Vintage 8-string Pedal Steels

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 16 Dec 2007 12:33 pm

Who were the makers of 8 string pedal steels, before 10 strings became the norm?

I have a Fender and a Rickenbacker, and they are both a gas to play. I know about Harlen Bros. and Gibson. Did Marlen have an 8 string? How about Wright Custom? Who else made 8 string pedal steels? Did Sho-Bud and Emmons start out with 8-stringers?

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 16 Dec 2007 12:48 pm

I have seen Emmons and Bud 8 stringers,, I would bet many were mmade in small quantities by most builders of the day as players moved away from Fender cable guitars and were used to 8 string necks... bob

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 16 Dec 2007 12:55 pm

Bigsby, and Carvin. Wright made 8 string PSGs. Lee Jeffries plays a D-8 Wright.

DZ

Michael Lee Allen · Post by **Michael Lee Allen** » 16 Dec 2007 12:56 pm

Bob...
Sho-Bud, Emmons, Marlen, and Wright all made 8 string pedal steels. Add to your list Bigsby, Guyatone, PedalJet, Teisco, Denley/Ormston/Burns, Hise, Pierce, Erickson, and the first PedalMaster (not to be confused with the current PedalMaster). I'm sure I'll remember a few more later on or somebody else will post them.
MLA

Michael Lee Allen · Post by **Michael Lee Allen** » 16 Dec 2007 12:57 pm

OOPS! Can't forget CARVIN either.
MLA

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 16 Dec 2007 3:38 pm

Got pics?

Michael Lee Allen · Post by **Michael Lee Allen** » 16 Dec 2007 4:15 pm

Bob...
I can MAIL you some copies of whatever I have on hand if the SGF address is right. Otherwise send me a PM with the proper mailing address. My scanner and printer have not been unpacked in almost three years and my computer is near death and about to be replaced. I keep none of that stuff in "the box" anyway, doubt I used my scanner a dozen times in two years, just not into it...I have a print shop a half block away and it's just easier. Let me know and I'll send you whatever I have and you can post it here if you like.
MLA

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 16 Dec 2007 5:09 pm

Please don't go to all that trouble, Michael. What I'm really looking for is modern digital photos from Forum members who own these instruments, not the catalog pictures.

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 16 Dec 2007 5:14 pm

Norm Hamlet's Bigsby. Jimmy Day and Curly Chalker's Wright and my Caterpillar forklift:

jay thompson · Post by **jay thompson** » 16 Dec 2007 6:05 pm

I would really like to see an 8 string Emmons Pedal Steel. I have never heard of one.
Regards, Jay Thompson

Fred Bova · Post by **Fred Bova** » 16 Dec 2007 9:17 pm

Here I am with the Wright Custom I once owned

I have a Fender/Sho Bud PSG S-10 with 3 and 2 that I have strung up as an 8 string and thats the way I will keep it. 8 is enough for my style. At the moment I am not using the pedals at all, I am trying to learn to use my "G Hexatonic" tuning without them so that when I do hook up the pedals again I will know exactly what I need to pull, and why. Someday I'd love to have another Wright, but the odds are slim on finding one again. Oh, buy the way, I paid $300.00 for the D-8 in the picture.

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 17 Dec 2007 6:17 am

Michael Lee Allen probably has more catalog cuts and info on vintage and small production steels than anyone on the planet. As far as who owns some of these, it is interesting how few seem to show up. Carvin, for example, would seem like something that would appear now and then (especially in SoCal where they were made) but I've never seen a single one, nor one advertised.

Will Holtz · Post by **Will Holtz** » 17 Dec 2007 7:41 am

chas smith wrote:Norm Hamlet's Bigsby. Jimmy Day and Curly Chalker's Wright and my Caterpillar forklift:

Yikes! The forklift would appear to be required equipment. How much does the quad weigh in the case?

jay thompson · Post by **jay thompson** » 28 Dec 2007 11:08 am

Still looking for a picture or brochure of an 8 string Emmons PSG as refered to earlier in this thread. Regards, Jay Thompson

Bob Kagy · Post by **Bob Kagy** » 28 Dec 2007 1:44 pm

Carvin has an interesting website here of all their old instruments and amps:

www.carvinmuseum.com

Including their steels.

Steels are not easy to find. Look in the catalogs for 1957, and then skip to 1966, 67, etc.

Bill Ford · Post by **Bill Ford** » 28 Dec 2007 4:06 pm

FWIW...Sho-Bud also made 9 string models for a while, First was 8, then when Buddy started fooling with chromatics,9s were made, then the 10s,etc.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 28 Dec 2007 5:33 pm

Dave Van Allen wrote:...then I heard a steel guitar and it was all over for me. THAT was the sound I was compelled to try and make... I bought a 2 pedal 8 string Emmons student model and never looked back
.

Maybe Dave has a picture he could post for ol' Jay Thompson!

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 28 Dec 2007 5:57 pm

Bob Kagy wrote:Carvin has an interesting website here of all their old instruments and amps:

www.carvinmuseum.com

Including their steels.

Steels are not easy to find. Look in the catalogs for 1957, and then skip to 1966, 67, etc.

Steels were in almost all the catalogs(since they started off building steels), but the pedal steel didn't start till '57. It was a double neck 8 string that looks a little on the light side. Especially if you compare it to a Fender 400 from that year.

The Carvin D-8 pedal steel

jay thompson · Post by **jay thompson** » 28 Dec 2007 7:12 pm

Surely would like to see a picture of that 2 pedal, 8 string Emmons together with the production date.
Regards, Jay Thompson

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 28 Dec 2007 7:28 pm

jay thompson wrote:I would really like to see an 8 string Emmons Pedal Steel. I have never heard of one.

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jay thompson · Post by **jay thompson** » 29 Dec 2007 3:44 am

That is great. Thanks for your effort to find a pic. As I stated in an earlier post, never heard of one, let alone, seen one. This must have been an "ULTRA" model to have 4 pedals and a knee lever. Any idea of production era? Regards, Jay Thompson

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 29 Dec 2007 6:25 am

jay thompson wrote: This must have been an "ULTRA" model to have 4 pedals and a knee lever.

No, nothing "ultra" about it. Having four pedals on a single neck was the standard long before we went to three. It was only the popularity of knee levers that caused the reduction in floor pedals.

Consider it more a "Harlin, or Fender 400, +1".

jay thompson · Post by **jay thompson** » 29 Dec 2007 6:32 am

Donny, My comment re the pedals refers to your earlier quote of Dave Van Allen as "2 pedal 8 string Emmons" sounded like state of the art for this guitar. Regards, Jay Thompson

Per Berner · Post by **Per Berner** » 29 Dec 2007 7:40 am

Wow! That quad-neck is the coolest looking pedal steel I've ever seen. Three necks too many, but still...

BTW, what do y'all think of this one:

http://www.lonestarsteelguitar.com/page1.html

Looks like a super light/super compact way of playing PSG!

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 29 Dec 2007 10:34 am

Marlen S8 w 4 pedals