The Steel Guitar Forum

Three things come to mind as priorities when purchasing a new Steel guitar.
I'd like to know which of these three priorities in order are the most important to you.
I have my own, and will reveal mine a little later, don't want to influence anyone at the start.
Thanks for participating.

hook i/am with you nobody wants a ugley woman.0r guitar.maybe wayne morgan, take care bud;;;;;

I'm going with playability over cosmetics.
If the thing don't feel right then it's wrong.
PSGs don't have bad tone they just have different tone. Some PSGs are easier to play than others and some are prettier than others. Any black PSG that is easy to play, Priceless!

I'd place playability over tone, on the grounds that hands and electronics can, to a great extent, make up for shortcomings in the guitar on tone.

I think "weight" needs to be added to the poll. It seems like that is becoming a more important factor, with the "graying" of the PSG population.

You should add "all the above". It's kind of a senseless question as all of those are equally important. You being a builder should know that first hand. Great looking guitars you are making.

Richard thank you for your comments, however I don't deem the question "Senseless"
yes, as a builder I do know the value of all three priorities. But the poll is not about what I think.
I simply want to know from our members, which priority is number one to them.

If I had to choose it would be playability.

My preferences would be in the order you have them listed.

Tone first because I want any steel I own to have good natural tonal qualities that I shouldn't have to struggle to try and obtain. I believe the tone can be altered somewhat within perimeters, but as has been discussed on here many times, every steel guitar has a natural timbre that can not be changed. I also believe that string seperation and clarity fall under the heading of "tone".

Playability is equally important to me. A poor playing guitar will limit a players ability to easily execute what he or she is trying to present musically. How a guitar tunes/holds tune/and returns to pitch or tune after a knee lever or pedal has been engaged is also a big part of what makes a guitar playable. The ease with which the knee levers and pedals engage and their location and shape all have a bearing on a guitars playability.

Cosmetics, although third on my list, is a huge factor to me and to most steel players if they will be honest and admit it. Once a steel guitar passes the tone and playability test, it has to look at least good, if not great. Everyone's definition of that will be is as different, as the variety that is being shown in the current models being built today. I feel todays builders are slowly begining to experiment with this. It is an area that I feel needs to be explored even more and the envelope pushed. For example, the newer model six string electric guitars that are being manufactured today with their, what traditional guitarists surely consider, loud and exotic colors and paint schemes. If our instrument is going to appeal to a younger player, it has to look acceptable to them in 2011, not what we thought was cool in the 60's or 70's.

JMHO

In my experience, playability is no longer a major issue among most popular brands being made today. You can adjust a well designed all-pull changer to feel like a push-pull (longer, easier pulls) or short and crisp. The feel of most modern brands is, by and large, dictated by how it was adjusted. If you buy one from the mfgr and don't specify (or don't know how to tweak it yourself) how you want it to feel, you'll get whatever feels right to the setup guy or builder.

Good luck getting that all pull guitar to have the TONE of a push-pull. But, again, that tone preference is a matter of personal taste.

Just my dos centavos.

Pete Walthall wrote:hook i/am with you nobody wants a ugley woman.0r guitar.maybe wayne morgan, take care bud;;;;;

Exactly

Tone.

Three priorities?

Tone, tone and tone.

If I could play a push pull I would own one. My situation might be different than a lot of of other players. I have crooked feet and neuropathy on top of that. I know tone is very important but if you have to fight with playing a guitar and you can't accomplish the things you want, chances are your not going to sound your full potential. A guitar can be the best sounding guitar in the world but if one's ability to play that guitar is limited, you would be better off playing a guitar that is going to work better for you mechanically. Tone wise, I do feel there are a lot of guitars on the market that are very mechanically sound and great playability with excellent tone. Like I said earlier, my situation is different but I realize there are a lot of players that can adapt to guitars better than I can. And for you guys or gals that can do that, I can see where tone would definately be the top priority. But for me, I play for a living and my ability is limited and I have to play what works best for me. On that note, I will say that Fred builds one the absolute best guitars on the market with incredible tone and clarity.

Closed at Fred's request.