Innovative Fretboard

Frank Parish · Post by **Frank Parish** » 1 Oct 2002 5:21 pm

Steve,
That's great! About 20 years ago there was a group in New Albany, Indiana with a really big mirror right over the organ player. The organist was a guy named Rick Hipple, real good performer and top notch entertainer. He played a B3 with all the drawbars lighted and he had all kinds of gimicks and gadgets to make it an interesting show and you could watch the mirror and see him from overhead. It's a great idea for a sit down gig but I'd hate to be the one to hang that thing. Bill maybe you could invent a plastic mirror that only weighed 6 pounds but was 8 feet by 6 feet!

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 2 Oct 2002 4:28 am

Stephen G.,

Forget the mirrors! Put them out of your mind! Cease and desist any such notion! My fretboard has proven to be more valuable than you'll ever imagine. It's 100 % satisfactory and then some, exceeding my expectations many times over what I had originally thought. Wherever and whenever I appear in public to perform, the front mounted fretboard will be my trade- mark, as a symbolic gesture to indicate my intention to move forward, and improve the design of an underdeveloped musical instrument. I will enjoy reading those frets, while appreciating the ability to read ahead without the squirming or angling, seen in reading horizontal fretboards. The eyestrain involved in the struggle to place the bar properly over the obsolete fretboard's frets should hasten others to explore this new concept. I welcome others to join me with this new and rewarding idea.

Bill H.
[This message was edited by Bill Hankey on 02 October 2002 at 11:06 AM.]

Stephen Gambrell · Post by **Stephen Gambrell** » 2 Oct 2002 10:53 am

Bill, you've given me an idea for a new song----"I can't move forward, 'cause I'm tryin' to keep from falling over backwards."
Bill I enjoy your postings, get a kick out of your use(or misuse)of our native tongue, and your Norm Crosby-like malopropisms, whether intended or not. Keep 'em coming!!

Brian Henry · Post by **Brian Henry** » 2 Oct 2002 12:35 pm

Recently I was in a motel and guess what they had a mirror covering the entire ceiling. I was practicing on my emmons and when I looked up my entire fretboard was reflected on the ceiling. I just cranked the laziboy back had my feet on the pedals, my knees on the levers and was able to play just watching my hands on the ceiling. I played "release me" just like the devil had me in his grips. Wow whata sound. Bill head for the motel!!

Jim Phelps · Post by **Jim Phelps** » 2 Oct 2002 4:22 pm

Is Bill Hankey the Nutty Professor of the pedal steel guitar? Definitely. Will the Lucky 24 be the next best thing since knee levers or suffer the fates of the Amphicar and the Horn Violin? www.digitalviolin.com/StrohViolin1.html

Only time will tell.

[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 02 October 2002 at 05:24 PM.]

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 3 Oct 2002 4:43 am

Forum friends,

For the opposition group who are resisting an unique solution to the blind areas on the steel guitar fretboards, I can only remind you that I just came away from my steel. It was there that I ran through John Hughey's "Look At Us".
No problem whatsoever. How is that? The new fretboard reveals all of those nooks and crannies John likes to frequent.

Bill H

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 4 Oct 2002 5:57 am

F. M.,

I called Frank Caruso last evening, to ask if he would make a little room for me on his upcoming Waltham, Ma. Steel Show. I requested enough time to play two songs, and feature my "Lucky 24" fretboard. It rests in an aluminum track, 1/4" wide X 5/16" high X 15" long. The track is permanently mounted on the steel, with a 12th fret centering position. The "Lucky 24" is tilted on the approximate angle used in bookreading; away from the player.
The "Lucky 24" is one and 1/2" wide, X 19" long, and simply lifted from the track when packing up. There would be a thousand options that could be used, in furthering the enhancement of the "Lucky 24".
I have a few in mind for the near future.

Bill H.

Fred Shannon · Post by **Fred Shannon** » 4 Oct 2002 7:39 am

"Peers as if Mr Hankey is serious. Guess he's committed. Maybe we're all too adverse to change. That comes from a guy who first saw what looked like two wires from a clothes hangar, adjusted by a turnbuckle from a screen door, pulling strings on a steel guitar--to which I promptly asserted, "Heck, that'll never work." And if Henry Ford had listened to folks, I wouldn't be driving to gigs in this Windstar van, nor would I be able to fly to those places over 200 miles in this 'stupid looking V tailed Bonanza airplane. I also remember seeing a guy shaking his butt off in a highschool auditorium in Roswell NM in 1956 and I made the statement, "He'll never make it in the big time." His name Elvis. Finally, I also passed up an opportunity to by 100 shares of stock at $10 a share in a little electronics company in North Dallas. It's named 'Texas Instruments." So with that I'll not say anything about Bill's ideas except that any movement to better the steel guitar world is welcome at this house.

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The spirit be with you!!

Fred Shannon · Post by **Fred Shannon** » 4 Oct 2002 8:45 am

BTW, just in passing --(I sure don't want to start any bonfires)-- at all the bashes I've attended and in nearly all the pictures I've seen, when the "big 'uns" are really into it and moving the bar, why are they always looking down at something. Maybe they're checking to see if their fly is unzipped or somethin'----------. Just a thought.

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The spirit be with you!!

Ricky0ne1 · Post by **Ricky0ne1** » 4 Oct 2002 10:43 am

Muscle memory should get your bar in the neighborhood.. your ears will fine-tune the note.. but every once in a while you may need to recalibrate.. eyes seem the be the natural sense with which to do this calibration.. the more one practices, the less need for calibration..
I'd try anything once if I thought it would get me to that "perfect method".. ANY idea or 'gimmick' that actually aids one in his quest for that method is priceless.. Zen-Steelist.. yee-haw..
Rick

Stephen Gambrell · Post by **Stephen Gambrell** » 5 Oct 2002 12:59 pm

Well, Fred, you're right! If it makes the steel world a better place, I'm all for it. I wish Ol' Bill would take up songwriting, though----come up with stuff make "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" look like the Minute Waltz.

Fred Shannon · Post by **Fred Shannon** » 5 Oct 2002 2:10 pm

Well, Steve, in any case it didn't cost us anything, made some of us think and made for a lot of good reading. Who knows we may see a new steel come out of Puerto Rico with a slanted fretboard and a laser light put in the bar for easy reading. Peace Brother.

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The spirit be with you!!

Stephen Gambrell · Post by **Stephen Gambrell** » 6 Oct 2002 1:33 pm

There ya go, Fred!
Peace

RON PRESTON · Post by **RON PRESTON** » 6 Oct 2002 5:01 pm

Frank,
You ever seen Rick Hipple play "Saints go marching in" with his NOSE?
He used an EchoPlex on that # too. I remember Rick too, and It was Just him and his Drummer. Gosh, was that Dude a Riot!!!
I sat in with Rick one weekend playing my Gretch "Country Gentelman" that I borrowed from a friend in Louisville, Ky.
Dag, What a SMALL WORLD.
I had FORGOTTEN all about Ol Rick Hipple.
Super Cool Guy, he was.
Thanks for the Mind-Jog.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 7 Oct 2002 9:58 pm

F. M.,

If all goes well, pictures will be
presented on the Forum soon. They will clearly show the prototype "Innovative Fretboard", and the "Lucky 7".

Bill H.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 10 Oct 2002 3:33 pm

Steve F.,

I must change the name of my Fretboard for reasons of identity.
It will be known as, "Hankey's Upright Fretboard". Thank you Steve, for suggesting the other name.

Bill H.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 12 Oct 2002 6:07 pm

F.M.,

I am submitting a photo of the "Hankey Upright Fretboard". I'll be showing it in Waltham, MA. at Frank Caruso's Steel Show, tomorrow afternoon.

[This message was edited by Bill Hankey on 12 October 2002 at 07:12 PM.]

Johan Jansen · Post by **Johan Jansen** » 13 Oct 2002 5:12 am

Now I understand what you mean, Bill!
Thanks for posting. I hope this invention add some new thinking in the steelers world

The idea is good, I cannot imagine yet what my experiences with playing would be, it's another approach.
I see you also installed the lucky 7. According to the shine of your plain strings, it does its work very good, you mustn't have broken one in 10 years

No kidding, all the best with your invention.
Johan

Post by **b0b** » 13 Oct 2002 7:55 am

Since Bill has opened a new thread on this topic, I'm closing this long one.