The Steel Guitar Forum

I bought this Marlen 3x4 online yesterday for $1,000 ...good or bad deal?

From what I can see that was not built as an SD, it was built as a D10.. No biggie, but original Marlen parts are rare and have value, and there would have been a bunch of them taken from the C6 neck.. IMHO, you paid about retail for a converted Marlen SD 10. Not a terrible deal, not a great one.. It would have been worth somewhat more if left as a D10.
I have seen some older D 10 pull release Marlens going for about the price you paid, maybe a few hundred more... The all pull Marlens go for somewhat higher prices, so a lot depends on the pull system you have. Most Marlens I have seen are pull release, in which case you got pretty much what you paid for, nothing more or less really.
In any case you do own a very good pedal steel that will run like a fine watch and cause NO problems once its set up properly... bob

I'm thinking that's an all-pull, since I don't see those screws to stop the lowers.
I concur with Bob. You got a decent deal. You didn't get rooked and you didn't land a screaming deal.

I can return if it's terrible.. hope the underneath is ok!
Thinking it's mid 70s

The all-pull Marlens are pretty decent guitars, and just about any all-pull guitar is worth a grand. Prices have gone up recently, so I'd say you got a fair deal. (I'd like to see a pic of the front and underneath, though.)

Keith,
Just about any 3&4 Pedal Steel is worth $1000
But in the end what it's worth is what you get out of it in enjoyment.
That may be an amount immeasurable in monetary terms.
Hopefully everything is functional on the guitar and if I'm correct
you're a lap steel guy, so you should transition easily to pedal steel.
Your playing options just quadrupled Buddy.
Let us know how you progress.
Good luck,
Jb

I played alot of pedal steel 4 yrs ago and bought a MSA red Baron recently and was not happy.. I owned a Dekely few yrs ago kick myself for selling it! Dekely to a Red Baron...not good!

Oh yeah, the red Baron shouldn't even be called a guitar.
The Dekley, now that is a good guitar. I kicked myself too
When I sold mine.
Jb

A thousand bucks to get into an E9th pedal steel isn't a bad deal at all. Don't know about this iteration of Marlen, but the old ones sounded great. You did good.

Lane Gray wrote:I'm thinking that's an all-pull, since I don't see those screws to stop the lowers.
I concur with Bob. You got a decent deal. You didn't get rooked and you didn't land a screaming deal.

Yeah, actually I can't see them either, and Lane may be correct.. If its an all pull, it is a decent deal, and easier to upgrade as parts from many brands can be made to work. In any case, its 5000 times better than what you had before! Enjoy it... bob

Rkl knee lever is missing its stop bracket...I will let you know how well it plays...

Looks like a pull release from the changer fingers, but guess it could be some kind of all pull iteration.

It's pull-release. Very simple mechanically, but not straightforward to set up for optimum playability. Once properly set up it will stay in tune almost forever, play as easy and smooth as butter and have "tone-to-the-bone".

It isn't one of the later pull-release Marlens because this one has single-sided bellcranks whereas the later ones had double-sided bellcranks, but it will still sound great. A search of the forum will uncover a wealth of info on Marlen pull-release steels.

But it must - repeat must - be properly set up!

Been kicking myself (Lane said I would) ever since I sold my Marlen D-10 Pull Release. Tone to the BBBBone!

It would have become a house queen though... those things are HEAVY!