The Moyo pedal steel guitars are built and sold by me, Glenn Taylor, in Denver, Colorado. I originally built these guitars for myself (I've been playing pedal steel since 1975). My music website is www.glenntaylormusic.com.

My first pedal steel guitar was an MSA student model, my second was a Sho-Bud Pro III, and then I decided to check out extended E-9 with a Sierra S-12. In the mid 1980s I looked into acquiring an instrument which was compact, light, and sounded good. I went to Scotty’s steel guitar show in St. Louis to see what was on the market. I ordered a Kline S-12 which, although not super light weight, was compact, worked very well, and sounded good.

The Kline was/is an excellent instrument. I traveled with it to England twice, then to Africa (Zimbabwe) in 1988. Carrying that Kline around started me thinking about building a pedal steel that would be small and light enough to carry easily in a shoulder bag.

model 001

I finished building my first pedal steel in 1989 and took it to Europe and Zimbabwe that spring. I could carry it on to the plane and it only weighed 16 lbs. in the case. Playing it took a little getting used to—hit the knee levers hard and you better be holding that thing down. It looks fairly industrial, but it works well and sounds good. I played many gigs with this steel.

model 004

I built a few more, then built one with a Dobro resonator cone and spider bridge. It was originally fire-engine red but when I switched the top to a flat-top guitar style I painted it black. The acoustic body got me going on the idea of putting the changer on the left side of the instrument.

model 008

Then in 2002, I built the maple-body steel with very rounded contours. I’m not so obsessed with building a lightweight steel as I was—this maple S-12 weighs 30 lbs. But it is compact and can be carried in a shoulder bag, although I usually use a hard case for gigs in town. I can still carry it on planes, but since 9/11 the legs and pedal rack are not always allowed through security so I check those and carry on the instrument itself.