Tuning a Pedal Steel

[Donald Fullmer]

I'am brand new to the Forum.My question is Do any Pedal Steel Players tune
Everything to 440?

[Sid Hudson]

Welcome Don.

[John Peay]

Don,

Yes, some do...and some don't...and some are closer than others. Larry Bell has a very good, readable explanation of our tuning options and their differences here:

http://www.larrybell.org/id29.htm

[Robert Parent]

Welcome to the forum...

For about 20 years I chased the zillion tuning charts trying to get in-tune. About 10 years ago I gave up and started tuning straight up and no more tuning issues. I can now play with anyone and things sound as they should. As mentioned above, the steel community is divided on the whole tuning issue.

Robert

[Robert Parent]

Welcome to the forum...

For about 20 years I chased the zillion tuning charts trying to get in-tune. About 10 years ago I gave up and started tuning straight up and no more tuning issues. I can now play with anyone and things sound as they should. As mentioned above, the steel community is divided on the whole tuning issue.

Robert

[Scott Duckworth]

I use the Emmons Tempered Tuning as straight up didn't sound right. Now my steel sounds like a steel...

http://www.buddyemmons.com/ttchart.htm

[Gary Cooper]

Food for Thought: Why should the steel player use one of the many tempered charts out there when the other members of the band do not? Logically, it seems that all the members of the band should tune to A440. Some might say it has to do with cabinet drop, however, most manufactures of today's PSGs say cabinet drop is not a factor.

[Donald Fullmer]

Thanks, to all for the welcome to the Forum. thanks for the info on tuning a PSG. It looks like it's WHAT EVER WORKS. FOR YOU is the answer.Thanks again,

Don

[Ray Anderson]

Try several and use what works and sounds the best to your taste. Welcome to the Steel world !

[Bill Moore]

Here's some more:
http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum5/HTML/010572.html

[Tom Gorr]

This tuning thing is a great topic, and I respect all points of view on it, for all the various reasons behind them. No one-size fits all answer.

My experience was that I tuned "straight up" A440 for years and always thought my steel didn't sound great. I tried the preset newman and emmons presets in my pederson tuner, still didn't sound good.

One day I left my tuner on and the batteries went dead. My kids turned some of my tuning knobs...I tuned by ear with the benefit of natural string harmonics, and dialed in a tuning that makes my guitar about 3x more resonant and wayyy sweeter to the ear.

So, I tune by harmonics/ear now, and the guitar sounds like I've always hoped it would.

[Ian Rae]

To go back to the initial question, which was not about tuning systems but about pitch, A440 represents a widespread preference, although standards have changed over the centuries, and you can play at any pitch you like if your instrument can take it.

The trouble starts when you want to tune the other strings. I am a newbie and a trombone player, and the possibility of naturally tuned chords is one of the things that drew me to the instrument. (Trombones playing together in a section automatically play in natural intervals because anything else is physically distressing.) So no secret which side I'm on although I've only been at it five minutes. I am sure that session players with many sophisticated changes playing with keyboard instruments have to take refuge in equal temperament, but I like the sounds of the fresh outdoors. Some chords don't work, but they're generally alternatives to more regular ones.

So tune A to 440Hz and from then on use your ears.