posted 02 October 2001 01:37 AM         

Mr. Wheeler used a short cartoon character with a big mustache as his logo.

The Wheeler Guitar Co. displayed their guitars at the ISGC one year, when the convention was still at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel. Perhaps in the late 70s.

Roger

[This message was edited by Roger Shackelton on 02 October 2001 at 01:39 AM.]

posted 02 October 2001 03:44 AM         

It's a Universal. I have sat at it and 'tinkered' around. If I'm not mistaken,
I believe each pedal [10] has like a secondary smaller pedal [lever] attached to it's side; and I'm not sure just how they function.

posted 04 October 2001 04:47 PM         

I lived in Portland, Oregon in the 70's and visited the Wheeler shop with a friend of mine who had purchased a steel from them. The steel was "Heavy" and the entire shop was moved to Nashville sometime later.

I don't know what happened to Wheeler steels, they just faded into the sunset. At the time Sho-Bud and Emmons were the popular steels to buy and play so the competition may have been too much to bear.

posted 04 October 2001 07:02 PM         

I happened to speak to Chip the other day and he mentioned that you had posted a comment, so I thought I'd respond directly.

I bought a 14 string Wheeler (8 pedals and 6 knee levers) in the late 70's when Lee's shop was located in Nashville. I was working in Huntsville, AL so it was just a one hour hop up the road to see him and add things and make changes to the axe.

I'm not sure what Chip is refering to about the pedals, since there is nothing fancy about them. It is a double raise/lower and a lot of the guitar is made out of 440 stainless steel -- all of the changer, the pull rods, the roller bridge, the cross rods. I think the only aluminium, outside of the body, which is a single extrusion, and the pedal rack, are the small rotating pieces that the pull rods attach to with nylon connectors. I'm sure this doesn't describe it very well, and if you want I'll post a pix or two of the steel and the undercarriage.

There are six knee levers LKL, LNLV, LKRV, LKR, RKL and RKR. I'll be glad to share the setup if you want.

Chip is correct, it is a heavy guitar . . . almost 100 lbs in the case. It is rock solid and I've never noticed any cabnet droop whatsoever. I did watch it fall off the conveyer and out of the belly of a plane once. When I picked it up at the other end and set it up in the motel room only the high g# was slightly out of tune. It is a VERY stable guitar. The top g# is an .012 and it never breaks, except after a lot a playing. No other strings break, ever. Of course, with all that metal, the most difficult playing situation was when steel or the venue were at very different temperatures. With all that stainless and aluminium expanding or contracting at different rates makes for not a fun time.

I remember seeing a post a while back on the forum that Lee was living in Illinois. I should write to him and say hello.

I hope this helps. I think I must be the only Wheeler owner out there. I've never run into anyone else. I know Lee did sell more than just a few guitars, including a double 14. That one must have been sold with its own truss, fork lift and two roadies to move it around.

Norm Michaels

[This message was edited by Norm Michaels on 04 October 2001 at 07:06 PM.]

posted 04 October 2001 07:11 PM         

Thanks in advance.

------------------
Rebel™
ICQ 614585

http://users.interlinks.net/rebel/steel/steel.html

posted 10 October 2001 07:36 AM         

Doesn't the Wheeler guitar look alot like a Sierra guitar. I wonder if "We-Wa" Wheeler ever traded ideas or shared a beer with Chuck Wright. Maybe David can add some info.

posted 10 October 2001 12:44 PM         

I just found a Bar Chatter Post that basically says everything we said here and more -- including similarities to Sierras. Bob Maickel reported a year or so ago that Lee had been disabled in a serious accident and was selling his shop equipment.

FWIW

------------------
Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Emmons D-10 9x9, 1971 Dobro

[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 10 October 2001 at 12:46 PM.]

posted 11 October 2001 07:58 AM         

Take the % of people in the world that play steel * % who play 14 string * % who want 2 14 string necks * % who are left handed * % who want a left hand model steel * % who work out daily and have Popeye arms and you come up with .... maybe 1 person?

If I can find the photo, I'll post it.

posted 12 October 2001 07:12 PM         

Click here for picture

Seems like I read somewhere that they were manufactured in the late '60s.

It's a D-10 Wheeler Ped-All ... Portland, Oregon.

End plates are beautifully chromed (don't believe they are aluminum)

Has 777 stamped on the under-carriage.