New Video -- Half As Much

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 4 Jul 2022 3:30 pm

Hank Williams tune "Half As Much". Just posted on YouTube. Eadd9 tuning.

This video was easier than the last one. I only had to play half as much.

---> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMbDvcl_Fl8

Chase Brady · Post by **Chase Brady** » 5 Jul 2022 5:04 am

Nice!

Chris Brooks · Post by **Chris Brooks** » 5 Jul 2022 5:34 am

Lovely full tone, Doug. Excellent balance between notes. Also cool backup track!

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 5 Jul 2022 5:42 am

Thanks Chase and Chris.

Dale Rottacker · Post by **Dale Rottacker** » 5 Jul 2022 5:50 am

That was really nice Doug

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 5 Jul 2022 5:55 am

Glad you like it, Dale.

Joe Cook · Post by **Joe Cook** » 5 Jul 2022 6:58 am

Great playing and the sound of that little Mag is nice. Your improvisational skills are amazing, Doug!

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 5 Jul 2022 8:00 am

Thanks Joe, I played more improv in this video than in previous ones. It just felt right in this song, for some reason.

John Sluszny · Post by **John Sluszny** » 5 Jul 2022 9:03 am

Jim Mckay · Post by **Jim Mckay** » 5 Jul 2022 4:45 pm

Great swing. Nice

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 5 Jul 2022 4:56 pm

Mike A Holland · Post by **Mike A Holland** » 6 Jul 2022 10:26 pm

Very nice Doug. there is something I really like about single coil pickups on a lap steel guitar that are not about sustain. They reveal more about the players touch, tone and expressiveness much more than a modern sounding pickup with bags of sustain. I really like the sound of this guitar. It brings out all those qualities I mentioned above and showcases your abilities beautifully. Excellent stuff..... please do more. All the very best, Mike.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 7 Jul 2022 2:17 am

Excellence!

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 7 Jul 2022 7:00 am

Thanks Mike and Andy!

Mike A Holland wrote:single coil pickups on a lap steel guitar... They reveal more about the players touch, tone and expressiveness much more than a modern sounding pickup with bags of sustain.

I agree, Mike. Single coils "breathe" more than humbuckers, so when the player picks hard, the tone is more gritty. And when the player picks the strings close to the pickup the tone is quite a bit different from when he picks further away from the pickup. And picking the strings closer to the nut produces a thinner tone... with single coils. Not so with modern humbuckers IMO. I've owned a few modern lap steels and I was always frustrated by the "sameness" of the tone regardless of how hard or soft I picked the strings and where (along the string) I picked. Humbuckers do produce a strong, somewhat darker sound, and that's fine for some styles of playing, but I think something is lost in "the players touch, tone and expressiveness"... to quote you!

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 7 Jul 2022 7:58 am

FYI: this little Maggie is 22 1/2" scale length. The sustain is somewhat lacking, so I ran the guitar through a black box (tube filter), and a Keeley compressor, a Quilter Tone Block 202, recorded direct. Also used a Hilton volume pedal. I tried adding some delay to draw the notes out, but it didn't sound good, so I opted for a medium reverb in the recording software.

K Maul · Post by **K Maul** » 7 Jul 2022 11:03 am

A lot of music on those six strings! Wow. You make me miss my old Magnatone that I let go for a song. Lightest lap steel ever - but great tone.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 7 Jul 2022 12:11 pm

Hey, thanks Kevin! The good news is... these Magnatones can still be had for reasonable price.

James Inkster · Post by **James Inkster** » 7 Jul 2022 2:04 pm

Sounds great, Doug!
What is Eadd9 on a 6 string?
I'd like to try it on my 8

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 7 Jul 2022 2:36 pm

Thanks James. Here's what I have:

E
B
G#
F#
E
B

If you play pedal steel E9, this will be familiar territory. Strings 1 through 5 are the same as strings 4 through 8 on pedal steel. And string 6 is the same as string 10 on PSG.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 8 Jul 2022 11:30 am

I just realized something that I had forgotten about! I have tablature for "Half As Much" in my "16 Songs" book. But it's not in the same tuning or key as this video. It's in A6 tuning, key of D.

---> http://playsteelguitar.com/book3-16-songs/