buying a steel

[Grayson Flynt]

Not necessarily trying to buy one right now, but i would like to upgrade in some time from one that's on loan right now to me. any tips for browsing would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Samuel Phillippe]

Grayson, there are always pedal steels listed on this forum.
I searched Pedal steel guitar on Google.

Reverb on Google usualy has one or two for sale.

Sam

[Grayson Flynt]

Thank you sam.

[Terry Wood]

There are a lot of Good Steel Guitars out there. Make a list of things you like about a Steel guitar. Talk with different Steel Guitarists, don't get in a hurry. Listen to different Steel Guitarists and sit down behind different Steel Guitars. Buy a good Steel Guitar and stay away from Student models. You might think you like them and in six months or a year you will want to upgrade. Buy a good Steel Guitar in the beginning and practice and learn everything you can from others. Steel Guitars and Steel Guitarists are different. Don't give up and quit. You can expect at least two or three years to just get the hang of the basics. It's like a marriage a lifetime commitment. There are a lot knowledgeable Steel Players on here to help. You can do it. Best to You.

[Grayson Flynt]

Thank you terry

[Brett Day]

Many steel guitar companies have websites to check out, and you can read about the different steel guitar companies and see pictures of the guitars they build and also see which steel guitarists are playing the particular brand you're interested in-a lot of times, you might see on the website that a particular steel guitar is being played by one of your favorite steel guitarists.

[Grayson Flynt]

Thanks brett

[Doug Taylor]

I have bought my last 2 steels from guitar center sight unseen with a great return policy. Both have been in great shape. They usually only have a few pedal steels and a bunch of lap steels, but if you check a couple times a week something nice will turn up!

[Grayson Flynt]

my guitar center is not that great but i will be on the look out from now on. thanks Doug

[Per Berner]

I would stay away from general music stores, since they know NOTHING about pedal steels and how to set them up or fix them if they have been messed up. I would start with the specialist dealers listed on the forum's links pages. They know how to get the right guitar with the right setup for your needs.

[Steve Lipsey]

Buy used on the forum!! then when you discover what you really want you can sell for what you paid...and then repeat...and then repeat...
Yeah, FedEx makes some money, but discovering your desires will take some time...as they evolve....this way it doesn't cost you an arm and a leg, and you get to try out a bunch of steels as part of your journey...

[D Schubert]

If possible, make a trip to a dedicated steel guitar store that has a variety of guitars that you can see, touch, hear, play. Yeah, it'll cost like tuition for a specialized seminar, but worth it IMHO. Having said that, the stores I visited multiple times (Scotty's in St. Louis, Bobbe Seymour's in Nashville) are long gone...but somebody here on the SGF is gonna have some suggestions.

[Steve Lipsey]

I actually think (IMHO, only) that as a beginner, and even intermediate, I needed to have a steel for at least a few weeks before I could really understand how I worked with it...I didn't have the context to be able to know from sitting down for a couple of minutes, especially in an artificial environment like a store...
So yes, I went through a number of brands, buying and selling, and developed that context, so that I now know exactly what works for me...
It took a long while to get here...

[Grayson Flynt]

Thank all of yall for sharing