Howard Pedal Steel Guitars

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 16 Feb 2020 12:56 am

Somewhere around 1973 I had moved from New Paltz New Yawk to Dallas Texas,I was starting my pedal steel guitar adventure while planting trees on a new stretch oh highway in "Grand Prairie"the other guys who I planted trees with took me to a little shop owned by Tom McCormick who made the "Howard line of pedal steel guitars,A very nice man who would sit with me and explain stuff"at that time I was playing an MSA semi-classic"I remember they had some long springs,and sounded great...My good friend Diamond Jim Richmond played one with David Alan Coe.I didn't last very long in the tree planting bizz!

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 16 Feb 2020 6:15 am

Only saw a few pics of them over the years, never saw one up close.. The Howard pedal steel guitar along with the Blanton, Mooney, Wheeler, Clark steel guitars have always intrigued me, and I would love to see one up close, and take one for a test drive... bob

Ross Shafer · Post by **Ross Shafer** » 16 Feb 2020 8:36 am

This just showed up on Craigslist....I have no connection to the sale.

https://modesto.craigslist.org/msg/d/mo ... 97768.html

Chris Schlotzhauer · Post by **Chris Schlotzhauer** » 16 Feb 2020 8:36 am

I remember seeing Frenchie Burke playing at the Sip N' Nip in Euless, where I fronted the house band, and a guy named Jerry Starr was playing with him. He played, if I recall, was either a 12 or 14 string Howard. It was solid white. And man, he could pick!

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 16 Feb 2020 9:31 am

Ross,Yes that's it!!

Jim Bates · Post by **Jim Bates** » 16 Feb 2020 12:40 pm

I knew Tom McCormick quite well, and met with him several times when he came to Houston to drop some of his guitars and amps to a friend of mine who was distributor of Tom's products.

All are WELL built and had good sound. Some were cable pulls and some rods. Tom built his own p/u's.

Tom was and inventor and as a result no two guitars were the same! At one time I had a few spare parts, because I would put the individual set-up each player wanted on the guitars. I sold all I had to a Forum member several years ago. The parts would be easy to duplicate for a machinist.

If you find one that has all the parts on it you will need,
consider getting it.

Thanx,
Jim

Charlie Hansen · Post by **Charlie Hansen** » 16 Feb 2020 2:46 pm

There was one for sale in Nova Scotia a couple of years ago.

Bill L. Wilson · Post by **Bill L. Wilson** » 16 Feb 2020 8:14 pm

I went in that shop several times to look at his steels. I too had an MSA Semi-Classic S-10 3x1 which I felt was a much better built guitar. I ended up with one of the Howard volume pedals and it worked great but it weighed 5lbs. and was almost as wide as a sewing machine treadle.

Darvin Willhoite · Post by **Darvin Willhoite** » 16 Feb 2020 8:24 pm

I owned a Howard for a few years, I bought it around 1981, out of a Pawn shop in Ft. Worth, Texas. It was a well built guitar, and was a 12 string extended E9th. The pickup wasn't very good, so I rewound it and it sounded much better, I really don't remember much else about it. I moved to Arlington, Texas in 1980 and worked on the east side of Grand Prairie, so I drove by the Howard shop almost every day until they closed it down not long after I moved there.

Bob Guichard · Post by **Bob Guichard** » 16 Feb 2020 9:37 pm

This thread brings back memories I though were lost forever. I remember the store in Grand Prairie where I would hang out drooling over the steels. Seldom were two guitars the same. I recall S10s made with phenolic cabinets that were to be painted prior to selling. I remember Tom explaining how he drilled square holes in the pull bars in the undercarriage. I purchased a S12 extended that I played several years before it went under the bed and sold years later. Later I received another S12 extended that eventually was given away. Once I bought the first steel I would visit the store just to say hi to the guys. Ever time I did Tom would give me a set of strings he would pull from a bank of tubes of bulk strings.
I thought the Howard steel was far advanced for the times even though tuning was unstable. Possibly the all metal body.

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 17 Feb 2020 12:30 am

Every now and then Mr McCormick would hang a "Gone Fishing"sign on the door.

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 18 Feb 2020 10:47 pm

I think I saw one of Tom's guitars in his shop that had a strap-type handle on the rear apron. When in the case, the handle would protrude out of the case and that's how the guitar was transported.

David Wright · Post by **David Wright** » 19 Feb 2020 4:45 am

I too remember Howard steels, had been to his shop a few times in the early 70's...
Funny, the guitar on Craigslist is in Modesto, my ol home town..

Lee Rider · Post by **Lee Rider** » 13 Oct 2024 11:52 am

There is a Howard for sale in Nevada for $350: https://lasvegas.craigslist.org/msg/d/p ... 93944.html

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 26 Jun 2025 7:39 am

Thought I'd revive this thread since one of these beasts just popped up on reverb. $700 . https://reverb.com/item/91122347-howard ... ginal-case

MARK GILES · Post by **MARK GILES** » 28 Jun 2025 8:20 am

My first steel guitar was a Howard bought from Tom. 2 pedals,2 knee levers. No C pedal. Strings 4&8 raised a full tone. My setup to this day on E9.

Earl Briggs · Post by **Earl Briggs** » 5 Jul 2025 11:03 pm

I remember Howard pedal steels, iwas about 16 in 1972 used to hang out there every saturday,bought my second steel from him he sold it to me on time it had E9th on the bottom neck and A6th on the top neck played it for 5 years till I moved to a msa dbl 12 classic. Earl Briggs

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