New MCI's again??

Brian Henry · Posted 21 Nov 2007 4:45 am

I heard a rumor in a local music store that MCI had been bought and new ones would be available in the future. Can anyone confirm this??
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Mike Wheeler · From: Delaware, Ohio, USA

I would like to believe it's true, but I don't know. I would sure be thrilled to be able to buy a brand new MCI Universal.
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Best regards,
Mike

Ron ! · Posted 23 Nov 2007 6:20 pm

Hmmmmmmmmmm......finally someone payed the 25G's huh?That's what a 'lil birdie told me it had to cost.
With enough material in it to build 8 steels.Smart move.

Ron

jim flynn · From: Salado,Texas

It would be great to have MCI named guitars on the market again, but why would anyone"BUY" the rights to
reproduce it. You'd be buying the name. While those guitars were to most modern thing to come along during the days of post new production MSA, Sho_Bud and others
the Carter is of direct linage ,and the Rains and Star guitars could also be closely related by osmosis(Texas
born and produced.) I don't know of any new-old stock
warehoused anywhere for those(MCI-EMCI) I think that between Roy Thomas and myself, as probably others have produced copies of the MCI over the last 15 years, with
different names to them. The new Pedalmaster guitars certainly have roots from the MCI tree. I think that the best sounding MCI, belongs to Frank Carter, he completely re did the underside with improvements to the pulling system, both in function and beauty, and in his hands sounds fantastic.This leads me to the following, it's not a particular guitar, but the gift that some have when playing the instrument.I can remember Buddy Emmons playing different guitars,including the MCI "Range Expander" models, and was as good sounding as on his P/P Emmons.
No doubt with the proliferation of CAD/CAM production
becoming a part of steel guitar production we will see a standardization of the instrument and the only tonal differences will come from the players hands(and Soul). Having been fortunate to build steel guitars for almost 18 years without a profit, I wish success to whoever wants to give it a go, We always get something better with new introductions of the instrument.Keep on "pickin and buildin"- Jim

Brian Henry · Posted 3 Feb 2008 5:57 pm

I agree with you Jim!!
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Ted Solesky · From: Mineral Wells, Texas, USA

Just a note. The MCI you have known was build by Bud Carter. He is no longer connected with MCI that I'm aware of.

Dan Tyack · From: Olympia, WA USA

Frank also has the most beautiful MCI that's not an MCI that you'll ever see! He built a steel that resembles the MCI and the under side of this instrument is a thing of awe and wonder.

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

Bobbe Seymour · From: Hendersonville TN USA, R.I.P.

Right Donny, the last price I got from Fred was sixty grand, this did NOT include anything in the line of tools or machinery, but a lot of tooling, and materials. Remember, the dies were very expensive for this guitar. It was all extrusions, no castings except for one part, and this was done with a "Lost wax" system. Perfection casting.
Bud could tell us more, but for some strange reason, this guitar is a great sounding instrument and shouldn't be let die.
They are much better than most folks realize. Where do you think the Carter and GFI designs came from? (this should start a good fight),

Bobbe

Dale Gray · From: Colorado, USA

You mean one of these?

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GFI SD10.Vegas 400, Oblong pedal, Rocket Scientist.

Bobbe Seymour · From: Hendersonville TN USA, R.I.P.

Whew! This is my favorite color MCI. These silly but wonderful guitars sound sooooooo good.

I'm glad the whole world doesn't know, the prices would go up like Emmons P-P guitars!

Dale Gray · From: Colorado, USA

Bobbe, I posted some more pics of this guitar on the testing section of the forum under Gittar. If diesel fuel wasn't so expensive I might trade with you for a SD-10
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GFI SD10.Vegas 400, Oblong pedal, Rocket Scientist.

Klaus Caprani · From: Copenhagen, Denmark

.....that I'm extremely happy with mine. It would be magnificient if this well engineered and well sounding steel was built again Cool

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Klaus Caprani

MCI RangeXpander S-10 3x4
www.klauscaprani.com

Rick Collins · From: Claremont , CA USA

Is the MCI heavy __ compared to other D-10's?

Paddy Long · From: Christchurch, New Zealand

Rick they are probably similar in weight to a Carter!

Brian Henry · Posted 13 Feb 2008 5:08 pm

Hi Rick, Paddy is right. I have an MCI and a Carter and they are within a pound of each other when it comes to weight.
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Klaus Caprani · From: Copenhagen, Denmark

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

MCI started in the mid-80's as an "intermediate" guitar, if I recall correctly. Red Rhodes even moved to Waco for a short period of time to work on the model. But soon it developed into a fine pro-level guitar. Some of the Birkhead EMCIs are among the best sounding APs IMHO.

That being said, I don't think resurrecting the MCI would be a successful venture for the prospective buyer. The mnarketplace is full of excellent guitars now with basically similar designs, and competitive price points. Is there room for another line?

Maybe... but the secret to successful marketing is not so much what you charge for your widget, but rather how much $$$ it costs you to produce the widget. So, without tools, a facility, and purchasing components at a basically retail price, the future owner of the company is spending lots of money on a very intangible thing... the value of the brand name, or "blue sky."

The owner would then in be in competition with builders like Carter, Derby, Desert Rose, Fessenden, GFI, Jackson, MSA, Performance, Rains, Star, Williams, Zumsteel... even the still in-the-race Emmons Co.... who have already got their production systems up and working and have established brand recognition. Not to mention competition from the secondary market of used late-model guitars.

I'm not saying that a well-heeled crusader... or someone with (or access to) a machince shop, woodshop, and the necessary skills... couldn't revive the MCI brand, just that IMHO it's more of a fool's errand than a viable business deal, at least at the get-go price being discussed.

The way to success would be to buy the existing stock and components on a pennies-on-the-dollar basis, have your ducks in a row with manufacturing, and get a half-dozen display models ready to show at steel conventions. And don't invest in too many wheelbarrows to haul cash to the bank just yet.
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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?

David Collins · From: Madison, North Carolina, USA

I know very little about the MCI/EMCI guitars except for what I have read, and have discussed somewhat with Bobbe.

I did, however investigate the possibility of buying the MCI assets and trying to revive the brand, as it does seem to enjoy a good reputation.

I never was able to get a complete, detailed list of exactly what it was that I would be buying.

I also did quite a bit of market research and discovered, much as Herb has described above, that it would most likely be a long and winding road to any kind of profitability, if at all.

I chose to invest in another venture as an avenue for a viable and potentionally profitable business.

If the rumor is indeed true, I wish the very best for the new owner.
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David Collins
www.chjoyce.com

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

Bobbe Seymour · From: Hendersonville TN USA, R.I.P.

Yes sir Herb and Klaus! This color takes me back to the '55 Chevy Bel Air! I love it!

Los Bobbster, (lil' muchacacho)

Jim Smith · From: Midlothian, TX, USA

I worked for MCI part time in the mid-80's, after Bud Carter left. Red Rhodes moved to Arlington to work on pickup designs during that time, but I hadn't heard that he worked with them in Waco too.

Paul Redmond · From: Illinois, USA

I would like to see the MCI built again as I think the concept was generally on track. They had a welded-frame construction, mica covering, a half-stop that IMO was second to none in the industry, and numerous other ideas that sprang from the collective minds of Red Rhodes, Gene Fields, and Bud Carter, three geniuses in the field. The guitars were light-weight and rigid and worked well mechanically save for that stupid O-ring that was supposed to hold the pullrods onto their respective bellcranks, but which actually added a built-in bind to the overall equation where friction was concerned (and managed to snap loose in the middle of a nice lick). The MCI or EMCI is IMO a very viable guitar today. A lot of thought and simplicity was exhibited in their construction that should not be overlooked by present-day manufacturers. At the time they entered the marketplace, the price was minimal and the performance was spectacular, again in my opinion. What is needed is not another John Birkhead at the helm, but rather a dedicated steel guitar purist who can provide the input necessary from a steel player's point of view rather than the 'bottom-line' mentality that makes the steel guitar wash out to merely a business venture. Yes, it's a necessary part of the entire equation if the Phoenix-like re-birth of MCI is to occur successfully.
PRR

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

Paul
I agree with you about the excellent design features of the MCI, and the collective geniuses of Rhodes, Fields, and Carter. And I think that a current guitar builder can incorporate many of those characteristics of the MCI that haven't yet been used by the current crop of builders.

The "bottom line" aspect comes into play when, as was first being discussed, only the possibility of someone purchasing the old MCI stock of parts and the brand name at what some knowledgeable people feel is an exorbitant price.

The MCI guitar could be replicated, for all intents and purposes, by a builder who's already got his manufacturing ducks in a row without spending a bunch of bucks on someone else's old stock and the "blue sky" of a brand name long gone, one that many current steel players have no romantic identification with.

So my point was not that the MCI couldn't be a wonderful guitar for today, but that buying the rights to the name and whatever parts are for sale probably wouldn't be a very good deal.

Witness the ProMat guitar, virtually a direct replica of the Emmons Original. Cost is around 5-6K US; a reasonable sum, considering. But the price would be a lot more if Mr. Papik had to also pay for the "Emmons" brand name and have the chevron on the front apron.
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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?

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

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