The Steel Guitar Forum

Are the dual pickup single neck Deluxe 8 steels from the 1950s any more desirable/valuable than the same model from the '60s? Are they identical in construction? Were they always offered either with or without legs? Thanks.

I think the main differences are in the finish, the 50's version being thinner and all nitro, the 60's having a thicker finish that eventually became polyurethane. The pickups were also wound a little hotter after the early 60's.
I've only seen/owned a couple versions of each so I might not be "totally correct" in my observations. I didn't know that you could get them without legs.
I have owned a lot of doubles, quads and triples from all periods. I love the 50's finishes but I like the hotter pickups of the mid to late 60's.

I also may be wrong I've had both, the 50's was MUCH heavier, and I've been told that they were swamp-ash whilst the 60's ones weren't.

the 50's was MUCH heavier, and I've been told that they were swamp-ash whilst the 60's ones weren't.

Swamp ash can vary a bit, but one built out of swamp ash should be the lighter of the two.
I've got some premium stock here that only weighs 2.1 lbs per board ft.
Regular American white ash runs around 3.9 lbs per board ft.

Here’s a result of weight check in kilogram:

Yr made---Body---Legs---Case---Total
1955(*1)--4.1 ---2.3 --- 2.6--- 9.0
1962(*2)--3.9 ---2.1 --- 2.9--- 8.9
1970?(*3)-3.4 ---2.4 --- 3.8--- 9.6

*1. dark color, nitro-cell paint now checking all over
*2. blonde nitro(perhaps) see thru paint,
case with brown torex
*3. black polyurethane paint, case with black tolex

As you see there’s not much diffrenece in body weight between ’55 and ’62 but the latest model is significantly lighter. Sound-wise ’55 is everyone’s choice ,mellower, clearer and more nuance sensitive to picking. ’70 sounds drier , bold and even muddy. ’62 comes in between ’55 and ’70 but closer to ‘55. These difference of the sound character would be a combined effect of the body weight and the pickups.

Younger or older a Deluxe 8 will cost you a grand . Go for a ‘50’s Pat Pend(on the tuner pan) model. My 2 cents.
Jack Isomura
Yokohama, Japan

I had one from the late 60's and it sucked, tone-wise. Notes just died on the high frets.

Thanks for all the input. Guess they always had legs, huh? Maybe I was confusing the 8 and the 6. Anyway, thanks again.

The early 50's Fender single 8 steel didn't have legs, as far as I know. Had the trapezoidal pickup. Wasn't it also called Deluxe 8?