Played some vintage steels. A bit conflicted...

[Karl Paulsen]

I stopped in to Chicago Music Exchange yesterday to drop off my milkman for repair. While there I tried a few Lap Steels. I played them all through a Milkman Half Pint.

Started with this cream colored Gibson BR9 . Sounded good, narrow spacing.

Not sure why some of these pics are coming in upside down.



Then I tried this current production Gretch. Ok, but seemed a bit brash. Fairly narrow spacing.



Then I plalyed what I think was the best of the batch. This Gibson Century. Wider spacing was very comfortable, clear and warm tone. The painted guard/ashtray is really cool. Still not sure why it has 3 knobs though..







Didn't have the correct cable to try out this last steel, which had the old screw-in style attachment but I snapped pics anyway.




At the end of all this and looking at the prices I did wonder a bit whether I was looking at players instruments or collector's pieces. Clearly these old steels had alot of cool visual features, but the tone didn't seem to line up with a $1000+ price tag. At the same time, $600 didn't seem totally out of line for a 60 year old Gibson, especially at a vintage-specialty place like CME.

When my Melbert comes in next week I kind of want to go back and see how they compare sonically.

[Chris Boyd]

Karl,
I'm a fan of the Gibson BR9 (got one in 1985) which has a beefy P90..I bought a real beauty a couple months ago on Ebay for just over 200.00 with an amazing oak case..check Ebay!! They do come up often and there's no need to pay 500.00-600.00..retail...

[Karl Paulsen]

Karl,
I'm a fan of the Gibson BR9 (got one in 1985) which has a beefy P90..I bought a real beauty a couple months ago on Ebay for just over 200.00 with an amazing oak case..check Ebay!! They do come up often and there's no need to pay 500.00-600.00..retail...

$200! Amazing how easy it would be to collect vintage steels at those kind of prices. A bit terrifying though as I've been downsizing my instrument stable recently and the marital strife that would follow if I start acquiring instruments again would not be pretty.

[Doug Beaumier]

The BR-9 was considered Gibson's student model in the 1950s. Hence the numbers on the frets. It's a decent sounding guitar though, and far better quality than today's entry level lap steels. Gibson made thousands of those and they are constantly listed on eBay. Right now there are eight of them on eBay. They used to sell for about $275, but the prices have been creeping up in recent years.
The current Gretsch is a low priced Asian made lap steel. Nothing special there. I tried one and the strings seemed to be very close, too close for me.
The Century 6 is a nice sounding instrument with comfortable string spacing. I have the earlier version of the Century 6 and I love it. Regarding the three knobs, one is volume and the other two are tone. $1095 is too high for that guitar IMO.
The McKinney is a Valco product, similar to Oahu, Supro, National lap steels, all made by Valco. It has the string-through pickup that a lot of players like. That pickup has a little more grit and growl than string-over pickups. The guitar looks to be in pretty good shape. 15 years ago you could buy all the Valcos you wanted for about $125 each. I haven't kept up with the prices, but they must sell for at least double that now.

$200! Amazing how easy it would be to collect vintage steels at those kind of prices.

Yes, lap steel prices have increased in recent years. I only paid $260 for my Gibson Century 6, and my first two lap steels were free. I remember a time when almost any old lap steel could be bought for $50 to $100

[Brad Davis]

The Century (and Ultra) model I think is closely related to the Console Grande, pickups and wiring circuit, plastic/acrylic fretboards, and sounds like the nice wide string spacing also. They were high end lap steel models.

[Terry VunCannon]

PM sent Karl.

[Jack Hanson]

...Then I plalyed what I think was the best of the batch. This Gibson Century. Wider spacing was very comfortable, clear and warm tone. The painted guard/ashtray is really cool. Still not sure why it has 3 knobs though...

Gibson Centurys and Ultratones from the mid '40s through the mid '50s are my favorite 6-string lap steels. The wide spacing makes them easier to play than Valcos and most Fenders.

They are also one of the best values in the vintage guitar market. I wholeheartedly agree with Doug that the instrument in the photo is overpriced. I have a few of those second generation blue Centurys, and the most expensive cost less than half of what your music store is asking.

Peeling paint is common on those blue ones for some reason. They pop up on eBay from time to time, often with decomposing plastic buttons if the original Kluson Deluxes are still present, and often with replacement tuners for the same reason. Install a new set of Gotoh lookalikes and you'll be good to go for another 60 years or so.

The Plexiglas pickup/bridge cover looks cool, but gets in my way, so I just remove it and its mounting stud as well.

The two tone controls have different frequency cuts, since they are both fitted with tone caps of different values. Somewhat strange, but it's difficult to make a postwar Century sound bad no matter how you set its controls.

[Jim Sliff]

IMO those prices are ridiculous!

There is such a glut in the lap steel market that around Los Angeles vintage dealers and stores I work with can't sell lap steels (except Rickenbackers, and only a few models) for anywhere near vintage price guide pricing.

BR9's go for $175-250; Centurys for $400-600. This all depends on condition, but nothing sells for anywhere near that Century price except Rick Silver Hawaiians.

Figure out what you like and search online. Lap steels are unlike 6-strings where setup, neck shapes etc are critical and are pretty safe buys online as long as you see pics.