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Topic: 70s MSA classic 5&4 factory copedant? |
Andrew Frost
From:
Toronto, Ontario
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Posted 7 Dec 2020 9:47 pm |
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I'm intrigued by these S10 MSA classics that had the 5 floor pedals. In my understanding, these were built to be set up as C6 or E9. I'd like to know more about these guitars and what the factory E9 set up was with 5&4 (if there was a standard).
I've seen these listed for sale now and then and I think they'd be great for experimenting with non standard copedants. I've heard they are pretty straightforward to work on as well. Any info or opinions on these guitars would be appreciated. Thanks- Andy |
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 8 Dec 2020 5:40 am
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I bought one new.. RkR- E to Eb on st 4&8
RkL- E to F on st 4&8
LkR- Eb to D/C#
LkL- I THINK it was both F# to G..
Pedals ABC-standard Emmons
Pedal 4- 2nd string Eb to D-why bother?
Pedal 5- string 5 to c#-again, why bother?
I was under that guitar with Allen wrenches within an hour or two of taking it out of the box...
They used standard E9 changes in those days, although MSA went a bit backward on the knee change locations compared to other brands.
Not many people were using 5 pedals on an E9 in the days when the MSA Classic guitars came on board..
I recall as a very young honky tonk player, many other steel players would approach me, asking me about the 4 and 5 pedals, as they weren't used to seeing them on a single neck.. I have NO idea what MSA was thinking by putting 2 redundant pulls on the 4th and 5th pedals... bob
_________________
I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
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Andrew Frost
From:
Toronto, Ontario
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Posted 8 Dec 2020 6:08 am
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Ya that seems pointless. I suppose the lone C# raise could yield some voicings not possible with A or C pedal, but pretty subtle difference.
What was your general take on this guitar otherwise? Tuning stability, tone etc. |
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Duane Becker
From:
Elk,Wa 99009 USA
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Posted 8 Dec 2020 8:26 am
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Andrew, yes I had one! MSA CS-10. I bought mine used in 1977. If I remember correctly, lady that I bought it from said she had bought it new for husband and he did not learn.
I was 17 years old at the time. Steel was in like new shape. I loved it, very easy to work on. And I remember it being stream line and very clean. Stayed in tune very well too. I played that thing everywhere, everyday, sold it in 1983 or so for a double neck. Really not a fan of the MSA, but I sure liked their stuff from that late 70s era. I snapped a pic of the 1973 catalog of the model.
My copedent was standard emmons on the 3 pedals. e strings lower and raise on both left knees. Right knee moving left had the 1st string raise to G and 6 string lower to G. Right knee moving right had both 2nd string lower and 7th string raise to G. Not sure if this was the factory setup or not. Never really used the pedals 4 and 5, but they were both set up and ready to go. I can't remember what they did. I was just interested in the Nashville E9th tuning anyway. I heard about my guitar capability to be converted to C6 with pedals, but never did experiment or try to change to C6 at that time.
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 8 Dec 2020 9:43 am
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| Andrew Frost wrote: |
Ya that seems pointless. I suppose the lone C# raise could yield some voicings not possible with A or C pedal, but pretty subtle difference.
What was your general take on this guitar otherwise? Tuning stability, tone etc. |
Stayed in tune, easy to play and work on, ultra tough and dependable under very tough road conditions.. Tone??... meh, I had several over the years in both mica and maple, and liked them for stage use due to stabilitydependability, and toughness.. They sounded good, but were never in the same league as a good Bud, Emmons,ZB, Fender etc, which were the dominant pedal guitars used in those days.. I chose to stay with them due to reliability, and sacrificed tone to a certain extent... Some were better than others, and my original white mica 5&4 was a very good sounding steel, better than a few of the maple/lacquer MSA guitars I used in later years.. For many years I used a rosewood grain mica 5&4 with 3 pickups..
GeorgeL 10-5 w/5 way switch-
Bud with coil tap and switch-
Original MSA single coil..
That guitar was loaded with switches, and was capable of a wide variety of off beat sounds.. I used a strat like sound for years to good effect.. It had AWFUL sustain, and the body and neck were dead with no resonance.. After I wore it out, and ordered a new Carter w BCT, I started to sour on MSA mica guitars, and went strictly with lacquer, but after the Carter , most MSA guitar I had were backups.. LOVE old MSA Classic guitars, but to my ears most other brands did sound and sustain better... bob
_________________
I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
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Andrew Frost
From:
Toronto, Ontario
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Posted 8 Dec 2020 5:51 pm
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Thanks for the input fellas, I appreciate it.
They sound like roadworthy instruments that can be tweaked without complication.
Good to know. |
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 9 Dec 2020 6:01 am
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| Andrew Frost wrote: |
Thanks for the input fellas, I appreciate it.
They sound like roadworthy instruments that can be tweaked without complication.
Good to know. |
All quality pedal steels are roadworthy really, but in my opinion none more so than the MSA Classic.. At the price point a clean one can be had for, there is no better bargain out there.
45 year old MSA Classic guitars that were properly looked after typically show almost no wear.. I have seen a LOT of examples over the years. Whatever they did in those days, they did very well.
In my humble opinion they were far and away the best built and most dependable pedal steel guitars of their day..
Tone?... Thats subjective, but they were NOT used by top pros outside of Chalker because they simply did not have the sound that most of the top pros, as well as the studios and artists that employed them were looking for. Just my opinion of course....bob
_________________
I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
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Bo Borland
From:
South Jersey -
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Posted 21 Dec 2020 4:19 pm
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