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Post new topic Is the Stage One and Encore still being built ?
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Author Topic:  Is the Stage One and Encore still being built ?
Larry Lenhart


From:
Ponca City, Oklahoma
Post  Posted 24 Feb 2013 7:37 pm    
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I was just wondering if these two guitars are still being built in Branson, mo. I saw the web site but you never know how old that stuff is. Just curious how many own one of them and what they think about them. I used to own a Zumsteel, but got greedy and sold it several years ago. Thanks in advance for any information.
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Larry Baker

 

From:
Columbia, Mo. U.S.A.
Post  Posted 24 Feb 2013 7:45 pm    
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Larry, Doug Earnst is still building the Stage ONe and the Encore in Branson. I don't own myself, but have heard nothing but positive feed back about them. Maybe some of the owners will chime in. Good Luck, the other Larry
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Paddy Long


From:
Christchurch, New Zealand
Post  Posted 24 Feb 2013 7:46 pm    
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Yep !
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Stan Paxton


From:
1/2 & 1/2 Florida and Tenn, USA (old Missouri boy gone South)
Post  Posted 24 Feb 2013 8:04 pm    
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Right now there is an active topic just 13 topics down the page titled New Zum Encore or something like that. ... Smile
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James Melillo

 

From:
Ohio, USA
Post  Posted 25 Feb 2013 7:30 am     Stage One Steel
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Just purchased a Stage One Steel from Doug Earnest in December....Great guitar for the price..well built and delivere on time. I just started playing pedal steel about a year ago and suits me fine.
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Fred Glave


From:
McHenry, Illinois, USA
Post  Posted 25 Feb 2013 11:17 am    
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Hard to swing a dead cat without hitting a thread about Stage One/Encore here on the forum.
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Larry Lenhart


From:
Ponca City, Oklahoma
Post  Posted 25 Feb 2013 12:51 pm     Ordered a Zum Encore today
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Well I have been looking for something light weight in a SD10 and this seems to fit the bill for me. Since I used to own a Zumsteel D10, I know the quality is there, so I ordered a red one today with the optional pad. Doug said it will be delivered around the end of April. So, until then I will keep playing my GFI D10, which by the way I really like alot ! It is not an ultra, but it plays well, stays in tune and rarely rarely breaks strings. If it werent so heavy for this old man...but I will keep it for home use and keep it set up so I can play on the C6th neck, and use the Zum when I play out. I am pretty excited about it and I know the wait will be worth it ! Thanks for reading this.
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Roger Rettig


From:
Naples, FL
Post  Posted 25 Feb 2013 1:54 pm    
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I've done about half-a-dozen gigs with my new black Encore and I just love it! It weighs next to nothing (I'm using a Roland 80XL so the heaviest thing in my gear is my steel-seat!) and the tone is just amazing!

I should have opted for a split-tune option on the 5th string (my fault, not Doug's - I forgot to ask!) and the only thing I'd change would be the fiddly little wing-nuts on the pedal-bar - reminds me of my first steel, a ZB Student, and I wish I could somehow fit an Emmons-style assembly in their place.

The guitar is great value and is a thoroughly professional instrument. I'll be keeping my two Emmons D-10s but the Encore will go out with me to work from now on.
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Roger Rettig - Emmons D10s, Quilter TT-12, B-bender Teles and old Martins.
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Doug Earnest


From:
Branson, MO USA
Post  Posted 25 Feb 2013 6:15 pm    
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Thanks for the order Larry, your business is most appreciated.

Roger, I'm happy to hear that you are getting along well with your new Encore. I can send you some different knobs to replace the wing nuts if that would be of help. I guess wing nuts are a slight pain but it is the most secure way to attach the pedal rack.
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Daniel Policarpo


Post  Posted 25 Feb 2013 6:37 pm    
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I have been on a black Stage One since around early August, my first pedal steel, and I cannot be any more satisfied. I'm finding my voice, zero mechanical issues, very robust sound, easy to play and adjust, and Doug is a great person to do business with. This is far from a "learner". This is a gigging instrument.
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steve takacs


From:
beijing, china via pittsburgh (deceased)
Post  Posted 26 Feb 2013 1:06 am     Thanks, Doug
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I think there are so many threads about Doug's guitars is because the Stage One and Encore (though I have yet yet to try on) are reasonably priced, sound good, stay in tune, have a mechanism that is solid and are lightweight (42 lbs in strong wooden case). In spite of being light, they do not dance on the floor when levers are engaged. Thanks, Doug.
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Roger Rettig


From:
Naples, FL
Post  Posted 26 Feb 2013 4:56 am    
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Well said, Steve. It's my view that these are relatively affordable instruments that, unlike some other 'relatively affordable' instruments, are without compromise.

Thnaks for that suggestion, Doug; I must stress that my comment about the wing-nuts wasn't really a criticism but it does take me back to my ZB days. Since then I've had one Sho-Bud and three Emmons and I've become accustomed to their method of securing the pedal-bar. Those knobs might be worth a try, though!
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Roger Rettig - Emmons D10s, Quilter TT-12, B-bender Teles and old Martins.
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Rich Gardner


From:
Columbus, Ohio, USA
Post  Posted 26 Feb 2013 5:04 am    
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I bought a black Stage One about a year ago. I have had no issues. Sounds and plays great. I was in Nashville this past weekend and a player in Legends was playing one.
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steve takacs


From:
beijing, china via pittsburgh (deceased)
Post  Posted 26 Feb 2013 6:25 am     Doug, Avoid the wing nuts, if possible
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Oh yes, that was one thing I forgot to add in my last post. I agree with Roger. If possible, NOT USING WINGS NUTS, would be a major improvement. I'd pay more for that change where you slide a metal tab behind the leg and secure the leg by turning a knob which puts pressure on the tab . Much easier to deal with and pretty hard to loose the 2 tabs and 2 knob whens compared to the small wing nuts. Lining up the wing nuts to fit the holes is more time consuming also.

I also agree with Roger about Doug's guitars being more affordable than anything comparable in quality. Of course, some would disagree, but that is OK too.

Thanks, stevet


Last edited by steve takacs on 26 Feb 2013 3:23 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Roger Rettig


From:
Naples, FL
Post  Posted 26 Feb 2013 6:43 am    
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...And I certainly appreciate the difficulties when a maker is trying to stay within a target price.

The 'wing-nut' issue on its own seems a minor expense to me - a complete layman - but I remember a conversation I had while at dinner with Chris Martin (IV) and the Martin historian Mike Longworth. They did me the honour of asking what I did and didn't like about the then-current CFM output (early '90s) and I singled out their use of Schaller tuners; I thought them a visual compromise and still do, but Chris said that the cost involved in using a more traditional-looking tuner would push their already slender margins too far.

(I ended up ordering a Custom Shop 000-28 that has everything just as I like it it be be, but not everyone is going to be as nerdy as RR about such things!)

Maybe this is an extreme comparison (the output of Doug's business hardly rivals that of Martin) but there may be something of the same principal at work. I'd be happy to pay a little extra for my preference but when I ordered my Encore I had no idea just how much I was going to like it!!! Anyway, it's only an issue for a few seconds when I'm setting up or disassembling the steel Smile .

These guitars are terrific!
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Roger Rettig - Emmons D10s, Quilter TT-12, B-bender Teles and old Martins.
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Herb Steiner

 

From:
Spicewood TX 78669
Post  Posted 26 Feb 2013 8:10 am    
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Just a comment about wing nuts in general. If there's a hole or a crack between boards on the stage you're occupying, a dropped wing nut will almost always find that spot and fall beneath the stage. Then you're screwed (pardon the pun) unless you carry extra wingnuts in your pack-seat.

Which I did when I played Sho~Buds back in the day.

That said, I'm intrigued by the Encore since I've heard so much positive input about it. If it's a Zumsteg design, it's got to be a good one.
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Roger Rettig


From:
Naples, FL
Post  Posted 26 Feb 2013 8:26 am    
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An amusing 'aside'.....

When I bought my first steel - a ZB Student - my friend Gerry Hogan was kind enough to invite me down to Newbury, Berks, and offered to 'get me started' on the learning process.

We had a nice day and he helped a lot. I packed my steel away and drove back to London. Next day he 'phoned to say I'd left the wing-nuts on the fireplace...

"Don't worry - I'll send them to you."

Two days later the envelope arrived - stamped, adressed and with nothing but a tiny rip in one corner. It seems that the mechanical side of things within the Royal Mail proved too much for for the fragile packing.

I wonder where those two wing-nuts are now, forty years later???
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Roger Rettig - Emmons D10s, Quilter TT-12, B-bender Teles and old Martins.
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Fred Glave


From:
McHenry, Illinois, USA
Post  Posted 26 Feb 2013 12:10 pm    
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Hi Roger. I've got those two wingnuts on my Fender 2000.
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Jeff Scott Brown


From:
O'Fallon Missouri, USA
Post  Posted 26 Feb 2013 12:51 pm     Re: Doug, Avoid the wing nuts, if possible
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steve takacs wrote:
Oh yes, that was one thing I forgot to add in my last post. I agree with Roger. If possible, NOT USING WINGS NUTS, would be a major improvement. I'd pay more for that change where you slide a metal tab behind the leg and secure the leg by turning a knob which puts pressure on the tab .



Yep. I agree.

I had a GFI SM (Student Model) and the pedal bar attached to the legs with wing nuts. The wing nuts had to be completely removed in order to take the bar off of the legs. It wasn't a giant hassle, but it was a hassle. When I replaced the SM with an Ultra I found I like the mechanism on the Ultra lot better. There are still wing nuts but they never have to come completely off. They just need to be loosened. When I remove the pedal bar, there are no loose dangling parts to manage (wing nuts, or otherwise). It all stays attached to the pedal bar. See below.





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Roger Rettig


From:
Naples, FL
Post  Posted 26 Feb 2013 1:12 pm    
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That's essentially how it works on my Emmons - the key being not having to remove the wing-nuts, but only having to loosen them.
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Roger Rettig - Emmons D10s, Quilter TT-12, B-bender Teles and old Martins.
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Roger Rettig


From:
Naples, FL
Post  Posted 26 Feb 2013 1:14 pm    
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PS: Fred - you may as well keep 'em now.

Smile
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Roger Rettig - Emmons D10s, Quilter TT-12, B-bender Teles and old Martins.
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