Faux Country Pedal Steel - 6 string, open E

[Steve Cunningham]

I just started messing around with combining slants & string pulls simultaneously. Unforgiving, but satisfying.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtsJ773XpAo

[Mike Neer]

Cool, Steve. I think you'll agree with me when I say, "our wives will never understand." I'm referring to the countless hours spent on the smallest of achievements. But they are so satisfying....

[Guy Cundell]

Excellent! Bravo! TF Much.

[Andy Sandoval]

Steve, you make it look so easy...I hate you BTW, what tuning are you usin?

[Josh Cho]

I just started messing around with combining slants & string pulls simultaneously. Unforgiving, but satisfying.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtsJ773XpAo

I never would have believed you, Steve, if this video didn't document how you achieved that sound...


....but then again, your feet were hidden..

[Doug Beaumier]

Wow, that's some real nice country pickin' Steve!

[Steve Cunningham]

Thanks guys. To paraphrase Mike, "the things we spend time on!" It sure is fun though.

Steve, you make it look so easy...I hate you BTW, what tuning are you usin?

Open E...EBEG#BE

[Bob Blair]

Really something else Steve! Nothing "faux" about it! Great playing.

[Patti Maxine]

Sounds great Steve!
Did you use lighter gauge strings on the "pulls"-
or just sheer digit muscle?

[Steve Cunningham]

Thanks. Patti, the gauges run from a .14 high E to a .68 low E ( a custom set I got from bOb )on a 25" scale...after a couple of whole-step pulls on the 2nd string there's a big, dark-red line on the flesh of my pinky, and plenty of tears in my beer.

[Chuck S. Lettes]

Well done, Steve. "We don't need no stinkin' pedals!"
Chuck

[Gary Stevenson]

I also hate you I have been using Open E for 4 years and played country for most of those 4 yrs and damn it, I have yet to get a sound like that.Much less the string pulls.U da man!!!!I NEEEED A TEACHER ****

[Kelvin Monaghan]

I thought I was doing OK with my string pulls after the hints you gave on my last post.
Then I hear this Dam that's good.
We need more information on those combination slants and pulls,also sounds like you add a volume pedal as well,great great stuff.

That's a very heavy bottom E ,what is your complete set gagues,and I realize it's a 25 in scale.

Cheers Kelvin

[Steve Cunningham]

Here's a very crude diagram of the opening lick, reflecting the V7-I(G7-C)chord change.This lick is repeated up one octave at the 30 second mark of the video...

G Am G7 C
------3-------5------------------6 1/2 step pull---8
------3------4.5 1/4 step pull---6-----------------8
------3-------4------------------6-----------------8

It's a harmonization of the standard bar slant inverted 3rd(or 6th) lick(the outer strings in the diagram), using a slight pull on the 2nd string of the 2nd chord to correct the flatness of the bar slant, creating the Am triad( a passing chord, connecting the G & G7 chords). The 1/2 step pull on the 1st string of the G7 chord creates the M3rd, which, along with the 5th and b7 on the 2nd and 3rd strings, produces the G7 chord. Whew!

Upon previewing this post, I noticed the chords above the tab won't line up with the tab. Obviously(?) the G, Am, G7 and C reflect the harmony of each tab shape.

[Peter den Hartogh]

[tab]
G Am G7 C
------3-------5------------------6 1/2 step pull---8
------3------4.5 1/4 step pull---6-----------------8
------3-------4------------------6-----------------8
[/tab]

To line up the Tab, just add the (TAB) code in front and (/TAB) code at the end
and put them between [square] brackets, not (round) brackets.

To see what I did, just click on my QUOTE button.

[Steve Cunningham]

Thanks Peter.

[Bill Hatcher]

steve. sorry i missed your tune the other day. hope all went well.

the faux steel things sound nice! you could easily act like most tele players do when they play with a pedal steel player...play all those obnoxious faux pedal licks that the "real" pedal player hate!!!! lol!!!

[Steve Cunningham]

Yeah Bill, my ulterior motive for all this is to get on a gig with Tommy Dodd, and play all of his licks...off by a 1/7th step of course!

Just kiddin' Tommy - it'd probably be more like a 1/4 step.

[Tom Pettingill]

Nice job Steve!

[chris ivey]

cool licks...now the real test will be doing it without the 'unforgiving' truthfulness of the pitchiness. cool licks, though.

[Kelvin Monaghan]

Hi Steve,is that really a 68 on the bottom E or a typo.

[Steve Cunningham]

Kelvin, it was either a .68 or .64., I've used both depending on availability.