BosSan Pedal Steel Guitar Owners please Stand up!

[Joe Bill Moad]

Interested in owners that enjoy the BosSan Pedal Steel Guitar and want to visit about them.

Joe Bill Moad
Oklahoma

[Tommy Boswell]

I'm not a BosSan owner, but I knew one of the builders. I'll be watching this thread out of curiosity.

[Joe Bill Moad]

Thanks Tommy!

Which owner do you know? There aren’t that many of us.

Jbm

[Lee Baucum]

Thanks Tommy!

Which owner do you know? There aren’t that many of us.

Jbm

He said he knew one of the BUILDERS!

~Lee

[Lynn Kasdorf]

Back in the 70s when I was just getting into steel, I drove to Richmond VA to visit Harold Spain and see the BosSan steel. I was impressed with the steel, but it was heavy, not cheap, and there was quite a lead time as I recall. Cool design with tuners alternating on both ends of the guitar.
I wonder how many of these are in the wild?

[Joe Bill Moad]

I know of 3 Sir:

I have a D-11.
Paul Redmond has one. I think it’s a D-10.
Keith Bolog is owner a SD-14.
Those are all I know of.
They are really great guitars after getting them setup right. Mine has 14 levers and 8 pedals. None of the E8 neck lever and pedal adjustments were what they were supposed to be. Or what anyone I know of has ever used. Whoever owned mine back when played to a different tuning for sure. I am going to use the normal 5 levers and 8 pedals on my E9 neck. All the remaining levers fold up out of the way. Thanks for asking about these highly engineered guitars!

Respectfully

Joe Bill Moad
Oklahoma

[Joe Bill Moad]

Typo on my last post: E9 neck instead of E8. My apologies!

Jbm

[Tommy Boswell]

Here's one that was on the showroom floor at Billy Cooper's around 2008:

[Greg Vincent]

Wait… changers on BOTH ENDS?!!?

[Joe Bill Moad]

Tommy
I have seen that guitar before somewhere in here! It’s a very beautiful axe as all I have seen and the one I own are all beautiful! If I am not mistaken Paul Redmond told me that the builders used Urethane instead of the usual which looks a lot better in my opinion. However all guitars of all brands look great and make you want to own them. The BosSan is highly underrated and they all sound Bodacious! They stay in tune and are real comfortable to sit behind. The builder of them was way ahead of his time back then, reminds me of Ross Shafers talents.

Respectfully

Joe Bill Moad
Oklahoma

[Joe Bill Moad]

Greg

The uppers are configured on one end and the lowers on the other end. Makes them fantastic to manage! My D-11 has 14 levers and 8 pedals. I have a talented tech going through mine as we speak and cannot wait to play it with everything working right as to the E9 tuning and the C 6 tuning also. When I started playing mine it had the most “wrong” (Uppers-Lowers) setup on it and we cannot decipher what tuning the previous owners were playing. Man it was like reading Chinese cooedent compared to our styles we choose. However it will be right when I get it back. I am new to this instrument and even though the copedents were gilflirted it still sounded Bodacious and I knew if setup right I had a lifelong keeper! Very Blessed to grab this jewel!

Respectfully

Joe Bill Moad
Oklahoma
Oklahoma

[Joe Bill Moad]

For BOSSAN interesting and educational information beyond my knowledge please go to Paul Redmonds post on this forum titled “The Last BOSSAN”. Paul is the owner of the Last BosSan built. Paul actually understands every bolt and rod and pedal on them. Paul is an educated source of the BOSSAN mechanics and playability!

Respectfully

Joe Bill Moad
Oklahoma

Any BOSSAN Pedal Steel Guitars for sale please PM me of their whereabouts and price.

[Tommy Boswell]

Tommy
I have seen that guitar before somewhere in here! It’s a very beautiful axe as all I have seen and the one I own are all beautiful! If I am not mistaken Paul Redmond told me that the builders used Urethane instead of the usual which looks a lot better in my opinion. However all guitars of all brands look great and make you want to own them. The BosSan is highly underrated and they all sound Bodacious! They stay in tune and are real comfortable to sit behind. The builder of them was way ahead of his time back then, reminds me of Ross Shafers talents.

Respectfully

Joe Bill Moad
Oklahoma

Joe,

I've posted those pictures before. I saw that guitar at Billy Cooper's when I was shopping for my first ever pedal steel. Not that I considered buying it. My interest was because one of the builders was my cousin Kenny Boswell, RIP. Kenny was the "Bos" of BosSan, while Harold Spain was the "San". That's where the brand name came from. I only got to know Kenny in his final years, long after the BosSan era. So all I have is stories Kenny told me. He was a mechanical engineer by trade, and a heck of a pedal steel player. Playing with him in a production of Always Patsy Cline in the early 2000s is what got me hooked for life on pedal steel. Kenny Boswell was a master musician, a fine gentleman, and a good friend.

Regards,
Tommy Boswell

[Joe Bill Moad]

Yes Tommy I have read some of the History on those guys. If I am not mistaken didn’t Kenny have the idea of the build of the BosSan and Harold was the machinist? Anyway I wish I could have met them both! I am real high on the BosSan configuration. I appreciate your input and hope you come across one someday. I bet the magic would transfer from Kenny to you. Your ears still have that BosSan sound if you heard Kenny play one when you were young. I bet it was something to hear.

Respectfully

Jbm
Oklahoma

[Tommy Boswell]

Kenny was also a machinist, but I don't know who did most of the work. Kenny's involvment with BosSan was long before my time.

I think he told me only about 15 were built (could be wrong about the number), and when they looked into mass-producing overseas, the people they talked to (maybe in Japan?) wanted to use cheap sub-standard parts, so that initiative was abandoned.

Kenny did show me some engineer's drawings one time, so he must have been involved in the design.

Thanks Joe for the info you posted. I'd like to hear more after your tech finishes setting up your BosSan.

[Chris Lucker]

I had this one for a while.




I have a bunch of other photos.

[Joe Bill Moad]

Thank you guys:
Tommy and Chris for chiming in! I will report on my BosSan when my tech is finished and ships it back to me! Can’t Wait! It had every lever and pedal completely mis aligned and raising and lowering the wrong strings. When I first fired it up and went through the pedals I broke 3 strings immediately! Broke my heart! I knew then it had to go to someone far more experienced than I will ever be. I really think of what notes I got out of it that it had that special single coil sound. I bet she will sing again someday soon?

Was there just 19 BosSan guitars built? I had no idea? Mine is number 591. So it was either the 5th, 9th, or first one built based on the 3 digits in the serial number? Interesting!

Respectfully

Joe Bill Moad
Oklahoma

[Joe Bill Moad]

Chris
Mine is a D-11.

Jbm