The Steel Guitar Forum

Just wanted bump this one up in case somebody might want to hear it.

Thanks for all the nice words. This might be one of the first recordings I've done pickless. I've been playing that way a lot lately.

There are only a few players I know of who know the tuning well enough to ever create instructional material for this tuning, and they are not likely to do so. When someone really knows a tuning, they know all these little secrets that mostly get overlooked by people. It’s just about spending as muc...

You received an amazing compliment from one of the best steel players who ever lived because you deserved it.

Nice job Paolo!

I always played that in C6 with the E lowered to D, essentially the same as you. It's really the only way to play it uptempo.

I think Doug Beaumier has figured it out really well that the lap steel or non-pedal steel guitar is an excellent instrument for melody and countermelody playing, without the need to cover a lot of chordal ground with big chords, but to use it sparingly to add colors and orchestration to music. Peop...

Well, Sacred Steel was certainly a departure from traditional hawaiian steel. And also seems to be thriving based on the recent florida Sacred Steel convection. True but I would still consider Sacred Steel to be a tradition. I think most of the rock and blues oriented playing is coming from that we...

One of the only places I've really seen a complete break from the past traditions of Hawaiian guitar is in Hindustani and Carnatic music. The instrument needs dedicated players who are serious musicians untethered to playing in traditional styles. It's absolutely crazy that Cumquat Records literally...

Deepest condolences, Larry. I can’t imagine what you’re going through.

After years of playing 8 string tunings, I have reverted to 6 strings. It just feels right to me now and makes me dig deeper into C6. I think I can see things on a deeper level by imposing restrictions on myself and finding new ways to play things and focusing on expression. That said, I would defin...

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 ...

Mark Hepler wrote:Who's the steel man?

https://youtu.be/dmSpFQ_hVNk

Interesting sound, uses the same amp for guitar . . . some sort of tweed tube model?

Good tone from his GFI--but we should give his technique and taste a lion's share of the credit.

That’s Joshua Kaler.

You should look into the old Parker Fly for info about this. Ken had a piezo mixed with regular guitar pickups and a blend control. I am sure there is plenty of online discussion about it.

I understand the brass modded bridge saddles but why the modded pickup? The 6 string stock pickup is designed to cover E2 to E4 (E5 at the 12th fret of the 1st string) which is 4 + octaves so it should handle the 2.5 + octaves that you tune to. Tony, the stock pickup sounded terrible to me. And not...

It’s a 21” scale, at least with the set up I am using. That’s perfect for me because I only play single notes or an occasional dyad and don’t do any slanting. It also makes it a little easier to get around, as I am starting to explore gamakas and the approach to melody. I am very interested in the m...

I have been experimenting with this tuning quite a bit, and I think it is appropriate to call it Carnatic tuning since it is what many of the South Indian Carnatic musicians use on their instruments. E B E B E B, high to low. 2 1/2 octaves. Back in the ‘80s I had a chance to hang for a day with L. S...

Mike, I'm sure your biggest regret is not being able to play 'Celebrate' any more :D Craig, evidently there was still a lot lower of a level to sink to once Black-Eyed Peas and Shakira came along. I got off at the ground floor. Bob, fortunately we were all professionals—professional drinkers, that ...

I used to play in a bluegrass band with a banjo player who at weddings would slip this in and somehow never got caught: “I just want to say on behalf of the band congratulations to the couple and I sincerely hope that they’ll be as happy as my wife and I thought we’d be.“. I couId write a book I ha...

I played well over 1,000 weddings from the age of 20 to 40. The trick is knowing when to say when. I succeeded in that. The money (and booze) was top shelf, the musicians superb, but the musical demands were horseshit. The older you get, the greater the divide between what you want to play and the m...

Be mindful of leaving too much of a flat surface. That is where the whiny, or sitar-ish sounds come from.
Examine the other slots so you can see how they are angled and how much of the surface the string touches.

Jo Stafford’s version is great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZYsBN6NRyM

Charlie Haden Liberation Orchestra featured her vocal in it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTwXtTnhnQ4

Bill is a brilliant musician and arranger. Everything he does has many layers of musicality and ingenuity.

Absolutely love this!

Instrument is called the đàn bầu. If you want to learn how to get the most out of harmonics, this is the stuff.

I think I might like to be there.

Jules is on Side B.

Bill, the George Van Eps Guitar Method was recommended to me by Mike Stern back in the 80s when I was at a lesson. Needless to say, I ran out and bought a copy pronto. Much later on, maybe 10 years ago, I started thinking in those same terms with regard to C6. Of course, George’s reason for writing ...