Rock/Country Rock Style on the e9 pedal steel

Lynn Fargo · Post by **Lynn Fargo** » 21 Sep 2011 9:49 am

Mike and Gerry,
Thanks for the info. Is there anything available today that's comparible to the MDI pickup? I love that sound.

Would you believe I had a Boss-tone GIVEN to me some years back, but I think I gave it away cuz I already had one. Shame on me! But I'm sure that steeler is enjoying it. Who would've thought this stuff would go off the market?

Gerry Simon · Post by **Gerry Simon** » 21 Sep 2011 1:39 pm

Lynn, I know of no midi, made-for-steel 'multi string' interfaces made today. There is a single string converter Jerry Brightman was using, that might be good for single string work or building up midi tracks when recording. Maybe a guitar midi PU or two could be used on a slant to work with a steel; haven't seen that tho...But...there are so many cool sound processors around these days, that do all sorts of sound tricks, you may not find as much need with an actual midi pitch to voltage converter to trigger sampled sounds... ...here are a few clips to show the boxes I am using now and some different bands... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0sVn--shvQ

Steve Nelson · Post by **Steve Nelson** » 21 Sep 2011 6:57 pm

In answer to a few of these posts...I have worked with Joe Wright in Nashville...he did a great job with rock & roll steel, my suggestion is don't go with a fuzz tone sound, rather a grittier more of a Tube Screamer approach. Licks wise, I've been thinking more bluesy, listen to Robert Randolph.
MIDI wise, my brother in law John Spooner uses two GK Roland pickups and two Roland MIDI converters with his Miller. He's running that into a single MIDI module. I use with my Tele a GR-50 into a Roland U-110 so when we play every blue moon, he's doing a piano lick or a sax section right where I was gonna, so I KNOW this works!

Jim Gilliam · Post by **Jim Gilliam** » 22 Sep 2011 1:38 pm

Johan, I am an old country swing fan, but Man! That sounds super. I am playing with a couple of country rock/blues based bands around town and will try some of that myself. Thanks for sharing. Jim

Johan Jansen · Post by **Johan Jansen** » 22 Sep 2011 8:22 pm

Thanks Jim,
I used my mesaboogie Studiopre-amp for that, on a Derby with E66.
Thnks!
Johan

Tonu Timm · Post by **Tonu Timm** » 22 Sep 2011 11:10 pm

As I still feel myself as a beginner on PSG, I afraid to record much, but here's one played with slight drive, solo starts at 1.50:
http://soundcloud.com/tonutimm/kassitapp

Jonathan Colby · Post by **Jonathan Colby** » 23 Sep 2011 4:49 am

I recently had a revelation ... and I can't believe I haven't heard of this guy before - Robert Randolph!

yes, he not what most people are used to hearing on the pedal steel guitar. but man, this guy has feeling and great technique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtxYAQt8 ... grec_index

Watching a lot his videos, he doesn't necessarily use a lot of levers and pedals, but his up and down the neck playing is really inspiring.

Rick Winfield · Post by **Rick Winfield** » 23 Sep 2011 7:20 am

For my ears, this is a little different, from what I heard Mr. Randolph do in the past. It's more musical, and the tone has greatly improved. IMHO
I like it !
Even though, my Roots are in Rock and Blues,w/some jazz,(6 stringer, who came over), I've struggled to play Counrty and Western Swing, on my PSG, looking to make it "pretty, and Swing" Hoping for the Zane Beck sound. Maybe I set the "bar" too high for 5/6 years experience
Perhaps I should cut loose & go back to Rock/Blues
Do what comes naturally to me. I've played some Allman Bros.,BB King,Grateful Dead,et al, for fun, but not seriously.
This is NOT to discredit Mr, Randolph, just expressing my PSG ideals. Which are beginning to change.
Rick

PS: Johan, that was some great tone and tasty licks !

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 26 Sep 2011 12:55 pm

Get a few New Riders of the Purple Sage CD's as well as a few each from Poco,Pure Prairie League, and the Flying Burrito brothers... Everything you will ever need to know....

Rich Peterson · Post by **Rich Peterson** » 26 Sep 2011 3:35 pm

If you feel that nobody knows what a steel guitar is, or cares; if you feel invisible on stage......

Take note that Robert Randoph, Rusty Young and Joe Wright make a lot of eye contact with the audience. They look like there could be nothing more fun in life than playing a pedal steel guitar. They entertain.

Gerry Simon · Post by **Gerry Simon** » 26 Sep 2011 6:54 pm

Rich, Robert and Joe also sing when playing ...I have a hard time chewing gum and playing!!

Tharon Caraway · Post by **Tharon Caraway** » 30 Sep 2011 12:23 pm

Thomas, Go to lloydmaines.net to learn more about Lloyd. He uses a Bosstone to get his distorted sound. Mahoney electronics sell copy's of them. The are good.

Rick Winfield · Post by **Rick Winfield** » 1 Oct 2011 10:27 am

You are correct Rich.
Those 3 guys are real showmen, as well as seasoned musicians.
Rick

admin · Post by **b0b** » 1 Oct 2011 11:58 am

Here's an example from a show I did a couple of weeks ago. The first song is country steel, then there's two rock songs with the distortion channel, and then we finish up with a dobro-like tone on the last song.

http://soundcloud.com/b0b/roadside-traditions-at

There's really no big trick to this. You just need to use the right scale and tone for each kind of music. If you play everything with major scales, lots of A+B stomping and a super clean tone, some songs just won't sound right.

Johan Jansen · Post by **Johan Jansen** » 1 Oct 2011 10:53 pm

very nice playing B0b!!
JJ

admin · Post by **b0b** » 2 Oct 2011 8:19 am

Thanks, Johan. I was doing okay until I fell apart in the second solo of Relationship Blues. Listen close and you'll hear me yell. I totally lost it.

Just a bar gig - no big stakes.

Geoff Cline · Post by **Geoff Cline** » 2 Oct 2011 9:03 am

The BEST pedal steel player you've never heard of (and my former band mate) Joel Ferguson. He is a serious rock steel player.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJwDftK74M0

The band's website (with music player):

http://www.cockeyedjunior.com/fr_home.cfm

Rick Winfield · Post by **Rick Winfield** » 2 Oct 2011 9:45 am

Awesome Steel Tone !
I love that "power trio" sound, raw and strong !
I can see more coheviveness to his style, than I can to Randolph.

Bob: Your steel fits perferctly, as always, tasty and smooth !!
Rick

Rich Peterson · Post by **Rich Peterson** » 3 Oct 2011 1:51 pm

Geoff Cline wrote:The BEST pedal steel player you've never heard of (and my former band mate) Joel Ferguson. He is a serious rock steel player.

Very serious! Refreshing arrangements, too.

Do you know anything about his copedent?

Geoff Cline · Post by **Geoff Cline** » 4 Oct 2011 7:35 am

Rich Peterson wrote:
Geoff Cline wrote:The BEST pedal steel player you've never heard of (and my former band mate) Joel Ferguson. He is a serious rock steel player.
Very serious! Refreshing arrangements, too.

Do you know anything about his copedent?

I don't know Joel's copedent (when we played together, I couldn't even pronounce "copedent"

). But he is a gracious guy...try contacting him via the band's website (he is also on Facebook). I'm sure he'd be happy to share.

Now that I attempt to play pedal steel, I am even more in awe of Joel's talent. He has always had great tone and feel.

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 5 Oct 2011 9:05 am

There's really no big trick to this. You just need to use the right scale and tone for each kind of music. If you play everything with major scales, lots of A+B stomping and a super clean tone, some songs just won't sound right.

...and that about says it all, I reckon.

You see, it's not the distortion, not the echo, not the compressor, not the gimmicks at all but simply knowing what notes to play and how, in order to best express a given genre and generate the intended emotion in the minds of the listeners.

In my world these days, working with Ron Rogers presents just about every imaginable musical style, I dont' use any outboard effects at all, just crank up the amp and go, but the attention to appropriate modes, movements, attack (or lack thereof), sustain, indicates a different approach to each. Some genres require little-to-no pedal action at all, others cannot be covered without lots of leg activity. Sometimes single notes do the tick, other times it's big gnarly fat chords down low or maybe the classic Elmore James blues licks. And sometimes you just have to listen carefully and come up with your own sound to fit the space!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta_9WCC3TD8

If you notice the steel parts in this video, it's all simple stuff, mostly using the 7 string as tonic for a minor 7+9 thing going on. A lot of the time I am playing the most elementary of parts as this is what serves this particular song. Actually, MOST of the time the best part is the most simple, in any case the time will come for ripping major-key rides if one is patient and does one's job well...

Ultimately the best reason to study closely what others have done in the past with different styles of music is to develop an understanding of how each is put together and begin to build a musical vocabulary that will serve you well when the style presents.

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 5 Oct 2011 9:37 am

Very nice Dave, You played exactly what the song called for.

admin · Post by **b0b** » 5 Oct 2011 9:43 am

That's really a good example, Dave. It's easy to imagine how Nashville licks could have ruined the authentic sound of that song. The tone isn't "fuzzed out" or anything radical - just the appropriate amount of grit from what I assume is a small tube amp pushed pretty hard.

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 5 Oct 2011 2:51 pm

That old 'Bud has that gnarly sound, no way I could make it work like that with the Emmons, it's too "nice." The 'Bud's pickup is the old fashioned kind, that you can sing or order a beer through in a pinch, the amp is a K120-loaded Blues Deluxe Reissue, it was close-mic'ed with that old Senn 409 you see Ron singing through in the video and recorded to analog tape by fairly smart old guys who have done this sort of thing before...

admin · Post by **b0b** » 5 Oct 2011 6:56 pm

Yeah, a Blues Deluxe is 40 watts, about the same as my Boogie. You don't have to get too loud to get a good bluesy tone from it, and it doesn't sound gimmicky or anything. But the real bottom line here is the choice of notes, the playing style. You slide the bar on single notes where you could have used a pedal and it fits the music better.

The Steel Guitar Forum

Rock/Country Rock Style on the e9 pedal steel

GFI through RAT drive pedal

Rr

Lloyd Maines

showmen

cockeyed Junior