Heal down or raised for A-B pedal roll.

Frank Montmarquet · From: The North Coast, New York, USA

Might be obvious to some, but since I am a beginner I want to do it right an avoid a bad habit that would need to be changed in the future.

It seems some players have boots with big heels, that raises the heel off the floor. If you play in regular shoes or sneakers do you keep your heel on the floor or raise it when pressing pedals? I find rolling from B to A with only ankle movement is much easier with the heel up. Anyone use something under the heel?

Tony Glassman · From: The Great Northwest

Good question:

Most players keep their left heel on the floor. It provides a pivot point and it requires less energy than keeping your whole foot suspended above the pedals.......just adjust pedal rod length to your comfort (i.e. boots vs shoes).

Bent Romnes · From: London,Ontario, Canada

Frank. You are doing the right thing according to my thinking. Heel on the floor and rolling your ankle.
I like the flat heel the best. Semi-hard sole with about a 3/4" heel.
Like Tony said, adjust your pedals till they feel right for you.
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Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

Mostly on the floor, but I have noticed that I do lift my heel off the floor at times. No rhyme or reason as to why. It just seems to work.
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Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 55 years and still counting.

Lynn Fargo · From: Fort Edward, NY

How well does your steel "fit" you? Are you ok reaching your knee levers while wearing flat shoes? If so, then you might want to adjust your pedal height as has been stated. I'm asking because I'm vertically challenged at only 5'3", so I had to make some adjustments like raising my seat height and wearing a 2" cowboy-type heel to feel comfortable while playing (easier and cheaper than having new legs and pedal rods made.) With the 2" heel, I find I can not only reach my knee levers better, but the pivot motion I can get on the pedals seems to be much easier on my ankles. I also back my volume pedal away from the pedal bar about 6" so that it's just about under my right knee levers. Of course, you might be 6'4" and would need totally opposite adjustments. Best of luck, and keep experimenting until you feel your steel was made for you.

Don Hinkle · From: Springfield Illinois, USA

Boy do I have some input on this.
I am 47 (gonna be 48 in a month) and have only been playing steel for just over 2 years. I have played lead guitar (tele style of course) for 30 years - just some boring background to get you up to speed.
About 3 weeks ago, I woke up and couldn't put ANY weight on my left foot. The pain was mostly the back of the heel area.
After a few days I went to have the DR an orthopedist and come to find out I have tendonitis on the back area of my foot just about an inch from the bottom of my foot.. on the very back of my foot. PAINFUL.
The DR asked about what activities were causing the tendonitis. I showed him the motions that I do while playing the pedal steel - he is 100% sure that's what caused it. I also should mention that I keep my ball of foot planted 100% of the time while rocking the A/B/C pedals...
I should also mention that I have been practicing alot and 4 hours a day is not out of the norm.. and then count in gigging a few times a week also.
Take it for what its worth - but if I could have, or would have been able to learn those movements with a lifted foot, this wouldnt be an issue.

He prescribed muscle relaxers and urged that I take them for 30 days. In classic "man" fashion, I took them for 5 days and then my foot nolonger hurt.. so I stopped taking them. 2 weeks later the pain revisited me. This is day 3 since the pain restarted - I am taking the rest of the pills needless to mention.
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Frank Montmarquet · From: The North Coast, New York, USA

Lynn, I am 5'6", there is about 4 1/2 inches from the top of my left leg to the bottom of the guitar, I think it should be more like 2". So the seat needs to go up and the guitar down. My old Emmons does not have adjustable legs, so I may shorten them as much as the pedal rods allow, then raise the seat.

Clete Ritta · From: San Antonio, Texas

My heel is usually on the ground before pressing pedals. I raise it to use the vertical lever and sometimes after going from AB to BC, thats about it. If its a quick AB to BC and back to AB, I keep my heel on the floor around B and pivot the ankle to BC. If you have ankle pain when rolling left and right with heel on ground, you may be sitting too low.

Clete

Lynn Fargo · From: Fort Edward, NY

Don, Ask your Doc about Voltaren Gel. It significantly helped the tendonitis I had in my right wrist.

Frank, At 5'6", sounds like a higher heel might help you after all. Just don't use a cowboy boot with long pointed toes. They get tangled up in the pedal rods. Also, one mistake I made when I played many years ago was lowering the back legs of my guitar which made the top of my guitar angled toward me. More recently when I started learning dobro, I found that if anything, I would want the slant to angle away from me. But with the higher seat and shoes, I feel quite comfortable now with a level guitar top. If you decide to get shorter legs and rods, there are players here on the forum who can let you know where you can get them. Again, best of luck to you. Keep us posted about what you come up with.

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