Have you ever heard of a material called EKOA?

[Mike Perlowin RIP]

Right on Malcolm, us Tupperware pickers have to stick together.

[Malcolm McMaster]

Mike it amazes me how many who are vocal about them are also very interested if they think you are selling one.

[Mike Perlowin RIP]

Back when the Milli first came out, somebody (Reece?) played one in St. Louis, and I had not attended that year. I asked brother Jim Cohen how did it sound, and he answered "It sounds like a steel guitar."

Getting back to the original subject, I think Ekoa might be an excellent material for a steel guitar. I'm curious as to how such a steel would sound. Would it be different from the Millie?

I guess we'll never know.

[Mark Eaton]

Mel Bergman posted earlier that he knows Paul @ Blackbird in San Francisco.

Maybe the Ekoa steel can be made, but obviously there needs to be a market for it. Would Paul be willing to go through all the flaming hoops to create a prototype or sample model?

Pretty expensive proposition I would imagine.

Using my earlier analogy of professional bike racing, take a pair of American bike companies, Trek and Specialized. The pro cyclists are rolling billboards along the same lines as NASCAR drivers and their cars. If the only people riding the lightweight carbon fiber bicycles were the members of the racing teams that are on those brands and they didn't offer them for sale in bike shops, Trek and Specialized would lose their rear ends on building those things.

Obviously a guitar company, though a fraction of the size of a Trek - were it possible to build these steels, would need to sell more than a handful to make it worth their while. There are also "boutique" bike companies that build in carbon fiber in small numbers, but they still have to sell a fair amount of these things annually to make it worthwhile.

Along with the expense, I guess MSA couldn't sell enough Milleniums to keep it in the product line? If that is the case from a very well established steel builder I have a difficult time believing that an "outsider" company would do well with with this.

But once again referring back to Mel's posts, I guess it doesn't hurt to ask.

[Donny Hinson]

Mel Bergman posted earlier that he knows Paul @ Blackbird in San Francisco.

Maybe the Ekoa steel can be made, but obviously there needs to be a market for it.

And therein lies the problem. People will only pay so much more for a guitar that weighs a little less. From what I've read, Ekoa isn't even close to being in the same league as CFC, so the weight saving would probably be minimal once you achieved the necessary strength and stiffness. True, it might be more stable and consistent than wood, but it would also likely still be more expensive, so back to square one. And then, with all that considered, you'd still have to get around the mindset of many players that "There's nothing like a real wood guitar". I feel that's a hurdle we're not going to clear for a long, long time.

I agree it's an interesting question and mental exercise, but I hold little hope of something like this happening, especially with the (seemingly?) declining interest lately in pedal steel.

[b0b]

Steel guitar legs are heavy. If you want to save weight, that's where you could shed a few pounds without a huge tooling investment.