$1k Mavericks?

steve takacs · Post by **steve takacs** » 20 Mar 2018 9:18 am

Bill Miller,
Well said, at least from my perspective. SteveT

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 20 Mar 2018 9:22 am

I've been looking at Mavericks as a possible 10 string Lap Steel (just get rid of the pedals). On reverb they've been listed for any $1,200-$1,500.

I did reach out to someone offering him the going price that I've seen the selling for on the forum and they got pretty rude "I know what they go for." was one guys response.

Damir Besic · Post by **Damir Besic** » 20 Mar 2018 10:21 am

Bill Miller wrote:Damir said:
there is no reason to get upset about prices , if someone thinks asking price is too high just don't buy it .... if you think Maverick is not worth $1000 you can always build one yourself , right? ... cheers
It's certainly not worth losing any sleep over but when I see Mavericks or any other instruments listed at ridiculous prices I see it as predatory behavior. Basically what is at play is deception. The seller is trying to profit from someone else's lack of knowledge. Sure it's legal but it sure as hell doesn't exemplify honesty and good will.

I just bought 2018 Chevy Trax, if I knew thatâ€™s how it works I would have told the sales person that he is trying to make a profit from me, and that I see that as a predatory behavior ... Iâ€™ll try that approach next time, maybe heâ€™ll show some good will ...

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 20 Mar 2018 1:45 pm

Bill McCloskey wrote:I've been looking at Mavericks as a possible 10 string Lap Steel (just get rid of the pedals). On reverb they've been listed for any $1,200-$1,500.

I did reach out to someone offering him the going price that I've seen the selling for on the forum and they got pretty rude "I know what they go for." was one guys response.

Back in 2013-14, I bought two 1st generation Mavericks (raised neck/Gumby peghead) off eBay for around 600-650 each, for the expressed purpose of stripping the undercarriages and using them as 10-string non-pedal console guitars. I had talked with three builders/luthiers and none could or would build a console like that with legs, pickup, endplates, pedal rack (for stability, I took the pedals off), peghead, tuners, case, et al. for those kind of dollars.

George Gruhn has written often about the various values attributed to instrument deals, one of which is the intrinsic value of the instrument; that is, what would it cost to make an exact replica of a guitar in question. When I asked the builders if they'd build a guitar like that for 600 bucks, they each declined the job.

I made my purchase price for the first guitar in 3 gigs. Played it for years and sold it off the stage last year for $700. A colleague was gonna get the other one when I bought it but later decided he'd rather stick with 8-strings and 2 tunings so I kept it. That one is now the guitar I play my no-ped gigs with.

I'll agree that either as a pedal steel, over 1K for a Maverick is quite extravagant if the purchaser is looking for a pedal steel of today, but then an inexperienced buyer's personal income is often such that one large isn't any big deal. There's plenty of doctors and lawyers out there to whom that kind of money is simply the tab for dinner with a few friends at a nice restaurant. But the old "askin' ain't gettin'" rule comes into play. Ignorance of the marketplace is generally what causes sellers to see an LDG selling for 2 grand on eBay, so they figure a Maverick has GOT to be worth 1200, and of course ignorance and inexperience of the buyer... if there is one... also comes into play.

I don't make moralistic decisions about other folks' deals. No deal has to go through, it's a free country and caveat emptor applies in all things. As my daddy used to say "nobody gets a free education. You either pay for education in school, or in experience."

Just sayin'...

steve takacs · Post by **steve takacs** » 20 Mar 2018 2:44 pm

Bill McCloskey,
Here was a nice one that that sold a week ago and was stripped and refinished for $475 plus shipping..

If you have not done so, check the SEARCH area of The Forum for Maverick over the past two years. Some are still available. Also it gives a player an idea what they likely sold for.

The SEARCH section is in this section in the upper right:

The Steel Guitar Forum
FAQ Search Memberlist
Private Messages Profile

SteveT

Bryan Staddon · Post by **Bryan Staddon** » 20 Mar 2018 3:16 pm

Anyone here ever worked retail and seen what stuff really costs? All things are sold at whatever people will pay. Actual worth is completely irrelevant and really only relative to the purchaser. I have a 61 SG Les Paul that I bought years ago, It was too expensive even then,I bought it anyway! Now I only take it to safe gigs, Most of the time Iâ€™m playing a Tele I made from fender parts probably cost 200 bucks or an Epiphone Les Paul that I hot rodded. They both rip! My 1976 Sho Bud pro II custom was given to me by a friend who knew I always wanted a steel. I know itâ€™s not worth much but I wouldnâ€™t sell it for anything. Oh yeah Ford Mavericks were also highly underrated!!!

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 20 Mar 2018 5:03 pm

Thanks Steve. I was actually looking for one of the first generation that Herb talks about. Those come up less often, I think.

John De Maille · Post by **John De Maille** » 20 Mar 2018 10:51 pm

My first Steel was a birds eye maple Maverick. I bought it in 74' for $130.00.
I played it for two years in a lot of bands and made a lot of music with it. I didn't know it was a student model until I got hooked up with some other players, who, had steels with two necks and a bunch of pedals. I sold it in 76' when I bought my new S-11 RusLer with 5+4 and never looked back. But, I did like that Maverick and it did sound and play good.
Plus, after all, it was a ShoBud.

Bill Miller · Post by **Bill Miller** » 21 Mar 2018 5:04 am

Damir, if you bought a 2018 Chevy Trax you had a pretty good idea what you were you getting and what they go for. Vehicles are one thing and old pedal steels are another. Buyer beware and all that is fine but many of the people going after these Mavericks, Carter Starters, etc. are kids who don't have a decent frame of reference. Personally I'd rather see them get their money's worth than see them shell out $1500 or more on what is often a worn out guitar that was junk when it was new. There's profit and then there's profiteering and deception.

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 21 Mar 2018 5:33 am

The first steel I tried to learn on was a Gibson Multiharp. In all fairness, a Maverick would have been a major upgrade!

Yeah, I had one and a Maverick is definitely a major upgrade, as a pedal steel.

My first Steel was a birds eye maple Maverick. I bought it in 74' for $130.00.

If I could have found a Maverick in '74 for $130, I would have started playing pedal steel 25+ years earlier than I did. They were expensive where I was. I could buy either a brand new or vintage 50s Les Paul gold top for what they wanted for a Maverick.

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 21 Mar 2018 8:14 am

Dave Mudgett wrote:If I could have found a Maverick in '74 for $130, I would have started playing pedal steel 25+ years earlier than I did. They were expensive where I was. I could buy either a brand new or vintage 50s Les Paul gold top for what they wanted for a Maverick.

Yeah, me too Dave. I bought the first pedal steel I found and could sit and play and almost afford in 1978. I knew nothing and I'd always heard they were a couple thousand dollars, so when I found this one I was hooked. Had to get my credit card limit raised and still had to add some cash but I was happy.

I don't know how $500 equates to today's economy from nearly 40 yrs. ago, but I'd say I did OK even for a Red Baron! Probably in the same class as a Mav.

John De Maille · Post by **John De Maille** » 21 Mar 2018 9:05 am

Yes, I paid $130.00 for it. I found it in the local paper classifieds. A young fellow, my age at the time, had it and gave up on playing it. He was as clueless as I was about it. I don't know how he got it or for how long he had it, but, he just wanted to get rid of it.
As I said, it played well and sounded good. The Maverick definitely started me on a long journey of steel interests.

John De Maille · Post by **John De Maille** » 21 Mar 2018 9:06 am

Awe nuts! I don't know why it came out upside down.

John De Maille · Post by **John De Maille** » 21 Mar 2018 9:07 am

Yes, I paid $130.00 for it. I found it in the local paper classifieds. A young fellow, my age at the time, had it and gave up on playing it. He was as clueless as I was about it. I don't know how he got it or for how long he had it, but, he just wanted to get rid of it.
As I said, it played well and sounded good. The Maverick definitely started me on a long journey of steel interests.

Jack Hanson · Post by **Jack Hanson** » 21 Mar 2018 9:10 am

Like Jerry, my first steel guitar was a Red Baron (although as I remember it was black) circa 1977. It would not stay in tune, you could not expect a third string to make it through an entire song, and it had all the sustain of a Scotch-Brite pad. Nevertheless, it got the juices flowing, got me started, and with Winnie Winston's new book I was off and running.

If I knew then what I know now, I probably would have opted for a Maverick, given a choice between the two. At least they sound good.

Of the "Big Three" builders of the era (MSA, 'Bud, & Emmons), by far the best student model guitar of the bunch was the Emmons GS-10. Woulda, coulda, shoulda purchased one back in the day. I finally did buy a pretty nice little 1973 GS-10 about five years ago, and it's a wonderful PSG. Set up by the great Clem Schmitz in the standard Emmons 3x4, it's quite simply all the guitar I'll ever need. My wonderful 1973 rosewood 'mica fatback D-10 push/pull has spent most if its time in its case ever since.

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 21 Mar 2018 12:21 pm

I don't know how $500 equates to today's economy from nearly 40 yrs. ago ...

By the CPI (Consumer Price Index), 479.10 in September 1978 is equivalent to $1,793.86 in February 2018, a factor of about 3.744. As I stated earlier, that $450 Maverick that I wanted in 1973/74 was equivalent to about $2600 in today's dollars. Yup, high inflation was rampant in the 1970s. Between Feb 73 and Sept 78, it was about an 8.2% compounded rate, on average. Between Feb 1998 and Feb 2018, it's been about 2.2%, on average. I calculated those using the CPI index.

I started on an Emmons starter 3+1 that I got from Don Martz for $350 in the late 90s. That's equivalent to around $530 today - a total bargain either way, IMHO. Thanks Don, RIP (see Gone Home from early Feb this year).

I said it earlier and I stand by it - pedal steels are, relatively speaking, cheap in comparison to 40-45 years ago. And I think modern starter steels are light years ahead of what they were back then.

$1k Mavericks?

It’s all the same