The Steel Guitar Forum

Dang, you gotta be real quick to snag a seat ‘round these parts!

Is the pictured Tone Block included in this sale?

I’m speaking out of turn here as someone who’s still a relative noob when it comes to pedal steel in general. That said, I’ve had quite a bit of experience with running lap steel through various distortion/fuzz pedals, and my preference has tended to be Big Muff-style stompboxes for that sound. Obvi...

Thanks all — ToneBlock 202 (with that sweet case) sure looks like a no-brainer! I’m savin’ up my pennies…

The nice thing about the Tone Block is that it is intended to be 'convertible' -- it can be quickly installed into a dedicated Quilter cabinet to create a one-piece combo amp or quickly removed and carried as a head. My gigging experience, on the low end, the dive bar end, makes not carrying a full...

Thanks for excellent suggestions, everyone (and hi, Doug!) The solution that seems the most versatile does appear to be a Quilter Tone Block / Travis Toy (or equivalent), that way I could potentially just use the Tone Block for a gig where I can't lug an amp. I'm pretty new to the idea of something ...

Hi all, I'm still pretty new to pedal steel (just under a year into learning the instrument), but I'm no stranger to gigging, and have been feeling the itch to start playing out on my psg. However, I live in NYC, which means that I usually transport gear to a show via the subway. Occasionally I'll t...

Hi John,

I’d love to take this off your hands. Sending PM.

Rob

PM sent

PM sent

Thank you all for the great suggestions. I know pedal steel is a very specific instrument, and while most of my instruments have been purchased used, I've gathered that can be a different ball of wax with a psg. I think I'm going to hold out for a Zum Encore, or possibly a Stage One unless there's a...

Stu Schulman wrote:Rob,Where in New Yawk is You?

Hey Stu, I’m in Manhattan.

Hi all, I hate to be that guy who does a "what should I buy?" post, but this forum is too good a resource not to poll you fine folks. I'm a professional multi-instrumentalist...mainly guitar and mandolin, but I play a decent amount of banjo and lap steel, and picked up dobro recently. My G...

Thanks to everyone who chimed in; I've decided to go with a new build from Tom Warner. Thanks all, and stay safe!

Whoops, I feel like a doofus! Noted on the R-type body shape. Greg, thanks for mentioning the Recording King. I recently bought a Recording King roundneck tricone, and I feel kind of so-so about it. As such, the Leadbetter hasn’t been on my mind as much. I’ll admit that I probably shouldn’t ho...

Beautiful playing, Jim! Strangely, I've been practicing this tune in C6 myself lately, but it sounds like I've got some work to do to keep up with your version!

Doug, thanks for the feedback! I didn't realize most of the Beards are built to order, that's good to know. And I've definitely also heard that Beard setups are essential for the Gold Tones, and I wouldn't consider getting one that didn't have a setup from Beard. A Beard R for $800?! That's wild. Ch...

An option I hadn't considered until now is the Beard Copper Mountain. It's not as aesthetically pleasing to me as something like the Deco Phonics models, but with a Lollar pickup and maybe a Fishman too, it would have a lot of tonal options. Does anyone here have experience with the Copper Mountain ...

@Howard - amazing, thanks so much for the info! ‘Tis much appreciated.

@Lance - yes, that's the same Tom Warner guitar I saw on the ResoHangout classifieds. Definitely a contender... @Douglas - thanks, that's exactly the closest thing to a scientific approach that I needed! After a cursory viewing of a slew of Mike Witcher and Josh Swift videos, I definitely prefer the...

Thanks again all! Good to know birch is a common tonewood in dobros.

Thanks for the feedback so far. I did find this used Warner dobro on the ResoHangout: https://www.resohangout.com/classified/10831

Not sure how birch fares as a tonewood...

Hi all, I know there have been a few posts like this over the years, but hopefully the difference in timeline and specifics can justify this one. I play guitar (a lot of slide, in open tunings), lap steel in C6, as well as mandolin and banjo. Lately I've been listening to a lot of country and bluegr...

I think I can picture the style of band and I'd say lap steel will fit in perfectly. Certainly for the Hank and Patsy stuff I'd prefer lap steel (as on the originals) and although most of the others used pedal steel, they are definitely "old school" in spirit. The more modern artists you ...

Really, you are asking 2 questions: Can a lap steel be used in country muslc? Can a lap steel sound like a pedal steel? The first question is a resounding yes. The second is yes, to a certain extent and with a lot of work. I would say it works fine in its own right. It doesn't need to sound like a ...