Survey Results Are In

Guest · Posted 24 Jul 2001 3:13 am

The survey results are in and here are some of the highlights. You can get all the details by going to http://www.mightyfinemusic.com and click on the Survey link.

1. While most of the players in the survey were from the US and Canada, we heard from a total of 16 countries!

2. The five most frequently owned pedal steel guitar brands are:

EMMONS.......26.8%
SHO-BUD......14.6%
CARTER........8.1%
ZUMSTEEL......7.6%
MSA...........6.3%

3. The five most frequently owned non-pedal guitar brands are:

FENDER......25.2%
RICKY.......16.1%
GIBSON.......9.4%
MELOBAR......6.1%
NATIONAL.....5.5%

4. When pedal steel players who own more than one guitar were asked to pick their favorite, here's what they said:

ZUMSTEEL...42%
EMMONS.....34%
MULLEN.....29%
CARTER.....29%
SIERRA.....25%

That means that of all the players who owned a ZUM and another steel guitar, 42% of them said the ZUM was their favorite. Etc. for the other brands.

5. The brands most likely to be bought new since 1990 are Carter and Emmons:

CARTER.....21%
EMMONS.....21%
ZUMSTEEL...12%
MULLEN.....11%
FESSENDEN...9%

So, of all the pedal steel guitars bought new since 1990, 21% of them are Carters and 21% of them are Emmons, etc.

Well, it was a lot of fun doing this survey and I hope you all enjoy reading the results as much as Ricky and I enjoyed putting them all together. Oh, one other statistic -- Texans were the most likely to list their state as a country, no surprise to anyone I'm sure.

Thanks to all of you!

Jim Cohen · From: Philadelphia, PA

Interesting stuff, Stephen. Thanks for posting it. One question: is it really true that more players said they owned S-6 pedal steels than S-12's? And almost as many S-6 pedal guitars as S-10's? I find that hard to believe. A typo maybe?

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www.jimcohen.com

Guest · Posted 24 Jul 2001 6:07 am

Thanks, Jim. There was a typo there. I restated the results and expressed them in percentages which is probably more useful. Thanks again.

Jim Cohen · From: Philadelphia, PA

Thought I wasn't payin' attention, dincha?

jerry wallace · From: Artesia , NM (deceased)

Interesting stuff Stephen..Thanks for doing it!!
I knew my Zum's were the BEST...

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Jerry Wallace-2001 Zum: D-10,8+6, "98 Zum: D-10,8+8,Nashville 1000,Session 500 ,Session 400 head only amp,Tubefex,ProfexII, Artesia, New Mexico
http://communities.msn.com/jerrywallacemusic

Guest · Posted 24 Jul 2001 11:47 am

I am completely unbiased in this survey (BUY SS HAWAIIAN) and I don't believe in favoring one brand over another (BUY SS HAWAIIAN). Thanks for your comments.

Guest · Posted 24 Jul 2001 11:50 am

p.s. subliminal messages are really hard to do in HTML.

Pat Burns · From: Branchville, N.J. USA

....they're about as subliminal as a "Crazy Eddie" commercial...

Bobby Lee · From: Cloverdale, California, USA

Guest · Posted 24 Jul 2001 5:10 pm

Bobby, I knew that if I hung around the forum long enough I'd learn something! And for some strange reason I've got the sudden urge to buy lots of forum products. Isn't that funny?

jerry wallace · From: Artesia , NM (deceased)

I looked at B0B's posting,and then took a nap..I kept wakeing up wanting to buy a condum product??? Did I misinterpret something or was it over my head or do I have a short circuit in my brainwaves?

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Jerry Wallace-2001 Zum: D-10,8+6, "98 Zum: D-10,8+8,Nashville 1000,Session 500 ,Session 400 head only amp,Tubefex,ProfexII, Artesia, New Mexico
http://communities.msn.com/jerrywallacemusic

Ricky Davis · From: Bertram, Texas USA

ha.........b0b....that is waaaaaay cool man. There is no limit to your arsonal of geeky stuff is there???
After I got up off the floor from laughin'; I now remembered why I love it so much around here.

Stephen; you did a "BANG-UP" job on that survey pal. I actually have gone through it several times(that's more than once

> and I haven't looked at anything more than once in quite a while.
Good going my friend; and OK> I'll buy a SS HAWAIIAN....."no wait"....maybe Me and Archie will just build two D-10 SS HAWAIIAN's made out of the most beautiful looking and sounding Australian "Cherry Red Cedar"; you have ever seen or heard.
Folks are gunna actually drop when they see this one....I get goose bumps everytime I think about it; and Stephen you have made it possible for folks to come hang out and see these guitars and look around the site and get some cool info and tips and pics and stuff......."AND I THANK YOU".
Ricky

Rainer Hackstaette · From: Bohmte, Germany

Fascinating survey!! I just took a look at the detailed results, and it made me wonder:

If the average age is 50 does that mean that steelers are a dying breed? Is steel a "grandpa´s instrument"? I´ll turn 49 this Saturday so I´m barely below the average age (but WAY below average playing skills

).

I find it surprising that Fender still ranks at #8 in the pedal section. Does anybody (except maybe Sneaky Pete) still play a Fender professionally/publicly, or are the Fender listings mainly second and third guitars with a "real" PSG as a first?

In the "Countries" listing there are seperate entries for England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Shouldn´t they be combined as Great Britain or United Kingdom? (After all, Texas was taken out of the "country" listing as well - though Texans might say that that was "uncalled for".

)

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Remington D 10 8/8, Session 400 LTD

Guest · Posted 25 Jul 2001 6:54 am

Actually, I was thinking the same thing about the average age. I think it's partly due to the fact that us geezers tend to hang around the forum a lot more than the young guys. Let's face it, if you were 20 again, how much time would you be spending on the forum?

But, I think there may be a legitimate concern about where the next generation of steel players is going to come from. The instrument actually has a LOWER PROFILE today in country music than it did thirty years ago. What to do? Begin an outreach program? I'm not sure, but I think that it's something to think about. Any ideas out there?

Guest · Posted 25 Jul 2001 6:55 am

p.s. on the issue of Great Britain, I suggest you consult someone from Scotland or Northern Ireland. Better put on some protective gear first.

Bobby Lee · From: Cloverdale, California, USA

There was a long thread about age here in the forum last year. When it was all tallied up, the average age of steelers on the Forum was found to be 50. I was 50 at the time.

I don't know if that is representative of all steel players or not, but if you watch people at steel shows you see that "middle-aged white guy" is the norm.

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Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (E9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6)

Guest · Posted 25 Jul 2001 7:56 am

I agree, and that was certainly in evidence at the Mass Bash. I guess the questions are do we care? is it important? is there anything we can or should do about it?

I'm going to give it some thought.

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

Woman comes home from a doctor's appointment all smiles and giggles.

"You must have had a good report," her husband says.

"The doctor told me I have the breasts of a 20 year old woman," the wife replied.

"What did he say about your 50-year-old ass?"

"Your name didn't even come up in the conversation, dear."

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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

ESnow · From: Berryville AR USA

Ha,Ha, thats a funny one Herb.

Roland Buras · From: Kiln, MS, 45 miles east of New Orleans off I-10 USA

Steve ; i'am 51 a new member to the forum , Started my steel career 4 years ago.
thats not to bad considering Jimmy Davis just passed at 101 still singing " you are my Sunshine !! Gulfport MS Concert 1999"
Interesting survey:

GFI S10pro 3&5 Yahama spx-990 profex 1&2 two Session 500's

Roland

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