A Detailed MSA Millennium Review

Sidney Malone · From: Buna, TX

After nearly 4 years of taking care of some of life’s other priorities, I decided to get back into steel playing in a grand way. On Aug 16th I picked up my new 2005 MSA Millennium S-12U from the MSA factory in Dallas. It is a standard model with 8&5 and is very close to the E9/B6 Jeff Newman setup.

It was assembled by the great Johnny Cox and what a fine job he did. I believe I can describe all aspects of this guitar with one word….UNBELIEVABLE!!

I’ve spent several hours playing this guitar through a Walker Stereo Steel Amp, Alesis Midiverb 4 effects, GeorgeL 12-1 pickup & a Korg DTR-2 tuner. I also use a BJS 12-string 15/16” Bar. The guitar came with JagWire Nickle strings.

The following is my take on the different aspects of the guitar and all the numbers are as accurate as I can get them and taken as described. I am in no way connected with MSA other than I consider all the folks there friends of mine but I can assure you that has no bearing on the following comments:

Customer Service:
Great as expected!! I took delivery 5 months from when the order was placed but I had told Reece when I ordered it that I was in no hurry as I was finishing up on prior commitments. I’m not sure if 5 months is the normal delivery time or not. It could possibly be faster, I don’t know. When I picked up the guitar, Johnny took all the time I needed to go over all the questions I had. Reece as well answered some additional questions by phone a couple of days later and gave me some very detailed information on tuning. I couldn’t have asked to be treated any better.

Weight:
It weighs in at 31 lbs. setup and ready to play. In the case it's 58 lbs. This is a very nice wheeled flight case by Texas Case.

Appearance:
Absolutely stunning! Mine is the Black Twill, you can see the Carbon Fibers through the finish and it gives a nice 3D effect. The clear finish is very thick, I think it’s a very durable epoxy. All the exterior metal components are polished to a mirror finish. Pictures of these guitars can be seen at www.msapedalsteels.com but there’s no way a picture can do them justice.

Features:
From the interchangeable pickup to the easily adjusted floor pedals & knee levers to the string connection that prevents the ball end from falling into the changer, it is loaded with nice features. Custom engraving on the pedals and tuning keys and what I call a 3-D neck that was developed from a neck Jim Palsenar made for Reece, this thing is really nice. These features are also shown on the MSA website.

Sustain:
This thing rings forever!! While doing the initial tuning when I got it home I noticed that I was able to make 3-4 tuning adjustments on the pedals and levers before having to repick the string. I always release the pedal/lever to make the adjustment and then re-engage it to check the adjustment. No other guitar I’ve ever played had this much sustain. I have even had to decrease the amount of Delay/Reverb I’ve been using to accommodate the increased sustain.

Tone:
Once again, unbelievable!! I’m currently using a GeorgeL 12-1 & will be soon getting a Truetone 18.5. The clarity is unreal as is the string seperation. From the nut rollers to the 24th fret all the strings are as clear as a bell. The GeorgeL gives it a rich, deep, but not muddy tone on the low strings as well as crystal clear clean highs on the high strings. The guitar truly has a sound all it’s own and I can’t directly compare it to any other I’ve heard. I’m sure the Truetone will give it a somewhat brighter tone, which will be a good addition to the GeorgeL.

Aesthetics:
It fits like a glove!! After a few fine adjustments on the pedals/levers, everything else fell right in place. Johnny nailed my measurements to within adjustable limits and there is no awkward positions required to engage anything. I am actually having an easier time hitting all the floor pedals than on my previous guitar. I thought it would take a little time to get used to the symbols on the neck as I have never owned an MSA and they were new to me but I have not had one seconds hesitation on the neck. I seems like I’ve been playing it from the start. The pedals & levers are as smooth as silk and have just enough resistance to “feel” them. None of them have any stiffness whatsoever. The string spacing is perfect and it didn’t take any time to get used to it. There have been absolutely no distractions while playing this guitar. That is really important for me because if I have to worry about a certain change then I probably won’t use it much and it becomes a distraction to my playing that I cannot afford to have.

Mechanics:
This is a 2005 model which has MSA’s latest changer. Johnny told me it is a 4 raise/3 lower. They are also using some slightly smaller diameter rods to give increased clearances on the undercarriage. As I said earlier, it is smooth as silk. Someone from MSA can expand on this more than I can if they wish.

Stability:
This guitar is as stable as any I've played. It has not yet moved at all from where I set it.

Effects of Temperature change:
I moved the guitar from an air conditioned room to the outdoors in direct sunlight for 30 min to come up with the following numbers:

The guitar was tuned indoors at 74.3F with 68% humidity.
The outdoor temp was 96.2F (direct sunlight) & 96% humidity (Yes, Texas heat)
Here’s what happened:
Strings 1-6 -5 cents
Strings 7-9 -8 cents
Strings 10-12 -10 cents

When the relative pedals and knee levers were engaged, the notes flatted the exact same amount as the open strings. This tells me the only thing effected by the temperature difference is the strings. I tuned strings 3,5,6 back up to match inside tuning and engaged A&B, the pedals were perfect so I flatted them back to –5 cents. When the guitar was brought back inside, I checked it after 15 min and it was perfectly in tune like before I took it outside. I have never owned a guitar, until now, that temperature didn’t effect the pedals/levers. I’ve always have had to retune the pedals/levers to compensate for temperature change, but not anymore.

Now for the controversial part. The following two items have never been a concern for me because I have always believed music is meant to be heard, not seen. I know there are a lot of people who put a lot of weight on detuning (cabinet drop) and the height of the strings at the nut rollers so I am including that information in this review for those who are intrested.

Detuning (cabinet drop):
String 4 w/A&B -2 cents
String 5 w/B -2 cents
String 6 w/A -2 cents
String 8 w/A&B -2 cents

My ears can’t hear it even in a quiet room so it’s a non-issue to me.

Levelness at rollernuts:
With the bar setting on top of the strings over the roller nuts, the following measurements are the clearances between the strings and bar checked with a flat feeler gauge, strings not listed means there was no clearance:

11th - .004
10th - .010
9th - .010
8th- .011
7th- .010
6th- .009
5th- .009

With the bar at the 1st fret and no additional pressure applied. This was very difficult and could be slightly inaccurate:
10th- .004
9th- .008
8th- .007
7th- .006
6th- .006

Now this about that.
I intentionally played through several songs in the keys of “F” & “Bb” using BIAB and made it a point to play a lot on the 1st fret. So far I have not had one string to buzz that I could hear. I believe with the proper bar technique, applying slight pressure to the front of the bar and only contacting the strings being played as should be done on the whole neck, (I’m not as good at this as I need to be) I don’t think you will get any string buzz on the Millennium. I know I don’t have perfect bar control and it hasn’t buzzed on me yet. Once again, this is a non-issue for me.

I hope I’ve included all the important aspects of this great guitar. My comments are as honest and straightforward as I know how to present them. I just can’t find one single thing I would change at this time. I would highly recommend it to anyone. I believe it is the finest Pedal Steel Guitar ever produced. These of course are only one mans opinion but hopefully those of you that are interested will give one of these guitars a test drive and decide for yourself!!

[This message was edited by Sidney Malone on 20 August 2004 at 03:51 PM.]

Tom Gorr · From: Three Hills, Alberta

Very informative ! Thanks.

Richard Gonzales · From: Davidson, NC USA

I also have an earlier model S12, but it weighs less than 20LB ?

Sidney Malone · From: Buna, TX

Tom..Thanks for taking the time to read it. Hopefully it will urge others to try one out and experience what I do each time I flip the switch on my amp.

Richard.. Seems like I remember reading quite a while back that weight was actually added for stability reasons, but I could be mistaken. How stable is yours at less than 20lbs?

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MSA Millennium S-12U
Fessy S-12U
Walker Stereo Steel, Hilton Pedal

Richard Gonzales · From: Davidson, NC USA

My Millennium S12 is very stable, hitting knee levers it will move a little,but more stable then my S12 Sho Bud or my S12 MSA Vintage.
Hey Reece, did you increase the weight on the 05 models without my permission??

Alan Pagliere · From: Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Congrats, Sidney. It's a nice thing, isn't it?

I'm still lovin' my black S-12 Universal Millennium after 15 months.

Reece Anderson · From: Keller Texas USA, R.I.P.

Richard....You know MSA wouldn't do anything without first asking you. Sidney just uses heavier guaged strings.

Sidney Malone · From: Buna, TX

Thanks Alan, nice it is!! I can tell this one will bring much enjoyment for years to come!!

Yea Richard, I forgot to mention that I get my strings at the local Ace Hardware in the cable department. Only the Millennium can handle the added tension.

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MSA Millennium S-12U
Fessy S-12U
Walker Stereo Steel, Hilton Pedal

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