BMI's- how are they?

Brian Pelky · From: Portland, OR

What's anybody's take on an early 80's S-10 BMI? Good changers? Is it going to hold it's value if I want to upgrade later?

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

I think they're a pretty decent guitar, which should neither gain nor lose a lot of value in the coming years, regardless of whether if you upgrade it or not.

Brian Pelky · From: Portland, OR

Are they considered pro? I've noticed a lot of singles going for around $900 on the forum....seems low. Is there a quality issue?

John McClung · From: Olympia WA, USA

They're great sounding and playing guitars, Brian, but they have one chief quirk, flat plats vs bell cranks, which I feel limits adjusting the feel of your pulls,

Additionally, they're a double raise/double lower, which for some players isn't enough possibilities, triple raise is the norm these days, and triple lower is getting more popular, too.

They really sound great and twangy, though, I love their tone, and if you don't have crazy copedent needs, they're a fantastic value and solid for a lifetime of pleasure.
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Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

To me BMI steels are one of the hidden gems of steel guitars. Solid, reliable great sounding instruments. The S10's are small and light also. I have one on order at the moment.
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Bob

Stu Schulman · From: Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)

I have a friend who has a S-12 universal and it has a beautiful sound,He says that he never has to mess with anything and it stays in tune,he's owned it for 25 years.I don't really understand how they work?But they sound great.
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Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952.

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

My BMI's a late seventies vintage and it's a triple raise, double lower model S-12 with 8 on the floor and 5 knee levers. When I bought it used around '87 or so, it had 7 floor pedals and six knee levers. There was an additional RKL inside lever which I took off after only a couple of weeks. About 4 years ago I got the 8th pedal added which just raises the 4th string to F# for Mooney licks with the right foot.......

As far as adjusting the pulls, mine has 6 holes in the flat bell cranks to attach the rods so it's much easier to adjust pulls than say an old ShoBud with only two positions on the bell cranks.

It's pretty easy to get an old Fender sound out of one of these. I play mine a lot through a MusicMan HD One Fifty 2-12 amp which is like a Twin and really captures the old "Mooney" sound.

A couple of times I've thought of getting a new guitar but I really can't see any reason for it. For different gigs I use different amps and that seems to cover all bases.

My pedal action is short but not stiff and the guitar stays in tune as well as anything out there.......JH in Va.
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Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!!

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

James Collett · From: San Dimas, CA

how does the plate mechanism work?
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James Collett

Jon Light (deceased) · From: Saugerties, NY

It is different from how everyone else does it but not really that radically---it's a slab rather than a rod cross shaft but it serves the same purpose of rotating a bellcrank that pulls the pull rod.

Jerry Roller · From: Van Buren, Arkansas USA

My first "Pro" pedal guitar was a BMI D10. Prior to that I built my own guitars using coat hangers, screen door no sags, Ford windshield wiper pulleys
and cables, gate hinges and various other hardware store items. Zane built me a BMI and I have always had a fondness for BMI and Zane as a person. So much so that I recently became a BMI dealer. I have a red D10 on order and presently have an S10. Zane was one of the sharpest minds ever when it came to designing a pedal steel guitar. It is a quality guitar and the same guy has been building them for at least 25 years. Don went to work for Zane and now owns the BMI company.
Jerry

Kevin Hatton · From: Buffalo, N.Y.

They are a great classic sounding steel. They play great also. Excellent value.

Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

What's happening with their plans to make an acoustic steel?
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Rex Myers · From: Risingsun Ohio, USA

Pardon me for horning in but when ever I ever I hear some one say BMI I'm all ears.
I've had my Universal 12 7&5 for 20+ and I have completely disassembled and re assembled it my self mostly just to understand how it works and let me say this its a marvel of simplicity the way Zane Beck designed these guitars very stable great sounding steel guitar tone is a subjective thing. I feel My BMI has good tone and sustain without the need of any match box or enhancement devices although I do have a match box I use from time to time
As Far as value well let me put it this way I also have a Kline Setup the same way and it has tone to the bone but I always end up playing the BMI it just fits like and old shoe I would by I new one in a heart beat if my wife wouldn't kill me! Buying a steel guitar now days is a very tough choice lot of great builders out there good Luck Very Happy

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Tony Dingus · From: Kingsport, Tennessee, USA

Mike, the last time I read a post on it , Dan said something about having it ready by the St. Louis convention. Maybe he'll see this and correct me if I'm wrong.

Tony

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

I said this in a thread on good, affordable guitars last week. I like mine, and I've owned two. I still have one - an early 80's S-10 3+4, which makes a good travel guitar. Solid as a rock, easy to work on, plays well and sounds good - to my tastes, anyway.

As far as values go, I saw older BMIs regularly a few years ago trading on the forum and elsewhere for $600-800, now they seem to be more in the $900-100 range. I think they've been creeping up along with many other good-quality PSGs. Couple with the fact that they're not far from the range of a good starter guitar, I find it hard to imagine they're not at least holding their value relative to many other guitars.

Harvey Richman · From: Georgia, USA

Hello Brian. I'm not as accomplished a steel player as most of the other folks who respoded here but I'm pretty good at wokring on them. I have a circa 1980 BMI s-10 which was, I think, my 4th steel. Great sound (with the stock pickup), very light, stays in tune, the pedal and lever action is easy (soft), and parts are readily available. I think they are one of the better buys out there today.

Best Regards
Harvey Richman

Brian Pelky · From: Portland, OR

Thanks all for the input. I'm going tomorrow to look at an '81 SD-10 for $1,000. It's is 4X5 w/ a Bill Lawrence humbucker. Were these sold this way originally? Or were the extra pedal,knee and BL more than likely added later? I'll ask tomorrow, but I'm thinking of owning my first steel tomorrow! Anything I should ask about it?

Harvey Richman · From: Georgia, USA

Hello again Brian. Many older SD-10s are actually double necks that have been converted to single necks. You'll be able to tell that when you look at the underside. Nothing wrong with that though if that's the case. The fifth knee lever is a nice extra. You are looking at an instrument that is over 25 years old so there might be some things that need attention. Overall appearance and condition can tell you alot about how much it's been played and how well it has been cared for. I would try all the pedals and levers several times and make sure they sll do what they should and I would take it apart and put it back together at least once before buying. Look it over carefully and ask about anything that doesn't look or feel right to you. If I had known about the forum when I was buying my first steel, I would have posted some pics here and asked for opinions. Maybe you could do that. There's alot of experience and knowledge available here. Better still would be to get someone with more experince to look at it with you, if you know someone. Good luck with your steel shopping.
Regards
Harvey Richman

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

My early 80's BMI has a Lawrence 705. Since I didn't buy it new, I can't say 100% for certain it was original, but I have had to assess originality of pickups on vintage guitars frequently. Looking at the solder joints, I concluded that this probably is the original pickup - it looks like a clean factory job. If someone replaced the pickup, they did a completely professional job and the solder joints are well tarnished and do not appear to have been messed with in a long time. However, I'm not completely certain.

If this is the Lawrence pickup with the blades and chrome surround, it is one of the x05 series, probably a 705. Consider yourself very lucky if, in fact, that's what it is. Well - at least I like them. Smile

My S-12 had 4+5, set up to the Zane Beck universal copedent when I got it. I don't know if it was common to for BMI to ship 10-string steels with 4+5, but I wouldn't think it's out of the question. There are some bona fide BMI experts on the forum - perhaps they could shed some light if you posted some close-up pictures. But to me - the issue on a guitar like this is whether the pedals and knees are all set up correctly and work well. A well set up 4+5 is a very versatile E9 guitar.

If you know a seasoned pedal steel player, it would be a good idea to take him or her along with you to look at any pedal steel. I'd ask pointed questions about the owner's use of the guitar, past maintenance, how it's set up, how and how much it's been used, and so on. Definitely ask the owner to play it, and listen for smooth changes, lack of clank in the undercarriage, and in general a nice clean machine. But again - these things are kinda hard to evaluate if you can't play yourself or have someone whose opinion you trust play it and assess it.

Benton Allen · From: Muscle Shoals, Alabama, USA

Brian,
Of course, you could take the easier, more certain route and call/email Don or Dan at BMI and ask them about the guitar. I know BMI keeps records on how their guitars are configured and equipped when originally shipped. They can also give you the date of manufacture. Their contact info is on their web site. They are nice folks to do business with.

Cheers!
Benton

Stu Schulman · From: Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)

[quote="Jerry Hayes"] About 4 years ago I got the 8th pedal added which just raises the 4th string to F# for Mooney licks with the right foot...
Jerry,I had Jerry Blanton build me a guitar years ago with 3 pedals and a 4th where an 8th pedal would be that does what your's does,so I could play Mooney licks with my right foot,it's good to see someone else did it.Stu

Winking

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Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952.

Darren James · From: Alabama, USA

I just recently got a BMI S-12. Its my first "real" steel as the one I had was a borrowed one. It has 3 floor and 5 knee pedals. An experienced steel player got it and set it up and played it for about a week before I bought it to make sure everything was ok on it. I'm not sure about the year but I'll contact BMI and ask them now that I know I can do that.

Jon Light (deceased) · From: Saugerties, NY

My 1983 BMI S-10 Ser. # 1024 economy model (3+2, upgraded to 3+4 around 10 years ago) came from Zane to me with a BL 705 so the 705 was 'factory' original back then.

Ben Elder · From: La Crescenta, California, USA

(Hi again, Brian...)

I'm a perpetual beginner with no playing ability but with a definite preference for vintage-sound pedal steels. Along the road to three ZBs, a Sho-Bud and a Fender 800, I had a BMI S-10 that, of necessity, was sold to acquire one or 'nother of the ZBs. (It's all Zane-- and I'll be able to find another BMI, I reasoned.) As much a connoisseur of the pre-1970 tone as I claim to be, I love the BMI's sound, even though its construction is so different from all the others.

Sure enough, I saw one on eBay (2+1...???...and the plot thickens) that I got very reasonably. Seller was not a psg player at all, so how would he know to tell me it was set up for C6!

A brief sojourn at Jim Palenscar's Oceanside spa got everything right (3+1 with the knee lever now moving the correct direction) while keeping the total expenditure very reasonable. I now use it to take in and out of the car for lessons. Mechanically, it's simple, elegant and (as these things go) light. They are killer instruments for the modest prices they command. (Numbers of raises and lowers I leave to real players to debate.)

Somebody smarter than I am would probably just get two BMIs--home and away.
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