When Did Roger Miller Start Making Pedal Steels?

Rick Abbott · From: Indiana, USA

I just dragged my ancient Miller Custom out and strung up the front neck. Clunky, loud mechanics, crude machine work; it must be an earlier one. Man, does it sound like the early days of pedal steel!! Really raw and open. It's challenging to play. I have it set up with A and B pedals and E-F raise knee lever. Actually a pretty fun guitar. I might try to gig with it in May with a guy doing really old school folk-country.

How early is the question. I spent an hour looking through the Forum and found a post:

Jussi Huhtakangas
Member
From: Helsinki, Finland

posted 11 August 2003 10:47 AM profile
"They were built by Roger Miller ( not the singer )in Chillicothe, Illinois starting in the late 50's / early 60's. Very Sho Bud-like, and often used very fancy and exotic woods and inlays. Built totally on custom basis, at least according to the two mid 60's catalogs I have, and were offered as single, double or triple 10 string necks and various custome features were available, such as "dual coil sliding pick-ups". In the 60's catalog, a standard D10 with 7 + 1 cost $1298, made out of birdseye maple with a decorative inlay on the front and back.
I'm sure some forumites have owned these and can tell you lots more about them. But I'm surprised you don't really see them more often."

The serial number is 10571567. I owned a Miller dating to the early 70's that was lightyears ahead in fit and finish. This guitar looks like it was made with hand tools. File marks on the rounded corners, saw marks and less-than-straight cuts.

Does anyone actually remember when Roger began building? Obviously, he was aiming at Sho~Bud Permanents as a target. A definitive history should be documented before it's too late, if it isn't already.

_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer

Michael Lee Allen · From: Portage Park / Irving Park, Chicago, Illinois

From a long-ago conversation with the late Ralph Hanzel...Ralph knew Roger Miller in West Allis WI where he was teaching steel around 1956. Sometime after that he was building PSGs or modifying steels by adding pedals. Unclear which or both. He was associated with "West Allis Music" and West Allis is a nearby suburb of Milwaukee. He was using his own name as a brand by 1961. Ralph was already an early Fender 1000 endorser and was pictured in at least one catalog and multiple advertisements. Roger left the area in 1961 or 1962 and moved back to the Peoria IL vicinity. I have a letter and small folder sent to a potential customer, both are dated 1963 as is the postal cancellation. He made two-pedal student steels with either eight or ten strings, they are shown in at least one catalog and some price lists. He also offered seats and volume pedals.
MLA

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

When I 1st decided to jump into the Pedal Steel Guitar pond, I contacted a MILLER dealer, I believe in Boston. It was early 70's. I had been working part time in a small music store in Norwalk Ct. and we had a Miller Catalog. I called to order the student guitar. At the time he told I was told that they were not accepting any orders due to some shortage of materials, I believe it was no wood for bodies. I was really bummed as I had no earthly clue where I could buy a Pedal Steel way up north. I had heard of Emmons and Sho Bud but was very unaware.

I don't recall who told me but I was informed that I should call SAM ASH Music in White Plains NY, about 45 min away. I called and they just happened to have a Sho Bud Maverick in stock. I jumped in the car and an hour later I owned it.

I don't know any details about Miller Steels , but I heard that when I called that's the period of time when MILLER stopped making Steels, early 70's. I've seen a few over the years and the ones I did see were pretty crude assemblies, but the photos in the catalog we had were awesome !
_________________
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jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years

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Gary Patterson · From: Gallatin, TN

Michael, are you suggesting he made "only" two student steels? Here's a pic of one I found on the Forum here years ago, and I had another one just like it. That accounts for two. I subsequently added KLs and upgraded the top board to a nice birdseye and added marquetry banding.

Miller's "pro" models were woodworking masterpieces.

Bill Sinclair · From: Waynesboro, PA, USA

"He made two-pedal student steels with either eight or ten strings, they are shown in at least one catalog"

Gary,

I read that to mean that the student steels in the catalog had two pedals.

Gary Patterson · From: Gallatin, TN

Hyphen makes all the difference, huh?

Michael Lee Allen · From: Portage Park / Irving Park, Chicago, Illinois

Yes, student instruments with only two pedals and no knee levers. Not an output of just two student guitars in total. I've had three of his two-pedal guitars myself. Right now I have a 3+1 that looks like it was built as a 2+0 and came back to be changed to a 3+1. I wasn't trying for a literary masterpiece here, just adding information to the original post where the student guitar weren't mentioned at all.
MLA

Jim Cooley · From: The 'Ville, Texas, USA

My uncle still has the Miller he played in bands since the 1950s or early 1960s. It has nice looking wooden cabinet and neck. The mechanics are very Sho-Budish and look pretty crude, but the guitar sounds great. It's a 3 pedal, 2 knee lever SD10 with pad. The knees are on the right. It has wide Sho-Bud type pedals.

Rick Abbott · From: Indiana, USA

I saw a picture of, what I assume was, a really early Miller. It had welded undercarriage parts just like a Permanent. So, I also assume mine isn't that early, but having seen much later ones, I think it must be early 60's. Somewhere in my research I saw a post mentioning the white pickups being on the early side. These were a mess when I got the guitar; one was unwound and in a wad. Jerry Wallace rewound both of them to Sho~Bud specs (17.1k). The "good one" was wound to 30k and sounded weird and bad to my ears.

MLA, I appreciate your sharing that conversation.
_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer

Steve Waltz · From: USA

Rick, are your changer fingers brass? The color looks strange.

I think this is the oldest Miller I have seen. The E9 is on the back neck and there is no A pedal rod on the 10th string. The fret boards are the older Bigsby looking ones and there are no rollers at the keyhead. The front apron is deeper like a Bigsby in the the endplates are almost inset. There is no back piece of wood under the guitar as newer ones have in order to mount cross shafts. I think that s common on very early sho buds and on Bigsbys. My early T-10 is basically the same guitar.

BTW the string spacing on a miller is different than a sho bud. I can't remember which way but I think it's smaller.

The Triple in this picture is not mine.

Which looks pretty different than my mid/late 60's Miller. The 70's ones are different.

Rick Abbott · From: Indiana, USA

[quote="Steve Waltz"]Rick, are your changer fingers brass? The color looks strange."

Yes, the fingers are brass.

There's no doubt that D-10 is a lot older. The one I mentioned above had the same undercarriage, but the body was more like your D-10.

I really like the look of the Bigsby style fretboards.
_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer

Steve Waltz · From: USA

A couple more of an older one:

Doug Earnest · From: Branson, MO USA

So there was a Roger Miller, and a Dick Miller, who both made pedal steels? Or are they the same person?

Dick Miller made the Bethel steels and I assumed he was the Miller Custom fellow.

Rick Abbott · From: Indiana, USA

I think there is a new Miller Custom that has nothing to do with the 60's-70's Miller Custom of Roger Miller. I found a couple of facebook posts or some such a while back. Dick does have a website. https://millercustomsteelguitars.webs.com/
_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer

Michael Lee Allen · From: Portage Park / Irving Park, Chicago, Illinois

The last Miler literature I have is "probably" dated or postmarked 1970. I say "probably" because it's been packed up in storage in California for several years. There was a quarter-page advertisement that ran in several 1971 issues of "Guitar Player" magazine showing a double 10 and mentioning a student model. Address was Dwight Music in Belleville Illinois. That advert did not run in 1972 or afterwards.
MLA

Jack Wilson · From: Marshfield, MO

Roger and Dick are two different people. My Dad had one of the last guitars Roger built. My Dad was a semi Miller dealer. He would sell a guitar and then have Roger build another. He sold a guitar and called Roger for another, but Miller was in tax trouble and the shop closed. My Dad said Roger had to go to the shop under cover to build that last guitar.

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