The Steel Guitar Forum

Also, I might add, the dim7 makes for a good IV# passing chord, as in I-I7-IV-IV#dim7-I or the reverse IV-IV#dim7-I-I7. If I had a nickel for every western swing tune that uses this sequence at one point in the song, I'd be a millionaire :lol: With my simple 6-string lap steel I had good success wit...

J Fletcher wrote:From Andy Volk's interview with Billy Robinson , in "Lap Steel Guitar" , high to low E C A G E C A F# .
This is the tuning he used in the 1940's .

Okay, thank you. Case closed!

But why the F#?? ':eek:' ...the first three notes (F#-A-C) in a IV#dim7??

Hi Stefan,
thanks for your fast reply!

So, he did not have a high G on top at that time and switched to it later?
...because the chart you posted from his website indicates A-C-E-G-A-C-E-G when using 8 strings... ':oops:'

Best, Nils

Hi, I apologize if my question was answered before, but I DID check the forum and found nothing.., What tuning did Billy Robinson use in 1949? (When he was in Berlin with Hank and Red) Also, at that time, he made some super recordings with Red Foley, who, IMHO, had the bestest band ever with Billy a...

Ooops, I made a mistake in my previous post about the Fender 400 and a fellow forumite was so kind to correct it. Here goes: With the cable pulling system, each pedal can change two strings. That means that with each pedal you can lower two strings, raise two strings, or raise one string and lower t...

Hey, wait a minute! Why is this at "Steel Without Pedals?

Pros of the Fender 400: Excellent tone, especially the ones with the "Jazzmaster" pickup, fast 'n' easy set-up and cool looks. Possible con: You can only either raise OR lower strings with a single pedal. If you want to raise one string and lower another one at the same time, you would hav...

OK, here's my take on the sounds of olde tymes. First, let's not forget we will never know what those amps and steels really sounded like - only what the engineers and A&R-man made them sound like ;-) I guess the safest way to go would be a 10 to 15 watt all-tube amp with a 10 or 12" speake...

Chuck, I'm curious about your tuning
I can see that it is basically a high C6 - but what's the advantage of using F instead of E as the lowest note? Can you elaborate on that?

Thanks, Mike. Restringing will start any minute now.

Mike, I'm going to restring my 8-string (Junior Brown's C13 w/ high G at the moment) to make it ready for your Speedy DVD
What would be the best starting point for the different tunings you plan to use: E-C-A-G-E-C-A-F? Greetings, Nils

To quote Hank Williams' biographer Colin Escott (about the recording of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", done in Cincinnati):
"...it was well worth driving 300 miles for Jerry Byrd's steel guitar solo." TRUE!

One of the important points of this next project is that there are 4 tunes all played in different tunings, all using 1 set of strings and 1 neck. Does it mean that there is some retuning at order on that one neck or do you plan to rearrange everything for one tuning? And, just as a little teaser: ...

When I was starting out I wasted a lot of money buying new strings to try out different tunings, not realising that most can be accomplished with the same set of strings. So, ignoring "special FX tunings" like Joaquin's high B or extra low bass strings à la hawaiian C13, it all boils down ...

Whoa, Mike!
When is your Speedy West DVD-lesson ready to ship/download? That announcement sounds awesome!

As seen on eBay:
Am I mistaken or do the fretboard markers on this cheap Magnatone look egg-xactly like the ones that P. A. Bigsby used on all his steels and most of his standard guitars?
(Maybe a retro-fit..?)

Yeah! Those block chords on "Moanin' The Blues" drew me into lap steel in the first place!
...and the intro on "Walkin' After Midnight"

Another consideration: IMHO it is easier getting out of the vocalists' way with a highpitched E6 than with A6 or even low C6, allthough of course it may depend on the vocalist :lol: Then again, I think the lower tunings offer a more beefy sound when soloing. I may be wildly over-generalising here, b...

Jon, I recall seeing a picture (here on SGF!) where Don had written out his tunings and string gauges for someone. The E-tuning went (lo to hi): A C# E G# B C# E G#. So even with 8-strings, there was no b7 in there. It was still an E6/AM9 tuning. The other neck had (lo to hi): F# A B D# F# A C# E. T...

The tuning is just a plain vanilla C6

Does that mean, hi to low: E-C-A-G-E-C-A-G? Greetings from Germany.

Hi, I've read somewhere that these old metal-bodied Ricks weight at around 25 lbs. True?

Another forum member informs me that

Most early Fender 400s had the non-adjustable legs that have one inch threads

I can't verify this, as the two early Fender 400s that I have access to both have the 3/4" threads.
But I did not want to let that information go by unnoticed.

Okay, after much to and fro I swapped legs of my '59 Fender 400, with a mid-sixties Stringmaster D8, that was in my vicinity. The lowdown: Fender 400 legs will fit Stringmasters, but NOT vice versa! While having the same 3/4" diameter the male threads of the Stringmasters are very short, approx...

I know it might sound insane, but I plan to use a Fender 400 (pedal steel) :oops: as a non-pedal-console-whatchamacallit-steel!!! And since I want to play it in a standing position, I'm looking for pull-out legs that will fit. Question: - Is the thread of Stringmasters (and Rhodes pianos) identical ...

Many thanks to all involved, especially J.Wilson for the good news. Mail was sent to Jason Lollar