Anyone Given Up The Pedal Steel to Focus on Dobro??

Lap steels, resonators, multi-neck consoles and acoustic steel guitars

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Daniel Buller
Posts: 23
Joined: 11 Nov 2017 6:30 pm
Location: Colorado, USA

Post by Daniel Buller »

I was a dobro player before I started on PSG. I haven’t given up one for the other, but as someone who plays a lot of high tempo bluegrass on dobro, I think it actually helps my PSG playing. So many folks utiliize somewhat minimal bar movement when playing PSG which is great in its own right, but for me I feel like I can really cover a lot of ground by ultilizing more bar movement than average (still less than dobro) and use the pedals to bridge the gap between everything.
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Steve Lipsey
Posts: 1900
Joined: 9 May 2011 8:51 pm
Location: Portland, Oregon, USA
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Post by Steve Lipsey »

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I let the pedal steel go for 3 instruments that I tune all the same....the long-scale lap steel (Asher Ben Harper model) gives me a lot of pedal steel moves (with slants) and most of the sound, for those who don't really hear the difference, which is most audiences...and it is a LOT lighter to carry...the amp side is handled by a Milkman "The Amp", a 50 watt tube amp that weighs 2 lbs. and fits on your pedal board...and you can drive a speaker, or to travel really light, it has a cabinet simulator on a DI out that goes right to a PA...check it out. The full-size all-tube Milkman amps are amazing, and this is genius...I didn't have to give up playing alt-country music in a band just to only carry a light and small load...

I also have a tricone dobro and a Weissenborn....all three tuned to GBDGBD, same scale length, so I get three sound profiles with no extra mental gymnastics (yeah, I use more hammer-ons on the tricone, and more slide stuff on the others, but that isn't much of a difference...)

Amp:
https://milkmansound.com/collections/am ... ts/the-amp

Tricone and Weissenborn:
https://www.instagram.com/bonhamdesign/

Asher lap steel:
https://asher-guitars-lap-steels-store. ... -lap-steel
www.facebook.com/swingaliband & a few more....
Williams S10s, Milkman Pedal Steel Mini & "The Amp"
Ben Bonham "CooderNator" archtop parlor electric reso w/Fishman & Lollar string-through
Ben Bonham "ResoBorn" deep parlor acoustic reso with Weissenborn neck and Fishman
Ben Bonham Style 3 Tricone., 1954 Oahu Diana, 1936 Oahu Parlor Squareneck
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