The Steel Guitar Forum

Now I realize there's alot of variables at work here. But can anyone give some rough guidelines for a reasonable price for a single neck 8 string Fender Stringmaster, and what conditions would push the price up or down.
Thanks,
Andrew.

Andrew:
Funny you should mention it. I just got back from my annual vacation in Sechelt. While I was in Vancouver, I bought a really nice Deluxe 6 (i.e. single-neck Stringmaster) for under $400 ($275 U.S.). The price was so low because the case had some damage to the top. It's repairable, though, and in any event, it's a fair trade-off to pay two or three hundred dollars less for an instrument with a little cosmetic damage, much less damage to the case. It's tough to pin down a price on the Deluxes, either the Stringmaster style or the earlier instruments with the trapezoidal pickup. The single eights are comparatively rare, and the Stringmaster style seems especially hard to come by. I paid $400 U.S.
for a trapezoidal eight in good condition, but with the original knobs replaced a couple of years ago; I think that was a pretty fair bargain. I later missed a chance at a mint instrument for $750, which all things considered was probably an even better buy.
My sense is that with a little shopping around, you should be able to come up with a decent instrument for no more than $500 U.S., but with luck you may find something much cheaper.

Ironically, while the music store prices in Vancouver are generally far higher than here in Toronto, over the years I've found some great buys there, including a Fender Champion for $185 (if I'd made the guy an offer ten seconds earlier, I'd've had it for $50, but that's another story)