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Topic: Advice on Buying a Pedal Steel |
Nathan Ferrier
From:
Hanford, California, USA
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Posted 8 Nov 2022 10:27 pm |
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Hello everyone! My name is Nathan, and I'm 17. Being brand new to the forum, and having never owned a pedal steel guitar, I'm hoping for some advice.
I'm looking into buying a Thomas pedal steel guitar. The seller is asking $1,200. Would this be a good pedal steel, and is this a good price? Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
-Nathan
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 9 Nov 2022 1:44 am
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As I understand it, Thomas guitars were built in small quantity to a high spec, more as an expensive hobby than a business. If it's in good order, that price is a snip. Perhaps someone in your area can inspect it for you.
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Paul Wade
From:
mundelein,ill
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Dennis Detweiler
From:
Solon, Iowa, US
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Posted 9 Nov 2022 6:03 am
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Starting out on a good used guitar is a better investment than a student model. I've never sat down behind a Thomas, nor do I know anything about them. From the pictures, it looks like a worthwhile investment and a guitar that can be used on an eventual band job in the future.
_________________
1976 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics 427 pickup, 1975 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics X-12 pickup, Boss 59 Fender pedal for preamp, NDR-5 Atlantic Delay & Reverb, two Quilter 201 amps, 2- 12" Eminence EPS-12C speakers, ShoBud Pedal, 1949 Epiphone D-8. Revelation preamp into a Crown XLS 1002 power amp. |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 9 Nov 2022 6:03 am
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Thomas are great, well built guitars. I know Barry Thomas and right before I bought my Carter, I was ready to buy a Thomas. Unfortunately, Barry stopped building them at that time.
I would buy that guitar at that price in a minute.
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open E slide guitar) . Playing for 54 years and still counting. |
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Chris Brooks
From:
Providence, Rhode Island
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Posted 9 Nov 2022 6:23 am
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Super-great price, Nathan, and the Thomas looks clean underneath. I'd grab it. Even if it needs some tweaking it's way worth it.
And welcome to the club. |
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 9 Nov 2022 6:24 am
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Yeah, thats a great deal right there.. I don't know a lot about Thomas steel guitars, but do know they were a pro model guitar, well built, and that they were well respected, and always sold when listed on the forum.. You will get NOTHING close to the quality of the thomas guitar in the picture for $1200. Me personally, I would RUN as fast as I could to buy that guitar for $1200.. Matter of fact, if you don't buy it, let me know its still for sale, and I WILL buy it... bob
_________________
I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
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John Palumbo
From:
Lansdale, PA.
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Posted 9 Nov 2022 7:40 am Thomas
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| That is certainly nice! |
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Nathan Ferrier
From:
Hanford, California, USA
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Posted 9 Nov 2022 9:10 am
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Thank you all so much for the help and information! I will for sure try to get it.
Thank you!
-Nathan |
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Zach Turner
From:
Carmel Valley, California, USA
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Posted 9 Nov 2022 2:42 pm
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Hi Nathan.
I'm 19 and was in your shoes a year or so ago when I was looking for my first pedal steel. I don't know anything about Thomas pedal steels but $1200 is certainly a good price for a high quality pedal steel, which other members seem to say it is.
Where in California are you?
Zach |
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Nathan Ferrier
From:
Hanford, California, USA
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Posted 9 Nov 2022 6:24 pm
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Hey Zach!
That’s super cool!
I live in Hanford. It’s about 45 minutes South of Fresno. Where are you from?
-Nathan |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 9 Nov 2022 7:00 pm
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I'm with Bob - buy it FAST!
(That's the kind of deal that flippers look for - $1200 today, $2100 tomorrow.) |
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John McClung
From:
Olympia WA, USA
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Posted 11 Nov 2022 9:53 pm
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Thomas steels are one of the best and most secret brands! Grab this one. Anything wrong with it can be fixed by any good steel mechanic.
I played one just once a number of years ago, still remember how nice it sounded and played.
_________________
E9 INSTRUCTION
▪️ If you want to have an ongoing discussion, please email me, don't use the Forum messaging which I detest! steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 12 Nov 2022 7:09 am
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| John McClung wrote: |
Thomas steels are one of the best and most secret brands! Grab this one. Anything wrong with it can be fixed by any good steel mechanic.
I played one just once a number of years ago, still remember how nice it sounded and played. |
Plus, Barry is still around and getting back into building, the last I heard. He's a great guy.
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open E slide guitar) . Playing for 54 years and still counting. |
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Nathan Ferrier
From:
Hanford, California, USA
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Posted 12 Nov 2022 8:01 am
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Thank you all for the information! I'm heading over today to go and get it. I can't wait to start learning to play the pedal steel!
Thank you!
-Nathan |
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Zach Turner
From:
Carmel Valley, California, USA
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Posted 11 Dec 2022 6:05 pm
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Well this is interesting.
I see what appears to be the same guitar with the same photos in the same room for sale on my local CL:
https://monterey.craigslist.org/msg/7554948223.html
I'm thinking that this listing is fake as Nathan already bought the guitar(and he lives far away so it can't be him selling it) and since the listing is sparse with information. This makes me think that the alleged seller is a scammer who does not know much about pedal steels and simply copied photos from another post to get someone gullible to send him the money to buy it. |
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Nathan Ferrier
From:
Hanford, California, USA
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Posted 11 Dec 2022 7:39 pm
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Hey Zach!
I can confirm that is the real listing. We made a trip up to Monterey to go get it. It was an older couple selling it, and for some reason they haven’t taken the listing down yet. They need to though, it is likely that someone could use the pictures for scamming. Thank you for keeping an eye out to prevent people from getting scammed!
-Nathan |
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Chris Brooks
From:
Providence, Rhode Island
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Posted 12 Dec 2022 6:30 am
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| You got a good one, Nathan! Looks really clean underneath. Put some Tri-Flow on the nut rollers and roller bridge (sparingly) and start having fun. |
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Nathan Ferrier
From:
Hanford, California, USA
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Posted 12 Dec 2022 11:30 am
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| Thank you, Chris! I had to take it in to get some setup adjustments on it, but otherwise it’s been working pretty good! Tri-Flow was the first thing we put on it, and it made a huge difference! Thank you for the advice! |
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