Jeremy...Welcome!..If you monitor the Forum for a period, the terms used in reference to pedal steel will become evident. If in doubt, just inquire and a member would be pleased to explain the meaning I'm certain....As for 6&8 string pedal steels, Fender manufactured the "400" series in the 60,s which had eight strings and several pedals, but most had no knee levers. Cougar Guitars(no longer being made to my knowledge) manufactured a 6 string pedal guitar as did Fulawka I believe. Hope you find this information helpful.
You will find some vintage Fender PSG's with 8 strings and MultiKords with 6 strings and pedals (but originally no levers).
There is one manufacturer out there who now makes a very compact and rather alternative looking PSG with 6 o 8 strings, but the name or link escapes me right now (maybe someone else will come up with it)
Some terms which loosely fly around this Forum:
body / cabinet
body drop = cabinet deflection and detuning from pedal pull down.
lever / knee lever
LKL / Left Knee going Left, LKR, RKL, RKR, LKV (vertical)
Crawford cluster = a complicated staggered knee lever arrangement.
Wrist lever = a hand operated lever on TOP of the guitar.
changer / pedal-lever tuning bridge.
end plate(s) = the left and right (mostly) metallic end of most PSG's cabinet.
pedal rack = the bar that hold the pedals at the bottom of the front legs.
Bell cranks, cross shaft / mechanical parts of the actuating system.
Undercarriage = the whole mechanical clutter underneath (inside) the cabinet.
key less = a key HEAD less tuning system which indeed has keys.
string hysteresis & string backlash = a detuning effect happening at the string section behind the nut on strings both raised and lowered.
copedent (not really a word) = pedal-knee lever and tuning arrangement.
just intonation = the only way to tune correctly.
equal temperament = the only way to tune correctly.
BE or The Big E = a person by the name of Buddy Emmons.
(And most importantly;) Buddy Emmons = one of the few persons alive who actually can play that thang.
Jeremy, I suggest that instead of looking for a 6 or 8 string, you stick with 10. Most of today's instruction material is written for 10 strings, and if you have fewer than that you may become frustrated when you read about some lick or scale passage or chord position ad your guitar can't accommodate.
It's better to have a guitar that's beyond your present abilities, that you can grow into, than one that will limit you as you learn more.
I'll chime in with Mike, and as someone who plays mostly 8-string guitars.
If you're going to play "normal" pedal steel and either learn from books or a teacher (or both), the E9 10-string tuning and a minimum of 3 pedals/4 knee levers is the best way to go. You'll be totally frustrated with anything less.
6-string pedal steels are very limited; 8 strings are quite usable and there are quite a few of us who play them, but there are zero modern teaching materials available and you have to want to blaze your own trail. I find it perfect for what I do - but I don't play standard country pedal steel. I *can* do some of it with my setup, but there was no one to show me how...I had to find it on my own.
So the practicality of an 8-string would really depend on what you want to play and how much musical background you have (I had decades of guitar to draw from). A 6-string would be pretty much a novelty item.
Hope that helps -
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional
JD,
An excellent and amusing list!
I especially enjoyed your definitions of "JI" and "ET", and wholeheartedly agree with your definition of "Buddy Emmons".
By the way, where can I get one of those "string sections" you mentioned to live "behind the nut" on my guitar and help out with violin parts?
Dave
Contact Jim Flynn, maker of LONE STAR STEELS here in Texas. Me makes a compact 6 string with pedals and levers. Look at his web site under Pedal Steel Manufactureres.
Regards,
Jerry Grant
Jerry Grant
'74 Emmons,SD10,Black
'79 ShoBud Super Pro, Orange Lacquer
Session 500, Bandit 112, Fender Pro 185
Epiphone 6 String Acoustic
