First Pedal Steel Recommendations?

[cryptthing]

I've had a dobro for a while now and as I've been playing it in the lap style more I've become increasingly interested in the pedal steel world.

I've got a budget of around £1000, any recommendations??

Cheers

[saddletramp]

I followed a similar path to you having played dobro for a number of years before buying my first pedal steel about a year ago. I bought a Stage One from Doug Earnest in the US and I have been very happy with it. It gets many favourable reviews on the US Steel Guitar Forum from pros as well as beginners. Many pros like it because it is relatively light and use it as a tour guitar for that reason.

Doug sells them for $949, which would be around £600, but you would need to add shipping and then the import taxes on top of that which would bring it close (or slightly over) your budget. I can't remember how much the tax was on mine, but it would be at least 20% on the cost of the guitar and the shipping. Doug is great to deal with as well.

I will probably upgrade to a 'pro' guitar at some point, but I'm struggling to find reasons to do so other than gear acquisition syndrome (GAS). The Stage One plays well, stays in tune and is easy to learn. As far as I can tell, the only major drawback is that it is not possible to change the setup of the three pedals and four knee levers to anything other than the Emmons copedent. Many players in the UK seem to go with the Day setup, but most instructional material assumes the Emmons setup. Doug is about to release a new guitar, possibly called the Stage Two, which will allow changes to the pedals and knee levers, but I'm not sure when that will happen.

The other option for you would be to buy a good secondhand pro level steel. I'm sure others here can advise you on what to look for in that area. Having read many many posts about what to buy as a beginner, I got a strong sense that most other 'starter' guitars were to be avoided.

I hope that helps.

Chris

[JohnDavisStringsHere]

Hi, Welcome to the forum, I would suggest you can get a pro guitar for around that figure so if I were you I would bypass the student guitars........
Don`t know where your located but if anywhere near Cambs. your welcome to come and try some of mine to get an idea of what your looking for... I have a couple of ShoBuds and some Emmons...

[Donny Johnston]

If you look at the for sale page, there's a Whyte SD10 for sale for £800. Great guitar, Fair price.

[James Crowbear]

i have sold quite a few Zum Stage One's
Excellent Bang 4 $ £ €
a reliable & in tune psg which does not require a big investment
which can also be resold rather easy & without much loss
i know many prefer / recommend a used pro model -
in such a case get a well known brand & not some obscure clunker that's changed hands many many times

[acerod]

If you look thru' the forum there are a lot of steels for sale this side of the water without having to pay customs,VAT and carriage from the States. Then if anything goes wrong you have no problem getting it fixed either.

[Tony Russell Davis]

Advice? Don't buy unseen and be careful until you know what you really want or need. Whereabouts are you based?
If you can, go see John in Cambs., he has PSGs to look at and might even part with one. Or you're welcome to come see me and try out one or two if N.Yorks/Durham is better for you. You'll find many on this site who's only motive is to help you get up and running rather than to sell something.

[cryptthing]

Thanks for such a quick response and all the advice. I'm based in Cornwall, so I doubt I'll be able to make it up to where either of you guys are for a demo on some of your PSGs (thanks a lot for the offer though!)

I definitely find the idea of a 2nd hand pro guitar more appealing than the idea of a brand new student one.

This is in my area - http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/fende ... /101861760 - but is purchasing a dual 8 string too obscure a way to enter into the world of the pedal steel?

I do also like the look of this - viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2646 - as recommended by Donny Johnston earlier. Would that be a better place to start, even if I need to get it posted and wouldn't be able to 'try before I buy'?

Thanks again

[JohnDavisStringsHere]

For the money you are intending to spend IMHO you can do better... Feel free to phone me if you wish...advice is free and I my be able to put you onto something good>>>>>>>

[Jimmy Gibson]

Get in touch with John,he will go out of his way to help.great guy to deal with.


Jimmy..