The Steel Guitar Forum

any one that knows a bout vintage lap steels pls call 217 416 7591 or e-mail rockingjohhny5@yahoo.com for pics looking to find out value and maybe sale

Go ahead and contact me directly, John. I'll post the pictures on this site and we can have a discussion that everyone can enjoy.

wonder what it is plys good all eltronics work

That is a home made job, and a cool piece of folk art.

anyone have a idea of what this is worth

$50.00

I wanted to answer your PM here, so others can give their input.

I feel that this guitar is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. I still feel 99.999 confident that this is a home made job, so there is no "blue book" value. I'm surprised some (as per your message) thought this could be an early Rickenbacher or Magnatone.

I don't see this as a serious regular player for anyone. Unless your pics make things look more distorted than they are, tolerances are all over the map. I'm guessing intonation would be a nightmare. How accurate could those frets have been cut?

The way it looks to me, it would make a great piece of Americana or Folk Art or as a conversation piece for someone's music room.

Excuse me if I'm off base here, and in actuality it really does sound and play great. Just going by what I see.

I'm all about 'folk art' steels, if the one in question had at least one 8 str. neck I'd be very interested, and as is it does have 'some' value, more than $50. But as a player it's very dicey, most FAS's are wall hangers, but there are exceptions. This one seems to have had considerable thot put into it for quality sound, if not total performance, and frets are just landmarks anyway. It could be a winner and deserving of a nice new home as a steel, but it won't pay the seller's rent.

I think Scott and Ron both nailed it. It is worth what some one would pay for it. It could play nicely and have good intonation but it is a bit of a gamble. At quick glance it looks like the fret positions are true to itself, but you don't know until .....

It is definately worth more than $50. The guitar really could make some one a happy player at the right price.
I really dig the tall nut sandwiched between the neck and headstock.
Not an early Rick or Magnatone just a one off , probably built by a player that could not affor a "real" one. Could be a sleeper......could be a nightmare

i really appreciate all the imput guys if nothing else sure is a great conversation piece and as for the pictures being distorted iam not for sure i can tell u it does need cleaned up as i took this to a show and played it then it never made it out of the van for a few weeks and got some corn dust on it i just blew it of and took the pics i wish i new the story behind this i guess because if some one made it i wonder how they sounded and where they played it right now i have one neck tunned to a open e one to a open d and one to the c/6its kinda fun to play around on butt still would love one with pedals thanks to all keep on posting

Its got a cool factor for sure. I'd love to see what's under those pickup covers, any pics?

Here's what I notice...
The finish is definitely crude, but the joinery is somewhat more complex than a typical home-made instrument. And for that matter, it seems well executed. The pegheads are built angled back rather than flat to the necks - much more difficult to get right - and are consistent and symmetrical. The slots are squared off at the ends. That takes some relatively accomplished chisel work.
The overall design is fairly elegant, and carried through on each neck consistently. I don't see any particular evidence that the scales don't match up or would cause problems in playing. The tailpieces aren't hardware store angle as they would be on most home-builds and look like the extrusion used on trapeze tailpieces from some less expensive arch top acoustics. The pickup covers seem a little out of place, but, again, they're clean and consistently done.
I think it's possible that this thing started life as a more legit instrument than it seems and is a victim of well-intentioned ameteur refinishing. I think someone in the past reworked it, brushed on some varnish and added the baubles. Anyone who could pull off the build could probably (and would definitely want to) make it look a lot nicer.
John, does this thing have leg sockets, by chance? I don't think you're ever going reap a princely sum from it, but if it had sockets already installed, it'd be worth more than it would be without 'em. As for a real value, anyone one who wanted to build a crude and simple triple would have to shell maybe $100-$150 on the low end for parts and wood and another $50-$75 for leg sockets. I would think that someone wanting an instant player with a lot of character would be willing to part with that much for this one - assuming it plays and functions well.
Good luck with it...

looking from any other as iam not realy trying to sale butt would entertain the thought i am really wanting to find out the origins of it a great thanks to all who have gave me their opinion it seems that most belive it is homade as a few think it may have been more just looking for more THANK YOU ALL