Putting a value to a Pete Drake Talking Music Actuator box?

Ton Masseurs · From: Netherlands

Hello everyone my name is Ton Masseurs.
I am very sorry this post turned out way longer than I intended or is really needed. Skip to the the last 3 paragraphs to get to the actual question.

Before I bombard everyone with a question please let me introduce myself a bit.
I'm from the Netherlands and have been playing Pedalsteel since my late teens. In the late 60's to the early 80's I was the only continues member of a band called The Tumbleweeds. I played Pedalsteel and lead guitar. I also did comic relief to give the singers a break. My first Pedalsteel was made in the Netherlands and I bought it of a man who was very very briefly our first Pedalsteelplayer. After that I played various Sho-Bud Pedalsteels. When the band stopped and I devoted myself full time to my music studio I sold most of them except my favourite, a Pro III build by Mr. Paul Franklin senior. Which he made while we did our second of 2 tours trough the US. I played a lot of sessions but when I had my own studio running o had less and less time for that. Also I developed some health issues with my hands. So I focused on producing and engineering. Only occasionally playing as a special guest.

I retired after a heart attack. But now after many years I'm trying to get back into the swing of things.

Now onto the reason of this post. And I apologize if it should have been in the classifieds but I'm not here to sell it to anyone here. I bought my first Sho-Bud in 1970 (It might have been a year earlier or later I'm sorry it has been 50 years). I called up Shot Jacksons shop and actually got to talk to the man which I never expected. We talked a bit about the model and the setup I wanted. Then at a certain point in our conversation mr. Jackson said that the great Pete Drake was standing next to him with a prototype/demonstration model of a Talking Music Actuator box (his famous talk box). He asked if I would like to buy it. I jumped at the chance of course (the world was much bigger then and to actually talk on the phone to someone whose records you had played over and over until they where grey was very exciting).

However as much as I liked the talkbox I could never really integrate it into our tour P.A. (we and the Golden Earring where the first bands in the Netherlands who had their own P.A.) so I never really used it. Now I am thinking of selling some old gear to get money for newer stuff.

The problem is I have never seen one online. There are only 3 pictures of it that I can find. One in a museum. One taken apart and the last one in an ad posted on here several years ago.
It's almost more a curiosa item than actual gear. I have no idea what it is worth. Is it worth more because it's vintage and a prototype of some sort (the layout of the controls is different than the one in the ad and videos)?
I have no reference point to refer to for a fair price.

So I thought maybe people here have bought and/or sold one through the years and can give me a guesstimate. Here is a picture:

I hope I chose the right subforum and am not to forward while being new. Any help is appreciated.

Chris Boyd · From: Leonia,N.J./Charlestown,R.I.

Wow !

Sorry not to be able to add more than that !
_________________
https://www.reverbnation.com/bigredandtheresonators

Ton Masseurs · From: Netherlands

Chris Boyd · From: Leonia,N.J./Charlestown,R.I.

More pics would be great Ton !
_________________
https://www.reverbnation.com/bigredandtheresonators

Ton Masseurs · From: Netherlands

Ton Masseurs · From: Netherlands

Anyone any clue? I found that the production model didn't have the speaker/voice switch. So this another anomaly.
Has anyone here ever used one? Owned one?
Know things from back in the day?

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

Forum member Smiley Roberts used a talk box several years ago. See if you can ring him up. He might have some info for you.

Jonathan Shacklock · From: London, UK

Ton, This is certainly a â€œwowâ€ item! Thanks for sharing the pictures and your amazing story. Given its connection to Pete Drake and therefore Joe Walsh (Rocky Mountain Way) and Peter Frampton Iâ€™d imagine it would be worth paying for a professional appraisal.

Some services:
https://reverb.com/page/appraisals

It would have to be somewhere in this ballpark: https://www.vintageguitar.com/24456/25-most-valuable-effects/

Hereâ€™s an interesting article which mentions the pedal steel player Bill West who was the builder/inventor. https://www.vintageguitar.com/16339/heil-talk-box/

It might be an idea to contact Billâ€™s son Kerry West, also an audio engineer (Ronnie Milsap) https://musicrow.com/2013/09/lifenotes-musician-and-audio-innovator-bill-west-passes/

Hope that helps. Good luck!
Jonathan

Ton Masseurs · From: Netherlands

Forum Index > Electronics		Next oldest topic :: Next newest topic

All times are GMT - 8 Hours	Jump to: