Fuzzy Steels

Louie Warren · Post by **Louie Warren** » 11 Sep 2006 7:00 am

A friend of mine has the chance to buy, what appears to be, a student model Fuzzy steel. All he knows is it's an 8 string and has three pedals. The guy wants $300. I've never heard of these guitars, but from what I get from their website, this is probably a 60s guitar similar to the Fenders of the day. Is this a good deal or a waste of money? Thanx.

------------------
Please help spread the word!
http://home.earthlink.net/~es336td/stolen.html

National Dynamic, National D8 Console

Roger Edgington · Post by **Roger Edgington** » 11 Sep 2006 7:34 am

I have only seen 2 of them and I would rather have the $300 based on those two. They are a Japanese Sho-Bud wanna be.

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 11 Sep 2006 8:28 am

There was a time in the past when "Made In Japan" was an automatic identifier of an inferior product.

That is no longer true, i.e., Honda, Toyota, etc.

I can't resist speculating that if Japanese "clones" of musical instruments will someday equal or surpass the quality of the American products?

....and if so, will you buy a Japanese made Emmons, Millenium or Carter from the Japanese assembly plants in Ohio or somewhere, rather than an American product?

The above submitted for discussion only, please don't flame![This message was edited by Gene Jones on 11 September 2006 at 09:29 AM.]

Louie Warren · Post by **Louie Warren** » 11 Sep 2006 8:42 am

Good point... considering this was a 60s Japanese product, I would be inclined to say that it would be along the lines of Teisco, Ibanez, etc. of the day and not the best quality... if it is, however, 70s or newer... some of those 70s Ibanez guitars are amazing! I guess I'll just have to play it to know. Most of my experience with steel is limited to lap and console; National & Rickenbacker... I had an old Fender D8 pedal steel (with the cables) that was a bear, but did what I wanted to do... I had an old Emmons S10 (3P 1KL) that also did what I wanted... sold it for $200. in the 70s, and have seen it for over $1500. now! Also have played a D10 Fessenden... the main idea is that I have limited exposure to steels, and limited playing time and knowledge.

------------------
Please help spread the word!
http://home.earthlink.net/~es336td/stolen.html

National Dynamic, National D8 Console

Marc Mercer · Post by **Marc Mercer** » 11 Sep 2006 8:49 am

It's commonly held that Japanese manufacturing excels in duplication, rather than innovation. Anyone who has inspected or played a Japanese Fender Stratocaster can probably attest to this. I've played a few, own an '87, and it's flawless. Their QC (quality control) seems to be excellent.
The Japanese are BIG fans of American guitars, so steel guitars coming down the pike may not be far-fetched. Bet they'd be good.

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 11 Sep 2006 8:54 am

Only 8 strings? No knee levers? I say pass and get a Carter Starter instead.

------------------
Warning: I have a Telecaster and I'm not afraid to use it.
-----------
My web site

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 11 Sep 2006 9:01 am

Up to this point, the materials used is the issue for me in regards to Pacific Rim products. The ones that use fine grade woods and hardware are just as expensive as US made originals. Why would I want one??

The cheap good playing copies are of very modest quality woods. The finish is what they put some effort into so that the product looks good. That is true for everything from pianos to guitars. The cheap labor coupled with the computer driven woodworking machines is the reason for quality that was not seen up to now on cheap orient instruments. You do not have to have a skilled worker at all to feed a piece of wood in a machine and go to the other end to pick up a finished guitar neck!

I just do not think there is a big enough market for imported pedal steel guitars for companies to make the investment into building them and I do not think that steel guitarist being the incredibly persnickity lot that they are would have enough interest in purchasing them to buy them in large enough numbers to satisfy a companies profit requirements. Just my opinion. I do own a couple of very cheap imported standard guitars. I rebuild them to my liking and use them when I don't want to subject my nice instruments to abuse, such as playing outside on days when there is a threat of rain or if I have to leave them in the car or such. $225 for an archtop electric guitar that is good enough to use on a recording session or a live gig...yes I do have these, but I consider them expendable.

robert hays · Post by **robert hays** » 11 Sep 2006 9:01 am

I think I remember the "Fuzzy" either being a fore runner or a spin off or a model of the Excel built by Mitsuo Fujii? I may be wrong about that,but Scotty would know.

Pat Burns · Post by **Pat Burns** » 11 Sep 2006 9:43 am

My first pedal steel was a Fuzzy D-10 with 8 and 4. It was a good first guitar, and if somebody only had $300 to spend, I'd say they could certainly do worse than to spend it on a Fuzzy 8 string with 3 pedals.

On the other hand, I agree with Mike Perlowin, if they have a couple hundred extra they should go for something like a Carter Starter that has 10 strings, 3 pedals and 4 knees. Maybe a used one could be had for under $500, lots of people want to get some money back from their student guitar to go towards an upgrade. A couple hundred should be easy...just give up smoking for a few weeks, or women for one night.[This message was edited by Pat Burns on 11 September 2006 at 10:46 AM.]

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 11 Sep 2006 9:53 am

I agree with some of the above comments. My wife's Toyota Camry is the best rated and best selling automobile in the US.

However, when the weather is inclement, and the snow is falling, we drive my Ford F-150 pickup for it's dependability in unknown conditions.

....are we still discussing Fuzzy Steels?

Louie Warren · Post by **Louie Warren** » 11 Sep 2006 9:58 am

Ok... let me start more hate and discontent...

1. Would you say the Fuzzy is on par with the Maverick or other starter guitars from the 60s and 70s? I personally thought the Mavericks I've seen are junk.

2. How often do you really use the extra strings? I know this is blasphemy, but I'm a part time steel player... my main instrument is guitar. I do certain little licks for the flavor and don't look to get it note for note... especially now I have a straight steel. If I was in the market for a pedal steel, I would consider this guitar as long as it wasn't junky like the Maverick. That's all I'm saying... I just got a Line6 Variax and have programmed a patch to emulate the top 6 strings of each of my National D8 necks... works like a champ! Yeah, I could be accurate and do the nice bends, but for what I need it for it does the job. Therefore, were I in the market for a steel, and a $300. guitar came up (with a Gorilla amp), if it played good, stayed in tune, and sounded decent, then I'd probably buy it. The main objective of this post was to get more info (other than the mfg site) on the guitar, aned possibly pictures. Thanx!

As to Camrys... my 2005 does just fine in the snow and gets 500 miles to the tank doing it! 53000 miles and counting!

------------------
Please help spread the word! http://home.earthlink.net/~es336td/stolen.html

National Dynamic, National D8 Console

[This message was edited by Louie Warren on 11 September 2006 at 10:59 AM.]

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 11 Sep 2006 10:20 am

Well Louie, your high mileage Camry is a lot more credible than my wifes. She only has 14,000 miles on her 02!

Louie Warren · Post by **Louie Warren** » 11 Sep 2006 10:33 am

I put 100 a day commuting to work and back. Definitely a good thing with gas the way it is.

------------------
Please help spread the word!
http://home.earthlink.net/~es336td/stolen.html

National Dynamic, National D8 Console

Ernie Pollock · Post by **Ernie Pollock** » 11 Sep 2006 11:18 am

I had a D-10 'Elk Fuzzy', made in Japan, that was traded in at my store back in the early 90's, someone had spilled something down in the changer on the front neck and the changer was actully disintagating, when I would touch the pot like metal, it just fell to pieces. The C6th neck was still ok, but it was a very poor system and never really worked properly. As one of the guys said above, he would rather have the $300 than one of these, I tend to agree with him, the guy that had it bought a real nice Nashville Ltd from me. I made the fuzzy into a non pedal steel & sold it as such.

Ernie Pollock

http://www.hereintown.net/~shobud75/stock.htm

------------------

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 11 Sep 2006 11:23 am

How often do you really use the extra strings?

All the time. I would be handicapped without them.

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 11 Sep 2006 11:44 am

Fuzzy is now called Excel, and they are some of the finest pedal steels in the world. An 8 string antique isn't a good idea for a beginner, though,

Topic moved to "Pedal Steel" section of the forum.

------------------
<img align=right src="http://b0b.com/b0b2005.gif" width="78 height="78">Bobby Lee (a.k.a. b0b) - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Williams D-12 E9, C6add9, Sierra Olympic S-12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra Laptop S-8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster D-8 (E13, C6 or A6) My Blog 
<div style="display:none">

Louie Warren · Post by **Louie Warren** » 11 Sep 2006 11:56 am

How often do you really use the extra strings?

All the time. I would be handicapped without them.

Then I guess I'm not a real steel player... I don't really miss them.

------------------
Please help spread the word!
http://home.earthlink.net/~es336td/stolen.html

National Dynamic, National D8 Console

Tony Smart · Post by **Tony Smart** » 11 Sep 2006 12:04 pm

The very early Fuzzy's were great. You didn't need pedals, you just had to lean on them.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 11 Sep 2006 12:49 pm

The company is still called "Fuzzy Pedal

Steel Guitar Products".[This message was edited by Erv Niehaus on 11 September 2006 at 01:50 PM.]

John Cox · Post by **John Cox** » 11 Sep 2006 2:47 pm

I know this is a dumb question but, are Fuzzys still available or they just called Excels? J.C.

Roy Ayres · Post by **Roy Ayres** » 11 Sep 2006 7:41 pm

All the answers are here:

Fuzzy Guitar Company

Mitsuo Fugi is one of the best steel guitar engineers in the business.

------------------
Visit my Web Site at RoysFootprints.com
Browse my Photo Album and be sure to sign my Guest Book.

[This message was edited by Roy Ayres on 11 September 2006 at 08:58 PM.]

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 11 Sep 2006 8:57 pm

An 8 string antique isn't a good idea for a beginner

With all due respect, I beg to disagree. Every instruction book I've seen is written for 10 strings. What is the newbie to do when the book tells him or her to play a string that's missing from his or her guitar?

------------------
Warning: I have a Telecaster and I'm not afraid to use it.
-----------
My web site

[This message was edited by Mike Perlowin on 11 September 2006 at 09:58 PM.]

Louie Warren · Post by **Louie Warren** » 12 Sep 2006 7:43 am

Ok... the older gentleman that is selling this steel to my friend allowed my friend to take it home and check out. I just played it...

It's an old D10 Fuzzy steel with three pedals. It has been strung with only 8 strings; the middle 8. It has also been modified... the back neck has been removed and replaced with a pad... ala Lloyd Green. The changer bridge looks in good shape and the guitar is well built and plays and sounds good. Now the downside... there is nothing to hook the rods to! The rods are numbered with Dymo labels and in the cabinet where the connectors should have been there are corresponding Dymo labels but no hardware. The bar that the pedals should mount on is also missing.

I have advised my friend to avoid the purchase unless he can get it for $150. or less and plans to play just console type steel. I assume since it's an older Fuzzy that parts would be hard to come by. It looks a lot like the new Excel D10, but I think the Carter Starter from Musician's Friend would be the better deal... your thoughts?

------------------
Please help spread the word!
http://home.earthlink.net/~es336td/stolen.html

National Dynamic, National D8 Console