The Thingumajig Called Pedal Steel Guitar

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 20 Jan 2012 9:29 am

Mike,

You are always among the wittiest of writers on this forum. I would certainly guess that Robert Randolph's name is on the lips of a much broadened audience participation group of uptown musicians. When I first became aware of his presence as a knowledgeable steel guitarist, I kept my ears open for new developments. After listening to a friendly interview, I'm convinced that he is a pioneer in this business of entertainment. There is no telling where he will take the steel guitar. He has ventured beyond the limits of practical expectations, by experimenting with some of the brightest means of entertainment. His intrepidity impresses me most, having the will to go it alone by keeping the faith in his own abilities.

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 20 Jan 2012 9:46 am

I was talking last week with a record producer who owns his own record label. Most of his records are hip-hop. I suggested that the latest group that he signed, which sounds like 60s Motown, needed a steel guitarist. He didn't know what a steel guitar was. I gave him some of my CDs to listen to, which has given him food for thought.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 20 Jan 2012 10:38 am

Alan,

You'd think under normal circumstances, a record producer would have heard of Robert Randolph's prowess on the pedal steel at this point in time.

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 20 Jan 2012 2:30 pm

Bill, if you enjoyed my Robert Randolph comment, you'll love this:

About 25 years ago, when Nigeria's King Sunny Adé was touring here, somebody pointed to my steel and said "He's playing that African instrument."

(For the benefit of those who are unaware, King Sunny Adé had a PSG player named Demola Adepoju in his band. The best recorded example of Demola's work with the group can be found on the CD: "Juju Music" http://www.amazon.com/Juju-Music-King-S ... B000003QI0 )

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 20 Jan 2012 4:46 pm

Mike,

Thanks for cuing me in on a world traveler. It's quite amazing when we discover talented professionals who are in the public's eyes much less than others who are followed whenever they step out their doors. I've been aware of the public's yennings for specific names. I'm a strong believer that names help to determine successes in the field of entertainment. The pedal steel guitar is a name title drawn out of a hat at random. I believe the instrument could be popularized to a greater extent, provided a suitable name could replace its current identifying title.

Mark Daniels · Post by **Mark Daniels** » 20 Jan 2012 4:56 pm

Lane Gray wrote: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.

I'm going to bear those in mind

I've had people ask me what it is from hearing the name and I've just said "the country & western thing which you sit behind".

OK, it's not the most accurate description but it works. It's only when I say how you play one that people (especially guitarists) understand how difficult steel guitars are to play!

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 20 Jan 2012 5:47 pm

Bill Hankey wrote: It's quite amazing when we discover talented professionals who are in the public's eyes much less than others who are followed whenever they step out their doors.

Actually Bill, King Sunny Adé and Demola WERE in the public's eyes back in the mid 80s. They were a huge success and played in stadiums before thousands of people.

The only people who were unaware of them were steel players. I tried to tell everybody at the time, and nobody wanted to know about it. My efforts included writing an article in Russ Rask's Steel Guitar World magazine, bringing tapes of the band to the convention, and, in 1988, bringing Demola himself to the convention as my guest.

King Sunny Adé's music and Demola's playing are so far removed from country music and the traditional E9 style that other steel players just couldn't relate. Even today, only a handful of players are aware of this band and CD.

But the general public did, and these guys were HUGE back then. The comment that I was playing an African instrument, as absurd as it was, nevertheless made sense because to the millions of people who listen to what is called "World music," this was the first they had seen and heard our instrument.

I hope everybody who is reading this thread buys that CD and hears how the PSG was used in such a completely new and different setting. It's yet another example of just how versatile our instrument truly is.

Chris Gabriel · Post by **Chris Gabriel** » 20 Jan 2012 7:02 pm

A student of mine called it the "piano guitar" which i thought was cute and clever...
also, I like the alternative "Lever Guitar" why not...

Leslie Ehrlich · Post by **Leslie Ehrlich** » 20 Jan 2012 10:09 pm

I think Demola played on the Paul Simon song 'Graceland'.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 21 Jan 2012 4:50 am

Mike P.,

Back in the 80's, there was sort of a peak enthusiasm reached among noteworthy steel guitarists and those associated with their activities. Many of the worlds most proficient players who have departed were breathing the fresh mountain air that we enjoy today. We can't avoid becoming walled in by unwelcome changes. We enter this world through the miracle of birth, gifted with the five senses, in great need of the life experience. RUSS RASK was working feverishly in the Northwest, U.S.A. publishing his STEEL GUITAR NEWS magazine. TOM BRADSHAW, the illustrious publisher of a colorful steel guitar magazine folded after a half dozen colorful issues. I read through all publications issued by Tom and Russ back then at that time.

I seem to remember with a degree of vagueness your article covering steel guitarist DEMOLA. I've tried to recall reading it with more details, but to no avail. I'll make an attempt to locate your article at some future date. I'm hoping that a more appropriate name for the "PEDAL STEEL GUITAR" will
be in the offing. Perhaps a title depicting
a descriptive analysis of what to expect as a consumer. I'm thinking in terms of a machine that at times appears to be beastly; than another day it may be suggestive of the most regal of musical instruments.

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 21 Jan 2012 9:46 am

When you consider the minor differences between instruments such as the guitar, lute, cittern, tricordia, etc., (but they all have different names), the steel guitar is so far different from any of them that it is in no way a guitar.

Georg Sørtun came the closest when he referred to it as a bastardised langeleik. Indeed, if anyone from antiquity were to be shown a steel guitar he would most certainly classify it as a board zither, together with langeleiks, hummels, épinettes des vosges, scheitholdts, mountain dulcimers, etc.

There is a theory that the Hawaiian Guitar originated from Hummels brought in from India and Europe. Both instruments are plucked from above and played on the lap. If you play a hummel with a tone bar, then it IS a lap steel. I've built instruments that can be played either way.

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 21 Jan 2012 10:29 am

Bill, and anybody else who might be interested. I still have the file of the article. I'll be happy to make a PDF file and send it to anybody who wants to read it.

I suggest though, that rather than reading about this music, that you buy the CD and hear it. It's pretty far removed from country steel guitar playing, but it's nevertheless good stuff.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 21 Jan 2012 5:01 pm

Mike,

I will look into your recommendation at the music store over on the east side of town. They carry a good variety of records and musical supplies; including CD recordings. Thanks for the wake-up call.

Gil Berry · Post by **Gil Berry** » 21 Jan 2012 5:27 pm

It's that ironing board with "strangs" on it. Or, maybe "that funny keyboard".

Talking about complexity, though, I saw some pictures of a guitar Mr. Baggett (deceased builder of Baggett steel guitars down in 'Bama) built for a player...two tiers of pedals..I think a total of 28 pedals on the floor...I don't remember if it had knees or not. Anyone recall that axe?

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 22 Jan 2012 4:41 am

Gil Berry,

You used the word COMPLEXITY which rings a bell in my theory that is holding its own in the midst of an eleven thousand plus membership. The person who built the 28 pedal steel, must have awakenened from one of those wild dreams; so common to mere man. What in damnation, other than an uncontrolled dream could be so manifestly overpoweringly real to proceed with such a nightmarish creation? Actually, I've been leery of the current pedals arrangements; all the way down the line; with no exclusions. My suspicians are based on the assorted arrangements found to exist among various players. Nowadays, 99 percent of the people hypothesize. Dissatisfaction is usually the motive that actuates a hypothesis. 28 pedals would send me flying in the opposite direction; with no further delay.

Alfred Ewell · Post by **Alfred Ewell** » 22 Jan 2012 7:39 pm

Second to the comments on Robert Randolph, and to the aforementioned http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbLqRh7_ ... _CyYU3UVQu Chinese players, expanding the world of this instrument.

I was thinking of "pedal guitar" because steel doesn't mean much to the uninitiated, but as has been mentioned also, the instrument has become less related to guitar. Further, omitting "steel" lessens the cultural reference to "Steely Dan", whose works such as Pearl Of The Quarter are awesome and widened the audience into the rock world. But then, I've heard people mention more than once how great that "slide guitar" is in that song!

Because the bar is why we call it steel (am I wrong?), maybe that part could be dropped in the name of popular acceptance? But then, is pedal guitar right? Levers are just as much a detail as is the bar, and something few non-players would notice, so lever guitar is perhaps a whimsical suggestion? Pedachord. Anyway, when I say pedal steel guitar, no matter how much I love playing it, there's always a ghostly look that requires something like "you know, that instrument that slides to another chord", even if that does it.
On the other hand, why do non-players know a saxophone from a clarinet? (And do they really?)

Roual Ranes · Post by **Roual Ranes** » 22 Jan 2012 9:07 pm

I'll stick with "Console Harp".

Marc Friedland · Post by **Marc Friedland** » 23 Jan 2012 5:32 am

Some of you may have heard this story before, but I feel it's appropriate to say it again here in this thread.

The F & B Manager of Jackson Casino in CA, where we were playing (I'm guessing about 2003) went over to the lead singer of the band after a set and said
“Everything sounds good, but can you do something about the volume of that table top stringy thing?”

-- Marc

www.PedalSteelGuitarMusic.com

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 23 Jan 2012 9:39 am

Susanne Somers' TM THIGH master, made in TAIWAN, can be an assist to muscles that are called into play while practicing speed picking on the pedal steel guitar. Who would think that an patented exercise device could prove useful in the development of muscles normally called upon to actuate KNEE LEVERS mounted beneath the pedal steel guitar. An observer saw me using the device to stengthen my arm muscles by holding the creation with arms outstretched above my head. The realization occurred to the observer to include the imaginative exercise as a routine thrifty exercise. Part of renaming the pedal steel guitar, would include taking into account poorly designed knee levers. The linkages have been carefully arranged, but the 90 degrees cutting edges of the levers knifing into knee areas of the legs necessitates a backing away from those original designs.

Alan Bidmade · Post by **Alan Bidmade** » 23 Jan 2012 11:57 am

Here in the UK Hank Wangford calls it the 'electric coffee table'. I prefer the 'polyphonic hostess trolley'.

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 23 Jan 2012 12:20 pm

You know, we can laugh (or cry) about the stupid names people make up for our instrunent, or make up funny ones ourselves, (As I've done with my admittedly dumb "tifkatspg" joke,) but the name of our instrument is the PEDAL STEEL GUITAR.

That's what I call it every time I play in public. We may never get through to everybody, but IMHO we should all make the effort, by calling it by it's proper name.

I sat in at a reggae club last Saturday, playing with 2 different bands, and to my satisfaction, every time the was mentioned, the front men in both bands called it by it's proper name.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 23 Jan 2012 2:03 pm

Mike,

Wouldn't it be more reasonable to avoid misleading future generations by calling our instrument the pedal steel guitar; when the name (steel guitar) was intended for a Dobro sized 6 strings guitar? It isn't surprising though, considering how trends are unbending through the ages. Another strange part evolving, although I doubt if the general public is aware of the fact that some of those guitar bodies were made from brass, rather than steel. This lack of awareness, has precipitated my doubts in establishing a degree of faith in how concerned the undefined public acknowledgedly view our instrument. Time will tell.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 24 Jan 2012 5:18 am

Captious individuals taking up the study of playing the pedal steel guitar, will be right at home with their susceptibility to righting wrongs. The unique qualities found in the pedal steel guitar are not clear-cut, making the instrument truly ideal for those who enjoy unraveling complex enigmas. From day one, the journey across the system of becoming familiar with the instrument, by understanding basic pedal and knee lever changes, represents in actuality more time than the occasional musician may wish to consign his/her free time to. Show me an illustrious steel guitarist, and I'll show one and the same who has devoted infinite time in practice. The original "Must pay your dues" footnote in the endeavor to master the instrument, still endures as the standard prerequisite in realizing the ultimate musical goal.

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 24 Jan 2012 5:33 am

Alan Bidmade wrote:Here in the UK Hank Wangford calls it the 'electric coffee table'. I prefer the 'polyphonic hostess trolley'.

Next week's entry on the signup sheet.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 24 Jan 2012 5:41 pm

I believe the pedal steel guitar has meritorious qualities. I'm tempted to name my instrument "THE SHOWSTOPPER". The thought has entered my mind.

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