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Topic: Possible Multi-Kord 8 String for Sale |
Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 19 Aug 2013 6:29 am |
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Our lead guitar player has acquired an 8 string Multi-Kord. He says it looks in good condition with all the parts and covers. Has a "good condition" case with it.
I'll have to get pictures, if there is real interest.
Price (whatever he settles on) will be plus shipping from Lake Panasoffkee, Fl (65 mi north of Tampa and about the same distance west of Orlando). |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 21 Aug 2013 8:44 am
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| Any Interest? |
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Fred Bova
From:
Connecticut, USA
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Posted 22 Aug 2013 9:06 pm
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| I'd love to own one, but I have no idea what they are worth... |
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Michael Bonner
From:
McClellanville, South Carolina, USA
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Posted 23 Aug 2013 5:27 am
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There's a Bobbe Seymour post from 2007 that says that they are (perhaps unfairly) worth almost nothing, but then I saw that one sold on ebay for over $800 recently. As always, the value of something is whatever you can get someone to pay.
I would LOVE to see one and be able to play with it, but I really don't know what I'd be willing to pay for one. Any idea what price range the guy has in mind? |
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Willis Vanderberg
From:
Petoskey Mi
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Posted 23 Aug 2013 6:15 am
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Jack:
For what it is worth,If it will help the sale, The eight string model is rarer than the six string.
Contrary to what some folks think about the Multi-Kord it is more than a chord changer. It will require both feet on the pedals and operating the volume control with the little finger on the right hand. You can get a lot of Tom Brumleys licks using that method.
I wouldn't recommend it as a working horn but it does produce some nice sound and is rather unique. It always was the center of attention when I played one.
I would put the price range from three to five hundred depending on how many pedals it has and overall condition. The plastic covers were pretty fragile and if it has those it will add to the value
Old Bud |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 23 Aug 2013 8:54 am
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The $300 to $500, from what I can find is probably a good and fair range.
I would venture its more a "collectors item".
Our lead guitar player is a collector as he has over 30 guitars (mostly USA Fender's) and a good collection of amps (mostly Fender tube amps). |
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Danny James
From:
Summerfield Florida USA
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Posted 24 Aug 2013 6:46 am
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It would be good to see close up pictures of the changer mechanism.
I have seen two types of changer mechanisms in these double eight string Multi-Kords.
The one I had was like new and an experimental that Jay Harlin had sold to a student/friend. The changer worked well, but was quite a bit different than any I had seen before.
The condition of the cables to the pedals is also very important.
Jack, tell the band I said hello.  |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 26 Aug 2013 5:53 am
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| Danny, come to Oxford, everyone will welcome you. |
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Danny James
From:
Summerfield Florida USA
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Posted 26 Aug 2013 8:56 am
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Thanks Jack,
While I'm on here I hope someone will buy that Multi-Kord who can appreciate it and the history that goes with it.
Considering that Multi-Kord Pedal steel guitars were introduced on the Market in the 1940's. These were one of the very first pedal steel guitars out there. My father bought me my first one when I was 10 in 1948. I still have it and it is a 6 string 4 pedal. As you know I knew all the Harlin Bros. personally. Jay Harlin was the inventor and held the first patent on a pedal steel guitar.
This guitar beings it is in good shape should be a real keeper for the lucky person who buys it. I too believe the price range is very fair.
Danny |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 26 Aug 2013 9:14 am
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| Danny James wrote: |
| ...I have seen two types of changer mechanisms in these double eight string Multi-Kords.... |
The way I read it this is a single eight-string Multi-Kord.
For those of you who don't know, Danny is probably the greatest living authority on Multi-Kords, having worked with the Harlin Brothers on their construction.
I've bought several Multi-Kords on eBay over the years. They usually fetch between $300 and $600, depending on condition. The double-neck models are more rare.
The plastic covers have almost all disintegrated by now as the oil in the plastic dries out. It's very unusual to find one with intact covers, in fact I've been wondering how new ones oould be made. I usually leave them off, as I find the mechanism an attraction.
It's often said that the pedals are intended as a tuning changer, not to be used in playing. I see no reason to believe this. I use the pedals the same as on any PSG. If the pedals were just intended as a tuning changer they would have been designed with pedal locks, as it's uncomfortable to keep a pedal depressed the whole time you're playing. |
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Danny James
From:
Summerfield Florida USA
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Posted 26 Aug 2013 10:28 am
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Yes Alan, your right, I see it is an eight string Multi-Kord. While it is true that I worked for and knew the Harlin Bros. well, I never had anything to do with their design or construction. Wish that I had.
I have done some design / structural improvements on my own Multi-Kord that I still have though.
The Multi-Kords that had two necks had a tuning changer and pedals for one neck only.
Jack, how many pedals does this Multi-Kord have? Harlin's made them to be sold with either 4 or 6 pedals.
The way Multi-Kords were intended to be played and the "Oahu" music arrangements in tablature that Harlin's used in their teaching studio,-- was to be able to change tunings as many times as desired during a song in order to get the chord structures desired to implement the harmony notes to coincide with the melody note being played.
A great feature of a Multi-Kord tuning changer is to be able to change copedants in a matter of minutes without turning the guitar upside down and taking hours to do. They were way ahead of their time !  :wink |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Posted 26 Aug 2013 11:57 am
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| Quote: |
| ...to be able to change tunings as many times as desired during a song |
Yes, that's how I always looked at the early PSGs, the Multi-Kord, the Gibson Electraharp, etc. The function of the pedals was to change the open tuning, and not really for playing licks, not for playing "pedal licks" like todays PSGs.
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| ...be able to change copedants in a matter of minutes without turning the guitar upside down and taking hours to do. |
A big plus, much like the Fender cable PSGs. The player can change pedal pulls very easily in a minute or two. Just slip the hook off the finger on the changer and stick it on a different finger.
As far as the Multi-Kord, I see it as a historical, interesting instrument, but not a practical instrument for today's music, or for much music played in the past 40 years or so.
_________________
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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Danny James
From:
Summerfield Florida USA
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Posted 26 Aug 2013 2:52 pm
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Doug, have you had any amount of experience playing a Multi-Kord ?
I know you have played a lapsteel from looking at some of your posts.
You could look at my 6 string 6 pedal Multi-Kord, let's say like it was a lapsteel with 7 necks.
I realize what your saying about the cable Fender and tuning changes. However the Multi-Kord can be changed to completely different copedants in a matter of minutes and it is limited only by the limits of individual string stretch. Meaning that you can raise and or lower each string with each pedal in any combination by adjusting the tuning screws in the changer.
The Gibson Electra Harp was similar but was lacking the locking nut on each adjusting screw that Multi-Kords used. Gibson was infringing on Harlin's patent rights and therefore ceased production of their Electra Harp. |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Danny James
From:
Summerfield Florida USA
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Posted 26 Aug 2013 7:14 pm
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Doug,
I understand. I'm sure the licks that the modern Country Steelers use today were not even thought of when Jay Harlin invented his Multi-Kord.
As far as Harlin's building the first pedal Steel Guitar that is a controversial issue. As you mentioned Gibson had their Electra Harp in that time period. Alvino Rey is known for playing one of those.
However Jay Harlin did invent the Multi-Kord Hawaiian pedal steel guitar, and he did hold the first "patent" on a pedal steel guitar. I believe that patent was issued around 1947. I know he built a pedal steel guitar as early as sometime in the 1930's. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Danny James
From:
Summerfield Florida USA
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Posted 26 Aug 2013 9:42 pm Multi-Kord 8 string for sale
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b0b & Jack,
My oppologies, please leave it in the classified steel guitars for sale section.
These are good guitars and this one needs to go to someone who will appreciate it was my main point and only intent all along.
I'm out of the discussion.
Danny |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 27 Aug 2013 2:25 am
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According to the owner, it has the covers and the special tool needed for changing tunings.
There was one person interested and I asked them to contact the seller direct. They never did.
I'll try to get some pictures in the next day or two. |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 27 Aug 2013 8:11 am
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The "special tool" needed for changing copedants is a screwdriver.
It was way ahead of other pedal steels in that the copedant could be changed in a few minutes without turning the instrument upside-down. If only Harlin had redesigned the instrument to have pedals in a line, instead of as crescent. This was the future for pedal steel guitars which was never followed up.
It can be done on old instruments by using cables and pulleys, but it's a big job. |
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Willis Vanderberg
From:
Petoskey Mi
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Posted 27 Aug 2013 8:43 am
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Alan:
The special tool is more than a screw driver.It is a combination screw driver and a socket wrench for locking the nut on the tuner stud. The screw driver actually goes through the center of the socket. |
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Jim Waldrop
From:
Alabama, USA
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Posted 27 Aug 2013 4:10 pm Doug
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Doug how do you see the modern Clinesmith with pedals as regards playing licks versus tuning changes.
_________________
Georgeboards D8 Twin Princess, Fender Custom T8, Fender Stringmaster T8, Pre-war Rickenbacher 7string bakelite, Clinesmith D8 pedal steel, Clinesmith T8 non pedal steel, Simmons Genesis PSG, Simmons D10 psg, Peavey NV 112, Fender 65Princeton Reverb, Roland Cube |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 28 Aug 2013 11:34 am
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| Willis Vanderberg wrote: |
Alan:
The special tool is more than a screw driver.It is a combination screw driver and a socket wrench for locking the nut on the tuner stud. The screw driver actually goes through the center of the socket. |
Yes, I know, I've got one. Danny made it for me. It makes the job of tightening the nuts, after you've tuned the pedals, a lot easier. I always thought that the gadget was designed by Danny, but he tells me that Harlins actually included the tool with every MultiKord they sold. Without the tool you can still change the copedant, but you need to use a regular screwdriver to tune the pedal, and then a wrench or pliers to tighter down the nuts.
By the way, I've encountered a terrible problem with one of my 8-string MultiKords which has rendered it unusable; some of the bolts have sheared off at the level at which they go into the finger hole, and, once they're broken they're impossible to remove. I wrote to Danny about it and he said he hadn't encountered the problem before. I don't know of any solution. |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 29 Aug 2013 11:55 am
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b0b, please close this one. I'll start a new thread for the sale of this guitar.
Thanks. |
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