The Thingumajig Called Pedal Steel Guitar

[Bill Hankey]

Have you ever been tempted to rename the pedal steel guitar? Is it truly a musical instrument in every sense of the wording, or would thingumajig suggesting contraption be more fitting? The thought does cross my mind.

[Mike Kowalik]

No..............

[Richard Sinkler]

Nope. The name already says it all.

[Eddie Cunningham]

Hi Bill , I don't play "pedals" any more so I caLL my machine a "Hawaiian Steel Guitar" !! That pretty much covers it and people seem to understand !! Eddie "C" AKA the old geezer

[Bill Hankey]

Hi Eddie,

Jerry Byrd was on track, no doubt about it. If you go about weighing this and that, he may have realized the multiplicity of encumbrances involved in keeping a pedal steel guitar in good working order. His touch and tone denotes a man of wisdom.

[Doug Beaumier]

Bill, I tell people I play "steel guitar". I rarely say "pedal steel guitar" because that just adds another layer of complication that the average person will not understand. I don't think there is any simple name that will describe the instrument we play!

[Bill Hankey]

Mike,

Sure as creatinine levels are markers in your position, so are pedals and hardware relevant to maintaining a tight ship. Perhaps too much haywire isn't the best medicine.

[Bill Hankey]

Doug,

Thanks for your thought-out statement on how to keep confusion at a minimum. You've heard others tell about how some folks describe the instrument. It would be interesting to compile a list of names the steel guitar has been subjected to.

[Doug Beaumier]

It would be interesting to compile a list of names the steel guitar has been subjected to.

People have told me they like my Iron guitar, steel pedal, synthesizer, string guitar, Hawaiian slide...

[Ben Feher]

I'm not sure if it is worthy of being a name, but I think Pedal Steel is the only musical insturment that qualifies to truely be called a "contraption."

I just wish it wasn't called a "guitar." Puh-lease. Guitar? You mean like "guitar hero," "air guitar," "it goes to 11," etc? I mean everyone plays guitar. I say I play mandolin and it sounds foreign and mysterious to non-musicians. I say pedal steel guitar and they hear "guitar" and think I play a shiny national guitar with some effects pedals. Dammit! I play a vastly cooler instrument than a guitar! Other than it has strings, how on earth is a pedal steel a guitar??!?1

The pedal steel is the lightsaber of the intrument world, "an elegant weapon for the more civilized age."

[CrowBear Schmitt]

here a few that came up here befo'...

guitarus superioris pedalus

appalachian tone generator

when it comes to mine, i tell 'em it's my wife's recycled knitting machine

[James Mayer]

I stopped adding "guitar" to the end because several people thought I was talking about a steel-strung acoustic, as opposed to a classical with nylon strings.

If you say "pedal steel", they'll follow up with questions if they don't already know what it is.

[Alan Brookes]

What about STRINGYTHINGY ?

[Bill Hankey]

I believe that the pedal steel guitar has the potential to cause a "RUB" among players in situations that require flipping it upside down to make repairs and replacement of worn parts. It's my belief that virtually every steel in use could use a few minor adjustments. The convoluted system is screaming for changes in design. The petty annoyances of "babysitting" and recognizing the subtle changes in the instrument seems trivial for some time. Then with the passing of time, patience commences to wear thin. Correct me, if you disagree.

[Richard Sinkler]

I don't disagree with your last statements, but what the HELL does that have to do with the name of the instrument or what we think it should be called?

[Bill Hankey]

Richard,

There isn't a reason to come storming out to the bullring in such a huff! Don't be so hasty in acquitting the 3rd string popping, and multitudinous exasperating nuisances well-known among players of the instrument. I'm confident that it has been called by other names with regularity. Compare the troublesome instrument with the harmonica.

[Ben Feher]

Only half the notes suck on a harmonica...

[Bill Hankey]

Ben,

There is no such thing as a trouble free musical instrument. Imagine the double 14 stringers! It would take a Herculean individual to cope with a machine that dimensionally universalistic in complexities.

[Lane Gray]

Only half the notes suck on a harmonica...

The rest of them blow

[Alan Brookes]

"I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll ... blow your ears out."

[Lane Gray]

I call mine the following: double-barrelled egg-slicer (for those of us who remember that kitchen gadget); high-strung buffet table; the magic desk; the Multi Function Melody Manipulator; the Q-45 Space Modulator.

Since my day job won't let me gig, I regularly hit some of the jams at local bars, with the customary sign-in sheet. I've taken up the hobby of inventing names for the blasted thing. Astute observers will note I didn't invent the Q-45, I borrowed that.

[Rick Winfield]

Not on the "glass harmonica"
Rick

[Bill Hankey]

Most of the pleasures derived from playing the pedal steel, speaking from my own experiences with the instrument, spanning a period of thirty seven years, occurred at intervals while in association with band members who appreciated the instrument for what it is. I believe that different age groups experience gradual changes in memberships, as they move about, from band to band. The budding steel guitarist's enthusiasm to learn and play, is the key to finding employment. Displaying the urge to advance musically, will not be overlooked by band members. Those who have grown away from the fire and desire will capitulate and perhaps find themselves playing to the walls. Just as the steel should be properly identified by name, so should entertainers prepare for unforeseen turndowns.

[Mike Perlowin]

How about calling it "That weird thing that Robert Randolph plays?"