Members FretFiend. Posted July 22, 2012 Members Share Posted July 22, 2012 Anybody here own/play one? I'm curious. I saw a few basic videos about them, but that just made me more curious.Not too many of those suckers for sale on ebay either. So somebody school me.They are mostly played with a slide and finger/thumb picks I think.They usually have ten strings, I think.The strings are tuned to a fairly standard (but seemingly strange) pattern, I think.The pedals somehow change this tuning, I think.Some have levers. What's that? What do they do? A few of the basic "how-tos" on Youtube make playing the things look fairly straightforward, but I'm betting they are a lot harder to play than these guys make it look. Right? I don't suppose any experience with a slide dobro would help any would it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted July 22, 2012 Members Share Posted July 22, 2012 Anybody here own/play one? I'm curious. I saw a few basic videos about them, but that just made me more curious. Not too many of those suckers for sale on ebay either. So somebody school me. They are mostly played with a slide and finger/thumb picks I think. Pretty much, yeah They usually have ten strings, I think. Eight to sixteen, but a lot of starter models have 10, which is a pretty popular configuration The strings are tuned to a fairly standard (but seemingly strange) pattern, I think. C6 and E9 are common tunings, but most pedfal steelers have their own variation on these two tunings The pedals somehow change this tuning, I think. Correct, along with knee levers...set to raise and/or lower given strings a 1/2 or whole step. Some have levers. What's that? What do they do? Same as pedals - altering pitch. A few of the basic "how-tos" on Youtube make playing the things look fairly straightforward, but I'm betting they are a lot harder to play than these guys make it look. Right? Somewhat, but if you put in the hyours, it's doable...I find it easier to play than a piano I don't suppose any experience with a slide dobro would help any would it? Absolutely does...that's half of playing pedal steel already! Look for a used MSA...good instruments for reasonable prices, and if you get offered a double-neck for not much more than a single, grab it, and learn both C6 AND E9...it'll be worth it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Opa John Posted July 22, 2012 Members Share Posted July 22, 2012 I can understand the curiosity. It's another musical instrument, the playing of which is quickly becoming a lost art. Those are just my thoughts since I don't know a thing about 'em. I was totally engrossed in a recent episode of "Pawn Stars" when a lady brought in a double neck "SHO-BUD" pedal steel that looked to be in pristine condition. The offer they made her sounded low as hell to me (I think they offered her something like $1500), so she didn't pawn it. Said she felt she could get a lot more from the right person. It looked like this one. [video=youtube;SI_j7yVR-q8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=SI_j7yVR-q8#t=30s And, in addition to lots of strings to change from time to time, these things have lots of other moving parts that could keep a person busy too. [video=youtube;eAR0vnejBD8] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lz4005 Posted July 23, 2012 Members Share Posted July 23, 2012 I don't suppose any experience with a slide dobro would help any would it? Definitely. Any experience playing what is effectively a fretless (or one giant moveable fret) instrument will help with pedal steel. Good pedal steel players are sort of like monks. They spend a lot of time alone in deep concentration with their instruments. Check out Robert Randolph if you haven't already. He's the current star of the St Louis sacred steel style. Very different from traditional country pedal steel playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluzboy Posted July 23, 2012 Members Share Posted July 23, 2012 My friend, who's a decent guitarist, tried for a year or two to learn it. Said it was too hard and gave up in disgust. That's about as close as I've come. There's a fellow who often posts in HCPP whose pedal playing is incredible. I don't know how much he plays these days, however, as he's been having a real rough time with tinnitus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chicken Monkey Posted July 23, 2012 Members Share Posted July 23, 2012 I've got a pedal steel player in my band. I've built and taught myself to play an 8-string lap steel in E7 tuning (the lower 8 strings of e9 tuning, without the fairly wonky Eb and F strings). No pedals, but I can do some behind-the-bar bending to simulate some of those sounds. It's been a good foundation, to the point that I'm able to teach my pedal steel player some approaches to the weirder chords we're playing. I've got to get my volume pedal skills up (very hard to work a volume pedal while playing a guitar on your lap ), but I feel like I could transition to some rudimentary steel work if we lost our steel player and I found a deal on one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rekel Posted July 23, 2012 Members Share Posted July 23, 2012 Anybody here own/play one? I do. I'm curious. I saw a few basic videos about them, but that just made me more curious. Not too many of those suckers for sale on ebay either. So somebody school me. They are mostly played with a slide and finger/thumb picks I think. Correct. Although the slide is called a bar. Most common is a thumbpick and 2 finger picks although there are a few players who use 3 fingerpicks. They usually have ten strings, I think. 10 strings is standard for the E9th and C6 neck. There are also single neck 12 string steels which combine a E9/B6 tuning into a so-called "Universal Tuning". There are even 14 strings steels but they are rare. The strings are tuned to a fairly standard (but seemingly strange) pattern, I think. The pedals somehow change this tuning, I think. Some have levers. What's that? What do they do? The setup of a steel is called a copedent (stands for "ChOrd PEDal arrangemENT"). Below is a copedent for a basic, standard E9th ("Nashville") tuning with 3 pedals and 4 knee levers: "LKL" means Left Knee Left/ "RKR" means Right Knee Right, etc A few of the basic "how-tos" on Youtube make playing the things look fairly straightforward, but I'm betting they are a lot harder to play than these guys make it look. Right? It's a lot harder than it looks. A pedal steel guitar is one the most difficult instruments to master and it takes years of practise to get an understanding of its vast possibilities. Especially if you get into a double neck E9th/C6th with e.g. 9 pedals and 6 knee levers BTW, this Wiki page has a few examples of different copedents for E9th, C6th and Universal Tuning: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copedent Remember that many players have their own individual variations on these setups. And of course, as already mentioned, there is the sacred steel tuning (by e.g. Robert Randolph). Here's a short write up on that one: http://b0b.com/tunings/sacredsteel.html I don't suppose any experience with a slide dobro would help any would it? Yes, playing Dobro would help since you're already used to using finger picks and a slide but that's where any simularity with a pedal steel guitar stops. An excellent resource and forum for pedal (and non-pedal) steel guitar is http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/index.php If you're considering getting one (single neck E9th with 3 pedals and 4 knee levers), I would recommend looking into a (used) Stage One: http://www.stageonesteelguitars.com/home These steels were originally made by Bruce Zumsteg of Zumsteel (I still have and use one) but are now manufactured by Doug Earnest. Don't let the low price and the fact that people refer to them as "student models" fool you. These are great sounding, well playing instruments used by quite a few pros. They are also very lightweight and thus easy to travel with, especially on e.g. airplanes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted July 24, 2012 Members Share Posted July 24, 2012 Wow, Rekel, incredible amount of information. Makes me more in awe of people I see playing them. Here is a stickie from the slide subforum at UMGF http://theunofficialmartinguitarforum.yuku.com/topic/90128/Tips-for-the-New-Pedal-Steel-Player My only experience is that I noodle around on lap style dobro and weissenborn, and briefly owned a lap steel (getting a jones to build one). One of the best resources for that style is Brad's page of steel, he does have links to a few pedal steel sites http://www.well.com/~wellvis/steel.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pine Apple Slim Posted July 24, 2012 Members Share Posted July 24, 2012 Good pedal steel players are sort of like monks. They spend a lot of time alone in deep concentration with their instruments. Yep. I love the sound, but realize I could never get there.If I ever decide to forsake all and become a hermit for a year or 2, I'm gonna go for it on the fiddle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chicken Monkey Posted July 24, 2012 Members Share Posted July 24, 2012 (getting a jones to build one) Having built a lap steel or two, I can't imagine trying to build one knowing how to actually build a guitar. You can dress it up all you want, but the recipe is always pretty much 2x4 + tuners + pickup = lapsteel. Mine uses threaded rod for the bridge and nut, even. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DunedinDoug Posted July 26, 2012 Members Share Posted July 26, 2012 Rusty Young plays a style of pedal steel that really hits home with me. [video=youtube;JIPEhwNfY8M] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted July 26, 2012 Members Share Posted July 26, 2012 My friend, who's a decent guitarist, tried for a year or two to learn it. Said it was too hard and gave up in disgust. That's about as close as I've come.There's a fellow who often posts in HCPP whose pedal playing is incredible. I don't know how much he plays these days, however, as he's been having a real rough time with tinnitus. Bob is VERY good on pedal steel...hopefully his tinnitus will improve to where he can play publicly again.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FretFiend. Posted July 26, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 26, 2012 That pedal steel and/or its amplifiers is probably what caused the tinnitus in the first place. That's a very common malady among modern musicians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rekel Posted July 27, 2012 Members Share Posted July 27, 2012 Wow, Rekel, incredible amount of information. Makes me more in awe of people I see playing them. Here is a stickie from the slide subforum at UMGFhttp://theunofficialmartinguitarforum.yuku.com/topic/90128/Tips-for-the-New-Pedal-Steel-PlayerMy only experience is that I noodle around on lap style dobro and weissenborn, and briefly owned a lap steel (getting a jones to build one). One of the best resources for that style is Brad's page of steel, he does have links to a few pedal steel siteshttp://www.well.com/~wellvis/steel.html You are more than welcome, Freeman. And thanks for the links you posted, especially the one from the Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum. I wasn't even aware of that one. Steve knows what he's talking about. Cheers, again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted July 28, 2012 Members Share Posted July 28, 2012 That pedal steel and/or its amplifiers is probably what caused the tinnitus in the first place. That's a very common malady among modern musicians. Too loud band members, as I recall...small amps, mic'd into the PA, is how I avoid tinnitus. Biggest problem is finding a drummer who is also a musician...many have no conception of dynamics, so everyone else has to turn up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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