The Steel Guitar Forum

I imagine most of us have had a few mutts over the years.. I would like to discuss reasons why you had a good steel that you disliked. Color ,tone, playability weight,.. whatever. You may have gotten it straightened out later and loved it, but i'm talking about guitars that wouldn't work for you for whatever reason,,

I know,I know, Mr Negative, but thats one of my endearing characteristics. WE are not "bashing" anyone's products by the way.. ALL modern steels are good, as well as most older ones, and I love them all, but there is always a clunker or two .

b0b has stated more than once that this forum is for discussion of steel PLAYERS.. NOT a manufacturers hype forum. I wouldn't worry about stepping on any toes.


1.. Dekley... It was long ago, but I remember it as being way too heavy.. The biggest problem for me however was the little "D" shaped pedals.. I play in socks, and I remember that steel guitar killing me when I played it.. Off it went.

2 Sho Bud Pro III.. kept this guitar for years, but I was always at odds with it. Although I bought it in mint/ unused cond.,that steel would NOT stay in tune. Open string or pedal stops.. always tuning it up. I kept the wrench right on the guitar.. Also, had problems with lowers... Had to have the changer fingers machined to get some of my copedent,and always fought it. Despite its sweet tone, off she went.

3 Sho Bud 6139[pre Pro I].. actually,a good guitar with a GREAT sound,but the changer was kind of primitive by todays standards and I could not get enough of my copedent.... I always seem to fight buds.. and I fought this one too.

4 Carter.. color...


5 MSA Classic.... color.. actually LACK of color....

6 Sho Bud Pro I... Don't want to discuss this one...

7 MSA D10 XL ..Nice guitar, but you needed 3 good men and a pack mule to move it.. the tone was also "blah",,, I don't think I kept it very long at all..


You get the idea... share a few steels that went off to oblivion because they would not work for you... bob

<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Bob Carlucci on 19 May 2005 at 05:59 AM.]</p></FONT><font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Bob Carlucci on 19 May 2005 at 03:05 PM.]</p></FONT><font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Bob Carlucci on 19 May 2005 at 03:06 PM.]</p></FONT>

My second steel. MSA Semi-Classic. Good mechanics but not very good tone. It was a step up from my Sho-Bud Maverick.

My worst one was an LDG Shobud. It looked so good but its undercarriage and pedal rattled like a freight train crossing a bridge.

My first guitar was an Emmons student model. Could not get this little beast to stay in tune to save my life.

My second guitar was a used Emmons P-P S10 model. Great sound, but again, tuning problems all over the place.

Bob

MSA Red Baron. Need I say more?
Fiberglas is great for car bodies, but for a steel....
<a href='http://usera.imagecave.com/charliethemo ... .jpg'><img src='http://usera.imagecave.com/charliethemo ... g.jpg'></a>

Bob S.. surprised you had tuning problems with a PP... I have not heard too many guys complain about tuning problems on Emmons... Just goes to show there's always a stinker even among the jewels... bob

ZB D10. Great tone, bad beginner guitar. I spent all my time working on it instead of playing. Sold it, and of course wish I kept it to restore.JimP

A Teisco.....It had bicyle clutch cables to activate the pedals! I eventually took the pedals off and played it without.

EDITED to add another guitar. Back in the late 1960's I bought one of the first Rickenbacker Pedal Steels and it would never stay in tune. Fortunately, the music store took it back and returned it to the Company. I guess Rickenbacker could never solve the problem either because they soon stopped making pedal steels.

www.genejones.com <font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Gene Jones on 21 May 2005 at 04:28 AM.]</p></FONT>

ZB Custom SD-10 Great guitar,beautiful finish but would not stay in tune.Absolutely hated the design of the undercarriage.

Bob, I played a Dekley for 16 years in socks and thought it was very easy on the feet and I can't hardly stand to walk on grass without shoes on.

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Cops aren't paid much so I steel at night.

My first one was an MCI, not one of the good ones. It was a later one that had the aluminum front. It had the worst shrill tone so I put a georgel's e66 in it and it still sounded the same. It played nicely just sounded bad.

Haven't had a bad steel yet.But I have a couple of questions.

• Was it the steel that was bad?Or was it just bad judgement?
• If you knew then what you know now about the same steel....would you buy it again?

I had several steel guitars and always sold um because there was something wrong with it.But I found out later that it wasn't the steel guitar but it was me.I always changed things back than with out even knowing what I was doing.After i found out that it wasn't the steel guitar but me I bought 2 brands....

• Emmons
• Sho-Bud

I didn't fool around with these steel guitars and never had a problem with them.

Ron

From my experiences, the only two modern guitars I would buy are Fessenden and ZumSteel. I personally prefer the Fessy but played a ZumSteel for 20+ years and would certainly buy another under the right circumstances.

I personally do not care for older MSA guitars, but have heard some players make them sound great. I'm also not fond of Mullen, Carter, or GFI guitars, but I might not have played 'the right one'.

There's a feel thing that is hard to measure or quantify. I can sit down to a guitar and know instantly if it talks to me. It's equal parts feel and sound in my opinion. All new guitars have pretty good mechanics. I love old Emmons, Sho-Bud, and ZB guitars, but they can be a pain to keep running smooth.

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<small>Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 19 May 2005 at 08:43 AM.]</p></FONT>

Bob C. While not exactly on topic,You've mentioned playing in your socks and I thought I would take it a step further.

I like to get really comfortiable when I play.



P.S. I tried to post a picture and it won't print. I can't seem to figure out where I'm going wrong.

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Cops aren't paid much so I steel at night.<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Dick Wood on 19 May 2005 at 08:54 AM.]</p></FONT><font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Dick Wood on 19 May 2005 at 09:04 AM.]</p></FONT><font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Dick Wood on 19 May 2005 at 09:28 AM.]</p></FONT>

Dick.. thats really weird.. two players ,same pedals, one loved it the other depised it!!.. I mean I HATED those D pedals..... maybe my feet are bent and i kept hitting the sharp angles!!

I never understood why a manufacturer would sacrifice ergonomic factors for vanity, i.e., making pedals shaped like their initials instead of symmetrical. That's one reason I never bought a Dekley back in the days they were being made.

I've sold several guitars because they didn't match well with my own artistic direction. It's wasn't that I disliked the guitar, just that I was moving on.

The exception was a 1978 Emmons S-12, bought new and made to order. It was a wonderful sounding instrument, but I couldn't keep the pedals and levers in tune. Also, it broke a lot of strings. Maybe they were bad strings, I'm not sure. I actually loved the guitar but I hated it too. The Sierra Crown S-12 Keyless that replaced it didn't sound quite as rich, but it was a lot less trouble.

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<font size="1"><img align=right src="http://b0b.com/Hotb0b.gif" width="96 height="96">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra SD-12 (Ext E9), Williams D-12 Crossover, Sierra S-12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra Laptop 8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster (E13, C6, A6)</font>

Mullen H/Wallace model,looked great played great,but had a terrible thin sound.Sho-Bud Profesional noisey,a pig to keep in tune and heavy, but had a most beautifull tone.

J G.D10 EXCEL.Peavey Session 400 LTD,Ampeg SS70 AND LOADS OF OTHER TOYS.

RE: Dekley (1978)
LOVE IT!! I'm,still,playin' it,to this day! The "D" pedals don't bother me a bit. It stays in tune,& has a great tone. The action on it is solid & easy.

Worst one?........had to be the "MultiKord"!
Cables kept bustin',& ya had to have a special "screwdriver/nutdriver" combo to tune the pedals. Piece o' junk!!

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<font face="monospace" size="3"><pre> ~ ~
©¿© It don't mean a thang,
mm if it ain't got that twang.
www.ntsga.com</pre></font>

You come up with the best topics!

I've only had one steel, my little Carter Starter and I love it. My neighbors also love it: "I can't believe you get such great sound out of a giant Zither."

I do know what you mean about the Carter's color, though. It's really a woman's color and you should not have to suffer with it! You should send it to me and. . . .

Okay. I'll stop.

Seriously, I am currently searching for my first pro model. I really appreciate this thread and the honest responses. It is really helping!

I didn't post twice. Stop that!<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Adrienne Clasky on 19 May 2005 at 11:16 AM.]</p></FONT>

Unlike a lot of folks, I really appreciated my Sho Bud Maverick- (Tom's first!) it was all I could afford and got me into playing. I sure wouldn't want it back now though! Other than that the only real dog I had was a Sierra Crown Keyless. b0b loved his, I hated mine. Overbuilt mechanically, and broke strings like crazy. I spent a lot of time getting to know the keyless setup, and still had times on stage where I'd put on 5 or 6 3rd strings before one would stay. Yuk.

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Stop by the Steel Store at: www.markvanallen.com

I had a MSA D-12 which in the case almost broke my foot and was so heavy that it dented my car door. The sound and tone were o.k. but as Dr. Zachary Smith would say " Oh my poor delicate back Dear William"..also early ZB D-10 was my first steel and way too much time & money to get it in tune and hardly any playing time.


Bronco Billy

The worst steel for me was the one I started out with...a MultiChord 6 string, 4 pedals. The guitar was bad by todays standards, but, I give the Harlin Bros. credit...they probably got a lot of people into starting back in the early early fifties. Building them, like playing them...you start at the bottom and get better.

The worst one for me was way back in the late 70's when I dabbled with a Sierra 12 string Uni -- this guitars pedal action was so stiff and hard it was almost unplayable, no matter how I adjusted it - and it had 3 different holes on the pedal to move the rod attachment, still no joy. You had to jump off the seat with a 40lb bag of cement on your back to get the pedals to go all the way down !! And yet the guy I sold it to loves it, and still has it I believe - although he weighs 280 lbs ha!!!

Paddy, you bring up a good point---All these steels you guys hated---Where are they now? In the hands of someone who loves the way they sound, or play, or tune???