Value of my Emmons S12

Jim Dempsey · From: Belmar, New Jersey, USA

Last year i traded my Sho-Bud Maverick plus $400.00 for a Emmons S12 found tucked away in a small music shop in Jersey.This guitar is in excellant condition.It has 3 pedals and 4 knees and stamped #161 S 12.Can anyone tell me the value of this guitar and year it was produced.I realized i got a deal while i kept my poker face on when leaving the store.Also being the fact i'm just beginning, is the 12 gonna be harder to learn on?

Roger Rettig · From: Naples, FL

I'd call that a deal!

Duncan Hodge · From: DeLand, FL USA

Hello Jim. I think I know the shop where you got your Emmons. It's in Lakehurst, right? I got my Emmons starter there a little over a year ago. That steel was there when I got mine. I always wondered if I should have gotten the S12. In any event, I don't know how hard it is going to be to learn, but I just wanted to say hi because I'm right down the road from Belmar. I recently upgraded to a Fessenden D-10 and can't make heads or tails out of the C6 neck, but I can make it sound like I stepped on a cat. Just keep playing and you'll make some sound that sounds good.

Duncan

Jim Dempsey · From: Belmar, New Jersey, USA

Yes Duncan,that's the store.Glad to see i got another steeler close to me.Do you give lessons by any chance?I've been relying on tapes and books to get me along.Not making much progress i'm afraid.E-mail me if you want to get together sometime.Thanks-Jim

Bobby Lee · From: Cloverdale, California, USA

A 12 string E9th is no harder to learn than a 10 string. The two extra strings (11 and 12) work just like strings 6 and 8, only an octave lower. There are no "new" concepts to learn. All of the normal instructional material and tab is 100% valid.

------------------

Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9),
Sierra Laptop 8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax

Duncan Hodge · From: DeLand, FL USA

Well Jim, if we're going to get together we'd better do it soon. Around the 30th of this month I'm moving to New Smyrna Beach, Florida. And no, I don't give lessons. I'm nowhere near good enough. I know how to make the E9 neck sound pretty, at times, and can do a pretty passable intro to Teach Your Children, but the rest of the instrument is still a journey just started. The one thing that stays in my mind is something that I heard here on the forum. It was something like once you make "that sound" with your steel you are heading down the path to one of life's most pleasurable addictions...well the thought was along those lines. NN Music is a pretty cool store. I got my acoustic there. really great people. Just keep playing, and ask people on the forum, they will help you out.

Duncan

Jim Dempsey · From: Belmar, New Jersey, USA

Thanks Bob for the reply,i'll just disregard the last 2 strings for now.I guess it will all fall into place in time.I do get some great tones from those "big" strings though. Thanks -Jim

Jim Dempsey · From: Belmar, New Jersey, USA

Good Luck in Florida,Duncan.Wish i was there now.

David Doggett · Posted 13 Jan 2004 2:52 pm

Jim, I too have an Emmons 12-string 3&4 extended E9. If you paid less than $1500, you got a real bargain. That is an Emmons push/pull guitar, which is the all-time gold standard for pedal steel tone and sustain. Emmons made very few 12-strings. This makes yours very valuable for 12-stringers, but less valuable for the majority of pedal steelers who play 10-strings. For the time being, you can either ignore the bottom two strings, or even take them off. But there is also nothing to stop you from learning to use them right from the start.

The extra strings present certain issues. Many ext. E9 guitars do not have any raises or lowers on the bottom two strings. That means they don't work for the all-important position with the AB pedals down, where you will spend half your time. To me it only makes sense to add the same pulls as the strings an octave above, at least for the A, B pedals and F lever. Eventually, you will also want to add a left vertical knee lever. These changes are not necessary for covering commercial country music (neither are the extra two strings), but really open the instrument up for other genres, such as rock, blues, jazz, and even classical.

It is not a piece of cake to add these changes to a push/pull guitar. In fact, setup changes and adjustments on these guitars are complicated, and that is one reason they have mostly been replaced with simpler and more versatile all-pull pedal steels (Emmons stopped making push/pulls in the mid '80s). But the push/pulls are still highly valued for their sound, and you can learn to do setup changes and adjustments yourself. You can get the needed parts from Bobbe Seymour at Steel Guitar Nashville. He has a video on push-pull setup and maintenance. But the best thing is a manual called A Wilderness Guide to Basic Setup of an Emmons Push Pull Steel Guitar, by John Lacey (http://www.drifteramps.com/pushpullguide.html).

You might also consider sending your p/p to one of the several people on the Forum who specialize in working on them (just post a query on the Forum for someone who works on P/Ps). Even if you don't add any changes, they will clean it and make sure it is adjusted properly to play easy and play in tune.

Another possibility that you may eventually want to consider is to convert your 12-string extended E9 into a 12-string E9/B6 universal. This allows you to play C6 style Western Swing and jazz, like on the second neck of a double neck 10-string. I am in the process of doing this conversion on mine. That is a whole different subject, but is a very important option for your rare Emmons 12-string.

I don't know where Bellmar is in NJ (sounds like it is on the shore), but if it's not too far from Philly, consider coming over for a visit, and bring your Emmons. There are also some Forum members in the NYC area who can give you lessons and maybe help with the guitar.

[This message was edited by David Doggett on 13 January 2004 at 02:54 PM.]

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

I bought mine for $1000 with 3x5 (and a box of parts that allowed me to convert it to 6x6 with a universal tuning on it) about 4 years ago. I considered that a pretty good deal.

------------------
Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

Jim Dempsey · From: Belmar, New Jersey, USA

Thanks Guys for your replies,i knew i was sitting on something good,just didn't how good.Thanks Again--Jim

George Kimery · From: Limestone, TN, USA

I paid $1500.00 for my 74 Emmons SD-12 PP and feel like I got a bargain. Worth every cent and then some. It was in mint condition, I might add. And, no, the 12 string is not any harder to learn than the 10 string. I use my extra 2 strings primarily for guitar licks in country and country rock stuff and some piano rhythm type sounds. For pure E9 country, I never touch them. They don't get in my way at all and I don't know why more people don't go for 12 strings.

Forum Index > Pedal Steel		Next oldest topic :: Next newest topic

All times are GMT - 8 Hours	Jump to: