Thinking of buying a Pedal Steel

John D. Carter · Post by **John D. Carter** » 24 Nov 2015 2:13 pm

I have been dabbling in c6 non-pedal for some time. I saw a demonstration of a Hudson 6 with two pedals and 2 knee levers. I was impressed with the quality, sound and price. My question to you peddlers, could I stay with my current standard c6 tuning (CEGACE) and make good use of the pedals and levers? I would definitely prefer to have some tab to get me started. Does tab for such a set-up exist? Thanks for any advice that can be given.

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 25 Nov 2015 4:42 am

You COULD, but you'd shortchange yourself. If I was wanting to take a 6 string approach and wanting the E9th pedal steel sound, I'd use G#EBG#F#E with P1 pulling the B string to C#, P2 pulling the two G#s to A and a lever dropping the Es to D#.
The C6th pedal steel really needs at least 8 strings and the full 5 pedals, And at least the one knee

Rich Upright · Post by **Rich Upright** » 25 Nov 2015 5:27 am

Do it the right way E9 tuning. 10 strings 3 pedals 4 knee levers. Anything else is just a shortcut. You won't get "that sound" any other way.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 25 Nov 2015 6:23 am

I don't think there is any tab or learning materials available for a 6-string C6th pedal steel, so if you wanted to stay with this tuning, you're going to be pretty much on your own. I'm certainly no expert, but I think you could get enough variations with 2 pedals and two levers to make it interesting and versatile. But, as to how long this setup would keep you happy and occupied, I couldn't say. You'll just have to keep in mind that you won't be able to get a lot of the C6th and E9th sounds that you usually hear on a pedal steel.

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 25 Nov 2015 8:47 am

Rich Upright wrote:Do it the right way E9 tuning.

C6 is as right as E9 and maybe righter.

John D. Carter wrote:could I stay with my current standard c6 tuning (CEGACE) and make good use of the pedals and levers?

Yes, absolutely. The pull-release system may work best with one pull on each string (maybe more?) so here are a couple of ways you could add a lot to the tuning that you already know

[tab]
knee P1 P2 knee
E --D
C -B
A
G -F#
E -Eb
C -B
[/tab]

[tab]
knee P1 P2 knee
E +F
C ++D
A +Bb
G -F#
E -Eb
C
[/tab]

John D. Carter · Post by **John D. Carter** » 26 Nov 2015 4:36 pm

I appreciate all of the responses. This instrument appeals to me because I anticipate that the sound will be somewhere in between a lap and pedal. I am not abandoning my love for the sound of non-pedal. Just listen to Paul Franklin play his non-pedal on Martina McBride's rendition of Hank Williams, You Win Again. Indeed a beautiful sound. Thanks especially to Mr. Bovine for the specifics that I was seeking. Much appreciated.

https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=y ... p=yhs-004

John D. Carter · Post by **John D. Carter** » 26 Nov 2015 4:47 pm

Something went wrong with previous post. sorry. Thank you for the responses, especially the specific examples by Mr. Bovine. Much appreciated. I would anticipate a sound that is somewhere in between a pedal steel and a lap steel. This is the aspect of the instrument that appeals to me.

Calvin Walley · Post by **Calvin Walley** » 26 Nov 2015 5:40 pm

you can get a lot of music out of 6 strings 2 pedals and 1 or 2 knees

Jeff Mead · Post by **Jeff Mead** » 27 Nov 2015 12:29 am

John D. Carter wrote:Something went wrong with previous post. sorry. Thank you for the responses, especially the specific examples by Mr. Bovine. Much appreciated. I would anticipate a sound that is somewhere in between a pedal steel and a lap steel. This is the aspect of the instrument that appeals to me.

John, As you are already playing C6, you should be able to find your way around A6 without too much effort.

When I first got my six string pedal steel, I went and did a gig with it almost straight away, spending most of my time with both pedals down and playing all my usual stuff, adding pedal bends when I started to feel my way around a bit more.

If you tune your six string pedal steel to strings 3-8 of a regular E9 pedal steel (or even B E F# G# B E) and configure your pedals as A and B, then with both pedals down you'll get an A6.

You can easily re-tune your guitar to A6 to dip your toe in the water (C# E F# A C# E). The relationship between the strings on that A6 is the same as if you added a high G to your C6 and moved everything down 3 frets (not as complicated to get your head around as it sounds).

After a while of using that on my six string pedal steel, I decided I would prefer the sound of strings 3-8 of an E9 (which is sort of an extra step away from your C6 tuning so maybe play around with the one I mentioned above first.)

Like you, I see the six string pedal steel as a lap steel with extras.

After playing with it for a while, I got the urge to go for a full 10 stringer but have no plans to het rif of the 6.

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 27 Nov 2015 5:12 am

I think Jimmie will build any copedent you want into a 6-string, but you'd need to design it first,
bearing in mind that a pull-release can't have a raise and lower on the same string (correct me if I'm wrong).

Here is the C6 tuning b0b uses on his 6-pedal Rickenbacker, minus the top and bottom strings:

Eliminate columns 1 and 5 and you have pretty much the same changes that Earnest suggested.
It's kind of a thing where you select from a Chinese menu, 'one from column A, one from column B...'
Plenty to choose from, you just have to know what you want to begin with.

Mr. Hudson builds a good guitar, believes in the tone of the changer, and is very helpful to talk to.

Charley Bond · Post by **Charley Bond** » 28 Nov 2015 10:34 am

If you buy a good guitar... you have more or less put the money from one bank into another bank... it is not a loss, unless you go & buy a new something or other.

If you find a good used Steel Guitar, it might cost you upwards of $2000.00. If taken care of & it is a popular guitar, you might $2000 when you sell it.

Trying to play the Pedal Steel without any music background is difficult to say the least. Yeah, you'll learn to pick a few songs, but when someone wants to hear something you can't play... you need to learn to smile real big & hope that no one realizes you can't or ain't playing..... with the band.

Good Luck... learning is great fun.