Maybe $12,500 isn't to much for a PSG

Larry Behm · From: Mt Angel, Or 97362

Elderly has a Martin 000-28 (1937) for $35,000. It is a wood top, bottom, sides and a neck.

So maybe $10,000 for a Franklin or $12,500 for an 64 Emmons PP is not so out of line with some of the other types of instruments out there.

Strad's for $3 Million, '52 Tele's for the cost of my house, Lloyd Loar F5 Mandolins for the price of a good small motor home.

I know we do not like to think that a pedal steel should cost this much but....custom amps are between $2,500 and $3,500, rebuilt PP's are $4,500 to $6,500, volume pedals $260 to $460. This is not for the faint of heart when you start looking at top of the line gear produced by top of the line manufactures etc.

I never thought I would pay $4,000 for a steel, I did. Never thought I would entertain $7,500 or more for the next one, I am. "Patti sell the farm I may need Psychiatric treatment before it is to late"!
_________________
'70 D10 Black fatback Emmons PP, Hilton VP, BJS bars, Boss GE-7 for Dobro effect, Zoom MS50G, Stereo Steel amp, Telonics 15” speaker.

Phone: 971-219-8533

Mike Archer · From: church hill tn

I am very thankful for my steel

and to those who helped me get it

but even if I had the money which I don't I would never pay that kinda money for any steel guitar
for those that can afford it and want it fine

and that goes for any amp /instrument etc
go ahead fellas flame away.....

mike
Very Happy

_________________
Mullen g2 d-10
Quilter 112
Tele/ fender deluxe

Ken Pippus · From: Langford, BC, Canada

You're dead wrong, Behm. A clean Loar F-5 will buy you a very nice, LARGE motor home.

But you're right, compared to many other professional musical instruments, these things, especially the classics, are a bargain. A steel, as it were.

Joachim Kettner · From: Germany

I wonder if these rich buyers can really play. The only thing I would like to have is a J-200 Gibson and a Fender cable guitar.
_________________
Fender Kingman, Sierra Crown D-10, Evans Amplifier, Soup Cube.

George Seymour · From: Notown, Vermont, USA

A few years ago I played the "Buddie Rose" Gibson Granada. An original five string flathead in the same batch as Earle's. A student of Buddie was bequested it upon his death. He had it for a good long while but was offering it for sale at $250k,
$12500 is a steal for one of only 26 or so wrap's before bolts. Likewise Gibson made only around two hundred five string flatheads between 1929 and 1941. Rarerity and demand sets the market. Not a huge market for steel guitars. I'd love to own that 64.....maybe a trip to the bank...
_________________
Old Emmons D-10's & Wrap Resound 65, Standel amps!
Old Gibson Mastertones

Jack Devereux · From: Brooklyn NY

For whatever it's worth, 3 million won't buy you a Strad these days. The Guarneri del Gesu (Stradivari's primary rival in the crazy expensive fiddle market) violin known the Vieustemps recently sold for north of 16 million dollars. That's a whole different world, but I would definitely agree pedal steels are way underpriced (not that I'm complaining...)

Ned McIntosh · From: New South Wales, Australia

If I recall correctly, the late Tom Brumley's Anapeg 11-string "Tom Brumley" model was sold via the forum for $US11,000 - a thousand per string!

Premium steels look like they will continue to fetch premium prices, and may represent quite good investments for those with the money and inclination.

However, I would hope they are bought to be played, rather than stuck away in vaults like Stradivarius violins. Instruments that are not played have an odd habit of deteriorating faster than instruments which are played.
_________________
The steel guitar is a hard mistress. She will obsess you, bemuse and bewitch you. She will dash your hopes on what seems to be whim, only to tease you into renewing the relationship once more so she can do it to you all over again...and yet, if you somehow manage to touch her in that certain magic way, she will yield up a sound which has so much soul, raw emotion and heartfelt depth to it that she will pierce you to the very core of your being.

Mark Eaton · Posted 25 Sep 2015 2:40 pm

Even leaving out of the equation Strads and the "bargain" by comparison Gibson Lloyd Loar mandolins (didn't Chris Thile pay something like $250K for his second Loar - his first one went for $200K), this seems like the old classic ploy to convince oneself that it's okay to spend X amount of dollars on an instrument because it's a lot cheaper than any number of other instruments in other categories. Wink

_________________
Mark

Bud Angelotti · From: Larryville, NJ, USA

I betcha most of those bazillion dollar strad fiddles are not owned be the actual folks that get to play'em.
I maybe wrong but I'd bet a small motor home that those instruments are owned by "patrons of the arts" & outright investors.
Also the rise of"americana" music in recent years,I believe, has driven up the price of those old Martins & Gibsons.
A friend of mine gave me the first neck off a 1955 stringmaster that he found in a dumpster. For real!!
The electronics work, just needed some minor fixes and replaced one of the lollipop tuners with a tuner off an old warped guitar.
Looks like crap. Plays just fine. Sounds great.
Beauty is in the eye of the broke beholder.
Thats all for now,
Stick n the mud Bud. Cool

_________________
Just 'cause I look stupid, don't mean I'm not.

steve takacs · From: beijing, china via pittsburgh (deceased)

When I reflect on all wonderful music that's been played by the big name pros of the past and present and most of us non-pros using steels whose costs are not up in the stratosphere, I conclude to spend more is unnecessary.

Comparing the cost of a pedal steel to a high dollar Martin, Gibson Banjo, Loar Mandolin, Stradavarius or the Hope Diamond is not part of my calculus.

If one is an of investor of instruments perhaps or a person who must own one of the most costly instruments for whatever reason, then so be it.

I'm a guy that still drives a second-hand 1989 Chevy Cavalier. Draw your on conclusions Smile

stevet

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

$12,500 is too much Laughing

When you drag your gear out to a gig, and your gear is worth more than the entire BANDS gear all together , "Hello Houston ....something is outa wack up here ".... Smile

_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders , Eastman Mandolin ,
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years

CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website

Tom Gorr · From: Three Hills, Alberta

Just have the band pay a steel guitar rental fee. You know. .. like the fee paid to rent the lead singers thousand dollar PA.... :;

Mike Archer · From: church hill tn

yeah I agree with Tony

that much money for a steel maybe for a collector

but can you see a guy take a high dollar steel out to play at the vfw for 50.00??

NAW no way....
_________________
Mullen g2 d-10
Quilter 112
Tele/ fender deluxe

David Nugent · From: Gum Spring, Va.

I believe that Bud is correct regarding original Stradavarius violins. From my understanding, wealthy businessmen and patrons of the arts form a co-op to purchase these instruments and then "loan" them out for use by famous Concertmasters (most of us remember the tale of the absent minded concert violinist who left a multi million dollar Strad behind in a New York taxi and fortunately it was later returned by the honest driver).

Jeff Mead · From: London, England

One factor to bear in mind, assuming we are talking about an instrument that is going to be used as opposed to a display or investment instrument, is that with the pedal steel, more so than with many other instruments, because of their nature, many players tend to own only one instrument at a time.

I don't think many of us would bat an eye if somebody told us their collection of regular guitars was worth $12,500 and I bet there are a lot of people on this forum who have collections worth a lot more than that, so if the pedal steel is your main or only instrument and you have decided that you only need one of them and there is something about that $12,500 model that makes it perfect for you - sound, mechanics, even the finish then why not?

I've never spent anywhere near that much on an instrument but I have spent way more on guitars than what I would have needed to spend to get the same purely functional role with a cheaper instrument. Do I really need a Martin and a 56 Telecaster? Probably not but I'm glad I bought them (a few years back when they weren't as expensive as they would be today).

If you are talking about a top professional steel player, spending that much (tax deductible) on an instrument which would potentially be worth the same or more when it came to retire wouldn't make an impossibly huge dent in a years income and could even make financial sense.

Geoff Cline · From: Southwest France

The '64 Emmons is to the pedal steel world, as a '59 Les Paul Standard is to electric guitar (or a Broadcaster, Nocaster or '50's Strat). And it has way more moving parts !
Whoa!

The only reason the guitar is priced SO LOW is due to the relatively low demand. In terms of rarity, quality and the ability to make the "classic sounds"...it is a bargain.

And let's not forget how the market for Bigsby guitars has shifted in the pasi 15-20 years.

John Boogerd · From: Calgary, Canada

You get exactly what you pay for. I could have had Jackson build me a new pedal steel 2-necks for $6,000 - brand new and beautiful in looks and sound. Yet I bought one that was listed on their website for $10,000 which is much the same guitar but has custom ebony fretboard, abalone and mother-of-pearl inlays and the finest Canadian maple wood. For me it's a once in a lifetime investment and gives me something new to live for when I felt I had nothing. Of course, playing it properly is another matter.

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

I've had discussion over on a B-Bender page. If you compare the Price of a good B-Bender Tele and what is entailed to put one together, a pedal steel is a great bargain! Underpriced! Check this out;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fender-American-Nashville-B-Bender-Telecaster-50th-anniversary-USED-/301751180690
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

Add; Of course, I also think B-Bender guitars are way overpriced!
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps

Jan Viljoen · From: Pretoria, South Africa

Hi Folks, Sorry to pour water on the fire, but good name acoustic instruments are not necessarily better.

Dont know about mechanical instruments, although there was a thread by Lynn Stafford about better maple psg's recently.

Read this.
http://www.thestrad.com/cpt-latests/blind-tested-soloists-unable-to-tell-stradivarius-violins-from-modern-instruments/

Whoa!

_________________
Sierra S10, Stage One, Gibson BR4, Framus, Guya 6&8, Hofner lap, Custom mandolins, Keilwerth sax.
Roland Cube 80XL, Peavey112-Valve King and Special, Marshall 100VS.

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

Jeff, in the US, the instruments aren't straight deductible, but depreciated over 7 or 12 years.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects

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

Well, you can buy a new car for $13,000 to $15,000. But, you can also easily spend 3 or 4 times that. Pedal steel guitars are exactly the same way. You can get a new pedal steel guitar$1,500 to $2,200. Or, you can spend 3 or 4 times that.

So, uhh...what was the question???

Oh...do some people still expect to get a new Mercedes, BMW, or Cadillac for under 20 grand? Yeah...good luck with that! :LOL:

Anyhow, I'll simplify it for y'all:

Fancy guitars are expensive, and plain, simple, guitars aren't. And just like the fact that you don't need a Mercedes or BMW to buy groceries and schlep the grandkids around, you probably don't need a $6,000 or $7,000 guitar to play in church, in your bedroom, or in some club.

Winking

Bud Angelotti · From: Larryville, NJ, USA

"It's your money, spend it as you please. Just try not to spend it all in one place." - My dad told me this when I had one of my first summer jobs in a bakery. I was 14 years old & made $2.25 an hour. Smile

_________________
Just 'cause I look stupid, don't mean I'm not.

Steve Spitz · From: New Orleans, LA, USA

Obviously, the market determines what any commodity is worth at a given time.

A car, a steel, a bag of nails, whatever. Same rules apply.

I'm no financial wizard, but I think it's senseless to compare the price of the most desirable steels to other instruments. The demand for our beloved steels is miniscule compared to some of the instruments we are comparing them to.

What if a 60s push pull had the same value/demand as say a pre-CBS strat or 58 les Paul ? What if the same amount of potential buyers were competing for both the steel as the collectable vintage six string or other similar demand high priced axe ?

I doubt we would be complaining about the outrageous 10K price of the collectable steel.

A brand new , high tech , best of the best steel is around 5 or 6 K. The most sought after similar axe, the 64 red belly is roughly twice the price.

Could you buy a pre-CBS strat for twice the price of a new one ? How about the 58 Les Paul ? Those are 20 or 25 times the price of a new one. I'm generalizing of course,

Hmm....that Franklin at 10K is starting to look less outrageous. I'm guessing we max out early due to the size of our market. The demand, relatively speaking, is low.

And , if your in the market for something special, that's good for the potential buyer.

Bill L. Wilson · From: Oklahoma, USA

My friend Ron, of Honest Ron's Guitars here in OKC, has a '55 Tele all original that he will sell for $20,000. He recently sold me a "Joe Strummer" Tele for $500,(which in my estimation, was wayyyy to expensive for a Mexican made guitar), but it is one of the best playing and sounding Tele's that I own. I wouldn't ever pay $20,000 for any Tele, 10or12 Grand for a steel guitar, or 150or200,000 for a '59 Les Paul. I would like to think if I had that kind of money to throw away, I would be smarter and buy a '32 Ford Hot Rod. If you want Franklin Steel Guitars to be a reasonable price, get somebody here on the Forum to give me one, and the next day they'll be worthless. Guess I'll have to stick with my 20yr. old $2500 Emmons LLII, which I'm very happy with.

Forum Index > Pedal Steel	Goto page 1, 2 Next	Next oldest topic :: Next newest topic