How to buy a pedal steel UPDATE

Ken Lamison · Post by **Ken Lamison** » 18 Dec 2007 5:53 pm

Well, I bought the beast today. An MSA Classic with 8 pedals and 3 knee levers. Black mica finish. Came with a case and cover. The top and underside look great, but the pedal racks and especially the legs were quite corroded. All the linkages worked smoothly and nothing looked altered or broken underneath. Looks like a winter project to get everything cleaned up and back together. What works best to polish aluminum? Now for some "new guy" questions:
1) How fast should I be able to pull all these parts out of the case and assemble them prior to a gig? It took me about 1/2 an hour to tear it down and pack it.
2) Can steel owners/players deduct chiropractor fees as a business expense?

Ken

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 18 Dec 2007 6:14 pm

Ken,Is there anyone who lives near you who can check it for you?
Stu

Bobbe Seymour · Post by **Bobbe Seymour** » 18 Dec 2007 6:46 pm

Pick it up and shake it? Whew, you are new aren't you! This is the way I chose my last wife, it didn't work out either,

Funny post, I love it!

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 18 Dec 2007 6:53 pm

Whatever you do, don't let Bobbe test drive it for you. No matter what he is playing at the time, it sounds good.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 18 Dec 2007 7:25 pm

the msa should be fine....shaking it isn't a bad idea!

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 18 Dec 2007 8:39 pm

My main guitar is a thirty five year old MSA,D-10 classic,she's heavy,but still solid as a rock.

Larry Strawn · Post by **Larry Strawn** » 18 Dec 2007 8:56 pm

Pick up an MSA D/10 and shake it??

I don't think I'm that much of a "Hoss" any more!!

Larry

Tamara James · Post by **Tamara James** » 18 Dec 2007 9:04 pm

Reminds me of that old song,

Shake me, I rattle
Squeeze me, I cry
Please take me home and love me

Recorded by: Patti Page, The Lennon Sisters, Cristy Lane, etc....

Loved, that one.

Carl Heatley · Post by **Carl Heatley** » 18 Dec 2007 9:04 pm

Hey...35 year old is O.K....Dont you be fooled by some young pritty thing with a nice pedal RACK!

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 18 Dec 2007 9:33 pm

I'm checking out a MSA Classic Double 10 tomorrow and would like some advice on what to look for before taking it home.

Picking it up and shaking it is not an option unless you are taking a forklift. Mine weighed 90+ pounds in the lightweight, thin-shell plastic case. I can't fairly judge one because mine had some mechanical problems caused by added parts, but that didn't change the dry, dull tone I thought it had. However, it DID have tone and volume controls on the guitar, something I think should be mandatory.

I guess they're kind of like a '64 Plymouth Valiant - not very exciting but last forever.

Seriously, though - if weight is a concern do not even bother. It's one of the heaviest guitars in existence.

Ron Page · Post by **Ron Page** » 19 Dec 2007 6:15 am

You want to make sure pedals, levers and keys operate smoothly and that there is not excessive “slop in the gears”, so to speak. Sure, some parts will wear, but are they working properly. Do they raises and lowers return properly—you can listen for that. The changer fingers might show some wear from strings, but shouldn’t be heavily grooved. You don’t want excessive hum or extraneous noise from the pickups. Extraneous doesn’t include what your hands create.

I’d second what Stu said. Having a player put it through the paces will determine how well it stays in tune. Something all the static tests I mentioned won’t tell you.

IMO, you’ll want a somewhat standard/common copedant and you don’t want to see any home made retrofits beneath it.

Ken Byng · Post by **Ken Byng** » 19 Dec 2007 9:58 am

Bobbe
I take it she didn't rattle first time round??

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 19 Dec 2007 10:40 am

Many of the best pedal steels have loose parts by design. If you can manage to shake the thing, what you hear may be irrelvant, that's not how the instrument is played.

The way an experienced steeler test drives a used steel is different than the way a novice can. Unless you have someone to help you who is experienced both with playing and mechanics, you need to be very cautious. Knowing what I do now, as a novice the three things I would look for are:

1. The price should be quite low, so if you discover problems as you learn to play it, you can either sell it without a loss, or pay possibly big bucks to transport it somewhere and have it fixed.

2. It should have a very standard copedent (the tuning of the strings, and the changes on the pedals and levers). Do a little research on the Forum and at the Carter Steel Guitars site. You want to spend your time playing, not spending hours figuring out by trial and error how to convert somebody else's quirky setup to something standard that can be used with standard instruction material. And you don't want to start out learning on some wierdo setup.

3. The pedals and levers should work smoothly and easily and return to correct open pitch. There should be no serious grooves in the tops of the changer fingers, no messed up tuning keys, and no obvious mechanical defects. Good pickups are nice, but those are fairly easy to upgrade if you need to. Suit yourself with tone, weight, cosmetic dings, color, etc. These might not be so important on a first used pedal steel. Once you spend some time on it and learn to play, you will have better ideas on exactly what you need on your next one (if you are one of the 20% who stick with it). You might think a little differently about that if it is to be your single lifetime investment.

It's a great adventure. Good luck.

Micky Byrne · Post by **Micky Byrne** » 19 Dec 2007 11:10 am

Many of the best pedal steels have loose parts by design.

Totally agree with David on that. Also as he says, only an experienced player will know what to look for. Ken welcome to the world of pedal steel

Micky Byrne

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 19 Dec 2007 3:09 pm

yes on looseness of parts...however, nothing should fall off when shaken!

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 19 Dec 2007 3:27 pm

Anything that falls off you probably didn't need anyway. Good to shake things down to the essentials.

But seriously--good info above. The best thing you can do, if it is an option, is bring along a player. An experienced steeler can tell the difference between a beater and a viable fixer upper. Or, on a less negative note, a nice steel.

Ernie Pollock · Post by **Ernie Pollock** » 20 Dec 2007 5:37 am

Money has always worked for me, & I have spent a ton of $$$ on steel guitars, just pick one & go for it!!

Ernie
http://www.hereintown.net/~shobud75/stock.htm

Bill Ford · Post by **Bill Ford** » 20 Dec 2007 6:09 am

Ken,
I have a 25 year old MSA S12 "The Universal"it is original except for setup for ext E9, I have absolutely no complaints on the way it sounds, or plays.(dull dry tone??)not mine.

Best advise so far, take someone with you that has some savvy of how a PSG should sound/play/look. Otherwise, look at the underside, it will look confusing at first, look for something that looks out of place, rods that don't match, parts that don't match, out of place/alignment etc., overall condition of the instrument, does it look abused??

Ken Lamison · Post by **Ken Lamison** » 22 Dec 2007 1:37 pm

Bo Borland · Post by **Bo Borland** » 22 Dec 2007 2:15 pm

where in Pa are you?

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 22 Dec 2007 3:02 pm

Ken there are a bunch of us in PA, and close by in NJ, NY, W Virginia, Delaware and Ohio that can look at it for you, depending on WHERE in Pa. you are located...I am only 1/2 hr from Pa myself...

You can shake an MSA till you drop dead and not hurt it...I would be happy to check it out for you if you are anywhere near the northern Pa border... The MSA is a great choice.. They are virtually bulletproof... bob

Don Brown, Sr. · Post by **Don Brown, Sr.** » 22 Dec 2007 5:27 pm

Ken, you asked how long it should take setting it up and taking it down, you'll be able to do it in less than 5 minutes after you do it a few times. It's like playing, after a while it becomes second nature.

Lots of folks are willing to help, if it's needed.

The old MSA's that I've heard always had a damn nice sound. Everyone's told ya right. And take this for what it's worth. If you like it, that's all that matters....

My Best to you

Don

The Steel Guitar Forum

How to buy a pedal steel UPDATE

How to buy a pedal steel UPDATE

Humm?

UPDATE