How old were you when you started playing, and in what year?

[Don Walters]

1957, age 18

[Joan Cox]

1976...I was 18.

[John Cadeau]

I was 12 years old. 1957.

[Henry Matthews]

Was 40 and the year, 1984

No wonder some of you guys are so good, been playing all your life,

[Calvin Walley]

1997-8 ? as best I can remember I was 48-49

hell i'm 57 now so it was about 13 or 14 years ago

[John Swain]

24 in 1974..

[Thomas Heath]

March 2012, 25

[Hap Young]

I started in 1974 at the age of 36. I played 6 string at age 17 and sax at age 8.

[Jim Hoke]

1972. I was going to college at Oklahoma City University. Having been enamoured with dixieland, cool jazz, pre-Beatles pop, Brit-Pop, country-rock, and country (in that order), I built a steel guitar in my dorm room. Here's how I did it: I laid my cheap Harmony acoustic across two chairs. Then I drilled two holes in the headstock under the B and G strings. Then, I ripped out all the pages of my Music History and Music Theory notebooks, threw the pages in the trash, straightened out the spiral wire bindings as best as I could, ran one end of each up thru the hole in the neck, around the string and down and around, and made a loop for a foot on the other end. So I had two stirrups (or "pedals") - left foot for the B string, right foot for the G string (tuned up to G# of course). Still with me? By PURE LUCK and RANDOM PHYSICS, when I mashed down the "pedal" for the B string (pressing the string down to the headstock) , it raised it a whole tone and when I mashed down the one for G# - you guessed it - A. Wahoo!! - I was playing steel licks. Of course, every couple of presses and the wire would break, so I'd have to ruin another notebook, etc. If that ain't love,or something.......

[Darvin Willhoite]

19, in 1971

[Jack Bowman]

I started playing on a 3 dollar guitar when I was 9 years old, in 1941. My brother Allen, was 11 and would put his guitar behind the couch and tell me to leave it alone. When he'd go up the street I would climb over the back and get it and play what I had seen him play. played lapsteel in 1945 and then banjo in 47. I kept trying to get music outta something. I still am trying to do that @

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S5mqc9XNoo

Thisis in 2010 at 78 years old. My steel playing is not very good but I had to lay the regular guitar aside because of Arthritise.

[Keenan Friday]

This is a real interesting topic. I counted 9 people that stated they started at age 19. And 17 was a popular age as well. I bought my first pedal steel in 2009 I was 19 then. I've been playing guitar since I was 12.

[Herb Steiner]

I started on guitar in 1960 at age 13.

Took up mandolin in 1961 at the urging of some dude named Perlowin that went to my high school.

Began playing dobro in 1964 then non-pedal steel on a Fender Deluxe.

Got a Fender 400 in 1966 but just aimlessly farted around on it, then swapped it to Jeff Hanna for a beat-up Les Paul.

Hired by Ronstadt in '68 as a dobro player, who then pushed me into getting another steel (shobud crossover) and becoming serious about being a steel player.

I played my last bluegrass festival in Norco CA in 1968 and then forgot about bluegrass entirely, and went into the nightclubs in SoCal to learn my craft.

[Roger Rettig]

October 2nd, 1957 - that's when I got my first six-string guitar.

Steel, quite a bit later; maybe sometime in 1973 - I've forgotten now but I had a succession of ZBs. A Student, an S-10 then two D-10s. I fumbled my way through my first master session on steel sometime in 1975. Am I glad I don't have a copy of the record? I bet it was excruciating!

[Michael Laslovich]

Started playing on an Old Stella Lap Steel, Music lessons The United Institute Of Music at the time age 9 1962.

[David Mason]

Somewhere around the age of six, I discovered that you could pull out some dresser drawers part-way, and then use thumbtacks to secure various lengths of rubber bands to twank on. But alas, you had to demolish every thing, every time you wanted to close the drawers. Stupid old people.

I'm a leftie playing rightie, it has never really bothered me on any instrument, except:
after enough of the rubber band concerto, a guitar appeared. With Nylon strings - stupid old people.

And then the kaleidoscope hit, and it's been a mishmash ever since.

[Ben Greene]

Feb 2013 at 38 years old.

[Randy Myers]

Started in May 2013 Age 59

[Wayne Neal]

I started at age 4 in 1981 on mandolin and moved through banjo, guitar, bass, dobro, fiddle, and harmonica.

My dad started in 81 also after a bad industial accident and we sort of learned together. He finaly ended up on steel and I ended up on guitar with my younger brother playing keys for a good part of our lives. After dad quit playing out we tried out a couple steel guys but never was satisfied in one way or the other.

Fast forward to Jan 2013 I started to play steel on dads carter till I found this old MSA...He tought me a great deal along with my friend Ed price and some tablature I saw on Greg Cutshaws site...I currently play lead, steel, fiddle and mandolin in the band I am in.

[Sean Borton]

2009 - 44 years old.

[Mike Poholsky]

Michael Remming, that photo you posted of Scottys brought it all back! That's the place it all went down! 1972, I was 17. Didn't really know what a Pedal Steel was but, Garcia, Cage and Bobby Black sure made them sound cool when they came through St Louis. Then, it was Rusty Young with the early Poco band that put me over the edge. Saw them one evening and it was the coolest music I ever heard and Rusty was an amazing player and showman. I immediately found Scottys and Scotty started giving me lessons. I used to have to go to the store to practice cause I couldn't afford a steel. Finally talked my folks into an MSA Semi Classic for graduation in '73. I was damn lucky I lived in St Louis. Scotty got me to the Steel Convention, that busted the door wide open. I got to see and meet many of the great players during those years, being around Scottys store and the Convention. All the greats were/are great but, I caught Jerry Byrds' performance one year, and it changed the way I thought about Steel Guitar.

If I only knew then what I know now! I didn't even know enough to ask questions.
Just another knucklehead teenager that wants to play one of those cool things!
Scotty must have had some laughs! Thanks Scotty.

[Bob Gibler]

Believe it or not. This last December 2013 when I completed the Restoration on My Late Father's Wright Quad Steel Is the First time that I have ever sit behind a Steel Guitar intent on Playing it, not setting it up for Dad to play and or tearing it down and putting it away.
Now learning to play it is in my blood. I can't seem to pull myself away from it. My Father was a very accomplished Steel Guitar Player in his career as is My brother Jeff now. I am having a blast as a newbie learning the first neck of 10 strings Tunings,E-9/A7.
I am learning the chords,Tone bar manipulation and slants, and notes of each string and Fret progressions thus far.By the way, I am 54 years old. And thanks to My Brother Jeff I am working to learn my first tune. Hank Williams, I'm so lonesome I could Cry.
NO PUN INTENDED. My Wife doesn't seem to mind me turning up the amp to get the tubes going as I practice. Turning around....Yep She is still here..Lol

[Wally Pfeifer]

Started playing on a Regal acoustic Hawaiian guitar in 1939 when I was 9 years old. Good old days.

[Erv Niehaus]

I maybe started playing a square neck acoustic Oahu guitar in approx. 1949. Then I went on to a solid body Gibson a few years later.

[Ron Scott]

1968 age 25 on a 3 neck fender I bought at a garage with an amp included.What a bargain. I wish I still had the Fender.I'll try to find a picture of My uncle and me playing in a garage some months later. Don't want to hear that.RS