It seems clear to even a newbie like me that the Stringmaster is a favored non-pedal instrument. They seem to be favored over the current non-pedal instruments. The question(s)...

Are they really better? Or is their value just based on the 'vintage' mystique? How rare are they? What are they worth? Are they a better value than, say, a Melobar, Cougar, Excel or Remington For example, I have a '59 LP that people are always trying to give me 'Monoply Money' for, but I don't think it is AS GOOD in plability, and only just matches the tone, of my recent Carvin. It does have 'sentimental value' to me, as my father and grandfather both had it at one time, but that's all it has.

My 'no-name', 'no-history' old dbl-8 seems to be fairly nice. I guess I'll know more when I overhaul this thing and see if all the electronics work! I'm just tryin' to figure out if the old-girl is worth the resto effort. :-)

Thanks,

The SM pickup configuration with blend control gives the widest tonal variation available, from full bass to bright treble;

The use of four legs instead of three (as on the Dual Pros and Customs) offered MUCH greater stability onstage. The Duals and Customs have a tendency to tip over, depending on how high the guitar is set;

Fender guitars in general are the most commonly found 8-stringers, though single-8's are the least frequently found;

Fender guitars have a certain panache', since they virtually took over the lion's share of the market in the mid-50's and kept that position until the decline of non-pedal steels in general;

Fender double-neck steels were cheaper to manufacture than the contemporaneous Gibson and Rickenbacker Console models, and so were less expensive generally to the consumer;

Anything from the 50's and 60's with a decal that says "Fender" on it is appreciating. Since the non-pedal steel is the most affordable string instrument right now, their marginal appreciation is increasing by the greatest percentages.

The Remington is a fine guitar. However, it has George L humbucking pickups and so IMHO it sounds like a modern guitar when compared to a Fender. Case in point: I was outside a club listening to a band I occasionally play with and the steel sounded like someone playing western swing on a modern pedal steel. When I went inside, I saw Cindy C. playing a Remington. Totally different sound than a SM.

Fender pedal steels, having been left behind by technology, are currently still at low levels price-wise, though not as low as the Gibson Electraharp and the Multi-Kord.

The obvious exception is the Bigsby steel, which sells for astronomical dollars despite the fact that the pedal system/action is strictly from the early Cro-Magnon era. Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble both played Bigsbys, as we well know.

Bandstand Credibility Issue: showing up at the first gig of a new band with a Fender Stringmaster (or Gibson or Rick console) and Fender or Standel amp tells the band "at least this guy knows what guitar to bring."

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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages

[This message was edited by Herb Steiner on 17 December 2000 at 11:12 AM.]