future of stringmasters

Jack Musgrave · From: Springfield, Missouri, USA

are these guitars going to keep rising or do you think they have just about peaked in price for a while? what is the best one to aquire, if a person could only afford one? certain year or scale more desirable than others?

William Clark · Posted 29 Oct 2006 9:01 pm

I just saw a D-8 Stringmaster go off on ebay for over 3k. It was mint condition, listed as a '66 but was probably older. If this was a legitmate bid (the buyer had zero feedback and sometimes sellers will put in shill bids to boost up their prices) that would put a stringmasters at a little over 1500 per neck. I bought my T-8 stringmaster for $2250 last May and thought I was paying too much for it. Now I am glad that I bought it! My feeling is they aren't making any more of these and the price of professional models of vintage Fender gear has been skyrocketing lately. There are probably collectors that are snapping these instruments up because you can still get a 50's vintage instrument from Fender that isn't going to require you to take out a second mortgage on your house.

George Keoki Lake · From: Edmonton, AB., Canada

Let's face it....FENDER will probably never turn out a multi-neck steel guitar whether it be the Orient or in CA. These guitars will keep increasing in value as the market dictates. I feel the closest thing to a Stringmaster today is the CANOPUS which is a tremendous guitar available in single 8 and/or D-8.
http://www3.telus.net/public/lake_r/

John Dahms · From: Perkasie, Pennsylvania, USA

Ouch! Within the last 5 years I sold my 2 1956 Stringmasters (a 22.5 & 24" both near mint) for around $650 each. I should have just left them in their cases a few years longer.

Terry VunCannon · From: Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

Thanks to Ron Brennan for my 59 Stringmaster D-6. He sold it to me for a fair price which allowed me to own a treasure that I never though I could. It looks like I beat the price wars just in time. Thanks Ron, Alice is doing fine!
Terry V

Larry Jones · From: Santa Rosa, CA, USA

i just got a beautiful blond 22.5 stingmaster from ebay with no case or legs for 1,250 that sounds so sweet. theirs nothing that sounds like those guitars. they have made history so many times. ive used it on western swing with my session 500 and on hawaiian gigs with my new fender twin 65 custom 15' i also have a 24.5 thats sweet .as far as iam concerned iam in steel guitar heaven. so we should try to keep them in the family sort of speak and out of the collectors hands.

Doug Beaumier · From: Northampton, MA

About a year ago I sold a nice 50's D-8 stringmaster for $1250, and I remember thinking that $1250 was a fairly high price. Now, one year later, and the value has nearly doubled, assuming that these eBay auctions reflect the true market value.

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My Site - Instruction

B. Greg Jones · From: Middleport, Ohio USA

I have a 56' T-8 Stingmaster. It had been refinished in what looked like nail polish. The only thing missing on it were 2 pick-ups from the front neck. It had also been cut out for a changer on that neck. The only thing it really needs is 2 pick-ups and the front plate for the pick-ups and bridge. My dad has the finish stripped off and filled and plugged the extra holes in it. Even in this shape, I guess that the $150 I paid for it was a good deal last year. No case though.

Greg

William Clark · Posted 1 Nov 2006 8:58 am

There was a beautiful T-8 Stringmaster at Elderly Instruments that was on their website last nite. It was near mint condition 1957 Blonde with a 24.5" scale length and a tweed case. It lasted 24 hours and they had an asking price of $2200. I guess it is a sign of the times!

Mark Eaton · Posted 1 Nov 2006 9:40 am

Well, this stuff is knocking guys like myself out of the game, who weren't fortunate enough to get in on these things before the upward trend toward "collector's prices" status.

If you were in the market for a nice non-pedal before, you would vascillate between an old Fender or a modern guitar like just to name three, a Remington or a SuperSlide, or a Sierra.

It's starting to reach the point where a Stringmaster in good condition won't even be up for consideration.

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Mark

[This message was edited by Mark Eaton on 01 November 2006 at 09:41 AM.]

Terry VunCannon · From: Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

Mark, don't give up to quick. When I posted back in March '06 "Wanted To Buy" a D-6 Fender, I remember thinking as I posted, "There is no chance I'll ever find one of these"...I wasn't long before Ron contacted me. These laps are out there.

John Lang · From: Las Vegas, Nevada

Terry, you are so right. I went through the same thing trying to find one of these. I learned right away to pretty much forget about eBay, as competing with the collectors is almost always a losing proposition.

I was pretty much losing hope, the guitars that I was offered were in such bad shape. You can't believe some of the junk people wanted to sell me. Missing parts, holes drilled for pedals, even one that had been burned up in a fire!

My advice is to continue to use the forum, that's how I found both of mine. I have also recently seen two very nice Stringmasters for sale over here in Michigan at Elderly's. The prices on both were somewhat high, but nothing like the silliness you see going on with the eBayers right now. It's only gonna get worse folks.

William Clark · Posted 1 Nov 2006 9:02 pm

I agree with Terry. If you really want a stringmaster, I would save your money and look for one. I truely doubt that you would ever loose money on it. I usually search the web for steel guitars to see what is out there. I try to get a ballpark figure on what the market is bearing so that when I do run across a cool instrument on the web or at a music store and the guy quotes me a price, I can make a determination as to wether or not the price is fair. I recently (within the last two months) bid on a D-8 stringmaster on Ebay. I was outbid by Rick Alexander, I think. It went off for 1200 and it looked like a pretty cool axe! Keep hunting and sooner or later you will find one.

Rick Alexander · From: Florida, USA, R.I.P.

Sorry about that William - I got the Stringmaster Jones!
Your point is well taken about saving your money and looking. If you have the funds ready and you keep checking the forum and eBay you'll find one. Just remember you're not the only one trolling eBay, so bid high at the last second. Quite a few people have thought they may have paid too much for a Stringmaster, and then a year later the price seems like a bargain.
Occasionally stores and dealers will have one for a reasonable price, but they are usually pretty high. They have overhead, y'know . .

Jack, the 50s models are made with swamp ash and tend to have a richer tone. The 22 1/2" scale is more accurate for 2 and 3 string slants, while the longer scales generally have a ballsier sound, more sustain and chimier harmonics. The longer the string, the greater the amplitude of its vibration - so the longer it takes to decay.
You can spot the 3 scale lengths at a glance - the 22 1/2" has 2 markers above the 24th fret, the 24 1/2" has 3 and the 26" has 4. I have always preferred the 22 1/2" scale because of its relative accuracy, but I recently acquired a 26" Quad and it has killer tone and sustains into next week. Chimes are easier to get, they ring out if you're even close.

Stringmasters do have their problems though. The pickups are a little on the noisy side, and the tuners are problematical to repair or replace. So while I love them and play them in the studio, I generally take my Remington Steelmaster T-8 to live performances because it has none of these problems - and it sounds wonderful. Now that Stringmaster prices are equal or higher than prices of comparable new steel guitars, this is definitely an option to be considered.

RA
BIG STEEL

[This message was edited by Rick Alexander on 04 November 2006 at 11:08 AM.]

Terry VunCannon · From: Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

Jack, I am proof that these fine intruments are out there for players...I was lucky enough to buy a Stringmaster D6 today. I paid a healthy but fair price for it, but it will have a good home here in NC. Just keep your eyes open, & be ready to move on them...Terry V

Marc Weller · From: Upland, Ca. 91784

I bought this one from Ben Harper's grandfather in '99 for $500. The case is as nice as the guitar. Definitely a keeper.

Mark Eaton · Posted 8 Nov 2006 8:24 pm

I knew Ben came from good genes!

Definitely a keeper-yeah-you are a master of understatement.

What a beauty!

$500 only seven years ago...

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Mark

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