Uni 12 for sale, but read carefully!

[blueherring]

U is for universal and also unique. This is the instrument I built from scratch a few years ago. I wanted to try a uni 12 but I got fed up with waiting for a second-hand one to come along, so I made one. I documented my progress on the Steel Guitar Forum - http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=266082. If you want to see a general view of the finished item, head for page 3.

I gigged it for a couple of years but eventually purchased a lighter instrument with more changes. I know I won't use it again, so rather than scrap it, I'm offering it to anyone who is curious about the universal B6/E9 setup and would like to try the principle before they fork out for something expensive.

It's quite heavy. I built it very solidly to make sure it sounded good and stayed in tune. The changer is built on the Kline principle and tunes at the endplate. There are no pedal stops, so it feels a bit spongy at first, but it's quite expressive once you get used to it. Each change can be 2-up-1-down or vice versa (decided at the time of assembly). It has tunable splits. The keyless tuner is my own design which I am very pleased with. The E9 pedals are the Day way round and the B6 side is slightly unusual, as P6 is on a lever.

It's a bit of a fag to put up and take down as the legs have to be bolted into place. It has two types of case. One is a keyboard bag fitted out with plywood panels, which I put together in a hurry for its first gig but is still usable. In the hope of making it more manageable I had split flight cases made which turned out very heavy but protect the instrument better.

This machine will only be of interest to someone mechanically minded, as all the parts were fabricated from scratch and the underneath is not like any other guitar; it doesn't usually require much attention but it is unique. I will offer after-sales advice out of courtesy for a limited period, but the idea of letting it go is to trip over it less, not more!

It would have to be collected or delivered when travel restrictions ease. I would probably need to show how to set it up as it may not be obvious. If you wanted it in the canvas bag I wouldn't expect much for it, maybe something towards the few hundred quid I spent on materials. The flight cases cost real money but if you bought those as well you could probably sell them on if you decided to.

If you are interested or have any questions please get in touch. I'm in Redditch in the West Midlands, so fairly central.

Ian Rae

[blueherring]

I received an enquiry from abroad, so I got the beast out of storage to weigh it for shipping (result - 45kg the two cases).

I had forgotten what a pain it is to put together, so I've declined to ship it on the grounds that it will require on-site training to set it up. I don't want to get into the business of shooting a long instructional video.
The good news is that it still plays beautifully once it's set up, but you need to know little things like when you lift it out of the case and turn it over what small components might slip out of place and cause confusion.
In a month or two it should be possible to meet a potential customer in person. It's too good to scrap, but not mainstream enough to dispatch to the unsuspecting.