How Did You Get Your Very First Steel?

Pat Burns · Post by **Pat Burns** » 12 Jun 2003 4:24 pm

...I was thinking today about how I got my first steel in November of '98 at age 46...I had always thought about playing a steel, but had no idea how to go about it, and besides, I needed to dry out before I could even seriously think about it...having done that about 5 years earlier, it took the advent of the internet to open the door..

..one day I just logged onto a search engine and typed in "pedal steel guitar"...one of the sites that came up, I think it was maybe Carter, had a list of steel guitar teachers, and the closest one to me was Bob Hoffnar who lived in Greenwich, Connecticut at the time. I called the number the next day and left a message that I knew nothing about pedal steel but wanted to find out about it...I was actually surprised when Bob returned my call later that afternoon and told me to come on over to his place...I did go over that Saturday morning, and Bob showed me his Franklin universal, let me sit down behind it...I put the picks on backwards and he politely showed me the right way to wear them...when I told him I was interested in learning how to play, he pointed out the obvious, that I would need a guitar and amp, and made a call right then and there to John Widgren, who lives 1/2 an hour or so away in Wilton, Connecticut. John said he had a Fuzzy D-10 for sale, so I drove right over and looked at it...John showed me how to set it up and take it down, elementary stuff but new to me...he also showed me his Emmons p/p, played a little for me...we made a deal on the Fuzzy and I paid him off within a month or so and went back to pick up my very first pedal steel...I bought an Ernie Ball volume pedal on the way home, and didn't even have an amp yet, I played it through a Tascam 4 track recorder and headphones until I also bought a Session 500 from John...

...what I was remembering most about it today was that the whole episode was probably mundane to both Bob Hoffnar and John Widgren, but if it was they didn't show it...they were not only helpful but patient, polite, encouraging and enthusiastic...and they understood that what was familiar to them was brand new and exciting to me...so thanks, Bob and John.

...for me, the first steel was that Fuzzy D-10...it was like a first kiss!...

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 12 Jun 2003 4:58 pm

My memory is real spotty but it seems that I decided that after a lot of years of playing music and loving listening to steel, in 1984 I finally had the financial means to pursue it. I found a copy of Winnie's book--I think at Umanov's in NYC--and after studying up on it I made contact with everyone in the appendix. I still have Dekley and Sho-Bud's responses. I think Sierra was also on the list. But BMI was the only one I could afford at $650 for a 3+2 S-10 w/ bar and v. pedal. I remember calling and speaking with Mr. Beck. Like a New York slick, I asked him something like "why should I buy YOUR guitar"? He asked me if I knew the Sho~Bud changer mechanism. I sort of acted like yes I did (meanwhile wondering 'what's a changer?') and he said 'well I designed it'. I was suitably impressed but fact is, the money was the thing (he gave me a full dealer's discount because there were no dealers anywhere around here). I remember when that guitar arrived. Man. Thanks to Winnie's book, I was squeezing the AB pedals and feeling so cool so fast. After a couple of years of picking it ended up under the bed until I rekindled my love a few years ago and staggered into the Forum. Still have that guitar. Some day I'll part with it to give someone else a leg-up (it's 3+4 now).

Can't wait for that first kiss. I've heard good things about that stuff.

Paul King · Post by **Paul King** » 12 Jun 2003 5:02 pm

It was April 1979. I was a wet behind the ears 19 year old teenager and had wanted a steel for a few years. My dad would not help me to buy one because he was afraid I would not like it. There was a music store in town and the man that owned it told me he would take me to Dallas to the MSA factory because he figured they had some used ones. I had $350 I had gotten back on income tax and thought that would buy one. When we got there the cheapest was $450. The man that owned the store wrote Reece a check and we headed back to town. The steel was a BMI with 4&4. I still remember the excitement and my brother bought a steel shortly after that. We both still play on a regular basis. To finish the story, the man that owned the music store let me get a volume pedal and anything else I needed. I gave him the $350 and he let me pay the rest out. To this day I tell people about Jody and how he helped me get my first steel. I can guarantee you that he will always have a special place in my heart for helping a teenagers dream come true, to have my own steel guitar. It has been a great 24 years that I do not regret. So when I get the opportunity to help someone new that wants to play I remember how Jody helped me. I surely consider him a friend.....Paul King

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 12 Jun 2003 5:29 pm

Pat,
To me calls like yours are some of the most important ones I get. Steel players were so helpful and patient with me when I started. When I first wanted to play the steel Fats Kaplan took me all over NYC trying to find a decent one. I ended up going to Scotty's convention with a thousand bucks in my pocket. I bought an MCI S10 from Buddy Emmons at the MCI booth. I couldn't believe that I was talking to Buddy Emmons. I asked him why I should buy the MCI and he said "well, it works and costs $1,000". That was good enough for me.

Bob

Kenny Foy · Post by **Kenny Foy** » 12 Jun 2003 6:13 pm

Always loved the sound of a steel even as a kid. There was something about the sound that reminded of what "Angel's Voices", if singing, would sound like. Couldn't afford one. It's wasn't like running out to Sears to buy a 20.00 guitar. They were hi even then. Got into marriage, family, raising my daughters, and just makin a living. But never forgot the sound that the steel makes. Then My Daddy passed away After working side by side everyday for 20 plus years. Quite a blow. Hard to work thru and really brought on the blues. Needed something to keep me occupied and to relax.BINGO I'll buy me a steel. Didn't know there were any within 50 miles. Never ever seen one up close until 1998. Got the local buy and sell and found something called a Maverick about 65 miles from me in Illinois. Called the feller, Mr Benton Freeman, and super nice guy. BUT he could have told me anything about a steel and i wouldn't have had a clue. Well as long as he didn't try to tell me it was a Corvair. I knew better than that. Treated me fair. Brought it home and there me and the Maverick set for a few years,Together. Didn't have a clue about nothin, Tunein, picks,Proper nothin. No one to tell me jack diddly. Now not being an instrument player of any kind,except Harmonica, I was lost. Then along came the Forum and then,my friend, Eddie Malray who has played for 20 something years.Me and Eddie worked within 50 feet of each other for approx 8 years and didn't know him. Both Did wonders for me. Haven't gotten very far. But when i want to rest or relax and take a load off I just set down to my guitars and have a LARGE time makin "Angels Voices" if singing.Wouldn't get rid of my guitars for nothin in the world. Sorry It's so long.

Larry Jamieson · Post by **Larry Jamieson** » 12 Jun 2003 6:40 pm

I was just out of the service, 1971, had a job and a few extra bucks. I walked into Zampi's house of Music, Binghamton, NY and there on the floor was an MSA Semi-Classic, 3 pedals and 1 knee lever. The salesman told me a teacher in the store was going to learn to play it, then give lessons and they planned to sell a bunch of steels. However, the teacher left shortly after they got the steel, nobody knew anything about it, and it had been on the floor for almost a year. The list price was $995 and they sold it to me for $550 to get their money back. It was the first time I had seen a steel up in this area, other than a Fender cable operated job a man in my home town owned. I had always wanted one, so after figuring out (Took at least ten minutes) how to take it apart and pack it up, it went home with me. I played that guitar for many years until I finally traded up for one with more knee levers. That old MSA was like a rock, never a mechanical problem, and usually perfectly in tune when I took it out of the case and set it up at the gig. Since I sold it, I have had a BMI, Carter, Exel, and I am currently playing a Cougar. My new ZUM is on order, should be delivered around November. Hope you have enjoyed playing steel as much as I have all these years... Larry J. Walton, NY

Rick McDuffie · Post by **Rick McDuffie** » 12 Jun 2003 7:12 pm

Traded an ES335 for it. Wish I had that guitar back...

------------------
Rick McDuffie
Tarheel Jazz Q-tet
Debbie Elam Band
www.tarheelmusic.com

Bobbe Seymour · Post by **Bobbe Seymour** » 12 Jun 2003 7:50 pm

Pat! Let me tell you how I got my first steel guitar!

When I was eight years old, Someone broke into my uncle Doug's car and left one. For my punishment for laughing, he gave it to me! Yep, ruined my life.

Moral of this story? : Don't ever laugh at anyone elses tragedy, it could ruin your life too!

George Rozak · Post by **George Rozak** » 12 Jun 2003 8:02 pm

Like Larry, I was just out of the service, must have been about 1969 or so. I decided I wanted to play a pedal steel, but didn't have the foggiest idea how to get started. I walked into a music store in Joliet, Illinois & told the salesman I was interested in a pedal steel guitar. His name was Charlie Brewer & luckily he was also a bass player in a country band, so he knew what I was talking about. They didn't have any steels in the store, so he ordered a Fender 400 for me. When it came in he knew enough to put a basic E9 tuning on it (without the top two chromatic strings) & the AB pedal changes (don't remember now what the other two pedals did). Then I was on my own. I learned a little from the old Sho-Bud book & then ran into a steel player in one of the local honky-tonks. His name was Denton Walker, & I took some lessons from him for several months.

About a year later I heard of a steel player in Streater, Illinois by the name of Don Howe who also sold guitars from a small store in his basement. I wound up trading in the Fender to him (and some $$$) for a Sho-Bud Professional, which I still own.

George

------------------
Sho-Bud: Professional & Fingertip

Jack Francis · Post by **Jack Francis** » 12 Jun 2003 8:20 pm

b0b was playing steel in the band that I played in back in '79 or early '80 not quite sure. b0b left so we hired another fella, when he left I missed the steel being in the band. b0b told me he knew of a Sho-Bud S-10 for sale so I bought it. ($300)
bob set it up and got me started. I found an Evans amp for $300. I went to a weekend seminar with Jeff Newman and learnt me some thangs.
A few years later Jeff called me and wanted to trade his Rus-ler for a Tele. I went into a friends music store and found a real nice Tele for $300, (I think I see a pattern here...everything back in those days cost $300!)
bob set up the Rus-ler for me (To a Emmons set-up. and showed me some more stuff.)
Over the years I have been impressed with the quality of the folks I have met thru this great instrument.
I'm looking forward to the next chapter with the fine folks here involved with the Southwest Steel Guitar Association. We are having an all day workshop this Saturday where Billy and Troy are gonna guide us onto new heights, I'm gonna be the next Big Deal that Vince sings about...Yeah, right.

------------------
RUS-LER S-10 / NV 400
Randall rack amp system
TELE's & STRAT FENDER TWIN
Seymour Duncan 50W tube amp

CrowBear Schmitt · Post by **CrowBear Schmitt** » 12 Jun 2003 11:39 pm

1969 while on the Road in Eau Claire Wisconsin
i hit up a Pawn shop and bought a lil ol' Gibson BR6 - 50$

------------------
Steel what?

[This message was edited by CrowBear Schmitt on 13 June 2003 at 04:02 AM.]

Brett Cookingham · Post by **Brett Cookingham** » 12 Jun 2003 11:55 pm

Hey! I got my first steel from "Steel Guitar Nashville"! [This message was edited by Brett Cookingham on 13 June 2003 at 10:47 AM.]

Rick Garrett · Post by **Rick Garrett** » 13 Jun 2003 1:44 am

My first Steel was a black and white 10 string Rickenbacker that was given to me by my father Bobby Garrett. I still have it although I can't make it sing like he did.

Rick Garrett

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 13 Jun 2003 2:08 am

I'd been listening to country radio off and on ever since the corporations and "album-oriented rock" radio stations ruined rock and roll in the 80's (Styx/Journey/Foreigner; Motley Crue!), and really liking the tone of pedal steels more than anything else. I kept trying to get that tone out of my solidbodies. Guitar Player magazine also quite regularly ran columns on playing "pedal steel licks" on standard guitar. Finally I thought "Well-this-is-dumb; if I want to make sounds like a pedal steel guitar and play licks like a pedal steel guitar, maybe I should get a pedal steel guitar." That was two years ago, and no regrets so far. (Except I haven't played my regular guitars, watered the plants or made the bed in three days, just can't stop playing that steel....)

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 13 Jun 2003 3:17 am

Being a former Norwalk Ct Yankee some of you up North guys may relate..

approx '71 or '72 or so...

I was working PT for my friend Fred Bramante, founder and owner of Daddy's Music, back then it was Daddy's Junky Music store..( named by his daughter for all the junk he had laying around ) . I was wanting a Steel so I tried to order a Miller..what did I know.?.nothing obviously. I called the Miller folks for about 3 months and they finally answered the phone and then advised me they had no wood ..?? !! ?? to make the bodies ?

Very strange.

I ran into a friend ( Leigh Henry ) who knew just a little more than me, which was pretty much nothing as well, and he told me about this brand called Sho-Bud..

I called Sam Ashe in White Plains NY and
they had the one called Maverick..

ok..I got in the car , drove about 60 minutes to White Plains NY, paid about $350 for a new maple body Maverick..and never looked back.except for about 6 months later when I went back and bought my Black D10 Pro III from the same store.

You really have to keep in mind that a R+R, Blues guy in Norwalk Ct didn't have much chance of being in front of many Steel Guitars growing up...but quite amazingly after I bought one I went seeking and there were many players all around the state which I hooked up with..it was just a different world than the one I was hanging out in..Heck..there were players in my own town !
Tom Reilly and Ray Gantek to name a couple..

I must have lived a very sheltered early life..but you really didn't want to tell to many of your R+R Blues pals that you were now playing this sideways on legs scretchin' thing that was related to Country music..

Screw em'...30 years later,here we all are..

glad to be here.

tp

Jay Ganz · Post by **Jay Ganz** » 13 Jun 2003 6:29 am

Found an old used push/pull single neck
at a music store back in '73.

------------------

Download > > > <a href=http://home.hvc.rr.com/jsganz>"Steelin' at Sunrise"</a>

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 13 Jun 2003 7:09 am

I inherited my Dad's studio's Mosrite Dobro back around 1969, and still have it. The Nixon reccession killed the studio before the Tennessee Birdwalk, KTel records royalties started coming in. I was left the Dobro for.. aacchmm safe keeping.
I played it from time to time for decades.

In NYC I was in a bluegrass band and tried the National New Yorker the banjo player had, I loved it and wanted a C6 that wouldn't feed back so I got my Supro 6.

That got left in the states when I moved to France, there never was a suitcase or box it fit in. But when I finally got it over here, I suddenly though. Oh damn I want more strings...
So I started hunting for 8 strings, then D-8s and then a Console Grand. But then thought I'd build one... that got expensive too, so I started thinking used PSG.
Carter Starter, Maverick etc. But I also read a lot and saw tuning issues with student steels, a lack of "sound" and very, very few in C6. It became clear a D-10 was in the cards.
I found a steeler or two in France and some web sites, through one I found Crowbear and started the proccess of buying his Professional.
But before I had the cash to do the deal, CB pointed me to the Forum and also to Patrick's Pro-II 8+6. It was near my sisters on Cape Cod. We agreed he would bring it to her place and she would pay him...
then the Blizzard struck. I spent a week worrying the deal would fall through, or a bidding war would start.

But Pat dug out and got the steel to my sister's. I listened to it on a portable phone in a van in the south of France while it was played in Massachusetts. Sounded great, the price was just within budjet; done deal.

Now the story comes full circle. The house steeler for my dad's studio back in 1966 was Tommy Cass. The 1st guy to ever sit me down at a steel and let me flail around. I found him through 2 forum members, and he agreed to look the Sho-Bud over and give it a full cleaning etc.

So 36 years after he set me down at his Emmons, he also set up my 1st PSG for me. He did a great job, gave me a great price, great advice, and packed it for FedX shipping so that it arrived in Perfect Condition last April. I have been working like a nut on it ever since and expect to play it out this summer several times. Et voila.[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 13 June 2003 at 08:10 AM.]

seldomfed · Post by **seldomfed** » 13 Jun 2003 7:15 am

About 12 years ago I found a $200 Pawn Shop special - 'twas an Emmons student model 3p 1lk in perfect shape. Started on that and kept for a number of years and sold for $400. Although wish I still had it.

------------------
Chris Kennison
Ft. Collins, Colorado
"There is no spoon"
www.book-em-danno.com

John Cox · Post by **John Cox** » 13 Jun 2003 7:32 am

Hey!
I had one of Emmons student models I got from
"Little Roy Wiggens" in "75" or so, I wish I
had kept mine too.

J.C.

D Schubert · Post by **D Schubert** » 13 Jun 2003 7:51 am

First steel was a black 6-string Airline "Rocket" model bought from a pawnshop, about 1974. Traded it for some other musical junk a few years later. Just found another one and paid 5x as much for it, in a fit of nostalgia. I still love that dense sound from the big pickup.

First pedal guitar was a Fender 400 set up for partial E9 chromatic, about 1980. Sold it in six months, to buy a Dekeley S-10 with 3+5 at Scotty's.

First Dobro was a small-bodied Angelus with a warped round neck that I bought from a retired hog farmer about 1980. Ended up trading it on a Deluxe Reverb...

Johan Jansen · Post by **Johan Jansen** » 13 Jun 2003 8:40 am

From my parents on my 16th birthday, a Aria 6 string hawaiianguitar.

Joe Miraglia · Post by **Joe Miraglia** » 13 Jun 2003 10:20 am

Bobbe-Maybe it was Mr. Nollinger. That's where I got mine. He had a whole truck load of them. Joe

John Macy · Post by **John Macy** » 13 Jun 2003 11:05 am

I was a year or so out of high school (1972ish), and getting a start at being an engineer at a nice studio in Boston (where my family had moved to from Texas in 1970) when I fell in love with the steel. I bought a Fender 400 from Al "Curley" Eyles at Fitchburg Music outside of Boston. He set me up with Tommy Cass to get started, who made me realize that if I wanted to be serious, I needed a real guitar, so I quickly traded it in for a D10 Emmons, a 1970 Fatback with no knee levers. Tommy added 2 levers, the another 5, and got me started playing. I owe him a lot. It's interesting he shows up in several posts.

I still have the guitar. It is currently in Tennessee undergoing a full restoration in the very capable hands of Jeff Peterson, who I also met during that time in Boston, and has been a good friend ever since. He'll also have a hand in building the new JCH that I will hopefully see somtime this year.

Lawrence Lupkin · Post by **Lawrence Lupkin** » 13 Jun 2003 11:18 am

Like Pat, my first experience with steel was also with Bob Hoffnar. He guided me through the process of buying a guitar and went above and beyond the call in terms of time and patience. Heck, I was surprised to actually find a teacher in New York, much less one 10 minutes from my house. Since then, all the steel players I've met have helpful and more than gracious with their time and experience. I only hope to be good enough some day to pass that along to someone else.
Oh, I guess that means I have to practice.

Jim Eaton · Post by **Jim Eaton** » 13 Jun 2003 12:22 pm

In 1972, I went to work for a friend who owned "Livley Arts Music" when I got back from spending my time in the "friendly skys" of Viet Nam. Up to that point all I played was 6 stg guitar, but when you have to be able to get "music" out of what ever instrument the customer was looking at to buy, you pick up a little bit of everything.
My boss had a friend who wanted an S10 ShoBud, and in those days to become a Sho Bud dealer, it took a 3 guitar order to get the full discount. So we ordered 2 #6139 models and a Maverick. When they came in, the boss's friend pick his up and a few days later one of his friends bought the other #6139 guitar. So there sat that little Maverick. Well I got to trying to tune it and figure out how to get some "music" out of it to be able to demo it if need be.
31 years later, here I am with my 75D10PP Emmons, my SD10 Fessy, and I'm waiting for my new SD-12 5X5 Extended E9th Sierra to be delivered. I'm not sure if "I got Steel or if Steel got me"!!LOL
JE:-)>