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Topic: Ugliest steel you've seen? |
Marco Schouten
From:
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Posted 12 Aug 2003 9:38 am |
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Got to be mine.
Someone removed the C6th neck, and now there are a lot of unused holes.
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Steelin' Greetings
Marco Schouten
Sho-Bud LLG; Sho-Bud Pro III Custom; Guyatone 6 string lap steel; John Pearse bar; Emmons bar; Panther amp
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Keith Murrow
From:
Wichita, KS
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Posted 12 Aug 2003 9:57 am
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| .. [This message was edited by Keith Murrow on 26 October 2004 at 04:00 PM.] |
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Bud Harger
From:
Belton, Texas by way of Baton Rouge, Louisiana
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Posted 12 Aug 2003 11:00 am
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One of the ugliest pedal steel guitars I ever saw was a fairly late model Emmons D-10 (no kidding). It had been special ordered by a Nashville player in a mahogany matte-finish mica. It looked like it was made from adobe mud.
UGLY!
bUd |
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 12 Aug 2003 12:43 pm
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Well, some people are gonna want to shoot me, but I think fake wood grain formica is tackier than a pink leisure suit at a funeral. Worse than missing teeth in an opera singer. Those classic Emmons "rosewood" push/pulls? They sound great, but are uglier than dirt. The real wood lacquer Sho-Buds and the few lacquer Emmons are the most beutiful instruments on earth. Give me real wood grain, or give me an honest formica color. Black mica Emmons - gorgeous and classy. I've got a red one - red electric guitars of any kind are always way cool. But fake wood grain? Belongs in a trailer park, or a used car lot office, not on the most wonderful instrument ever invented. But each to his own - there's no accounting for taste.  |
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John Cox
From:
Texas, USA
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Posted 12 Aug 2003 1:09 pm
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How about the Pea-green finish offered by Emmons in the 70s I thought it made a steel look more like an appliance!
J.C. |
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Steve Stallings
From:
Houston/Cypress, Texas
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Posted 12 Aug 2003 1:10 pm
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Well...
1. Any keyless guitar gets my vote. I know some folks love em... but they ain't natural! 
2. Boy, will this get some ones dander up...
I personally think the Zums with those weird Zig Zag or V fronts are pretty tacky looking. They are GREAT guitars and I really do like em... but if I ever got one, it would be in black mica. 
Now... the most beautiful guitar I have ever seen is my old shobud which Bobbe Seymour has resold at least twice as "The Most Collectable Sho-Bud Ever". I think it went for close to $6k last year. (btw, when bobbe found out it was my old guitar, he offered it to me at what he had in it, but I just couldn't do it at that time...still... it was darn nice of him.)
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God Bless,
Steve Stallings
www.thenightshiftband.net
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Matt Brydges
From:
Renfrew, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 12 Aug 2003 1:43 pm
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HA! I thought the "ShoPal" would turn up somewhere!
Matt |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 12 Aug 2003 2:34 pm
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| I think almost all of the Weissenborn styles are butt-ugly! Yeah, I know, they're collectable and worth a lot of money, and they sound great. But they have all the visual appeal of a Ford Focus! |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 12 Aug 2003 4:00 pm
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I know I nominated the Sierra as my least-favourite earlier in the 'thread', but mention of the pea-green Emmons just jogged my memory!
Kenny Grohman of San Antonio has one of these, AND his is dirty to boot! I saw it when I played with him one night, and I didn't think it could possibly have been a factory-finish it was so revolting!
He can play it a bit, though!!! |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 12 Aug 2003 4:03 pm
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PS: ....and I agree with David Doggett - real wood or plain mica. Anything 'in between' is cheap-looking, and reminds me of my old girl-friend's kitchen with it's wood-grain wallpaper....
RR |
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Buck Dilly
From:
Branchville, NJ, USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 12 Aug 2003 4:39 pm
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| I've never actually seen an Emmons with basket weave Mica, but it really looks like .... in the catalogs. I saw Sneaky Pete in 70's. His Fender was hot pink with black lace appied over it. Yeah, he was great; but it really looked like the inside of a Bakersfield whorehouse. Disclaimer-(I apologize in advance for hurting someones feelings.) [This message was edited by Buck Dilly on 12 August 2003 at 05:40 PM.] |
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Rick Collins
From:
Claremont , CA USA
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Posted 12 Aug 2003 8:28 pm
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The "fry pan" will make mice get up in a chair. It's the Phyllis Diller of the Rickenbachers. I would really hate to see one without strings; because without strings it would be nothing at all.
I may be the kettle calling the "fry pan" black; but these steel guitars are uuuglyeee! They are so ugly, that if they were the only choice I had, I might give up the steel guitar for the bassoon.
Rick[This message was edited by Rick Collins on 13 August 2003 at 09:00 AM.] |
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Winnie Winston
From:
Tawa, Wellington, NZ * R.I.P.
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Posted 12 Aug 2003 9:16 pm
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Well, nthev onev that was really ugly was a prototype that Ed Naylor made that I saw at St. Louis one year. I believe ity was made out of fiberglass and he saaid you can take it in the shower and it will stay in tune. Of the 10 tuning pegs, I doubt two were similar. Just cobbled together out of parts....
Just like one I built fropm the steel body I scapped because it didn't glue up right.
Never took any pics of it. Was afraiod I might break the camera.
JW |
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 13 Aug 2003 6:06 am
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Steve wrote,
"Any keyless guitar gets my vote"
I agree with you 100%. THAT is why I would not buy one.
UNTIL, I found a builder who WOULD build it where it does not appear keyless. At least in length and a few more esthetics.
If you will be in StLouis stop by the Excel booth and see if you still feel that way after you see the beautiful job Mitsuo Fujii did on mine.
I think it is gorgeous. But that is ONLY my opinion. Others, including you may still feel that way and I sincerely would respect that. But do stop and look at it if you will be in StLouis.
carl |
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Doug Seymour
From:
Jamestown NY USA (deceased)
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Posted 13 Aug 2003 8:49 am
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Keith M's post reminded me.....stupid me tried that once! I put 2 Fender 400s together
Never did get the thing to tune up right. One neck or the other would tune, but never both at the same time......must be why I was never a builder, just a "wrecker"! I doubt if I could lift it now.....I think it weighed a ton! I wonder where that picture went??? |
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 13 Aug 2003 11:40 am
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| Anyone out there who can recall the early days of the Winchester and Joliet Conventions (circa 1988 ?) will remember the ugliest guitars ever to appear on stage. They were made and played by (the late) Norm English, (often referred to as the "Victor Borge of the Steel Guitar"). For example, he would come on stage carrying a rough 8 foot slab of 2x4 lumber to which he had placed a pickup, strings and gears and would bring the house down in laughter with his antics ! Another favorite "guitar" was his 'latrine-o-phone' made from a genuine toilet seat. He made many crazy guitars for his show. Always a very funny act. To his credit, he knew how to play and he played well. Bill Stafford will agree to that, I'm sure. Right Bill ? |
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Ed Naylor
From:
portsmouth.ohio usa, R.I.P.
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Posted 18 Aug 2003 10:29 am
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| Winnie Winston- Let's get the record straight.The 'Pedesonic" you describe was probably the first one I built in 1968.Pedesonic Co was incorporated in 1972 for the record- The guitar had all "Machined " parts- no castings-I used a "VREEBLE" finish as well as as "Metalflake" covered bodies.It was Waterproof and could be left in a pool. It had many features that are just now becoming standard on other guitars. I still have the original plus a couple others in my collection. I may reintroduce it again. How many are still in the business that started in the Pedesonic years?? ED Naylor Steel Guitar Works |
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Rick McDuffie
From:
Benson, North Carolina, USA
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Joerg Hennig
From:
Bavaria, Germany
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Posted 22 Aug 2003 9:50 am
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Rick, that one looks a little rough maybe, but definitely not UGLY. Nice color, nice inlays and all. The only ugly ShoBuds IMO are the brown plastic-covered Mavericks.
Joe H. |
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Chris Forbes
From:
Beltsville, MD, USA
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Posted 22 Aug 2003 10:29 am
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| Looks great to me Rick!!! it's got charisma!! |
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Martin Abend
From:
Berlin, Germany
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Posted 23 Aug 2003 11:35 am
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Mine, pretty much. It's a Sierra. Keyless. And most of all it has this dark brownish fake-wood-formica finish that is horrible in my eyes. But I absolute love it and I'd never trade it for anything. It sounds absolutely great, plays better than everything I ever tried, and I sold almost every instrument I had 'cause I fell in love with that guitar so badly.
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martin abend Pedal-Steel in Germany
s-10 sierra crown gearless 3 x4 | Regal RD45 | fender hotrod deluxe
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Al Marcus
From:
Cedar Springs,MI USA (deceased)
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Posted 23 Aug 2003 1:17 pm
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Gary Walker-I didn't know you were in Napa , Ca in 1968 at Tom Bradshaw's first West Coast Pedal Steel show. I was there with my original Electra-Harp. It might be rated at ugly on a pipe stand painted black.
I also played Reece's Beautiful Black S12 MSA Bbmaj7 tuning.
Zane just played Great with a "lean and mean" setup. Noel Boggs, Reece,Vance Terry,Chuck Wright,Zane and all were just great! Great times...al
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My Website..... www.cmedic.net/~almarcus/
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 27 Aug 2003 5:14 am
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A SoCal steeler named Carl Walden who's also a Forumite used to play an old Fender 1000 with the front neck removed. He used it like a tray and set his beer bottles, wire cutters, ashtray, and all kinds of stuff in there. Man, that was one ugly guitar...JH
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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.
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