The British Steelies Society

What's the one at the front with the blue pad?

It's a home made steel? That's very impressive. Did Ron make all the mechanical parts and the changer too?

All steel guitars developed from the plank (lap steel) or otherwise known as the Hawaiian Guitar.

They have evolved over the years at the hand, largely of the ‘US Enthusiasts of their time.’ A lengthy list of the greats but in truth they could all have been said to be 'home made' at the time.

Roll forward, we now have known 'brand' names, some of which have in recent years disappeared giving us players some problems in keeping guitars going, however some are now in the process of re-inventing themselves with new personnel, bigger and better… well we’ll see.

Precision engineering is ‘just that’ regardless if it is performed by an individual in the sticks or presented as a product from some global manufacturer.

Should we dismiss as a 'presently unfamiliar' name as ‘Home made’ we risk never seeing the future of anything. Think about it!

As for Mr McLaren, I believe he knows exactly what he is doing at any end of a steel guitar.

My apologies, I certainly didn't mean to dismiss Ron or his work by calling it home made. It's hugely impressive and the more so because he is a one man operation!