The Steel Guitar Forum

Hello, appealing to the collected wisdom and knowledge around here. I've sort of fallen in love with this steel from afar. I don't know a whole lot about how to value vintage lap steels.

https://reverb.com/item/6342361-gibson- ... shell-case


Any sense of whether it looks like a decent specimen and if the price is reasonable?

Thanks in advance
Tal.

It looks pretty nice, but I think it's priced well above its actual worth. My opinion, obviously, and it's obviously worth whatever someone will pay for it. I do get it that the EH-185 is more of a rare bird than the EH-150. But I (and I think a lot of people) would much rather have the earlier version with Charlie Christian pickup. This slanted pickup is the transitional pickup used in the early 40s. Not my favorite, but I think more rare, if that matters to you. For comparison purposes, there are a few sold EH-185s on reverb if you google - you can see the asking prices.

FWIW, there's a real nice pre-war EH-150 with a Charlie Christian pickup here on the forum that appears to be still available for around half of that amount - https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=365734 - and it's been there for close to a month.

Retrofrets is an interesting store, but everything I see there is at very high collector dollar. They've been doing the guitar show circuit for years, as have I, and that's been my experience with them. YMMV.

It’s a beautiful example. Retrofret’s business model seems to be “obtain premium product. Charge premium price for it.” That’s not a complaint or criticism. They have a nice, early, polished nickel Rickenbacher for $1600. That’s about $500-$700 above normal asking prices—but the one they have looks almost as nice as the day in 1933 that it came from the factory,

So, my opinion? If you really like it, are not planning to resell it in your lifetime, AND won’t hit a financial ”pain point”, that 185 is worth buying. If that amount of money is going to be a sacrifice...? I’m not so sure.

I picked up this 1940 EH-185 a couple years ago. The Charlie Christian pick up sounds so very good.

What really amazes me is how smooth and good the tuners are. They turn like butter and hold the tuning so well. Pretty amazing. My other old lap steels (1940 Panda, 1938 Oahu, 1948 BR-9) have tuners that feel and act as old as they are. But the ones on this EH-185 feel like they are brand new high quality tuning keys.

BTW, I got this one for $1,400.

Stunning guitar David. Thank you all for your sage advice.

If you open up the product specs in the Reverb ad you'll see this guitar has been listed for 3 years. Other than asking a significant sum for it I'm wondering why they haven't been able to sell it in that amount of time.

This guy's been around for 5 years:

Rickenbacker Electro Spanish Solid Body Electric Guitar (1935), ser. #B 88, original black tolex hard shell case. https://reverb.com/item/2418240-rickenb ... nt=2418240

This guy's been around for 3 years:

Gibson Console Grand High Steel Electric Guitar (1940), ser. #F1552-6, original tweed hard shell case. https://reverb.com/item/12969585-gibson ... t=12969585

Plenty more examples including Joaquin Murphy's Bigsby d8. Been around for 2 years. My guess is that the explanation for the long time has been on sale is that like people said they charge premium dollar for stuff that's available cheaper elsewhere.


Really interesting shop. Super cool stuff. Pretty expensive.

Before I settled on a Rickenbacher B-6, I was seduced by the looks of the Gibson EH-150, specifically this one:


I prefer the sound of the Charlie Christian pickup to the 185's slant as well. I'd still like to pick up a 150 one day when I get rich and famous. The ones with flamey maple are great looking!

Bob

The prewar Gibsons are fine instruments. I had a couple of EH-150s and loved them, the only limitation being that the semi-hollow body limits sustain somewhat. I also prefer the Christian pickup to the ES-300 style that's in the ES-185 you're looking at. I'd certainly take the ES-150 at $1300 over the ES-185 for a thousand-plus extra. Twenty-four hundred is definitely on the high side.

It took me a second to realize that you have a metal plate from headstock to bridge...a lot of the wood is basically just bolted on (perhaps more for cosmetics than anything else). I would think that would be nice for sustain?

(Random side note...one of my longterm gripes with slanted pickups, particularly...Tele and others...I always thought it made more sense reversed. I want the low strings less flabby, and tighter/crisper in the bass, and the higher strings smoother and more bell-like, so I always wondered why they angled them the way they do (which would lean more to icepick highs and muddy lows...but I guess, a wider dynamic range, if that's what you are after). End random side rant )

Don't forget the lowly 125 with the P13 pickup, i had one for a while and it was a real nice little steel.

Well I have that exact EH 185 with that ES 300 pickup. It sounds awesome. No, I haven’t heard the Charlie Christian pickup but mine sounds so rich and vintage it gives you goose bumps when you hear it. That price is a bit high but it depends on your finances. I stole mine, like $1150 if I remember and it’s cherry. How much would I pay for a really fine example? Like around $2000 because it sounds that good. An amazing instrument with a very unique, rich tone and a gorgeous look. I call it my ‘59 Les Paul.