The Steel Guitar Forum

I have 24" Stringmaster and several 22 1/2" Supros. I play them both, but for me, the shorter scale is more comfortable, especially for slanting.

You will likely find more double-eights for sale than double-sixes. If I had a double-six I'd tune one neck to G (like a dobro) and the other neck to C6 and that might be enough for your purposes.

I tried the blend knob (piezo and magnetic) setup on several resonator guitars, and the two pickup types do not like each other, do not blend well electronically. Ended up with two separate volume knobs and a tone knob for the magnetic, two separate 1/4" jacks. Mix externally with two-channel a...

Seems to me there is one big difference to deal with, using a six-string E tuning for your purpose, and that is that a pedal guitar has the 5th and 6th on one string, while many of the interesting non-pedal E tunings have the 5th and 6th on adjacent strings. Suggestion 1: Tune your six-string to A6,...

May not be the most up-to-date method, but the old Baptist hymnals have harmonies written with the same harmony intervals, in standard notation. SATB = Soprano melody on top, alto and tenor below.

For me, it's important that that capo is fairly well matched to the fretboard radius, to keep even pressure across the fingerboard. And that the capo has a tension adjustment for overall pressure on the strings.. Depending on the guitar, Shubb (adjustable) or Paige capos work for me. I have had bad ...

It might be helpful to do some field research. Drop in to the venues that you plan to play, when other folks are performing, and see what they're using. Many solo gigs can be covered with a small amp. I have good results with a Fishman LoudBox Mini. One channel for instrument, one channel for vocal ...

I will occasionally retune from open D to D6 by raising the second string from A up to B.

If you're going to spend that much or more on an instrument, it would be beneficial to plan a trip to a well-stocked steel guitar store and test-drive as many different guitars as possible. You may find that one particular design just feel right for your personal ergonomics. Without naming names, I ...

Me, too. I can't get all those bends on my Stringmaster, maybe practice harder?

I saw him play last year here in Columbia, MO and had a chance to ask him. He told me: standard C6 gauge and really strong hands for all the bending. His handshake demonstrated the strong grip as well.

I use it on the front neck of my Stringmaster, with Leon's E13 on the back neck. Covers a lot of ground for all kinds of "Americana" styles.

The cast-metal Grover extension nuts are pretty hard to beat for an inexpensive conversion.

Moyo. Small enough that it might fit in your case, built like a tank.

I've used a MicroPro 8 (first generation) for acoustic guitar, mandolin, and Dobro with good results. The 8" speaker is a Celestion high-wattage PA-type speaker that adds very little coloration, which is a good thing. Using channel one with the XLR input for the cleanest sound, channel two if y...

I have a very similar guitar, set up with four knee levers. When I bought it, the E changes were already on the left, and the knee levers didn't seem to be quite right. I'm no steel mechanic, so I sent it to Ricky Davis for an overhaul. What I learned: Because of the one-up-one-down changer and the ...

A wood-bodied square-neck spider-cone Dobro from the 1930's.

I started out on a Dobro, and a shaped bar feels better in my hand than a round bar. My hands are not huge, I like the large size and weight of the Shubb RR2 Robert Randolph bar.

I don't care for an active pedal. I bought a MOYO as a backup for my old Sho-Bud pedal. Not long after, I put the Sho-Bud on the shelf, bought another MOYO to back up my MOYO.

Not had strings on it for 20 years? I'd tune it up loosely, where the strings are not rattling but maybe not up to concert pitch. Take a look at the neck joint, look for any bellying at the bridge or other distortions, let it get used to string tension. And then proceed. There are lots of gentle hum...

I owned a Johnson (import) square neck Tri-cone for a while. I used Dobro-gauge strings with no apparent problems. 0.015 or 0.016" for the high D string

National "Revolution" biscuit and five bridge saddles, made of different woods. Four of the saddles are unused. The maple saddle has been sanded so that it's not so tall, to fit a particular guitar. Note that the intonated bridge saddles are a bit too wide to fit through the hole in an imp...

Price adjusted. Lowered to $550

Both bridges are sold!

Quilter MicroPro Mach 2.0 head only. Lightweight, powerful, many tone-shaping features. Very useful if you play guitar for one gig, pedal steel or lap steel on another night. Includes carrying bag and foot-switch remote. Your choice of old six-button remote or newer assignable two-button remote. I h...