Thoughts about BMI pedal steels

Andrew Goulet · Posted 13 Jul 2020 11:06 am

Hi all. I'm interested in hearing about anyone's experiences with BMI guitars. I'm used to an old Fender, and I like the weight of those guitars (I hate it when a guitar walks, shifts to the side during a knee lever action, or generally feels flimsy), easy copedent changes, and string spacing. Thanks!

Paul Pearson · From: Alabama, USA

When I started out play I started out on an s10 BMIi added 2 more knee levers to make it 3 & 5it was a great guitar had great tone wished I had keep it over the years I've owned a lot back gotten bad I'm playing a mullen discovery absolutely love it go for the BMI you want me sorry

Joe Krumel · From: Hermitage, Tn.

Had a s10 BMI in the late 80's,90's.probably a student model 3x4.I loved that thing.Don Helms used it awhile when he was dabbling with pedals.always liked the nylon tuners easy visibility. Built like a tank.

Johnie King · From: Tennessee, USA

B M. I BEST KEPT SECRET in pedal steel an yes there still building.BMI STEELS
Cowboy Eddy Long has played a S12 Keyless for years check him out on YouTube..

scott murray · From: Asheville, NC

my first psg was a BMI with 3 and 4. if it had been a D-10 I might still have it. great guitar, never gave me a problem and I got it for next to nothing. I imagine they can still be had for a lot less than other brands
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1965 Emmons S-10, 3x5 • Emmons LLIII D-10, 10x12 • JCH D-10, 10x12 • Beard MA-8 • Oahu Tonemaster

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

My first steel also. Lucky to have started on this vs. a limited student steel.

re: your two questions in buy & sell, it is solid. Not a lightweight guitar that'll walk across the floor. And changing setups is rather easy.

Wesley Medlen · From: LaCygne,Ks

I started out with an S10 3&4. then to SD10 with 3&5 only reason I changed was because weight as I'm 84 and have medical problems simple to change to what ever you desire and Don is still building them in Scranton ArK. Wes
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Justice S10 Jr, Gibson Electra 6string, Boss Katana 100, Steelers Choice ,Gretsch 6 string lap, Hilton VP

Lee Baucum · From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier

I love mine. Sounds great. Easy to make changes and adjustments. Parts are readily available. They are a bit unconventional, but, so am I!
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Lee, from South Texas - Down On The Rio Grande

There are only two options as I see it.
Either I'm right, or there is a sinister conspiracy to conceal the fact that I'm right.

Williams Keyless S-10, BMI S-10, Evans FET-500LV, Fender Steel King, 2 Roland Cube 80XL's,
Sarno FreeLoader, Goodrich Passive Volume Pedals, Vintage ACE Pack-A-Seat

Gene Tani · From: Pac NW

If you just want your steel to not walk, break dance, levitate when you hit levers put a clean sand bag on your pedal board, clean meaning won't leak dust
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- keyless Sonny Jenkins laps stay in tune forever!; Carter PSG
- The secret sauce: polyester sweatpants to buff your picks, cheapo Presonus channel strip for preamp/EQ/compress/limiter, Diet Mountain Dew

Larry Dering · From: Missouri, USA

Have 2 S10 BMI steels. They sound great, stay in tune and are stable. If you get one in good condition you can play it from now on. Easy to work on, parts available and Don will help you out at BMI.

Steve Leal · From: Orange CA, USA

I previously had a beautiful SD-10 Lefty BMI. I sold it but now miss it. It was a very stable guitar and had a really unique sound.

Bob Carlucci · From: Candor, New York, USA

never owned one, but played and set up a few over the years, and had students that owned them...they sound really good, play well,are very stable,play in tune, clean used ones are cheap,and parts are still readily available.. whats not to like?
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I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!

no gear list for me.. you don't have the time......

Lee Baucum · From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier

Darren Mortillaro · From: Nevada, USA

I've got an S10 BMI. It's my first and only PSG. Once setup it seems to function correctly. Fit and finish might not be as nice cosmetically as other makes. When using the two left knee levers for the E strings, it doesn't return perfectly to pitch. So for example when I raise the E, is stays a little sharp, and when I lower it, it stays a little flat. Good sound and tone, and as others have mentioned it's a bit heavy at 50 lbs in the case (if I remember correctly). Also my case leaves a sticky spray adhesive residue on the instrument that never cured. I'll probably upgrade to something more expensive as I improve, but it's a good starting point.

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

When I was looking for a new 12-string keyless uni they were on my list, but Williams and Excel were lighter (a major reason for a single neck) and better-looking to my eye.

But I don't doubt they sound and play well.
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Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs

Bill Moore · From: Manchester, Michigan

My first "good" guitar was a BMI. I have owned four all together, two S-10s and two push-pull 12 strings. All played well and sounded good. As others have mentioned, BMIs are pretty heavy for their size.

Darren, you can correct the return problems by increasing the travel on the knee levers. Each flat crossbar has a screw which contacts the underside of the body when the pedal or lever is not activated. Just back out those screws a bit and tighten the nuts that lock them in place. Then retune.

Jim Palenscar · From: Oceanside, Calif, USA

They all sound great!

David Mitchell · From: Tyler, Texas

Having worked on them and ZB's and about everything else the BMI is easier to work on and setup different copedents on than a ZB. It still uses flat bars to pivot the pulls but does not use the yoke system like a ZB that has the dreaded turnbuckles nearly impossible to adjust for amateur mechanics. Tone wise, dependability and value on the dollar the BMI is one of the best buys today in used pedal steel guitars. A new one would be an asset as well.

George Geisser · From: Branson, Missouri, USA

I split all but the D# and F#'s on my BMI S10 and all splits were in tune w/o additional rods or "split tuners". Great all around. Whoosh I hadn't sold mine but it wasn't a 12 string

Justin Emmert · From: Greensboro, NC

BMI is a very well built, solid steel brand. In my opinion, one of the most underrated brands out there. I donâ€™t have one now, but used to and would not hesitate to own another again.

Dennis Montgomery · From: Western Washington

I can't comment on a new, or perfectly set up used BMI, but my experience restoring a 70's S-12 to a playable state was not a good one.

I bought a very used 70's BMI S12 as a restoration project. The disassemble and clean went great, the restoration, not so much Winking

The single biggest mechanical challenge I had was aligning the tuning rods and their sleeves moving through the changer. It seemed like they had to be perfectly aligned with very tight tolerance in parallel to entering the changer or they'd bind in either the changer or the endplate.

Eventually I realized this restoration was more than I bargained for so another guy on the forum purchased it from me to try his hand. It would be great if he'd comment on this thread as well, but basically he told me he had to fabricate and replace some metal parts that were bent and trim some parts on the changer to get it to work. He said it worked great, but I noticed he sold it soon after so I'm not sure exactly how successful his restoration attempt really was.

Long story short, while the comments in this thread obviously indicate BMI is a very well loved brand, I would be extremely cautious buying a used one (especially one needing a lot of work to bring it up to a playable condition) that hadn't been setup properly by BMI or someone reputable for working on them Smile

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Hear my latest album, "Celestial" featuring a combination of Mullen SD12 and Synthesizers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhh6b_xXTx4&list=PLfXm8aXRTFz0x-Sxso0NWw493qAouK

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Dwight Lewis · From: Huntsville, Alabama

Solid, stable, bullet proof, easy to work on, great tone, affordable, Recognition of Veterans, Great Crew to work with....working man's steel ..... Steel Around

Can't wait to get another one.

My opinion

Dwight
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Dekley (PRS-10C), BMI S12

Johnie King · From: Tennessee, USA

Wow Wow BMI pedal steels out of all the steel Iâ€™ve worked has to me one of the easiest steels to work on.
Bell crank shaft have 10 threaded holes , bell crank s are super thin, pedal stops are built in front frame.

Dennis Montgomery · From: Western Washington

Larry Dering · From: Missouri, USA

Dennis, those look horrible. I have a BMI S10 apart and it's nothing like that. 8nly one of the rods is shaped for clearance. That's a bad one for sure. If you can, I would appreciate more details on what you did to complete it. Sending you a PM.
Thanks Larry Dering

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