What FX is Eric Heywood using on this song?

[Randy Brown]

I ran across this video of Tift Merritt with Eric Heywood performing "Eastern Light". I really like what he's doing with the pedal steel here. I see there appears to be an Ebow sitting on his steel, and he's getting an almost ebow-ish sound at times, but the way it's sitting makes me think that can't be it (right?). Anyone know what this effect might be? Rotary? Sustain pedal? Other ideas?

https://youtu.be/0hQ02loKo4U

[Michael Stephens]

He gets some pretty amazing tones. FYI - here's a pic of his pedal board at a show a few years ago.

[Brian Hollands]

Heywood is a master of the volume pedal. I don't hear anything unusual for him in that clip. He uses more harmonics than usual in that clip. He also at one point is sliding picks along wound strings to get a scratchy effect.
He does make use of amp tremolo a fair bit - what I'd always thought was the term on the Princeton Reverb but could be that Strymon Lex pictured. I've never used one so don't know how different it may sound to the amp's tremolo.
The ebow is sitting on the steel but you'll see him moving it out of his way at several points like it was annoying him.
Here's a clip of him using the ebow on Hurricane Lamp - the second song on this clip with Jeffery Focault. The solo in the first song is a favorite of mine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fIdi92-JfY

[Randy Brown]

Thanks for the replies. Michael - thanks for the pic!

Maybe the Rotary is what I'm hearing. That combined with his mastery of volume pedal and bar vibrato technique makes for an amazing ethereal sound, with unbelievable sustain!

[K Maul]

I tried finding info online about his current rig but couldn’t dig up much. Judging by the pic of his pedalboard above, I’d speculate that he’s using the “61 Harm” tremolo setting on the Strymon Flint. It simulates the unique tremolo of some early 60s Fender amps and has an almost pitch-shifting quality. Beyond that I’d suggest possibly the MXR Phase 45, which is a much subtler and less cliched phase effect that I’ve put to good use frequently. There are surely other effects he is using but I think those I mentioned are the main components, along with that nice low key distortion he throws in.

[Donny Hinson]

It sounds like mostly reverb with maybe a touch of chorus. That amount of sustain is easily attainable without compressors or other sustain devices. It's just having enough volume available on the amp and learning to use the volume pedal properly. Getting good sustain is more just technique and using what you have than using "gizmos".

Turn the amp up! Playing with the amp volume on 2 or 3 and complaining about poor sustain is like putting a brick under the accelerator pedal of your car and then complaining it won't go over 30 mph.

[Peter Heckman]

Not a question about Eric's pedals or equipment, but his playing style. His playing with Son Volt is majorly responsible for me getting interested in learning to play this amazing instrument (still learning). I came across an amazing and powerful video of Eric playing "Left a Slide" on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za64md-Ax7E. It's kind of hard to tell, but it appears to me that he's physically grabbing strings 1-5 and just yanking them all back towards him (see about 2:50 to 3:00 at the beginning of one of his blistering solos). I had no idea that pedal players did this, much more like a six-string guitar. I love it. Is this a common practice? Or just another amazing reason to love Eric's playing? Thanks!

[Tucker Jackson]

He's raising his 1st string a whole step. Many PSGs have a knee lever that does that, but apparently Eric doesn't have that change on his guitar.

He's the only pedal steeler I've ever seen do that move, so I don't think it's very common, especially on a pedal guitar. It's probably more of a thing on steels without pedals where pulling the string is the only option...

[Bobby D. Jones]

Someone with better computer eyes, Count the strings on his guitar.
I count 11, I hear on some fills it has that 12 string Universal sound. Real Bassey, It sounds like he may have the 8E-9B-10G#-11E. Or a special Extended E9th tuning. On that Williams Guitar.

The volume pedal sounds very special too, Sounds like Buddy Emmons on some of the phrases, From Manchin on the Hill.

He is taking a steel to a new place in music. I enjoy listening to Eric's new adventures with steel.

[Lee Baucum]

Bobby, I see 11 strings, too.

[Bobby D. Jones]

Thanks Lee. I counted 11, That 11th is what made some of Tom Brumley's music so hard to figure out where he was, When got those Bass notes on his guitar.

[Dennis Detweiler]

I'm guessing delay pedal with a cathedral setting on reverb pedal and all dialed in properly and a low G# string? Mild chorus? Nice effects!

[Brian Hollands]

Heywood adds a low E to otherwise standard E9. Not sure when he started that and I'd thought that Williams from the ACL performance was a D10. Maybe not though

[Bobby D. Jones]

The first 2 You-Tube posts has him playing a SD11 4PX?K with pad. Cable jack in middle of what would be the back neck tuning window cut. He is wearing glasses.

In the 3rd video he has a fuller head of hair, No glasses and a Williams D10. Must be an earlier video. He may have thought like Mr. Green, Don't need back neck but wanted a 11th string. Got himself a custom SD11 Williams guitar built.

I sat at my 12unie this afternoon and played around a little.
In first You-tube post the Tiff Merritt song, It is being played in F#m, Which gives it a ghostly sound from the start. In the song it sounds like he has a G# 11th .042 string from a Unie tuning which pulls G# to A on the B pedal.

He hits the 11th and 10 or 5 to add a note, And moves bar and maybe pedal to get part of the sound.

There is a place where you can see his left foot and a lot of steady movement in the volume pedal.

[John Larson]

Heywood adds a low E to otherwise standard E9. Not sure when he started that and I'd thought that Williams from the ACL performance was a D10. Maybe not though

Son Volt days was a keyless Williams D10 but I don't recall him touching the C6 neck. These days it's pretty much his version of Extended E9 11 string guitars. Lace Alumitone pickups.

He's the only pedal steeler I've ever seen do that move, so I don't think it's very common, especially on a pedal guitar. It's probably more of a thing on steels without pedals where pulling the string is the only option...

I think Ralph Mooney did a similar thing a bit here and there. Eric has the G/G# change these days but doing it with your bar hand gives a slightly different feel to the bend.

Eric's playing on this is some of the best ever imo Ray LaMontagne - "Empty"

Another personal favorite Son Volt - "Creosote"

As well as his playing on Jeffrey Foucault's Horse Latitudes album.

[Dennis Detweiler]

I was hearing what Bobby said, G# with B pedal to A on the bottom.

[Bobby D. Jones]

"EMPTY" Another signature song. That SD11 guitar and Eric, Has a signature sound with that 11th string and sustain he works into a song.

[John Larson]

Eric has an absolute nack for backing singer-songwriters where it's just him and them.
Caitlin Canty - "Get Up"

If I had to describe his playing I'd call it expansively minimal. He's like the Brian Eno of pedal steel. Creates these walls of textural sound for others to play over. As has been mentioned an absolute master of the volume pedal. The exact opposite of the spectrum of a player like Ralph Mooney.

He is by far my favorite steel player and only Greg Leisz comes close who is another Americana ambience backing wizard.

Somehow I haven't mentioned one of the key songs that entranced me enough to pick up steel. It's cliche to say song saved your life but I first heard this one during a very dark time in my life and I just went driving with it blaring over and over again.

Son Volt - "Windfall"
Switching it over to AM
Searching for a truer sound
Can't recall the call letters
Steel guitar and settle down
Catching an all-night station somewhere in Louisiana
It sounds like 1963, but for now it sounds like heaven

Somehow Jay Farrar really tapped into the cosmic country thing that Gram Parsons did with this one.

I don't know if they have the instruments us men have created here on Earth in Heaven but if they do they don't have pipe organs they have steel guitars.