I understand perfectly why music stores don’t carry PSGs

Bo Legg · Posted 5 Aug 2014 11:44 pm

Music store calls.
Hello Bo! There is a steel player here from 4hrs out of town and they just bought a steel from another individual and they want to have someone put on a new set of strings and tune it.

So go to the Music store and get started on it.

Now this was supposedly a PSG that was being played by the previous owner and just needed a set of strings and a little adjusting. Oh Well

So you have to say to the person who just bought this steel
â€œwow what a fine old Sho-Bud you have hereâ€
When you want to say "what a worn out piece of crap it is and there in no way anyone could have played this Steel in the past 10yrs, try to get your money back!" Muttering

This music store is not set up to work on PSGs and I have no spare parts ( all I get is a color coded, no gauges set of strings with only 6 colors so that means that some strings are sharing a color) Confused

So it was see what I could do for this steel in 2 and Â½ hrs because the store closed and they had to travel back home tonight.

So I cut the tubing off a mop handle slide it over the leg tubing and shimmed up the pedal bar because the front legs were wrong and pedal bar would ride up when you mashed the pedals. Cool

The stops were not only not set right but they were missing the contact point and the levers would go so far past it could have raised the string an octave.
Iâ€™ll spare you the rest all I can say that things got worse from there.

So I got it playable in 2 and Â½ hrs before the music store closed and got them on their way home.

I have to say it played good and even the pieces cut from the mop handle looked like it belonged there. Laughing

Weâ€™re making bets on how long it will be before the person calls in and complains after the previous owner says â€œThe thing was in perfect shape and all they needed to do was put a new set of strings on and tune it which would have taken about 15 min, boy they robbed youâ€ Mad

I understand perfectly why music stores donâ€™t carry PSGs. Oh Well

Roy Heap · From: United Kingdom

So Bo, being a steel player yourself why didn't you tell the poor guy the truth? I know I would have done. in stead of bodging the instrument up.

Rick Barnhart · From: Arizona, USA

Roy Heap · From: United Kingdom

Larry Dering · From: Missouri, USA

As a retired auto dealer mechanic I feel your pain. Many a car was put in my care that would have been better in a junk yard. They told me just fix it.

Bo Legg · Posted 6 Aug 2014 11:43 am

The steel was not worn out (that was my first reaction) and after further investigation it was just poorly maintained and had parts replaced that were improper.

Most music stores would have just sent the steel player packing when they come in with the Steel Guitar.
But because this music store knows I’m available they will consult me when ever a steel guitar pops in.
So as far as the music store knows these mechanical cares are a snap and steel players are normal people.

I’m going to keep it that way so there is at least one music store in a hundred mile radius that will deal with Steel players.

Herb Steiner · From: Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064

I have that relationship with a few independent music stores here in Austin. Also, having worked in a retail music store, my feeling is that the basic problem is real estate: The floor space a pedal steel takes up can also hold a rack with 8 entry level acoustic or electric guitars.

The steel would cost the owner $1500. So would the beginner guitars. The beginner guitars will sell in one week, doubling the owner's money. He will then spend another 1500 and get 8 more guitars, and bank the original 1500. You get the picture. The steel will sit in the store for months (or possibly years if the owner was dumb enough), bringing in 0 dollars but costing its space, not only in rent, but also in opportunity cost for not having the space filled with instruments that most people want to play, namely guitars and basses.

So, telling a music store owner looking for help that one of your qualifications is working on pedal steels is like saying you can make great crepes suzette for the company picnics. Wink

_________________
My rig: Infinity and Telonics.

Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?

Glenn Uhler · From: Trenton, New Jersey, USA

Having worked in a music store when I was young, Herb is 100% correct. The mark-up on esentially every instrument and amp was 100%. A $275 Telecaster cost the store $137.50. Not sure if that is still the case.
_________________
1974 Marlen S-12 1968 Tele 1969 Martin D-35H

Bo Legg · Posted 6 Aug 2014 1:08 pm

I’m not telling the store to sell Steel Guitars and I certainly don’t want to work in a music store (they just don't pay enough) I’m an independent contractor.
However the music store studio available for steel lessons and stocking steel guitar accessories and a little maintenance and a lot of goodwill is very cost affective because friends and family of the steel players will buy things from the music store that are not related to steel guitar.

Roger Francis · From: kokomo,Indiana, USA

Personaly i think you did good Bo, you helped a guy in need the best you could with what you had to work with. He probably knows very little about steel guitars or he could have changed strings him self, who knows, he might be delighted with you and the music store.
If you downed his guitar in any way he and the music store may have been upset at you, but as long as you explained things as you were working on it there shouldn't be any problems. MPO
_________________
Rittenberry SD10, 2 nashville 112s with telonics speaker, behringer EPQ450 power amp, 705 pups, Telonics FP-100, live steel strings, mogami cords, wet reverb

Bo Legg · Posted 6 Aug 2014 1:42 pm

I stated right out front what I was going to do and that in the little time I had that is all I could do.

So, if a Steel guitar tech tells you the average time to replace your strings is four hours, and you are suspicious of that.
What you donâ€™t realize is that it is going to take longer than what is expected, the extra time is a result of a lot of steels with poor maintenance.

Let's say you have a Steel you want to just change the strings and tune it and you haven't maintained it at all or self maintained it poorly and a tech goes to change the strings and the roller nut is rusted shut, the changer is all stuck up and things have been cobbled up with makeshift parts and out of adjustment, well guess what? Youâ€™re thinking â€œoh 30 min at most to change strings and tune itâ€™ and the tech is thinking maybe up to a whole day to get this thing right plus parts.

So if the tech charged like an auto mechanic it would be $80 to $100 an hour for the average time it takes to change strings and tune steels up so they play in tune, you would have a cow when you got the bill.

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

Why should they carry something that costs about four times as much as the average guitar, but hardly ever sells? It's simple economics, Bo. When you're in business, you don't waste time and floor space with items that sell very infrequently, and do not return a substantial profit.

Bo Legg · Posted 6 Aug 2014 2:44 pm

I agree. I have never suggested to a music store they should carry PSGs.
However as I said in a previous reply strings, picks etc.. and offer a little maintenance is cost affective. Use of the music store Studio for lessons is also cost affective.
Creates a lot of goodwill regarding relatives and friends of the steel players who will purchase items not necessarily related to PSG.

Don R Brown · From: Rochester, New York, USA

So did you give a plug for this forum while you were talking to the guy? I'm waiting for someone to post "Hey, that was me!"

Tom Sosbe · From: Rushville,In

I own a small guitar store and you are all right no money to be made in steel guitars. I carry two or three in the store mostly student models to help people get started. 2 biggest problems are if I have a red one customer wants a blue one. most student models have 2 knee levers but billy bob no it all on the forum says I need at least 4 even if I never touched one before.

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