Sonny Garrishâ€™s Practice Steel

Marty Broussard · Post by **Marty Broussard** » 3 Dec 2018 6:54 pm

Could someone provide more info on the practice guitar he brought to his Nashville Cats interview? Scale length, who made it, etc...

Thank you

scott murray · Post by **scott murray** » 7 Dec 2018 10:42 am

I'm intrigued by that as well. wish they'd had picks and a bar on hand, he probably would have demonstrated and perhaps talked about it some

also found it interesting that he said he only owns two steels, an Emmons and a JCH i believe. anyone know what model Emmons he uses? as most of us know, John Macy owns the p/p on the cover of the NBA album which was Sonny's

Marty Broussard · Post by **Marty Broussard** » 7 Dec 2018 5:25 pm

Iâ€™m really interested in the scale length. It appeared to have an Emmons PP key head if I remember correctly.

Iâ€™m interested in getting one built for the exact reason he said he had it for.

If thereâ€™s anyone out there that could contact him on my behalf and get as much info as possible Iâ€™d be very grateful.

Thank you,

John Macy · Post by **John Macy** » 7 Dec 2018 6:59 pm

Last time I used Sonny on a session he had a black mica PP with black wood necks....

Brett Day · Post by **Brett Day** » 7 Dec 2018 10:19 pm

John Macy wrote:Last time I used Sonny on a session he had a black mica PP with black wood necks....

That's probably the Emmons he uses now.

Dave Manion · Post by **Dave Manion** » 9 Dec 2018 11:27 am

Is there a spot to go check out this interview?

Marty Broussard · Post by **Marty Broussard** » 9 Dec 2018 12:14 pm

Dave,
I think if you go to the Events section you can get the YouTube link. Or search Sonny in YouTube.

scott murray · Post by **scott murray** » 9 Dec 2018 2:10 pm

it was up on the CMHOF website, but I can't find it now. might have been temporarily removed but should appear in the Nashville Cats section soon:

https://countrymusichalloffame.org/inde ... A2TpCd7lSw

you can currently find interviews with Paul Franklin and Weldon Myrick among others, including this great salute to Buddy Emmons:
https://countrymusichalloffame.org/cont ... ddy-emmons

Marty Broussard · Post by **Marty Broussard** » 12 Dec 2018 5:01 am

Bump for finding the requested info.

Dale Lee · Post by **Dale Lee** » 12 Dec 2018 7:27 am

https://livestream.com/accounts/1177548 ... 536/player

Marty Broussard · Post by **Marty Broussard** » 12 Dec 2018 8:12 am

Hey Dale,
I should have been more clearâ€”â€” Iâ€™m looking for thorough information about the practice pedal steel Sonny brought to the interview.

Ian Worley · Post by **Ian Worley** » 12 Dec 2018 1:52 pm

It looks pretty simple, would be very easy to replicate. It appears to be just a solid 1-1/2" plank top with some short aprons and those oval handle holes. The tailpiece, pickup and neck are Sho-Bud, the keyhead is Emmons. The scale length is about 16" give or take an inch, about the same length of Sonny's forearm, elbow to knuckles, so overall it's probably about 24-1/2" long.

Good luck on your quest.

Marty Broussard · Post by **Marty Broussard** » 12 Dec 2018 2:43 pm

Thank you Ian. I have a practice board thatâ€™s 16â€ scale so Iâ€™m thing his is around 18â€ but I absolutely agree on the key head , etc.

Bob Ricker · Post by **Bob Ricker** » 14 Dec 2018 3:07 pm

I believe great Nashville guitarist Gregg Galbraith made Sonny's "practice steel". Someone else may have enhanced the sound chamber.

Great to see Sonny on the interview. I had hired Sonny in the past but haven't seen the practice steel. But I had heard about it.

Marty Broussard · Post by **Marty Broussard** » 14 Dec 2018 10:22 pm

Bob,
Do you know if it had pedals/levers?

Bob Ricker · Post by **Bob Ricker** » 15 Dec 2018 6:25 am

Marty - I don't believe it does. Sonny and Gregg were with Bill Anderson at the time Gregg created it. Something for easy access practicing.

Marty Broussard · Post by **Marty Broussard** » 15 Dec 2018 9:46 am

Thank you Rick.

scott murray · Post by **scott murray** » 17 Dec 2018 10:22 pm

here's the interview again

https://livestream.com/accounts/1177548 ... bDBEGiI1Zc

Reggie Duncan · Post by **Reggie Duncan** » 14 Jan 2019 9:15 pm

Fantastic interview with my mentor that I have never met. I love Sonny Garrish!

Bill Ford · Post by **Bill Ford** » 19 Jan 2019 11:28 am

Met Sonny when he first started with Bill Anderson, super nice to talk to. One of the true great steel players, love his playing.

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Sonny Garrishâ€™s Practice Steel

Sonny Garrishâ€™s Practice Steel

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