pedal steel - bmi 10s 3 pedal 4 knee 1970's

New member. Afraid to join psgf. Reaching out to see if anyone can give me a ballpark reasonable value on one of these. I have a friend who loves lap steel, got into a pedal steel but it isn't his thing, and is considering selling to me. Trying to figure a ballpark fair price. I really want to get one of these and learn it. Thanks in advance for any info you can provide on this type of guitar. Think it's 1970's, but not sure. Can't tell if it's been modded. Seems to play well. Any one familiar with these and have info on what this thing is or what its value is?

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I bought one VERY similar to that in 2008 for $1200.

Hey thanks for the response. So 4 years later, still happy with it? Any idea on what year yours was/is? Good enough for a beginner like me? Starting to really like this forum...

No offense to this guitar, but for the 1200 range, you can find a really nice new guitar that will outshine that old steel by a mile. Do not be intimidated by the folks at the psgf. They are friendly and helpful. There are new guitars out there that are affordable, and they wont have the issues that old guitars often come with.

For example

http://fredjusticemusic.com/id38.html

One more

http://stageonesteelguitars.com/

THose old BMI's are very nice guitars if they have been maintained well. If you are new to this, it may be a nightmare to get an old steel back into stabile condition. The mechanics can be a little complex at first. This one does not look in bad shape,looks pretty good actually, but pictures don't tell us how the action or mechanics are performing. $1200 is a pretty good price for an old BMI 3/4 in fine condition, and 3 pedals four levers is what you want as a minimum to take up the instrument. I'm a newbie, too. I'll check the Steel Guitar Forum for you, see what they say.

How good a friend is he?:lol:

Does the volume pedal come with it? HOw's the case. Is the tuning wrench still around? Some details can provide a little differential, hovering under or over $1100 if it's mechanically sound.

I really wrestled with buying an older steel, but opted for a new StageOne, since I knew I could bug the owner/builder with any question I had, and that the mechanics were going to be solid.

I have a similar Beck, and like your friend, I haven't put in the time to be proficient. Mine was in good shape when I got it but needed some parts and a little TLC. I got what I needed from Beck after contacting them through their website. Good guitar and they're very helpful.

Www.beckmusicalinstruments.com

"Afraid to join psgf."

Sheesh! Why? We welcome all new members! Best place on the planet to get info of all kinds. Get over there and join! NOW!

Me? I only buy old, used steels. Shobuds. But I restore them. Just buy from someone with a good reputation. You can buy a steel with more features if you buy a good used one. I know nothing about BMI guitars. I'm in Kline country.

My BMI is one solid f'n steel. Not sure what beef hwy145 has with them. I originally bought an "entry level" steel and out grew it within a month. The BMI continues to shine. Those stage ones look like a step down from the BMI in the original post.

My BMI is one solid f'n steel. Not sure what beef hwy145 has with them. I originally bought an "entry level" steel and out grew it within a month. The BMI continues to shine. Those stage ones look like a step down from the BMI in the original post.

No beef, but if he can buy a new steel with all the same features and some updated hardware, why not? And he has customer support if there are issues. I didnt suggest a carter starter, the ones I suggested are pretty much all an e9 player needs.

No, not a beef, just providing a logical alternative. There a tons of people that love vintage for all reasons, but with that many parts and pieces, I wouldn't risk it unless it was from a reputable dealer or a seasoned player that knew their way around steels. I want to play my steel, not source parts...

" I want to play my steel, not source parts..."

For many vintage steels, parts can be a problem. But for Shobuds, virtually every conceivable part is available new. Knee lever kits are available. Here's my '74 S-10. When I got it a few years ago, it had 3 pedals, and one knee lever. It now has 6 knee levers, and look at the quality of the parts!

Thanks for all the responses. I wound up pulling the trigger. Got it for $800, but remember friendly transaction. Mechanically, it seems to be in perfect shape. Stays in tune really well, and all the pedals and knees do what they should. Now I just have to learn how to play it. I think I will be able to get my money back out of it if I ever upgrade, but this will be enough to keep me busy for a while. If I ever resell, probably be in the $1000 to $1100 range. I think this one sat in its case for a long time. Thing looks almost like new

And yeah psgf in my near future

Great price man! Very good guitars. They have a mechanism that I don't understand, as I've never worked on one. Quite different than the usual crossrods and bellcranks. Now,,,, join the Steel Guitar Forum!

On my way to do so now. Gotta say there is a certain simplicity in the mechanics and a lot of sturdiness. I think I did well. No idea if I'll be able to add more to this one. Seems like there are spaces for adding additional hardware, but I'm way too ignorant to know at this point. Really good clean guitar.

Guitar is heavy as hell probably 40 pounds at minimum.

Heavy can be quite good. Less cabinet drop. I don't know if knee lever kits are available for your guitar, but 4 knees is enough to last you a lifetime of learning! Now join the Steel Guitar Forum!

Less cabinet drop.

Gotta ask out of ignorance - what does this phrase mean?

Gotta ask out of ignorance - what does this phrase mean?
My understanding is that when certain strings are pulled, it can cause a non-pulled string to go slightly flat. I assume this is from the body of the guitar bowing or flexing slightly.

Also will say that I saw a gfi student and a fender 400 at Sam ash in Nashville in the vintage guitar section today both in $1200 range sticker. Continue to be very pleased with mine. The gfi was also a 3 4, but it didn't seem as solid. The fender I'm not even sure if it had a single knee. Lots of pedals, and very pretty, but id take mine over either of them any day

C Winn we should play some music if you're in nashville