The Steel Guitar Thread

In sweet anticipation of receiving my Stage One Pedal Steel guitar this week (Thanks Doug!), I thought I'd start this up to turn people on to some good steel guitar, as well as being turned on to some good steeel guitar music.

Ladies and gentlemen, Dick Overby backing Leona Williams

iVamanos!

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A personal favorite..
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Congrats on the steel! I wish I had the guts and wasn't so embarasingly broke ATM.

Thanks for posting that!
Sweet steel playing, and a great old song.
(Why can't I find more live music like this!? & why isn't there a huge "Country" audience for it...)
Congrats and good luck with your new pedal steel!

Oh, is that a Zum Stage One? Is that a 10 string with 3 foot levers & 4 knee benders? I've been drooling over the fessy's lately!! I just started playing fiddle, got a teacher and a new bow and strings but it was a toss up between getting a steel or a fiddle. I think it was my admiration of Don Rich that ultimately steered me towards fiddle. Congrats, and pics please!

A thread of mine on the "AXE" forum;

http://www.axetalk.com/forum/electric-guitars/1459-any-steel-players-here.html

My 1974 Shobud. Came to me as 3 pedals, 1 knee, Now it has 6 knees. Dead mint, "under the bed" guitar!

she's a beaut jmiles!

My 1974 Shobud. Came to me as 3 pedals, 1 knee, Now it has 6 knees. Dead mint, "under the bed" guitar!

Wowee!

My other Shobuds;

Oh, is that a Zum Stage One? Is that a 10 string with 3 foot levers & 4 knee benders? Congrats, and pics please!

Yep, the very one. This is what it looks like as the check winds its way through the postal routes...


134300

Pretty damn simple, but it has what I need.
I'll post pictures when I get it in person. Thanks and good luck with the fiddle!

Dang Jmiles! Those are really something else! I mean, they look pristine.
Those are some pretty cool laps over on the AXE forum. Any more?:mrgreen:

Well, it doesn't have pedals, but it is a steel nonetheless:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D7nOrSkz88Y/T9XyjUx5jfI/AAAAAAAAD8E/XB_bSI2b1TU/s1600/oahu-diana-lap-steel-front.jpg

I just started playing. I figured why get an inexpensive new one when I could get one with vibe. Made by Valco in Chicago, 1951.

Those pedal steels look amazing! Keep 'em coming!

Actually, only the almost finished '67 has been restored. The '59 Permanent in the middle needs quite a bit of work, but the finish is good. The Fingertip model in the rear will require refinishing. Lots and lots of aluminum buffing and polishing to be done! Here's the '63 Fingertip. You can see how many things have to be taken apart, buffed, polished, and then reassembled. But Fingertips are stunning guitars,

Any more?
Here's my workhorse. A mid-Eighties Kline Keyless 12 string Universal.

BTW; At Axe Talk, I'm Hu Duck Xing. There are a bunch of pics of the restoration of the '67 over there.

TS, congratulations on the imminent arrival of the Stage One, and welcome to yet another addiction. :mrgreen:

If I didn't have so many steel guitars, perhaps I might have a camera to photograph the ones I have. The current roster:

- Fender triple 8 Stringmaster (circa 1959), acquired 1976

- Fender 400 pedal steel (circa 1972), 4 stock pedals, 3 homemade knees, acquired 1979

- Fender 400 pedal steel (circa 1958), 6 stock pedals, 2 homemade knees, acquired 1980

- Fender Deluxe 8 (circa 1960), acquired 1981

- Martin O-15 (1959) with extension nut, acquired 1982

- Harmony H165 (early 1960s) with extension nut, acquired 2011 :D

- Ovation deep bowl Balladeer (1970s) with extension nut, acquired late '70s by my late wife

For many years, lack of physical space and pickin' partners kept me from playing steel at all. I missed it. Also, my standard guitar playing was increasingly limited by arthritis. So, a bit over two years ago, I dug out the Martin, which I had kept in a dobro tuning since I got it in '82, and started exploring DADF#AD, DADFAD, and DADFAC, under the influence of Lindley, Manx, Phelps, Paddy Burgin, Mike de Velta, Fred Kinbom, our late friend Steinar Gregertson, etc. I made the happy discovery that I could actually play and sing a fair number of my original songs, given enough practice. That kept me pretty busy for a year, and continues to be an ongoing effort.

I missed the reso 135135 tuning, though, so about a year ago I set up my late wife's long-idle Ovation with an extension nut to play that way. However, I was dissatisfied with this tuning's bottom end (actually, the lack thereof) when played thumb-style. After trying several different tunings on the lowest three strings, I ended up with an F7 tuning (FCEbFAC) with the fifth string an octave below where you'd expect it to be. This opened up a whole world of possibilities which I'm still enthusiastically exploring. The Harmony lives in this tuning; the Ovation (a shockingly good acoustic steel guitar, if played with a dobro-style strap. On one's lap? Well, not so much...) is now my test bed for continued tuning explorations.

BTW, there's a Steel Guitar Club (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/guitar-owners-clubs/166113-steel-guitar-club.html) thread in the Guitar Owners Clubs (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/guitar-owners-clubs/) forum.

Some of the folks who inspire me:

Mike De Velta, on a Takamine 12 string with a tall nut (and six strings).

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Freddy Roulette, on his 8 string National Dynamic.

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Larry Hutcherson, on the only Deluxe 8 I've ever seen that's more beat up-- er, road-worn than mine.

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Oh, right! That Stage One is a pedal steel, innit? :razz:

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'59 Permanent;

I've played lap steel for about 6 years to see if I really wanted to go this route. I've gotten pretty good at simulating pedals steel lines with slants and tone swells, using a ba$tardized six string E9 tuning. I've seen some guys that are amazing on lap steel,like Freddy Roulette! and Mike Neer over at the SGF. I almost went with an 8 string console, but those crazy pedals and levers prove that I am a glutton for punishment, plus, it fits more into that whol;e "mad scientist" outlook that pedal steelers seem to morph into. You can get close, but nothing sounds quite like those levers and pedals.
Some very cool pictures and players here.

What is it with the Deck of Cards you see on some steels? Is it an Emmons reference, or something else that I've missed?

"What is it with the Deck of Cards you see on some steels?"

Shobud thing. Not Emmons at all. Emmons used atomic symbols. Klines used mathematical symbols.

And MSA used chess pieces.

I bought my first steel in April from steel guitar nashville (fessy), and it has dominated my practice time to the point where I've had trouble picking up the electric for fear wasting precious practice/experience time on the psg. I really think I've found my instrument!

I bought my first steel in April from steel guitar nashville (fessy), and it has dominated my practice time to the point where I've had trouble picking up the electric for fear wasting precious practice/experience time on the psg. I really think I've found my instrument!

Very nice looking Fessenden! Steel domination is what I feel is going to happen to me! I really enjoy playing six string electric, but my love for hard classic country of the 60's really has the steel obsessing my musical thoughts. When not writing songs, I mostly spend my time with the six string trying to mimic pedals steel anyway. B-bender just isn't going to cut it.:smile:

steel guitar nashville (fessy)

145 and telesalivas are giving me PSG GAS!

Very nice looking Fessenden! Steel domination is what I feel is going to happen to me! I really enjoy playing six string electric, but my love for hard classic country of the 60's really has the steel obsessing my musical thoughts. When not writing songs, I mostly spend my time with the six string trying to mimic pedals steel anyway. B-bender just isn't going to cut it.:smile:

The ray price stuff of old with buddy emmons (such as night life) is on regular rotation here.

Lloyd green is by far my favorite -he represents the quintessential country steel sound that I love to hear.

Lloyd is the reason I play. I heard a tune he played called "Bar Hoppin'" and I was done for! When I worked at Performance Steel Guitars, my boss, ex-Buckaroo Jerry Brightman called me into the office. He said someone wanted to talk to me, and handed me the phone. It was Lloyd!
One day we opened for Loretta. I walked into the backstage lounge, and there was John Hughey! We talked for a long time. He'd never seen a Kline guitar before, and he got one a couple months later.

Turning John Hughey onto Kline guitars is just too much! Emmons, L Green, Hughey, of course Moon's always there,Ruggs,man! and lately I've really been sinking my teeth into the way Pete Drake's chords blend together. Here's Drake playing E9 on the intro, and then using the C6 for the rest of the tune. His work with George Jones is some of my favorite. I just got turned onto this recording...

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I am a big fan of traditional country steel guitar, but i also dig Daniel Lanois playing and Joey Burns from Calexico
here is clip of Daneil:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXVQbbGMZY4

I am a big fan of traditional country steel guitar, but i also dig Daniel Lanois playing and Joey Burns from Calexico
here is clip of Daneil:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXVQbbGMZY4

Lanois is an amazing steeler, though I haven't listened to him in a while. Thanks for reminding me.:smile:

My number one thing is to play hard county, but by nature I experiment a lot. I intend to play old timey music like ragtime and dixieland stuff. My wife turned me on to lots of music from the early part of the 20th century, and being not guitar -based is a big plus. All thos emelodies weaving in and out, usually with some obnoxious horn blowing the see saw low notes, love that stuff!
AAnd I like Throbbing Gristle a lot ,too. That would be cool to play with steel guitar. I don't think there are a lot of noise/electronica bands that use a pedal steel.:mrgreen:

I am a big fan of traditional country steel guitar, but i also dig Daniel Lanois playing and Joey Burns from Calexico

Joey Burns is a very, very strong songwriter, singer, and guitarist, but Paul Niehaus is the band's steel guitarist.

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Ah, why not two; this band is terribly under-appreciated, and Niehaus is far too little known.

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Niehaus plays in service to the song with the same taste and restraint which marked Ben Keith's playing for over half a century.

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Moon!

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I love Ben Keith..

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I love listening to the steel guitar, whether its lap or pedal. I tend to try and follow the steel when noodling along with a song rather than the guitar. I probably will never learn to play( probably), but love listening to old 50's and 60's country with a crying steel. Keep the flame going Tele and keep up the good work. Do you have any video's out there, live band performances? I get the feeling we would all enjoy listening to your music.

After I get the steel we are going to start a new project that'll be pretty interesting. Very much in the old country vein, but with a lot of low-pass filtering on some of the instruments, and some use of natural tape, room,and mic effects. Hopefull we can get this together pretty quickly.

Thinking about buying this from a friend. What's a fair price do you think?

...$600?...

:mrgreen:

If this doesn't transfix you...
press play, close eyes.

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My pedal steel arrives in a day. Guess I better tell my wife.

Nice guitars y'all.

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Just got this bad boy in, I don't think I'll be around the TDPRI much anymore, I'm afraid. The steel's got me hooked. It's been real, see you around.

:grin:
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Just got this bad boy in, I don't think I'll be around the TDPRI much anymore, I'm afraid. The steel's got me hooked. It's been real, see you around.

:grin:


The sickness... Have fun!

I get the sickness every 10 years or so.
I feel like it's coming on again.
There's a ZB on CL here.
I had one (new) in 85.
If I could only get it, and play it, in tune.
One more time!

and am still just a mediocre player but I love it and do a lot of gigs on the thing so I'll just keep on truckin with the pedal steel. As far as steel guitars go I now have:

1979 BMI S-12 Uni with 8 floor pedals and 5 knee levers (my main & gigging steel)
1976 BMI SD-12 w/pad, came with 6 FP and 5 KL but I have it currently set up with only 3 floor pedals and it's my "practice steel" for home use.
1962 Supro S-8 Console "straight" steel w/ legs set up in a B6th tuning
Chandler S-6 set up in a G6th tuning
Old 40's Regal S-6 lapsteel, nice wood body set up in an open E tuning.
Mahalo S-6 lapsteel shaped like a surfboard, set up in an open E tuning.
Fender square neck resonator guitar w/ B/B pickup, set up in open G.
Fender round neck resonator guitar w/ raised nut, set up in G6th........

Here's a few shot of some of mine........JH in Va.

J. Hayes, You musn't be too mediocere to play with the fantastic and beautiful Leona Williams.

Mr Hayes is a monster. None of this humble stuff.......and anything that goes twang.
Hi Jerry

Jerry,
Didn't you recently get a 12 keyless?
John Billings, SGF

Well I am good and truly hooked. Haven't touched my teles in a week. First few days on the pedal steel and I'm able to do a passable version of the intro to Loretta Lynn's "you aint woman enough to take my man", but mostly learning how to engage pedals and levers while moving the bar and keeping my foot steady on the volume pedal. This is too much fun, and quite the challenge. Been learning from Mickey Adams' youtube videos. Hours on the steel go by quick!

I've been playing steel for about a month now, and loving every minute of it! But last night, I got a chance to see Chris Scruggs play his steel for an entire set down at Laylas (he usually doubles with guitar, or occasionally does drums) and he is the best steel player I've ever heard! If you ever get a chance to see him, do it! Or just look him up on YouTube.

I've been playing steel guitar for 40 years, and I guess I'm hooked. It's a blessing... and a curse. It's Madness. (http://steelguitarmadness.com)

I've been playing steel guitar for 40 years, and I guess I'm hooked. It's a blessing... and a curse. It's Madness. (http://steelguitarmadness.com)

Whoa, I just now put it together that you are Cal Sharp. Should have looked at the link right away. You sir, are an inspiration. I really love my Stage One, it has a great sound and for the E9 stuff I like to play (Sonny Curtis' stuff with George Jones being some of my favorite) will probably do me well for years and years, though I would not mind owning a black Emmons someday as well.:lol:
I chose a new Stage One instead of buying a used "professional" model in part, because it reminds me of that fuller mid range that the Emmons carries so well.
What copedant are you using these days, if you don't mind me asking?

I like this one....

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Time to revive an old thread... I've had a week to play with it, and I'm in love! I bought this from a fellow forumite. I am ready for c6! Looks like the Fessenden is either in line to be sold or collect dust. I'm sold on mullen!

Those Mullens are not only beautiful, they are some of the sweetest sounding designs out there. Engineering, looks, sound...yeah you could do a lot worse! I like the amount of aluminum on the neck, too. I think acoustically, that does something for builders willing to put that much of the stuff on there. Nice score, Highway.

What kind of pups are in there?

Those Mullens are not only beautiful, they are some of the sweetest sounding designs out there. Engineering, looks, sound...yeah you could do a lot worse! I like the amount of aluminum on the neck, too. I think acoustically, that does something for builders willing to put that much of the stuff on there. Nice score, Highway.

What kind of pups are in there?

It has truetones in both necks. I was a little concerned about single coils, but this guitar has a real nice tone. It can be fat, or it gets really bouncy with lots of attack near the pickups. I've never considered a tone knob on a psg, but having the option is such a luxury! This particular guitar is apparently a '94 "pre" Royal Precision, and it is such a well built guitar. All steels are not created equal. I know many say the all the modern steel builders out there are putting quality products, but this 18 year mullen plays like a dream, and the mechanics below are a thing of beauty. Now if I could just figure out my "ultimate" copedent...

reviving my own thread. After scaring C Sharp away, and drooling all over everyone else's Sho-Bud's, Mullens, Emmons, BMI, and ZB's I have been pretty busy practicing on my Stage One. I've been using an EHX Knockout Attack EQ so I can switch between the stock humbucker sound, and the pedals single coil sound. It really sounds great. BUt my thing is I haven't been seeing a whole lot of pedal steel demo's for the Stage One steel, or the Fender Excelsior amp (with 12AY7 in V1) on youtube, and I think I'm decent enough to post a couple demos to give Stage One builder Doug Ernest a little bump. I'm somewhat familiar with Audacity. Are there other recording mixing software that anyone would reccomend to get something on youtube? Thanks!
-Dan

Glad to see you revived this thread. I don't have much to offer in terms software, but I can say that although I play the crap out of my steel, forsaking practice time on the 6 string was a bad choice. I've swung the other direction, and now I'm trying to find a balance. Tough trying to excel at one instrument, let alone two...
Would live to hear your playing...

Yikes a neat thread!

My very recently acquired Gibson C-530, bought from a good friend who runs an antique shop.

All seems to be in good working order, and it came with a very nice '73 Traynor YGM-3 amp (needs a 3 cord update), and at a price I couldn't refuse.

Unfortunately I am not even a good six string player, but I just love this thing. It is so different to what I am used to.

No doubt it will keep me occupied this winter.

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l48/tonyjp/IMGC-530_1695-1.jpg

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l48/tonyjp/IMGC530_1697-1.jpg

that's a nice old Gibson you've got there for sure. I'd love to have that baby in my collection. They have a sound all their own and are pretty sturdy for road work if you're into that sort of thing......good luck with it...

hwy 45, as far as "playing the crap out of it" and spending too much time on the steel, that's pretty common for a lot of guys. A pedal steel is one of the most "addicting" instruments on the planet. I was lucky that when I got my first one I was playing guitar in a band six nights a week so I didn't need to practice on that instrument. Jazz/fusion great Al Dimeola had a pedal steel for awhile and was getting pretty proficient on it. In an article in GP one time he said that he had to sell his as he couldn't keep his hands off of it and wasn't spending time on the instrument with which he made his living....

If you have a band you can work with, do it! one night on the bandstand is worth a year in your practice room as you have to either S... or get off the pot... I'd bring mine to the gig and maybe only do a tune or two all night but it make you have to put up or shut up. Also, if you have some rhythm track to practice with, that's good too as it helps you with your intonation and intonation is one of the most important parts of steel playing.....JH in Va.

Did a little setting up with the mic and recorder, used a Behrenger interface thing that worked pretty good. A litle tape noise, but not too bad. If I record into the red a little more, it will sound even better, also I have a good little radio shack mixer that will make all the difference before it goes into the computer box. Audacity is alright. I think I'll have something up after I put together a back track to play over.

I like that Gibson 8 & 8 a lot, tonyj. Even has the LP style knobs, what a trip, and a very cool color all around. I love the tone of thoe Gibson steels I've heard. Something in the way they sustain and ring.

I am so hooked , it 's not even funny. My guitars are still collecting dust, all except for my writing guitar.

Larry, that's one of the best versions of Little Wing I've ever heard. Beautiful steel work.
I could listen to that all day long.

I just bought an old '51 Fender Triple 8 steel today. 2 of the pups are dead but I may try to get them rewound.

I haven't been seeing a whole lot of pedal steel demo's for the Stage One steel, or the Fender Excelsior amp (with 12AY7 in V1) on youtube, and I think I'm decent enough to post a couple demos to give Stage One builder Doug Ernest a little bump.

Yes, please!

I can say that although I play the crap out of my steel, forsaking practice time on the 6 string was a bad choice. I've swung the other direction, and now I'm trying to find a balance. Tough trying to excel at one instrument, let alone two...

It is, but it's enormously rewarding. In the mid-'80s, my late wife and I worked as a duo. Each of us sang, each played rhythm guitar, and each played pedal steel. We alternated roles every 3-5 songs, and found (to our delight) that this alternation was much less tiring than a working a full gig exclusively as either singer/guitarist or pedal steel player.

No doubt it will keep me occupied this winter.

Tip for winter steel playing in the North: Do it indoors, like Kevin Mcneil Brown (Vermont, USA)...

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...NOT outdoors, like Kevin Brown (Bath, UK; no relation to KMB, AFAIK)!

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If you have a band you can work with, do it! one night on the bandstand is worth a year in your practice room as you have to either S... or get off the pot...

+1000! Best advice ever.

Great post syrynx! Thanks also to tele salivas, hwy45, and J.Hayes for their input. Overall, a wonderful collection of 'steel' comments and fond memories.

Loved the vids too! Hell if I could play anything even remotely like those guys, I would risk playing outside semi nude (but only for a few seconds)! ... Great White North or not......

I am so happy to have bought the C-530 and amp 'combo', and for a price I just couldn't refuse. It really has opened my eyes to a world I barely knew existed. Neat instruments, even neater sounds, and some extremely nice people.

...and I see in J.Hayes someone of similar vintage ....... :wink:

I have now realised that the guitar players of my generation don't need to just all fade away .... we can take up the steel guitar! Heck, we even get to sit down on the job.

This, hopefully, is going to be a lot of fun .... even if I never get off first base in the players category ... I will simply enjoy messing around with the inner workings of this guitar, bringing the amp up to modern safety code, and just a'fixin her up. (I've already found spiders that were previously thought to be extinct).

BTW, no offence intended to you younger players. I wish I had found this rig much earlier.

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l48/tonyjp/IMGC530_1701-1.jpg

Thank you everybody!!!

It's never too late, is it tonyj? I feel fortunate to have discovered the steel when I did. I figure I got 30 or 40 good years to push the bar, the Gods willing.

Here I am, playing my humble '72 MSA SemiClassic...

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/421711_4505684840013_1381870878_n.jpg

I've been playing for about 15 years and I'm still not that good. But I'm one of maybe three psg players on Long Island, so I guess that puts me in the top 3 here. :grin:

- D

as we're of "similar vintage" don't forget that the people who used to come and watch us play and are also of our vintage don't give a crap about what's going on musically today and still long to see live music of the kind they used to go to the clubs and concerts to see. Today I play a lot for the "blue hair set" and really enjoy it as they love what we offer, and you can still get away with doing instrumentals on your sets............ JH in Va.

The music I like is from the 50's and 60's mostly. I've been playing about 3 1/2 months but may be good enought o fake my way into a band. There's one playing the local Veteran's Halls and got word from someone that I woul be a good fit. They play to a lot of people that are quite a bit older than myself. I'll feel like a kid.

just for the hell of it....
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...and I see in J.Hayes someone of similar vintage ....... :wink:

Hey! Who am I, the kid brother?! :razz: I assure you, my beard is every bit as silver as Dan Tyack's and Orville Johnson's!

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I realize this thread was prompted by Dan's (no longer quite) new Jackson pedal steel, and I've bordered on hijacking by posting so many clips of non-pedal players. The truth is, most of the pedal steel players I'm hearing these days sounds like either Nashville (which all sounds pretty much the same to me-- all volume pedal, all reverb, all the time) or sacred steel (which all sounds pretty much the same to me-- all saturated distortion, all the time). I certainly mean no disrespect, and many of them play superbly. But most pedal steelers stay so carefully within the bounds of their respective traditions that I don't hear the individual's own personality.

Dan Tyack is a glowing exception, whose playing couldn't possibly be mistaken for anyone else's, whether he's playing blues or baroque.

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Doug Livingston, who played the "backing track" in the clip above, is one of those musicians whom they just don't get no better than. Here he plays keys with Tyack:

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One more clip from the same show, just to help me make a point:

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Chuck Back, who played guitar in this clip, is a very strong pedal steel player, who also builds Desert Rose pedal steels, including the instrument Tyack plays in these clips. Stu Shulman, who played guitar in the previous clip, is also a very strong steel player. And Orville Johnson, who played bottleneck guitar in the first clip, is actually best known as a monster dobro player, who also burns on a lap steel. Most of these artists are fairly well represented on YouTube, if you're inclined to dig deeper.

One more: Doug Livingston, without pedals (sorry, Dan, just can't help m'self...):

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I have now realised that the guitar players of my generation don't need to just all fade away .... we can take up the steel guitar!

As I hinted (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/other-guitars-other-instruments/337269-steel-guitar-thread.html#post4290302) in my first post in this thread, my steel guitars have saved my musical life from annihilation by arthritis.


This, hopefully, is going to be a lot of fun .... even if I never get off first base in the players category ...

Based upon my own recent experience, I'm confident that you'll pleasantly surprise yourself with your playing. While we may lack the disgusting quickness of mental and motor skills we might have had in our younger days, we no-longer-youthful have the patience we perforce acquired over decades of butting our heads against the fact that we have to work for everything we achieve, and the freedom that comes with realizing we have absolutely no one to please but ourselves.

When I returned to steel guitars again in the spring of 2010, to a great extent I was starting from scratch. Yeah, I'd started playing steel 35 years previously, and had done it for what I laughingly called my living for nearly ten years. But I had always played steel in the context of a band which included at least one accompanying instrument. My initial goal at the time was to develop steel guitar accompaniments for songs I had written, and to be able to sing and play those songs at the same time-- a completely different proposition, and a rather daunting one. My initial efforts sounded every bit as horrible as I expected they would, but over the course of a year I made astonishing progress.

You know the old light bulb joke... ("How many guitarists does it take to change a light bulb?" "All of them; one to change the bulb, and the rest to say, 'I could do that!'") Well, I was never secure enough in my musical ability to say that about most musicians. But I have to confess that John Fahey's steel guitar playing has always made my skin crawl, and not in a good way.

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I have the utmost respect for Fahey's accomplishments in demonstrating both the capability of solo steel-string acoustic guitar and the extent of its audience. Thanks to the Internet in general and YouTube in particular, I've been able to study Fahey, possibly to the point of obsession, in an effort to understand why I react so negatively to what he did with that Kona. The sheer number of covers of Fahey's steel tunes on YouTube made it clear to me that there was something appealing therein, but I didn't (and still don't) know what it is. Perhaps their simplicity and the sloppiness of his execution made people realize, "I could do that! I could do better than that!"

I realized that I could, in fact, do better than that, if only by my own standards. Beginning on May 31, 2011, I started perpetrating (perhaps "composing" would be pretentious) my own solo acoustic steel instrumentals. I just counted them for the first time, and was surprised to discover that I've come up with a dozen of them in a year and a half, with ideas for more of them simmering on the back burner. I played through them all this morning, and realized that they're all just about ready for prime time. I really need to do something about overcoming the recording bottleneck. (In fifteen years of gigging, I rarely had a problem with stage fright. But I've never overcome Red Light Paralysis, even when I'm all alone with the recorder.)

Please forgive the verbosity; I'm still high from playing those tunes. :mrgreen:

BTW, no offence intended to you younger players.

None taken, Dad. :razz:

Hey! Who am I, the kid brother?!

Posted by tonyj;
BTW, no offence intended to you younger players.

Posted by syrynx;
None taken, Dad. :razz:

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

You guys are just great!!!

I learned to play guitar on this 38 years ago, after I stepped up from the Uke there. My grandfather's ( now mine) Old Kraftsman. What a treasure. From the 1930's.

Never played it slide though.

Hey, fellow steel players... How're we ever gonna make this an Epic Thread if we don't post more frequently?

I'm moved to post by Doug 54's 6 String Lap Steel Players- cool tuning!! (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/other-guitars-other-instruments/375107-6-string-lap-steel-players-cool-tuning.html) thread, which brought to my attention the fascinating work of Paul Lacques in the all-instrumental band Double Naught Spy Car. I posted several YouTube clips in Doug's thread, but here's another, just for this one.

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The left-handed Lacques reminded me of another southpaw, Kevin Macneil Brown, whose name I misspelled in a previous post in this thread. :oops: Here's Kevin playing an original tune in a band on his right-hand-strung Fender.

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I only recently became aware of KMB's band work. I first discovered him as a creator of soundscapes to accompany his visual landscapes, both painted and photographic.

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Of this piece, KMB wrote on his blog (http://www.kmbliminal.blogspot.com/2012/09/in-october-mist-begin-journey-music-for.html),

A new composition, made today, on a rainy autumn morning. I recorded in one take on a triple-neck steel guitar, playing across all three necks (C6, A6, E13). Afterward, I spent an hour processing the recording, until I had a sound painting that conveyed the energies I wanted to express. -KMB, 9/30/12

I envy people who can work so quickly! Until I read that this morning, I was feeling pretty good about coming up with two new steel instrumentals of my own since my last post in this thread, nearly two months ago. :mrgreen:

In other news, NBD (New Bar Day) for me this week. I use bullet bars on my eight string Fenders, but I've found that the Shubb-Pearse SP-2 works better for me for the stuff I'm doing on six string acoustics. The chrome plating on my original brass SP-2 is wearing away from the gripping surfaces, and the playing surfaces have acquired fine scoring from the strings, which the strings, in turn, find exciting. :rolleyes: A gift card enabled my guilt-free acquisition of the new stainless steel version of the SP-2. There are small, subtle differences between the stainless and plated brass iterations:

- The stainless bar is longer than the brass one (probably by about 2 mm, but I didn't measure) and lighter (154 grams vs. 161).

- The sharp edges of the ridges that form the finger groove atop the bar are now flared outward rather than upward.

None of the changes in shape made any significant sonic or tactile difference to me, except that the new one may prove to be slightly more comfortable over a long session.

I did notice, after only an hour or so on the new stainless bar, that the playing surface already bore marks from the strings, suggesting that the stainless steel may be no harder than the chrome plating on the brass. I hope it doesn't become as noisy as quickly as the old version did.

So, what's up with y'all? Or are you too busy playing your steels to post? :razz:

I too have recently been bitten by the steel bug. Just scored a '59 Fender Champ lap steel to go with my Princeton from the same year. Addictive for sure. Mahalo!
http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt341/zenlander_q/DSCI0388.jpg

I too have recently been bitten by the steel bug. Just scored a '59 Fender Champ lap steel to go with my Princeton from the same year. Addictive for sure. Mahalo!


Very nice.

I play my 58' Airline through my 58' Gibsonette.

There are no words to desribe how wonderful they sound together.

Teddy, congratulations! Both the Champ and its case look practically new.

Appreciate bringing this thread up again!

Here's a couple tunes from about ten years ago. The first is by Tommy Sche'. He hired me to play pedal steel on his cd, wanting to give it a Country Rock sound. Everyone was heading out for lunch, but Tommy played the next song for me. Wanted me to play with this long drum intro. I knew Pedal steel wasn't right, so while they pigged out, I ran to a store and bought a nut riser, and slapped it on the studio's acoustic. The tuning was a problem, as the song was in E, but went between E and D a lot. If I put the guitar in E, I'd have to play the D at the 10th fret. Too big a jump. So I put the low three strings in D tuning, E chord on the 2nd fret. Put the three high strings in G tuning, which is also Em7th, and good for licks in E. They came back from lunch just as I'd finished tuning. Never played a note in this hybrid tuning. I told them to roll, but record me, in case they heard anything they'd like me to work on. This is that experimental track. They refused to let me do another. I'm not happy with it, but it was Tommy's money, not mine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ100pj82Po

Here's another bit, me in the intro and outro, power chords throughout on my Monkey Ward Rocket. With melodic metal master Neil Zaza. I'm so glad I took more than my pedal steel to these sessions!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAY1WKouT18&playnext=1&list=PL0A8A00CFEBF8F92D&feature=results_video

Great stuff there! I especially liked the acoustic work on the first clip.... You make the SGF and the TDPRI proud...........JH in Va.

Thanks Jerry!
From you,,,, that means a lot to me.

http://i798.photobucket.com/albums/yy264/stringpull1/DSC_0504-2.jpg

Purpletele & Syrynx: Thanks! :lol: Actually, the covering on the Princeton has been relic'd the old fashioned way. It sounds fantastic, so I'm not surprised that it was played a lot. Currently wrestling with a G6 tuning and slanting/dropping the Stevens bar. I haven't felt this combination of excitement and fumbling uncertainty since I began on guitar lo those years ago.

http://i798.photobucket.com/albums/yy264/stringpull1/DSC_0504-2.jpg

Junior Brown! Is that you? I haven't seen you since I moved from Austin! :mrgreen:

I play my 58' Airline through my 58' Gibsonette.

There are no words to desribe how wonderful they sound together.

I'd surely love to hear the combination!

This is that experimental track. They refused to let me do another. I'm not happy with it, but it was Tommy's money, not mine.

He got his money's worth! If you'd had more time to work on it, you probably would have come up with something you liked better, but what you played perfectly established the mood for the song. Sounds splendid to me, and so does the Rocket on the Zaza tune. Thanks very much for sharing!

self basting guit steel

OK, but is it self-bending? I don't see any hubs... :razz:

Beautiful work; thanks for the look. (Sure would love a listen...)

Currently wrestling with a G6 tuning and slanting/dropping the Stevens bar.

I agree with the old saying that it's a poor workman who blames his tools, but the right tool can certainly make the work easier. I can't use just one bar; the Shubb SP-2 works wonderfully for what I'm attempting on my acoustic six-strings, but can't hold a candle to my Dunlop 919 on the Deluxe 8.

You may find it worth your time to check out the best lap steel slide (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/other-guitars-other-instruments/328944-best-lap-steel-slide.html) thread here, and the Modified Stevens bar (http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=179531) thread at SGF for some ideas.

@ J. Hayes: Happy birthday, and hope you're slidin' and bendin' 'round these parts for many more years.

@ Doug 54: Thanks again for turning me on to the playing of Paul Lacques; what an inspired and inspiring player! Check out this clip:

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I don't think that's the A-C-D-G#-B-D tuning you posted about (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/other-guitars-other-instruments/375107-6-string-lap-steel-players-cool-tuning.html); it sounds to me like he dropped the G# to G. I've more thoughts about his tunings, but I'll post 'em in your thread.

Don Rooke is another player who inspires me:

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Kids, don't try this at home in G-B-D-G-B-D without replacing the low G string with an A tuned between the second and third strings.

I'm afraid all of my non-pedal posts may have scared tele salivas away from his own thread. Dan, please come back! (Or maybe you're now too busy playing in the veterans' halls to post?)

Anyway, there's pedal steel in each of these clips. Again, I'm indebted to Doug 54 for bringing Paul Lacques to my attention. In the Premier Guitar interview, Lacques cited King Sunny Ade as one of his influences. That reminded me of Demola Adepoju, who played pedal steel (reportedly barefooted, and definitely without a volume pedal) on Ade's records, and also on the title track of Paul Simon's Graceland album.

Here's an audio-only clup from Demola Adepoju's sole solo album.

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Audio-only again, with Stephen Jay.

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Audio-only again with Jann Browne. This is a triple-slide treat; in addition to Adepoju's pedal steel, Steve Fishell plays an acoustic Hawai'ian steel, and Mike Henderson plays electric slide guitar)

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In keeping with the no-volume-pedal theme (the ony way I've ever played), here's Zane King playing a 6 string 4 pedal standup Jackson.

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