Is enough being done to protect intermediate players?

[Malcolm]

Tim, if you don't want to name seller, if you just tell us what advert said, and what you actually got , problems as well,that would be a good halfway house.That way no one is getting slagged off but still gives us details and a good idea of how we could have helped or could help anyone else.

[Ken Byng]

...............I don’t think anyone buys a steel new or s/h that doesn’t need some minor or perhaps major adjustment. No steel is 100% perfect or will suit you perfectly....................

Tony

Tony accurately summed up in a few succinct words the primary and over-riding issue with the purchase of any pedal steel guitar. It is a mechanical beast after all, and one that needs regular maintenance and setting up. It is not an instrument for the faint hearted. The most common faults on pedal steel guitars are caused by owners who don't fully understand the mechanical issues that these instruments present. The USA steel forum is littered with cases of serious steel guitar faults caused by well meaning tinkering owners, subsequently having to be put right by experienced steel guitar technicians.

The most common issue is that of over-adjusting the nylon end tuners and not being able to achieve accurate notes on the pedals and levers. This often follows putting a different manufacturer's strings on a guitar with slightly different gauges. Big mistake.

The worst thing that I see is when people change the copedant on a guitar when they patently don't know what they are doing, usually just because a certain player that they like has that set up. There is no perfect copedent. The Emmons set up is the most popular, and yet there are numerous variations in the lever pulls and the placement of the so called Franklin pedal if it has it. I have had the same basic set up on my guitars for the past 40 odd years, with some additional modern pulls that have been added over the last 10 years.

All pedal steels have their pros and cons, and that is why it is very important to be aware of these before carrying out a purchase. Knowing the places on the guitar where wear and tear is likely to take place is also very important.

I have a brilliant steel techie who lives 2 or 3 miles from me in the form of Ron Mawn, and I am never shy in asking him to do some work for me. Ronnie Bennett, Dave Wiggins, Dave Wheelhouse, Bob Adams, Allan Thompson, Richard Burton and Tony Smart all immediately spring to my mind as guys who know their way around the dark side of a pedal steel. There are many others who I have unfortunately (and not deliberately) left out.

Our community is a very small one, and we should all share our experiences of purchase and selling - good and bad - in order that others can benefit from the knowledge.

[Ken Byng]

I will add this. If anyone is thinking of importing a pedal steel from the USA, I can thoroughly recommend Damir Besic from Nashville. Damir will always take pro level photos of his guitars at all angles, and will not deal in sub-standard instruments in any way. His guitars are always near immaculate cosmetic condition, and being a player he does try each guitar first before selling it. I bought a Carter D10 from him at the beginning of the year, and it turned out to be a very nice little guitar. Damir won't rip you off with his prices either. http://www.steelguitarsonline.com/

On the other side of the coin, here is a link to a page on the USA steel forum where Bobby Lee has published the names of several folks in the USA who should not be dealt with in the purchase of steel guitars or anything related to them. http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=187021