Youtube demo of my 2 steel guitars

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 12 Mar 2014 2:32 pm

Nothing great sound wise, or video wise for that matter, but i do kind of like it, and its not so awful that I don't want to share it... I had my son do it over the holidays on his cell phone.. Just thought it would be fun...

All clams,nonsequiturs,squeaks, squidgets, and malaprops left intact for your viewing and listening pleasure..
Just a bunch of random noodling going on, and the MSA sounded a tad overdriven, but whatever..

Actually, I think I am going to put a single coil in the MSA, it sounded a bit wooly at times.

I am getting SO old looking, balding rapidly as I approach 60.Yikes! What happened to the handsome young buck I was just a few short years ago??..

I was horrified at how I looked!!!...lol

My NJ accent is as strong as ever as well.. I thought I had lost it... nope!

anyway, its a cool video in some ways. It gives a good view of my right hand and bar, good shots of my pedal use, knee lever movement, and some good shots of me using my "Franklin Change" which I split between 4 and 5 on the MSA.. Marlen only drops the G#, no B lower...
enjoy!.... bob

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay4ilskeACc

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 12 Mar 2014 4:14 pm

Pretty good country pickin' there, Bob. Even the New Joisey accent isn't too thick.

Interesting sidebar is that you don't look anything like I'd imagined you would from some of your posts. You look better.

John Sluszny · Post by **John Sluszny** » 12 Mar 2014 4:43 pm

Quentin Hickey · Post by **Quentin Hickey** » 12 Mar 2014 4:50 pm

Bob, nice tone and playing, are you running a cube 80?

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 12 Mar 2014 4:53 pm

Hey that was a good demo, Bob.
If you have time maybe you could post the pedal/lever setups on those steels. It looks like you lower E's on RKR?
Are you left handed? I see the left-ee guitar in the corner.
That sounded real good Man. I can see why a band would be glad to have you.
Pete B.

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 12 Mar 2014 5:16 pm

Quentin Hickey wrote:Vov, nice tone and playing, are you running a cube 80?

Yes Cube 80 XL. maybe... However, I am not 100% sure thats what I was using here.. may have been my old BF Bassman...
Didn't have too much effects,, may have been the BM.. the Cube 80 may have had some delay, reverb etc ,,,
I could be wrong, I just don't remember,,, Look at me, I am old and decrepit! How can I remember anything!!!??

Pete.. Yes, standard MSA back in the 70's was
RKR- E's 1/2 down
RKL- E's 1/2 up
On my LKL I go string 1 G#-F#.. I have no need for a half tone to g there, because i have grown adept over the years at balancing it halfway,, Never miss the feel stop...

My LKR is pretty odd.. I use an E there, not an Eb and drop it to D with a 1/2 tone feel stop.. I use it a lot, for unison, and i get a nice 7th in conjunction with "half pedaling" my LKL.. You can hear a quick unison lick using it on the MSA clip.. I use it often when I am near the 1st string, in place of the 4th string lower, since it is "closer" on some licks...
1st 3 pedals are standard Emmons..
Pedal 4 drops 5 a full tone to F#, and I use it a lot..
Pedal 5 drops 6 to A...

Thanks for the kind words Pete, it made my day.. I have always been in bands, thats why the non commercial, kind of ungainly style...
I sound like and play like a honky tonk steel player that just never was able to really polish up, and get that real "pro" sound going.. Just string chords licks and fills together behind the vocals, don't get in the way, and let er rip on a few solos.. It has served me well, no regrets really.
... Glad you thought well of my goofy little vid!...

and, no, I'm not a southpaw.. That lefty guitar was a pawn shop junk Korean Fender A/E my son bought for $ 20 and wanted me to sell it for him at a profit.. I was lucky to get $30 and run..
btw, You got a good eye!!. I saw the vid a dozen times, and never realized that piece of crap guitar made it into the video!.. lol.bob

David Scheidler · Post by **David Scheidler** » 12 Mar 2014 5:34 pm

When I grow up I wanna play pedal steel like that! Sucks being a newbie...

Quentin Hickey · Post by **Quentin Hickey** » 12 Mar 2014 6:10 pm

David the whole learning process is an exciting journey filled with highs and lows, the hardest part of playing is the mental commitment, everything else wil follow suit.

Bob I agree with you on MSA's not being as dark as people may think, I think it all comes down to how you pic them. I can make my guitar sound dark and full or shrill and thin. Great sounds you got going on there.

Bob Russell · Post by **Bob Russell** » 12 Mar 2014 6:45 pm

Man, that "honky tonk" style is what I love! Very nice!

Brian Herder · Post by **Brian Herder** » 12 Mar 2014 7:22 pm

That MSA sounds great the way it is, I think. What pickup is on it now?

Clyde Mattocks · Post by **Clyde Mattocks** » 12 Mar 2014 8:37 pm

Congratulations, you really got that Marlen up and going. I remember when you were first struggling with that pull/release system. Sticking with it seems to have paid off. Good picking!

Tom Gorr · Post by **Tom Gorr** » 12 Mar 2014 8:48 pm

Great stuff Bob! In addition to your poppin' licks, I couldn't help but notice some stellar volume pedal technique...the volume was dead level on my computer speakers anyways...and what are you doing with your P5, you reach over there a lot...?

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 13 Mar 2014 1:56 am

Brian.. Stock MSA SuperSustain humbucker...
I may replace it with a single coil.. not sure...

Clyde..Thanks.. The pedal action is as close and soft as any steel I have ever played.. As light as the Carter I had,, The knees are fine, but for whatever reason they need more reach than the MSA.Lowers are stiffer than the MSA as well, because of the massive springs need to keep the changer fingers forward..
Its a lovely little guitar and I am glad I got it at so low a price. It never goes out of tune. ever.

The P/R mechanism is tough to work on no doubt, probably impossible for some guys that lack good mechanical ability. I still only partially understand it, but its "running good" right now, so I leave it alone.. It will see a lot of stage use this coming year.

Tom.. "poppin licks".. lol, love that terminology.. Thanks for the compliment on the VP usage.. To be honest, I always thought I had a very nervous, herky jerk VP technique.. I am really glad you think it was ok.. That comforts me coming from another steel player.
I just never think much about it after all these decades. I suppose if I maintain a good level volume, its because of so much time doing it on stage with other musicians..
Pedal 5 drops the string 5 B to A.. Most players use it on a lever, but I always preferred it on a pedal.. I use it in conjunction with pedal 4 G#-F#.. Thanks again for the kind words...bob

Les Cargill · Post by **Les Cargill** » 13 Mar 2014 9:44 am

Bob Carlucci wrote:Brian.. Stock MSA SuperSustain humbucker...
I may replace it with a single coil.. not sure...

bob

I have an MSA U12 w/ a Supersustain and I sure like the sound of that pickup. Previously, I'd used a Starter ( which has a fine sounding single coil ) and I like the SS better.

'Course, this'll be highly individualized - no two people hit strings the same. But from the clips, your sound in the room was better on the MSA. Maybe I am biased

And it's a camera mic, maybe the amp settings blah blah.

Jack Stanton · Post by **Jack Stanton** » 13 Mar 2014 10:31 am

Funny, I was thinking of how much of your Jersey accent you lost!

Daniel McKee · Post by **Daniel McKee** » 13 Mar 2014 10:52 am

Really nice playing. Everything really sounded great to me and those are two very nice guitars and both really had that country steel guitar sound.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 15 Mar 2014 5:53 pm

Herb Steiner wrote:Pretty good country pickin' there, Bob. Even the New Joisey accent isn't too thick.

Interesting sidebar is that you don't look anything like I'd imagined you would from some of your posts. You look better.

interesting herb. i had the same sensation!

Frank Montmarquet · Post by **Frank Montmarquet** » 15 Mar 2014 7:17 pm

Folks from New Jersey don't say "Joisey", I lived there 40 years and NEVER heard someone say it that way. But some people from New york say that. So, you are making fun of NY, not NJ.

John De Maille · Post by **John De Maille** » 15 Mar 2014 7:52 pm

Yes, kind of like toyky, erl, erster, Greenpernt, joyk and quite a few more phonetically mis pronounced woids.

Lee Dassow · Post by **Lee Dassow** » 16 Mar 2014 5:32 pm

Real pretty playing Bob. I like the way you dance around on those pedals. Love those old instruments
too. I couldn't say which one sounded the best though. Tennessee Lee

Scott Hay · Post by **Scott Hay** » 16 Mar 2014 6:51 pm

Nice version of Free and Easy Bob! Get down.

Bill Terry · Post by **Bill Terry** » 17 Mar 2014 5:15 am

I hear the Sneaky Pete influence all over that stuff Bob. Nice job...

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 17 Mar 2014 7:42 am

Bill Terry wrote:I hear the Sneaky Pete influence all over that stuff Bob. Nice job...

Bill, I take that as a massive compliment.. I have heard it a few times from others here, but always say "nah"...
Pete was a huge influence on my playing decades ago, and remains so today.. Same with Brumley, and Moon, Buddy Cage, Rusty, John Call etc etc.. I am not worthy to wipe the string crust off of any of those guys steels, but the fact that another steel player can hear the influence means that just a touch of their style became part of my playing, it means they have a legacy besides their recordings.
They touched another player that will pass on something they created earlier.. I gave lessons to a young guy, and he became enamored with guys I idolized decades ago.. He picked up on what I was doing instantly, and then went right to the source for the REAL story,, and so it goes... Your words have made my day...

Scott Hay wrote:
Nice version of Free and Easy Bob! Get down.

lol... only another Brumley freak would know what that was... thanks Scott.... bob

Steve Wood · Post by **Steve Wood** » 17 Mar 2014 9:30 am

Wonderful, Bob!

Dale Rottacker · Post by **Dale Rottacker** » 17 Mar 2014 10:15 am

Really nice Bob...good pickn'