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Musser M55 bars - cost

rogersvibes 23 May 2013

I'm having my Musser bars sent to Bill Youhas to have them retuned to 440. I need to insure the bars when I ship them, but I have no idea what a set of bars is worth. Any ideas?

Comments

Randy_Sutin Fri, 05/24/2013 - 06:28

The thing that I found is that it is really difficult to find anyone who sells a set of bars without an axe attached. So I use $2500 when I ship my bars because I know I can usually go on eBay and find a used Musser axe with motor or frame issues that still has a set of ok bars for around that price.

Of course, if you have an older set of their vintage bars, I would at least double that number.

Might be worth calling Bill and asking him what number he uses when he ships them back.

rogersvibes Thu, 06/13/2013 - 01:22

Just letting you all know I got my M55 bars back today retuned to 440. I echo many others on the site who have said it makes a big difference! Very pleased. Bill Youhass is a genius!

rogersvibes Fri, 05/24/2013 - 14:35

Thanks, Randy. I called Bill and he also said $2500, but then said you might as well do $3000 to be safe. I've heard great things about his work, so I'm anxious to get them back.

rogersvibes Fri, 05/24/2013 - 18:11

On a related note, does anyone know if you can buy bars directly from Musser (or a dealer)? I found a parts list on their website for various models. I wonder what they would quote for a price.

Randy_Sutin Sat, 05/25/2013 - 08:19

I have never tried to buy a new set of bars alone. I wouldn't do it and here is why...

Frames die a lot faster than bars. They warp, rattle, and just flat out break from wear and travel,etc. sometimes. Motors nearly always die. Older motors were single speed and are now less desirable even if they work.

Now, perhaps I am wrong in your specific case, but when most of us here on the site talk about Musser axes, we are talking about either the M48, M55 or M75. The M75 is the oldest and it has been around since 1948, I believe (Gary, if you read this and I am wrong, please correct me.)

In all those years, the dimensions of the bars have remained exactly the same. That combined with the issues that invariably surface with the frames mean there are quite a few unplayable instruments out there that have ok bars. Combine that with what I now know about the early bars and I would go further to say there are a lot of instruments that are uplayable or many people would consider undesirable that have seriously badass bars on them.

Bottom line, they go cheap on eBay, but the bars are totally awesome.

My old M75 has a frame that Bill fully reconditioned, so the whole thing is just beautiful. But, if I needed a set of bars and I saw an early M75 on eBay with no motor and a broken pedal (they usually sell around $2K in that condition), I would buy it in a heartbeat.

I will be bringing those bars to the hang this afternoon. You will hear both what the bars have to offer and what Bill's handiwork does to make them shine.

Peace

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