Jedson Lap steel

Rich Hlaves · Post by **Rich Hlaves** » 12 Jun 2008 2:59 pm

I just saw a six string Jedson Lap Steel sell for $1600 on eBay. I know they are rare and used by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd but geeze, $1600. Just because Gilmour owns a couple?

Looking at the beast in the auction pics it is a Stringmaster copy, kind of like an Aria. Here is a link to the ended auction:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=011

A Fender looks like a better built guitar to me, I own one.

Is there any other really fantastic thing about a Jedson?

Best,

Rich

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 12 Jun 2008 3:28 pm

Is there any other really fantastic thing about a Jedson?

No. It's a vintage Asian Copy of a stringmaster. It's worth about $400. The seller listed it with a VERY High buy-it-now price looking for a sucker... and he found one. Check the history of that buyer. He has paid Top dollar for many items, all Buy-it-Now items at very high prices, including a 1966 Gibson Trini Lopez Standard (blue) guitar for $20,000. That guitar has a current book value of $3300. The guy also bought a lot of effects for high BIN prices. He must have a lot of money, but he does not spend it wisely. The seller of that Jedson is laughing all the way to the bank!

Rick Alexander · Post by **Rick Alexander** » 12 Jun 2008 6:36 pm

Doug is right - I had one for a while, it was pretty crappy.
No sustain, lame tone.
I acquired it for a guy who was a big Gilmour fanatic.
I told him what I thought about it, but he had to have it anyway.
I think Gilmour had them because there wasn't a big selection of Steels in England back then.
And he must have done some mods on it - new bridge, nut, pickup etc.
That guitar is realistically worth maybe $400 - 500 tops.
The '08 VINTAGE GUITAR Price Guide doesn't even list them . .

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 12 Jun 2008 6:52 pm

Maybe the buyer thinks this is the exact guitar owned/played by Gilmour? I just don't understand how anyone can pay four times what something is worth, and do that consistently. It's up to buyers to do the research and find out what the market value is.

nick allen · Post by **nick allen** » 13 Jun 2008 1:30 am

I won't swear to it, but I THINK Jedson was the brand name on guitars sold in Woolworth's in the UK in the 70s/80s. I seem to recall some very primitive-looking, vaguely Telecasterish electrics. If so, I'm sure the original price would have been under £100...
Nick

Rich Hlaves · Post by **Rich Hlaves** » 13 Jun 2008 8:21 am

I am a Gilmour fan myself but not fanatically so. His application of a lap (console?) steel to progressive rock is interesting to say the least. Before I saw him play live I thought those parts where played on a strat with a slide. I have a video that shows him playing a Jedson, the red one, on "One Of These Days" There are a couple of close ups of the guitar and it looks modded to me too. The output jack looks like an XLR which leads me to believe he has some type of low Z pickup arrangement in there to keep it quiet with all that high gain distortion he adds.

I did see him play it an several occations in the 70s at Pink Floyd shows. Quite honestly I didn't even know what the instrument was back then. Personally I thought the thing would never sell at that price but that's what I get for thinking.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 13 Jun 2008 9:48 am

Jedson also made Les Paul and Telecaster copies... and probably lots of other copies.

Jedson guitars:

Rick Alexander · Post by **Rick Alexander** » 13 Jun 2008 10:00 am

This is the one I had - the red one in the middle:

flanked by a Columbia and a Guyatone.
The Guyatone was the best of the 3, I still have it . .