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Author Topic:  Miller Custom
John Billings


From:
Ohio, USA
Post  Posted 25 May 2011 4:04 pm    
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Paul,
My very first steel was a Miller S-10. Probably a lesser model, as it was painted. It worked very well when I bought it from Ralph Henzil in West Allis, Wisconsin. And it sounded wonderful! After just three weeks of goofin' on it, I put it on stage in the club we were giggin' at. One week later, the Mafia guys who owned the club, burned it down to get the insurance to remodel! A-holes! But ya don't argue with those guys! The day I completed the restoration, the repo guys showed up. It was a few years before I saved enough to buy , new, a '72 Shobud D-10. So,,, if anyone has a maroon S-10. you may now know it's history. Primitive? Yeah. But man! It sounded great!
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Abe Levy


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 23 Dec 2022 1:08 pm    
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I’m bringing this thread back as I’ve just acquired a Miller Custom D10 with metal necks. It needs a total set up and I’m switching some stuff around as well. Curious if anyone else is currently playing a similar guitar and might have some tips for me. It sounds incredible. The metal necks give it a very bright cutting sound. Thoughts would be appreciated!


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Mostly Pre-1970 guitars.
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Steve Waltz

 

From:
USA
Post  Posted 23 Dec 2022 2:43 pm    
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Let me know what info you need and I’ll try to help
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Abe Levy


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 25 Dec 2022 1:01 pm    
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Thanks Steve! I’ll hit you up after the holiday. Hope yours is great!
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Mostly Pre-1970 guitars.
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Abe Levy


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 7 Jan 2023 8:18 am    
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I'm hoping to find the parts to add one more knee lever. Anybody have any parts they're willing to let go? BTW - Steve, that's a beautiful cabinet. That inlay is insane!
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Mostly Pre-1970 guitars.
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Mark Perrodin

 

From:
Tucson Arizona, USA
Post  Posted 7 Jan 2023 12:19 pm     miller
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did Miller start out making 8 string guitars or did they start with 10 stringers? i have an affinity for 8 string guitars and have realized you can almost establish where on the psg timeline builders started building guitars based on the number of strings that their guitars had. the fewer strings that the guitar had, the less standardized the tuning and most likely the earlier the guitar. just an observation. the cabinets on the Miller examples shown are very cool. if Miller made an 8 string guitar than I would love to see it.

Someone on the forum made a great chart showing tunings and how they evolved over time.
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Dan Tyksinski


From:
Milwaukee, USA
Post  Posted 18 Mar 2023 7:55 am     Miller Custom D-10
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Greetings from Milwaukee!

I recently came into a Miller Custom that sat in an older gentleman's basement for decades likely, judging by the general condition and the 1960s Goya and Fender spare strings in the musty brown Fender case housing the pedals. I'm primarily a 6 string player, so this is relatively on my list of priorities, but my hope is to find someone who can properly evaluate the work required to get this up and running. I'm mechanically-inclined, but this doesn't really strike me as an ideal beginner project, especially if I ever want to play the thing rather than just having it sit disassembled in my basement for months. Any suggestions appreciated and looking forward to soaking up some knowledge from you fine folks!






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Mitch Ellis

 

From:
Collins, Mississippi USA
Post  Posted 18 Mar 2023 2:42 pm     Re: Miller Custom D-10
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Dan Tyksinski wrote:


I'm mechanically-inclined, but this doesn't really strike me as an ideal beginner project, especially if I ever want to play the thing rather than just having it sit disassembled in my basement for months.


You are correct, Dan. Smile If I were you, I would buy a pedal steel guitar that's ready to play, and I would not invest time, money, and effort into this one. Good luck and happy pickin'!

Mitch
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Dan Tyksinski


From:
Milwaukee, USA
Post  Posted 18 Mar 2023 3:00 pm     Re: Miller Custom D-10
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Mitch Ellis wrote:
Dan Tyksinski wrote:


I'm mechanically-inclined, but this doesn't really strike me as an ideal beginner project, especially if I ever want to play the thing rather than just having it sit disassembled in my basement for months.


You are correct, Dan. Smile If I were you, I would buy a pedal steel guitar that's ready to play, and I would not invest time, money, and effort into this one. Good luck and happy pickin'!

Mitch


Definitely willing to entertain that possibility, so I appreciate the candor. Between guitar and orchestral gigs (violin), I have enough music to shed on instruments I'm already competent at, and the fact that the "light at the end of the tunnel" as far as being able to actually start learning on this thing is so nebulous is... discouraging. I'll wait to see what other folks say, but I am kicking around the idea of just selling it and using the funds towards a turn-key single-neck instrument.
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Mitch Ellis

 

From:
Collins, Mississippi USA
Post  Posted 18 Mar 2023 3:26 pm    
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Sounds like a good plan to me because I'm pretty sure that it would be a loooooong tunnel. haha

Mitch
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Dan Tyksinski


From:
Milwaukee, USA
Post  Posted 18 Mar 2023 3:31 pm    
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Mitch Ellis wrote:
Sounds like a good plan to me because I'm pretty sure that it would be a loooooong tunnel. haha

Mitch


😂 Yeah. Something like a non-pedal Fender Deluxe 8 would probably be more my speed anyways. There's always the possibility to just set this up as a console, but even without the pedals it still weighs a ton.
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Abe Levy


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 20 Mar 2023 8:55 am    
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If you sell it I might be interested. Let me k ow if you do!
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Mostly Pre-1970 guitars.
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Lee Baucum


From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
Post  Posted 20 Mar 2023 9:45 am    
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Interesting topic. I wonder how many more of these guitars are hidden away in closets, storerooms, and basements.
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