Your Name on Your Instrument

About Steel Guitarists and their Music

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Alan Brookes
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Your Name on Your Instrument

Post by Alan Brookes »

How many of you have your name on your instrument ?

It lowers the value on resale unless your name happens to be Jerry Byrd, etc., but it lets people know who you are.
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Jerry Roller
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Post by Jerry Roller »

Buddy's name is on most of my guitars. Image
Jerry
Charlie Willcockson
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Post by Charlie Willcockson »

Mine won't fit.
Pat Burns
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Post by Pat Burns »

...and I suppose you won't take suggestions for a shortened version Charlie?...

..I'm with Jerry, Buddy's name is on mine too, and it actually increases the value that way..<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Pat Burns on 05 November 2006 at 07:30 PM.]</p></FONT>
Ron Whitfield
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Post by Ron Whitfield »

I have Jerry Byrd's name and inscription on my Magnatone 8 steel that he taught me on, and it's invaluable to me, as well as by many other vintage Hawaiian music legends.
Makes it sound even better!

One of the greats that graced my Mag was Waikiki steel/vocal/guitar legend, Sonny Kamahele, whom in the twilight of his carreer/life was featured on a local morning news show to talk history and play steel, using the late Mel Abe's blonde Stringmaster that Sonny had recently repainted black with a paint brush(!), over the decal and all.
The punchline came when the camera panned accross the front of the steel as Sonny played, to show the name Fender scribbled in black marker on masking tape, stuck promenantly where the old script logo was.

Classic Sonny, always good for fun.<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Ron Whitfield on 06 November 2006 at 06:44 PM.]</p></FONT>
A. J. Schobert
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Post by A. J. Schobert »

I have an old sho-bud under neath it says "custom built for hal rug grand 'ol opry wsm" now the guy I bought this off of sold it to me as is and didn't know if this was real or a fake.
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Jim Cohen
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Post by Jim Cohen »

Well you could put Scho~Bert on your guitar! Image
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Greg Cutshaw
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Post by Greg Cutshaw »

My favorite Sho-Bud had "BJV" on the front of it for years and I never had a single person ask me who that was (or for that matter who I was). Image

Greg<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Greg Cutshaw on 05 November 2006 at 08:39 PM.]</p></FONT>
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Jim Sliff
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Post by Jim Sliff »

I always thought it was pretty tacky. Too much "look at me"....
Sidney Ralph Penton
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Post by Sidney Ralph Penton »

well i have a black psg none other than a zum. and on the front in silver letters is my name "s.r.penton" it looks nice like it came from bruce that way. it don't lower the selling price if i was crazy enough to sell it because it can come off with out marks etc. you can use vinal lettering that way you can get what ever style you want in what ever color you want. i think it looks good, lets people know who your are etc.

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zum SD10 peavy session 400 peavy XR600G
if its not a zum steel it isn't real
just trying to steel for the Lord>

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Michael Douchette
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Post by Michael Douchette »

Greg... I most certainly could be wrong... but isn't that Big Jim Vest?

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Mikey D...


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Tom Quinn
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Post by Tom Quinn »

There's some guy's name stamped into the changer-end of my D10, but I don't know who it is...
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Mike Winter
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Post by Mike Winter »

I always thought it was kind of tacky, too. I think the music should be the draw, and if you're that great, your music will be enough to let people know who you are. I guess that's why I've always liked a band to have a band name, and not "Whoever and the Whatevers." Just my opinion.

We played a double-bill show a couple of weeks ago and the drummer from the other band had his name on his kick drum. I just don't see the point. It ain't me, it's us.

It seems like a pattern develops: The Crickets. Then The Crickets, featuring Buddy Holly. Then Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Then Buddy Holly. Same with Janis Joplin: First it was Big Brother and The Holding Company. Then it was Big Brother and The Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin. Then Janis Joplin and Big Brother and The Holding Company, then Janis Joplin. It's happened time after time.

Again, not saying it's wrong. I just prefer a band to be a band. No stars...just a band. Image

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Mike
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Blue Moon Highway
(Country Music...and then some.)
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Frank Parish
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Post by Frank Parish »

I think having a name for the band gives it an identity so they're just not nameless. It's been customary for a drummer to have his initials on his bass drum but it was mostly the jazz drummers. Sometimes people/fans like to know the name of the player and that's as it should be. How many times are we posting right here "Who's this player"? If I wanted it on my guitar I wouldn't put it on in a permanent way. You can go to Kinkos or a print shop and get your name in script letters or any style you want and just put it on like decal. I used to have bass drums signs for every band I played with and everybody always commented on them.
Larry Lorows
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Post by Larry Lorows »

I have my name on my guitar because I'm a sign painter and it has brought in business for me. Mine in in vinyl and I can take it off when I want to. Larry

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U12 Williams keyless 400
Evans SE 150, Nashville 112, Line 6 pod xt

Smiley Roberts
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Post by Smiley Roberts »

Maybe,I'll just scotch-tape one of my business cards on the front of mine. Image

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


Reggie Duncan
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Post by Reggie Duncan »

Buddy's name in on mine. Mine don't belong on the same piece of formica.
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Jerry Hayes
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Post by Jerry Hayes »

I don't think it's "Tacky" at all. In the old days some of my standard guitar heroes such as Joe Maphis, Merly Travis, Grady Martin, etc. had their names inlaid on the fretboard of their guitars and a lot who didn't would have hand tooled leather guitar straps with their names on them. One of the coolest steel guitars I ever saw belonged to Blackie Taylor (he still has it by the way) and was a Fender 400 which had been converted to a 12 string. The entire front panel was covered with a very nice hand tooled leather strip with Blackie's name on it. I always thought that was one nice looking steel. I remember one of Buddy Emmons old guitars had Buddy spelled "Buddie" on it. On his bio on the old steel guitar record club release, Tom Brumley tells about the first time he played on the Opry and the steel players had their steels in a room and someone saw his and knew was there because of his name on the front of it.....JH in Va.

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Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!!


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John Drury
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Post by John Drury »

What Jim Sliff said.

Unless you are doing the "if found please return" thing, If you are any good at all on the axe people will find out who you are if they don't already know.

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John Drury
NTSGA #3


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R. D. Miller
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Post by R. D. Miller »

I have my first name on my steel. In the early
1990's my house was burglarized. They took most of my electronics, but the steel was untouched. I don't know if it was the name painted on it or if it was the weight (it is a fender 2000).
Bill Mayville
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Post by Bill Mayville »

test
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Barry Blackwood
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Post by Barry Blackwood »

Hey, Mike - I wonder if pretty soon it will be, "Jerry Douglas with Allison Krause and Union Station" ....
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Greg Cutshaw
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Post by Greg Cutshaw »

Mikey D. , yup, Big Jim Vest and I never met the guy. My middle initial is J so at least one of the letters was accurate.

Greg
Rick Collins
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Post by Rick Collins »

I would __ if:

But, there's somthing kinda' phoney sounding about the words:

Speedy Collins Image
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Fred Shannon
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Post by Fred Shannon »

I wonder which name, MSA or MILLENNIUM, was the guys last name? If I find out the answer to that question I can figure out which was his first. Image


Phred

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"From Truth, Justice is Born"--Quanah Parker-1904

<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Fred Shannon on 06 November 2006 at 09:14 AM.]</p></FONT>
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