The Steel Guitar Forum

Thanks so much, guys! I'll follow up on all your suggestions. I just finished re-rodding my Williams, whew; good thing I'm mechanically adept, and kudos to Williams for making changes pretty easy.

I'm converting my Williams U-12 to extended E9 from standard U12. At 76 years old I'll be lucky to get on top of E9 much less try to dive into B6. My question is finding string sets for the Extended E9: I found a set on Amazon from SGN: GHS custom set. I'd like to contact SGN to order several sets a...

Thanks Steve and Len! I've printed out all these great posts so I can experiment with your ideas. Moving the G#s to Gs on the LKV fortunately doesn't require a lot of pressure, so it's okay in that regard. The hardest part was learning to point my left toe as I raised my knee so that I could keep it...

I'm relatively new to PSG (less than 5 years) but have 35 years pro audio experience behind me so know a bit about audio. I'd say the biggest factor in the effect of a bar on the PSG sound is its mass: the heavier it is, the more sustain you will get and the less upper harmonics ("flavor" ...

Thanks so much for your comments, lotsa points to chew on. I've changed some pulls on my Willy a few times so have no problems experimenting with it mechanically. I think I'll hook up the C# pull on my "C" pedal and play around with that a while. I need to get more familiar with the "...

Hi y'all, so great to be back in the steel saddle again after losing more than a year to health problems. PSG is a huge joy for me, and a joyous anti-Alzheimer's regimen for this 70-year-old (never too late to start PSG, right?) So I took many months of research a few years ago, with huge help from ...

Wow this forum is SO great, thanks for the valuable input, guys! There aren't many steel players in Washington state so this forum is a lifesaver. Thanks a heap: I'll chase down all your suggestions.

A good pedal steel sound needs an exceptionally good reverb on it when called for, especially in the upper registers. I've tried a couple of Alesis digital versions and am underwhelmed. Anyone have recommendations on a good reverb, preferably with a pedal switch on it? I'm pretty new at this, so any...

This beautiful guitar and a treasure of spare parts sold and shipped today. Thanks for your interest, everyone!

This gorgeous Sierra served me well but became too heavy for this post-back-surgery-69-year-old gal to lug around. Very smooth action, precise tuning, very stable in all respects. It is in very good condition, with just a few nicks on the pedal bar (the scars of playing live). Folding leg mechanisms...

You're right, Tony: banjer. Had a Stelling for years, great tone. My PSG is sitting on a 1/2" plywood pad I made for it, sitting on top of the W2W carpeting; the routed cutout lets my stool legs sit level on the carpet. A thread on this forum warned about playing on carpet and were they right! ...

How I empathize with you, Jason! I tried for WEEKS to make my right palm and extended pinkie flatten onto the strings AND be able to pick them, and there is just NO WAY my physiology allows this! My hand just won't do it, period, because of its shape. (Been fingerpicking guitar since 1964.) I didn't...

Bless you gentlemen!! I know a lady isn't supposed to reveal her true age, but I was indeed born in 1947. I divulged this info because A) I'm proud to be a senior and B) to prove it's never too late to start learning pedal steel. (Hair coloring and lucky genes help, too!) I play 5-string banjo, 6/12...

After just a few months of diving into pedal steel at age 65, and falling totally in love with it, on this forum's recommendation I decided to switch from E9-10 to U-12 keyless. I was fearing a new hurdle with 2 more strings, but found the tuning actually easier to play! So fear not, any fellow newb...

Joe: I had the same problem with my new guitar's front legs, extended down about 1/8"+ from full short, slipping up and throwing the pedal angles too low. I couldn't get the leg adjusters tight enough to hold the position (I"m not weak). Solution: I bought two 3/16" thick rubber O-rin...

Thanks, guys: you're the best! I jumped on that thread, John, and found it very interesting indeed, especially Zane's comments about pedal "ABC" nomenclature. Of interesting note, I was able to duplicate Hughey's "Look At Us" entire accompaniment--note for note--without the C# wi...

Oops: I misread my own scribble! The P4 B to C-natural combined with (in my case) LKR E to F gives me an F minor (not with the P2 as mistakenly noted above).

Thanks for pointing that out, Lane, (I'm too new at this) and thanks for your response: duly noted!

After just a couple of weeks on an old Sierra E9, I fell madly in love with pedal steel!! Being 65 I know I need to learn it right the first time, so after polling this forum decided to learn on universal tuning. Thanks to b0b's links to manufacturers and copedents, I did a fair bit of research so t...

Sorry, I've been off the Emmons E9 setup for a while and goofed up the pedal names above. Should read releasing the BC pedals and engaging the A pedal for a minor inversion slide. Some would comment that I'm substituting copedent for skill, and there would be some truth in that. Then again, sometime...

I'm no expert either, by a long shot; but I've never been happy with having to release the C pedal and re-engage the AB during a smooth slide up a minor inversion. The sounds we want often drive us to seek new copedents to get these, so I changed my copedent. Now I can slide smooth and sonically par...

Thanks so much, gentlemen: good advice, all. I will have Bill Rudolph install his recommendation on the guitar, AND pursue the Telonics as a second option to have on hand to experiment with (I checked the Telonics site, Lane, and was quite intrigued; just got my Telonics volume pedal and will try th...

I just placed a deposit on a Williams S12U: excited doesn't begin to describe! At 65 yrs old, I'm divin' into universal: yeehaa! There are scads of pickup options, and I have no experience in these. I like a VERY sweet sound, lots of high harmonics, and (of course) scads of sustain up in "Hughe...

After a 20+ year hiatus from PSG, I'm diving back in and replacing my lovely old Sierra 2 raise/lower with a new guitar. I've done a TON of research on line but nothing speaks like the experience of users. In the final running are the Jackson Blackjack Custom, Williams, and GFI. I'm partial to the w...

I'm not talking of a blocking resistor, Lane, that wouldn't make sense I agree. I'm taking a signal mixing approach instead. I'm going to build up a passive version this week and try it out. I'll let you know the results and describe the signal path. BTW Bobbe Seymour's site sells the smaller diamet...

As a retired pro audio mfg gal, my opinion is that it is a design shortcoming that doesn't allow the pot to make its full swing on these pedals. Lane is right, making the brass collar smaller increases the pot swing (smaller trailer wheels turn more times per mile!). If I were to design a passive vo...