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Topic: Thomas Pedal Steels? |
Mike Greenberg
From:
Nashville, TN
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Posted 10 Nov 2009 5:52 am |
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Just looking for some history/info.
About two years ago, I bought a used steel from someone on eBay. It's a Thomas "New Generation II", 7 pedals, 5 knee levers, 12 strings. Originally setup to play open D9 (E9 down a whole step) with the additional two strings being a low root (12) and a low major 3rd (11).
Anyway, I've been curious about the history of these guitars -- who made them, when they were made etc. and have not had any luck finding this information online. If anybody knows anything about these guitars, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks
---Mike |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 10 Nov 2009 7:25 am
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Thomas Steels were made by Barry Thomas, a multimillionaire who built them mostly as a hobby. Since money was no object, he had a state of the art computerized machine shop, and used the finest materials he could get.
He did some work for me. I watched ad he designed some parts on his computer, which in turn then controlled the machine shop to make them. It was very impressive to watch.
He made VERY good instruments. If your guitar is as good as the others I've seen, it's a winner.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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Mike Greenberg
From:
Nashville, TN
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Posted 10 Nov 2009 7:30 am Thank you!
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Thanks so much for the reply and the information. The guitar seems really solid and meticulously built. I'm not surprised about its origins. Very cool!
Thanks
--Mike |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 10 Nov 2009 8:30 am
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We had a steel guitar jam at Barry's little steel guitar factory near Stockton, around 1997 or so. It was a top notch facility, state of the art for making quality instruments. Very impressive.
He had to close the shop for personal reasons. If he were still in business, I have no doubt that Thomas would be one of the top brands today. You're lucky to have one of those fine guitars.
_________________
-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 10 Nov 2009 1:12 pm
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| mike, there have been several thomas' floating around the forum in the last year or two at very fair prices. anyone would do well to hang on to one. |
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Doug Earnest
From:
Branson, MO USA
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Posted 10 Nov 2009 3:42 pm
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I have been speaking with Barry lately. He indicates that he may start production again. He has been renovating a large building in Oklahoma.
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Doug Earnest
Manufacturer of Stage One & Encore pedal steel guitars
http://www.stageonesteelguitars.com
"Teach Your Children Well" |
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Damir Besic
From:
Nashville,TN.
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Posted 10 Nov 2009 3:49 pm
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in todays economy it really takes a millionaire to build steel guitars....bless his heart, true labor of love...
Db
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www.steelguitarsonline.com |
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Ken Metcalf
From:
San Antonio Texas USA
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Posted 10 Nov 2009 4:07 pm
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I have a Thomas U-12 and it is nice. ^_^
_________________
MSA 12 String E9th/B6th Universal.
Little Walter PF-89.
Bunch of stomp boxes |
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Ed Pearce
From:
Northern Utah, USA
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Posted 10 Nov 2009 6:02 pm
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Here's a pic of my older Thomas U12. Gotta love the durlon bearings. Plays smooth and will never wear out!
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John Coffman
From:
Wharton,Texas USA
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Posted 10 Nov 2009 6:03 pm
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Great guitars, Here is one of mine
_________________
ShowPro SD10, Mullens RP, Bose S1 Pro, GK MB200, MB500, Bugera T50 Tube amp with SlidgeRig, TC HOF reverb effect. |
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David Wright
From:
Pilot Point ,Tx USA.
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Posted 11 Nov 2009 3:37 am
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The Blue S 12 was built for me, great guitar, had 3 of them, they were built in Modesto, Ca..Doug, don't hold your breath on Barry going back to building Steels..
John Coffman, I design that guitar, being a big Cowboys fan, I talked Barry in to building it for the Dallas show ...as I remember the guy who bought the guitar was not a football fan, and looked at the star on the front as "The star of David'
Barry built a fine guitar, anyone who that gets one will be happy with it... |
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Mike Greenberg
From:
Nashville, TN
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Posted 11 Nov 2009 5:57 am U12 Suggestions?
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I'm new to the forum. I never expected to get so many great responses to my question. Thank you all so much. What amazing looking guitars!
I assume that mine was originally setup as a U12. If anyone has suggestions for a copedent that would make sense to a beginner, please let me know. I went with this guitar knowing that it would be a bit "over my head", because I had heard too many stories about people growing out of their student models. (Got a great price on it too.) Again, it's 7P/5K.
THanks again
--Mike |
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Ernie Pollock
From:
Mt Savage, Md USA
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Posted 11 Nov 2009 6:34 am Yes Damir
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It also helps to be a millionaire to buy a steel guitar today!!
Ernie  |
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Ken Metcalf
From:
San Antonio Texas USA
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Posted 11 Nov 2009 9:01 am
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For a starter set up I would consider the Neumann set up.
You can find it .... I think it is the standard U-12 set-up on the Carter site.
_________________
MSA 12 String E9th/B6th Universal.
Little Walter PF-89.
Bunch of stomp boxes |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 11 Nov 2009 11:02 am
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Great guitars for sure.
| Quote: |
| he had a state of the art computerized machine shop |
State of the art? Not quite. The Bridgeport CNC mills he used were so old they were not even supported by Bridgeport anymore (yet some of the best they ever made. Bridgeport might still be in business if they kept that kind of quality in their machines). I know, I used to run the service department in Northern California for the distributor that handled Bridgeport from '93 - '01. One of the service techs used to work for Bridgeport when they had an office in the Bay Area, and when they sold out to the distributor, he went along with the deal. He just happened to "take" all the old circuit boards for those old BOSS machines. He and maybe 2 other people in the US are trained and have parts for those old machines. My friend will be the one that Barry has come down and set up the machines. The main thing is that he kept very good care of his machines (I believe he even bought all of them used) by having my friend work on them. Maybe if I'm not back to work yet, Barry will send me a ticket to come help and visit. When he found out I played steel, he would call the office and we would talk for an hour or so (until I HAD to get back to listening to customers bitch about their Bridgeports) about steels a couple times a month.
I hope Barry does start producing steels again.
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Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 54 years and still counting. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 11 Nov 2009 11:56 am
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Well, it was state of the art for making steel guitars, anyway.  Most builders, even today, machine a lot of their parts by hand, without CNC controllers.
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-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 11 Nov 2009 12:56 pm
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True. A good machinist can produce his parts by hand and be pretty darn consistant. I've seen complex parts produced on a manual mill, that you would normally only see on a multi-axis CNC machine. Barry's steels were not great because of his equipment (though it didn't hurt), it was his ability and ideas that made them great guitars.
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 54 years and still counting. |
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