The Steel Guitar Forum

Since the steel guitar itself is a fixed length, it seems your talking about the pedals relative placement. If the franklin pedal is in the leftmost position, the left knee levers might be shifted right to stay over the ABC pedals to keep the ergonomics of that position similar if not the same as wi...

I would explore volume pedal usage to add sustain and let you “bloom” the notes a bit. Simple two note harmonized lines sliding into and out of slants being will work well to mimic the “cry” of pedal steel but it won’t sound right unless it’s got some volume pedal to add sustain. I think...

If your prone to thoughts like this, I advise you to purchase a “Kill a watt” for $20. It’s a 120v pass through that’ll tell you the draw of anything plugged in. It’ll keep track too over time which can really add up for things like entertainment systems. My tube amp draws .57 amp with hea...

Make a hand shape (grip) where you’re grabbing strings 10-8-6 that you can play and then palm mute repeatedy without really chasing your hand position. Practice, being clean about palm muting and not ringing strings. Start to alternate that shape with a shape for 8–6-5. Be comfortable going back...

I'm going to caution against the "lessen the learning curve" mentality with regards to coming up with your own tuning/copedent based on a familiar open tuning. For the record, I'm not playing covers or country music, just my own thing. A few years back when I was playing dobro, I tried to ...

I’m considering removing the feel stop on the 2nd lower because I can’t strike a balance between a having a firm positive half stop point and the 2nd half of the lever travel from being too stiff. I use the 2 lower to D a lot but because it’s so stiff I almost never go past that point for the ...

Hi Steel Guitar community, I've been a pedal steel dreamer/dabbler for a while, but now I'm a Graduate Student in Austin,TX getting my MFA in Film Production and am currently editing my PreThesis film. I am hoping to find a steel player to help with the score to my Film. The film is a short set in m...

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41RX3HdPGLL._SY395_.jpg Mens dance shoes. These always have looked promising -- very form fitting, simple suede sole, heel lift like cowboy boots. Should have good feel of pedal under foot while keeping sharp edges from digging, without being wide enough to acc...

YOU MUST CONSTRUCT ADDITIONAL PYLONS

I know that this isn't what you asked -- but in my mind (in my opinion) the key to a good bluesy tone comes form using drastically less bar pressure. Keep in mind that that much of the blues slide tone comes from using comparatively light slides with just enough pressure to get the note while avoidi...

Also, I'm not sure how much this relates. But in response to thinking about the pros and cons of various bars I ended up trying a whole bunch of my old bars. The result? Hand cramps. Never get them normally. Got them bad enough to have to stop. Moral of the story? Choose something. Stick with it, sw...

I'm much more concerned with the angle on the BACK of the bar than at the top. For me the angle has more to do with how far into my hand the bar ends up. Modern style tends to favor a bar position deeper into the hand than traditional styles. Steven's style steels tend to stick further out from my h...

In my opinion a nice sharp ended bar is essential for Dobro technique. Keep the weight on the bar back on the low strings. It makes the tip of the bar lift over the high strings easier. Probably my best piece of advice for someone coming from lap steel to dobro: Play open strings. Learn how to inclu...

Bill McCloskey wrote: "Ya know. People would give their eye teeth for these pickups. You could probably get $400 a piece for them and you have 8"

This begs the question -- what are eye teeth going for these days?

I've been working on adding in the 4th pick on dobro for a little while for a few reasons, many of which have been covered already -- though one unique reason is to have extra cut and volume on low cords acoustically in jams and such, by playing 2 note chords in both octaves. Not really applicable t...

Robert Randolph plays an E7th pedal steel. http://b0b.com/tunings/sacredsteel.html I think you can get by sticking with E7th, there are some things it does real well and some things it doesn't do well. I think technically speaking, C6th is overall a more versatile tuning, time has tested it and it h...

Tony has you started, the Root-Minor 3rd position is important. There is also the "Power Chord" with just the B and E strings, which fits over the minor chord. But more importantly -- you need to also think of the "Major 3rd" that is between the Minor 3rd and the 5th of a minor c...

Gabriel, I have a temporary solution for you: stop slanting! It's OK, you can make plenty of music without slanting, you just bring the technique in over time. I'm not sure which tuning you're using, but what's more important is getting to know what you can do without slanting the bar first. Agreed...

Richard Sinkler wrote:Does it sound better with the cast iron skillet, or would it sound better with a non-stick pan?

Duh. We all know that more iron means more tone.

Since your planning to sell... Be advised that some people would rather have a slightly weathered guitar with as close to its original finish and patina. Wipe off the dirt with a soft clean wet rag. Then... Get very high quality photos taken of it. The condition will show in honest truth and your bu...

If your not against buying something, I'd think about putting one of these up there: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/404553-REG/Pelican_0340_510_000_0349_Lid_Organizer.html or: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/216908-REG/Pelican_1600_509_000_1609_Photo_Lid_Organizer.html The above two sho...

It depends on the room. Personally, I think the less reveb the better, but sometimes dry can be a little too dry. The key for me is to have the reverb seem natural, rather than an effect. I was once told by an engineer that the best reverb to add is whatever the room you're in doesn't have. Small L...

Yeah, gotta agree here. The foot thing feels terrible at first, but it does get easier. My piece to contribute is that It may fell like it is your left ankle thats the issue -- but really your whole body may not be in a good position. The angle of your left leg is very important. I find my right leg...

What exactly is phase? I totally get what phase is in the basic sense -- like how balanced cables use phase to eliminate hum. Thats not my issue. I mean phase like as it applies to EQ. I've gathered that most eg circuits have phase issues, but what is it? How do EQ stages introduce or interact with ...

Ah. Good. A post worthy of being quoted by our master b0b. So I decide to continue my rant. If we take for granted: At some point our options for steel guitars and amplifiers were limited. To the point of maybe 2-3 choices, given available technologies. If you played steel, you chose 1 of maybe 3-4 ...