Sierra Keyless Session D-10...Opinions, Thoughts??

Jim Fogarty · From: Phila, Pa, USA

Simple question.....

Anyone own, play or have any thoughts on the Sierra Session D-10 model? I've seen a few, like the look, and heard good things, but never played one.

Opinions??

Thanks! - Jim

PS....I got a weight, so I changed this thread to get your thoughts.

scott murray · From: Asheville, NC

I don't know exact numbers but I remember mine being on the heavier side.
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1965 Emmons S-10, 3x5 • Emmons LLIII D-10, 10x12 • JCH D-10, 10x12 • Beard MA-8 • Oahu Tonemaster

Len Amaral · From: Rehoboth,MA 02769

I Had one and it was heavy. If it comes with the wheel-eez case it is manageable moving it around but lifting may be an issue. Well made instrument and easy to work on. That was the only double neck I ever owned.
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I survived the sixties!

John Hyland · From: South Australia

Michael Whitmire · From: Dupont Pennsylvania, USA

I don’t have a session model but I have a D10 Sierra Olympic and a U14 Bill Stafford Elegante Sierra.

Both are built like tanks and the mechanical side of them are rock solid. They are much more capable instruments then I am a player.

They are easy to setup, minus their weight, and they hold tune very well. When I moved last year they both sat in their case for a while, about a 3 or 4 month period, until I could set them up again. Both guitars were still almost perfectly in tune.

The only downside to them I have seen is trying to source parts. If you want Sierra parts they are hard to find. If you don’t mind having parts made then you bypass this downside if you find or know a good machinist.
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Sierra Olympic D10
Sierra Stafford Elegante U14
Regal RD-40
Peavey Session 400

scott murray · From: Asheville, NC

I never had a problem getting Sierra parts from Jim Palenscar at North County Steels, but he's only got a finite number.
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1965 Emmons S-10, 3x5 • Emmons LLIII D-10, 10x12 • JCH D-10, 10x12 • Beard MA-8 • Oahu Tonemaster

baxter vaughan · From: Lubbock, Texas 79424

You got the weight info, so here goes. Built like a tank, well well made, easy to work on, steel guitar north country always had the parts I needed. Personally loved the tone. I’ve had 2 over the years and they played very smooth. I had issues with putting strings on. They were both gearless. A technique I could never seem to master.

J D Sauser · From: Wellington, Florida

My first brand new PSG was a 1994 Sierra Session S14. It was my second PSG.
I had met Gene O'Neal in Nashville upon my first trip to the US, in Nashville and he was playing a Sierra CROWN keyless. He helped me get my first PSG.
They were very popular and seen as THE "machine" after Buddy Emmons was seen playing one (Crown Keyless).

I thought I'd get the newest and ordered a SESSION.
It was a major disappointment. The "machine" had some MAJOR and frankly ridiculous engineering mistakes that weren't present on the Crown.
The pedal stops were so mushy, she couldn't even compare with my old, worn ShoBud Pro-II. This was because the pedal stop screw was closer to the fulcrum (cross-shaft) than the pedal hook up. Not just that, it was on the other side, so the shaft rocked over in the nylon bushings.

The pedals had no axle, they ran squeezed in between nylon barrels. The moved sideways. The pedal feel was all BUT "positive".

The legs, were aluminum rods running into a slotted billet aluminum clamp. Sure enough, aluminum lacks elasticity and aluminum on aluminum soon started binding.
To top it, one was drilled wrong so one of my front legs reached out an 1" further out than the other, so looking down, the pedal rack was oblique. They MUST have seen that, but I was a nobody and shipped it anyways.

The guitar lacked split tuning capabilities besides using a "helper"-rod. Mine... and S14 with 8&5 (keep in mind, it was and EXPENSIVE guitar in it's time) came WITHOUT any split tuning rods!
It sounded VERY good, especially for B6th (E9th-universal).
But all in all, I was really disappointed.

But I sold it in Europe 2 years later.

In those times, it was not fashionable to criticize an instrument endorsed by BE but I spilled the beans anyways.

IF I'd ever pick up a Sierra of THOSE times, I would rather take a CROWN Keyless. The folding legs idea may look "funky" and the keyless tuner a bit crude with the hex-sticks looking straight up (as opposed to the thumb-screw version on the Sessions)
But they sound good and the stops are solid.

... J-D.
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Was it JFK who said: Ask Not What TAB Can Do For You - Rather Ask Yourself "What Would B.B. King Do?"

A Little Mental Health Warning:

Tablature KILLS SKILLS.
The uses of Tablature is addictive and has been linked to reduced musical fertility.
Those who produce Tablature did never use it.

I say it humorously, but I mean it.

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