The Steel Guitar Forum

I am a new member here, new to pedal steel but have been a musician most of my life. I've decided to take up the instrument and am reading as much as I can and asking questions. I've found this to be a a great site, lots of good information. I don't own a pedal steel yet, but have an opportunity to buy a Linkon, made in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Hopefully I'm in the right place to ask this question - just wondering if anyone that might read this has any experience with them and/or an opinion either way. It was made in the 90's, all maple, 8 floor and 4 knees, all pull and appears to be well maintained.

Robert, The Linkon was manufactured by Wayne Link. Wayne is a very reputable man and I believe he has made top notch guitars. I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong but I believe the Linkon guitars are very similar to the MSA guitars. I have dealt with Wayne in the past and would not hesitate to deal with him again. If you get the guitar and have any problems, I am sure Wayne would be more than glad to help.

You will never meet a nicer couple than Joan and Wayne Link. I just got a bunch of MSA parts from them for a ZB I'm rebuilding.

The changer in pics I've seen looks more of shobud style, maybe the undercarriage is more msa??

A couple years ago he had a wide variety of all sorts of parts. I bought a couple tear drop shobud knee levers from him. Very reasonable.

Erv Niehaus wrote:You will never meet a nicer couple than Joan and Wayne Link.

Right on Erv! Wayne will help anyone he can regardless of what brand of steel guitar you play. He is extremely approachable and loves to talk steel. One thing people may not be aware of is Wayne has many self-produced CDs available at very reasonable prices featuring not only himself but also many Manitoba country music legends. Thanks for preserving this history Wayne!

Thank you for your opinions, it is very much appreciated. I went ahead with the purchase and the guitar arrived yesterday. I may not have been clear in the post, but it was not bought from Wayne Link, although he built it. I am extremely happy with the guitar, it has lots of sustain, plays great, has nice tone and everything works just fine. (As a new pedal steel player I asked a friend of mine, and fine steel player for countless years, Evan Ehgoetz, to use it on a local gig last night and he tells me all is good). I'm using a Goodrich 120 and a very old Peavey LTD with a 15" Black Widow which I love, amp reverb.

Again I must say that this is a great site and loaded with good information and good people and I've found it extremely helpful.

I saw the one you bought in my local listings (99 percent sure)...it looked really nice, more of a shobud design so it should sound great...and what a fantastic price to get into a D10!

That is the guitar you seen Tom - it came from Calgary and yes, great price for a D10 and it does sound good. I am guessing that maybe Linkon is not as popular of a brand as some others?

I bought my first steel, a Linkon, in 2005. I still have it and I intend to keep it. When I first bought it, I needed a pedal, so I ordered one from Linkon and Wayne promptly sent me one.