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Topic: 1957 Fender double 8 string converted to pedal steel |
Brian Echenberg
From:
Quebec, Canada
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Posted 9 Dec 2012 2:10 pm |
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I will let the pictures tell the story. Someone went to great lengths to hollow out the bottom and hook up pedal mechanisms and rods. This steel has the original case legs and rods but is missing the floor panel to connect the rods to. I am not sure what the pedals are supposed to do as I am strictly a 10 string pedal steel player. $900
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Cartwright Thompson
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Posted 10 Dec 2012 7:03 am
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| ouch |
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Stephen Cowell
From:
Round Rock, Texas, USA
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Brian Echenberg
From:
Quebec, Canada
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Posted 10 Dec 2012 9:06 am
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| What parts can you use? thanks Brian |
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Ethan Shaw
From:
Texas, USA
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Posted 10 Dec 2012 11:03 am
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| Don't part it out! I bet it sounds fine. It's just not worth that much because of the alterations. |
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Chris Brooks
From:
Providence, Rhode Island
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Posted 10 Dec 2012 3:34 pm
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Ethan said:
"Don't part it out! I bet it sounds fine. It's just not worth that much because of the alterations."
I agree. How much work would it take to rip the coathangers and "bridge" off and make it back into a D8?
If the pegs are OK, that's a plus right there for a restoration rather than a parting out.
Chris |
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Carl Mesrobian
From:
Salem, Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 10 Dec 2012 3:41 pm
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| Cartwright Thompson wrote: |
| ouch |
Hey - I wanted to say that first! 
_________________
--carl
"The better it gets, the fewer of us know it." Ray Brown |
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Stephen Cowell
From:
Round Rock, Texas, USA
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Posted 10 Dec 2012 5:43 pm
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| Chris Brooks wrote: |
Ethan said:
"Don't part it out! I bet it sounds fine. It's just not worth that much because of the alterations."
I agree. How much work would it take to rip the coathangers and "bridge" off and make it back into a D8?
If the pegs are OK, that's a plus right there for a restoration rather than a parting out. |
The big problem is the hogged-out bottom side... the bodies are ruined. The finish is non-original and bad... the bridgeplates are ruined. Better to list the parts that are OK, with prices:
(prices are totaled)
pickups/covers $250
tuner pans $100
tuners $75
bridgecover (1) $45
fretboards $50
case $150
legs $120
leg sockets $40 (guess)
thru bolts $20 (guess)
diamonds $30 (guess)
Totals $880? Parted out, avg eBay prices, plug WAG's.
A completely disassembled D8 went for <$500 on eBay recently... the body was refinished but whole, and the parts were all there:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/281031463797?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
IMO $900 is way overboard if you expect to end up with a working Stringmaster... I paid $1200 for my '56 D8 last year, in fine shape.
_________________
New FB Page: Lap Steel Licks And Stuff: https://www.facebook.com/groups/195394851800329 |
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Stephen Cowell
From:
Round Rock, Texas, USA
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Brian Echenberg
From:
Quebec, Canada
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Posted 10 Dec 2012 7:28 pm
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| Also a parted out steel has no soul. Or history! Brian |
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Cartwright Thompson
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Posted 11 Dec 2012 10:09 am
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I used to think parting out an instrument was an abomination but now I look it as sacrificing one guitar for the good of many.
"A completely disassembled D8 went for <$500 on eBay recently... the body was refinished but whole, and the parts were all there:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/281031463797?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 "
Why did that one go so cheap?If you go by Stephen's estimates, it should be worth a lot more.
Last edited by Cartwright Thompson on 11 Dec 2012 6:09 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Carl Mesrobian
From:
Salem, Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 11 Dec 2012 10:21 am
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| Brian Echenberg wrote: |
| Also a parted out steel has no soul. Or history! Brian |
My suggestion is either put it in a museum, or move on 
_________________
--carl
"The better it gets, the fewer of us know it." Ray Brown |
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Brian Echenberg
From:
Quebec, Canada
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Posted 11 Dec 2012 12:03 pm
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| I don't think that this is a museum piece but it could make someone a good project. Maybe a person who wants a cheap pedal steel. Thanks Brian |
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Joerg Hennig
From:
Bavaria, Germany
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Posted 11 Dec 2012 12:12 pm
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| How are you supposed to put it on legs? The way it looks, one "pull rod" is running right across one of the leg sockets. |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Posted 11 Dec 2012 1:21 pm
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There's really no need to part it out. Most of the original parts are there, inluding the legs and the case. It looks like a working guitar. I would just strip off all the homemade hardware and play the guitar. The main problem I see is the cobbled bridgeplate on the inner neck. That neck is still useable as is. Used Stringmaster bridgeplates do come up on eBay once or twice a year. Of course, the body has been gutted badly on the underside, but Stringmaster bodies also come up on eBay every once in a while. I know were not supposed to comment on prices in this section, so I will just say that the asking price is close to what a VG condition Stringmaster is selling for (slightly under), so take it from there.
_________________
My Site / My YouTube Channel
25 Songs C6 Lap Steel / 25 MORE Songs C6 Lap Steel / 16 Songs, C6, A6, B11 / 60 Popular Melodies E9 Pedal Steel |
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Carl Mesrobian
From:
Salem, Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 11 Dec 2012 4:41 pm
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My museum remark was an attempt at keeping the historians out there happy. Me? If I bought it I would look at what costs are involved for bodies, bridge plate, cover, etc. to bring it back as close to original. Other buyers might be happy to purchase it as is. The history on this guitar hasn't changed. It's soul has become wood chips for bedding for someone's horses.
_________________
--carl
"The better it gets, the fewer of us know it." Ray Brown |
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Stephen Cowell
From:
Round Rock, Texas, USA
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Posted 11 Dec 2012 10:14 pm
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| Cartwright Thompson wrote: |
Why did that one go so cheap?If you go by Stephen's estimates, it should be worth a lot more. |
It was not parted out... and it shouldn't have been, it was in mid-restoration. Hard to call it a basket case, since that implies many problems... that eBay guitar will go together easily. Also, by the description, it may have had a dead pickup (or a faulty reading, you have to know how to turn the blend wheel!).
IMO, this guitar should be parted out... the amount of work necessary to bring it back is just out of sight, and the parts are needed by other owners. Think about your organ donor card... this steel died bringing forth the new pedal steel sound. It definitely should not be set back up as a pedal steel, IMO.
_________________
New FB Page: Lap Steel Licks And Stuff: https://www.facebook.com/groups/195394851800329 |
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Nate Hofer
From:
Overland Park, Kansas
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Posted 14 Dec 2012 5:38 am
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| I think this piece is super interesting because it represents a very specific point in time when most of the steel guitars out there were lap steels but there was this shift to the rising popularity of pedal steels at play. Periodically I see listings here on the fourm or hear stories of people who put one or two pedals on a lap steel but this one takes the cake! |
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Bill Ladd
From:
Wilmington, NC, USA
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Posted 14 Dec 2012 6:03 am
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| I know, right? I think this guitar really is an historical piece. I'd love to rig it up and play it just to see what she sounds like! |
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Stephen Cowell
From:
Round Rock, Texas, USA
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