never seen either or top to bottom in person... Im kinda leaning towards the pedalmaster due to it being a little more unique and not as common but the better price is on the GFI Ultra... basically their both solid guitars

But thanks for all the feedback, i appreciate it!

Hi Brandon I'm in San Antonio ..

Mike Kowalik wrote:I'd go with the GFI Ultra.A couple of years ago I saw Ray Price at Floore's Country Store and Mike Cass played a GFI Ultra thru a Fender Twin and that combo sounded fantastic!!!!

Hey Mike I was at that Ray Price show .. the past couple of his shows .. good times out there!

I have a GFI and have played a couple of pedalmasters. I donot think you can go wrong either way. Both are well built and well engineered. It's a cross roads. why not get both LOL.

The newer Pedalmaster and the GFI share many of the same undercarriage parts. The cabinet construction seems to be the main difference. Both are great guitars.

Pedalmaster gets my vote. I'm a newbie, taking my third lesson this Saturday in Ft. Worth. My Pedalmaster is very easy to setup, stays in tune, sounds great, and looks super.

It's been sold at least once here on the forum before I bought it. It's natural blonde laquered maple, and pretty.

Three pedals and five knees, standard Emmons setup. I do tweak the tuning everytime I pack it to the classroom and set it up, but it's never off by much.

I don't have anything to compare it to, as this is my first steel, but I'm very pleased with my purchase.

I have played Pedalmasters for years . Great guitar. I play up to 3 one nighters a week and after all the loading and unloading, the Pedalmaster still hangs in and is ready to play every time. As John said, both guitars are top quality. Jody.

I've never seen a Pedalmaster, but have an Ultra and have played several others. Having played various Shobuds, MSA's, and tried various other guitars I have to say the Ultra is perfect for me.

It's light, and you don't know how important that is until you've dragged around a heavy guitar; It has virtually no cabinet drop; it's very stable, yet also very easy to adjust...and to fine-tune to taste; the mechanics are smooth, precise, and flawless; It stays in tune (but ANY decent guitar should!); and one of the critical things in my book, it has superb tone - rich, full overtones but very articulate. IT never sounds washed out, and is the only "modern" steel I've played except Jim Palenscar's Anapeg that didn't have an excessive top-end whine. Basically, it sounds smooth, strong, and is very touch-sensitive, allowing you to develop your own sound. There's also tremendous response and support from the factory - I was making some rather wild, creative changes in my copedent and rather than discourage it or drag their feet they helped develop and improve the whole thing, and tossed me some spare rods for nothing. I can't say enough about the company.

I hope that helps as far as GFI's - sorry I can't help with the Pedalmaster

I'll lean toward the Pedalmaster too. I own a left-handed one made for me by Mr. Roy Thomas in 2004 and most people I run into, including my instructor, tells me it's a fine instrument with a lot of nice touches. It stays in tune, is easy to play, and looks beautiful. I have visited with Mr. Thomas and you'll not find a more straight-forward guy anywhere. I wished he made more than steels, because I would buy anything he produced.
As for GFI, it's also a very nice instrument and probably a little less expensive for the model you want.
It's great that you're getting a ton of feedback on this matter. Good luck!

You can hear my Pedalmaster at www.bobstrum.com

I'd say that the GFI and the Pedalmaster have more similarities than differences. The main difference is the availability of wood bodies on the Pedalmasters. If it is a newer Pedalmaster then you can get most parts from GFI.

GFI.

Pedalmasters are some nice steels in my book!!!

Casey

Bobbe Seymour squeezes out some nice tone on his lower strings on the GFI Expo on this clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x220Vf_Jn4E

Well I've had the opportunity to own three GFI's and play seven Pedalmaster's. The GFI is definitley the guitar for me! Mr. Roy is an excellent craftman and his guitars are nice.

I will not get into the similar/different traits of both guitars. I can say that they play and sound totally different. I have owned and played many guitars over the years and must say that my GFI is the best guitar I have ever played for tone, sustain, and smoothness of action.

One other aspect that you may want to look at is resale value. Unfortunately, Pedalmaster's do not have as high of a resale value as the GFI.

Before anyone beats me up on here, please let me state these are my personal observations and experience. I know Mr. Roy and have purchased from him in the past. He is a nice person and lives only an hour away from me.

Gene and Bob at GFI are great people to deal with!
Dave