One Week In: Pedal Steel Journey

[Bill McCloskey]

So, I have had the Williams 12 string for a week now and here are some of my reflections, starting Pedal Steel at age 68.

A lot of confusion, frustration, trepidation, humiliation those first few days. I was happy to get it out of the case. Figured out how to put the rods on, sat down and proceeded to question my decisions in life.

First major issue occurred early. The Williams was set up originally as a Universal 7 pedal 5 knee, but the previous owner had it converted to a 4 pedal E9 ext. I still have all the original parts. Should I keep it as it is, convert it back?

Next major hurdle was tuning. I had no problem with the keyheads, but the levers and pedals? I put that off as long as possible. Finally got a Peterson tuner and figured out how to tune it. Not well, but better than it was.

Next challenge was the mechanics. I felt like Sigourney Weaver in Aliens when she gets in that contraption to fight the monster. I'm disabled, with my right foot fused and filled with hardware and the other just deformed and but able to move somewhat side to side. At first I didn't think I was going to able to do it. My left foot just couldn't keep both A & B pedals down solidily. End of experiment?

Then I found out I could adjust the pedal height. Lowering the B pedal and raising the A pedal made stomping much easier.

Paul Franklin's Method has been a revelation. His lesson on finger picks alone improved my tone tremendously and my lap steel playing has improved as a result.

So how did my first week go? How well did I face my fears? Was I able to actually play it?

The answer my friends is this 68 year old just put a down payment on a Williams D10, shipping sometime in 2023!

[Marshall Woodall]

That's great Bill. I think having some experience on Lap Steel is helpful in understanding bar placement and overall intonation. I'm in a similar boat but I started up in March. There is so much to absorb on the road to nuance and finesse. I tell people that it is almost like playing drums in the sense that all your limbs are moving. I am on a pull-release 10 string and that has been keeping the undercarriage insanity at bay. I can already feel the itch to move to an all-pull but I'm sure this one will kick my ass for a good while. Anyway, welcome aboard and remember to eat and drink once in a while

[Johnie King]

Nice post Marshall

[Johnie King]

Sometimes I open my mouth before I engage my Brian!
Congratulations on your steel journey Bill.

[Johnie King]

So, I have had the Williams 12 string for a week now and here are some of my reflections, starting Pedal Steel at age 68.

A lot of confusion, frustration, trepidation, humiliation those first few days. I was happy to get it out of the case. Figured out how to put the rods on, sat down and proceeded to question my decisions in life.

First major issue occurred early. The Williams was set up originally as a Universal 7 pedal 5 knee, but the previous owner had it converted to a 4 pedal E9 ext. I still have all the original parts. Should I keep it as it is, convert it back?

Next major hurdle was tuning. I had no problem with the keyheads, but the levers and pedals? I put that off as long as possible. Finally got a Peterson tuner and figured out how to tune it. Not well, but better than it was.

Next challenge was the mechanics. I felt like Sigourney Weaver in Aliens when she gets in that contraption to fight the monster. I'm disabled, with my right foot fused and filled with hardware and the other just deformed and but able to move somewhat side to side. At first I didn't think I was going to able to do it. My left foot just couldn't keep both A & B pedals down solidily. End of experiment?

Then I found out I could adjust the pedal height. Lowering the B pedal and raising the A pedal made stomping much easier.

Paul Franklin's Method has been a revelation. His lesson on finger picks alone improved my tone tremendously and my lap steel playing has improved as a result.

So how did my first week go? How well did I face my fears? Was I able to actually play it?

The answer my friends is this 68 year old just put a down payment on a Williams D10, shipping sometime in 2023!

[Johnie King]

I need too read the fine print before I post!!

[Bill McCloskey]

Thanks for your concern Johnie. Fortunately, Williams is about a year wait list so I have time to get up to speed before it arrives.

[Eric Dahlhoff]

Pedal Steel is a blast.
It makes me smile every day!

[Johnie King]

Wow I said more than I know. lol

[Bill McCloskey]

I appreciate it Johnie. And while I've not played pedals before, I've been playing a D12 lap steel for years and I play the Alkire tuning which has some pretty tricky grips, so I'm not starting from ground zero. And I have an extended E9th to practice on for the next year. I may never use all the Franklin stuff but at least I won't be able to blame my tools if I can't figure it out. The "boat anchor" is never leaving my house, I'll be using it to record. So the weight is not an issue. Besides, I've got nothing but time all day to practice.

[Fred Treece]

Great positive attitude will go a long way. It’s nice to see it in a forum post.

I am concerned about your feet. One of the most important techniques on pedal steel is rolling the foot on and off adjacent pedals, such as AB and BC. It is challenging even for younger people with fully functional ankle joints, so your work is cut out for you. The volume pedal foot and the leg it is attached to have to be coordinated too.

It’s great that you have all that pick and bar hand technique from Alkire study. It will allow for more concentration on foot and knee technique, which can be done in isolation. You can even do it away from your guitar.

[Bill McCloskey]

You are right Fred. In fact was just shoe shopping. The ankle issue is real. In fact, Between Johnie King's warnings, and worry myself about my ability to move my feet, I scaled back my Williams order to a simple single neck E9 and cancelled the C6 neck. It is a challenge, but managing.

[Bryce Van Parys]

Great job William, stick with it! The world needs more steel players, that's what I realized a year ago. 4 instruments and about 800 hours of playing later, I've got several gigs under my belt and each is both terrifying, and a blast at the same time.

advice:

youtube is your friend, use it often. And, invest in a Vidami pedal which slows down and loops youtube. Total game changer

in addition to Paul Franklin (necessary for your instruction), look into Mickey Adams' lessons. There's a sticky on the Steel on the Web page here with all of them linked. I'm working through all his lessons now

Keep at it every single day. and keep on the forum, best resource I have found

Congratulations!
Bryce

[Eric Duarte]

Bryce you just taught me what a Vidami Pedal is. Thank you! That looks super helpful. I am going to pick one up. I am a beginner here too playing for a few months.

[Bill McCloskey]

"youtube is your friend, use it often. And, invest in a Vidami pedal which slows down and loops youtube. Total game changer"

Actually I use Airy, a software solution, to do that. Works well for most youtube videos. Loop, slow down, change pitch.

[Andrew Goulet]

Great to hear, Bill! I'm glad you're enjoying it and making progress.

[D Schubert]

Maybe this is trivial, but one of my eureka moments, when I was hopping back and forth between E13 non-pedal and PSG: many lap steel tunings have the 5th and 6th on adjacent strings, but both are found on the same "A" pedal.

[Dale Rottacker]

Another VICTIM of the Pedal Steel Guitar Virus ... Quick, seek help before its TOO LATE

[Walter Webb]

Hey, just remember that many of the old time greats, like Emmons and Chalker, all started out on lap steel, and it all adds up. I think I read somewhere in an Emmons C6 pedal book, that a lap steeler can just play the same inside C6 like a lap steel, and gradually learn to eliminate most bar slants with pedals, and fetch fat chords as it all sinks in.

[Richard Alderson]

Dear Bill - Congratulations !! Glad you got a nice lacquer Williams. It looks great too !! I definitely vote for keeping the E9th tuning on that thing and not re-configuring to get the universal back. I think you made a good move there keeping the E9th, and spending some time learning that set up. E9th is a basic set up with its own logic that you would need to know in order to make the universal set up work. Universal set up kind of assumes you already know E9th pedal steel with ABC pedals, and E raises and E lowers which are the five essential changes that are at the heart of 95% of what you are going to be playing. E9th allows you to play all the country and country rock sounds, but some posters here have also called it "the Mozart tuning" because if you wanted to play classical music, E9th would easily allow you to express those ideas on the pedal steel. If you miss the more familiar C6th lap steel set up, you can get the C6th tuning, on your current E9th set up, well B6th actually, just by engaging your E-flat knee lever. All the C6th intervals are right there for you using the knee lever that lowers your Es to E-flat.

It will take you a few years to learn the E9th set up, and by then you will have two guitars !! You could leave the future guitar in the E9th set up, and then re-configure your current Williams back into the universal set up. The universal set up wouldn't make much sense if you don't know E9th. Might as well take the time to learn E9th, its really the most used and the most indispensable set up. There must be a reason 80% of pedal steels out there are single neck guitars tuned to E9th with ABC pedals and E raises & E lowers. And that's the one that's got everybody addicted. I never hear about folks going into therapy and rehab for C6th neck it seems.

I hope you won't abandon Alkire completely, you have really rehabilitated that tuning here on the forum and made its ideas accessible for the rest of us in all your work you have done on non pedal lap 10 string tuning.

[Bill McCloskey]

"I hope you won't abandon Alkire completely, you have really rehabilitated that tuning here on the forum and made its ideas accessible for the rest of us in all your work you have done on non pedal lap 10 string tuning.

If anything, it has reinvigorated my playing on the Alkire tuning. That is going to remain my main tuning, but I'm able to apply what I'm on learning on the E9th on the non pedal neck and it has really helped my playing on the alkire. Thanks for the kind words.

And you've guessed exactly what I decided to do keep it in Ext E9, wait for the new guitar, then convert it at that point and either keep it or sell it. I've decided to really focus on both the E9th and Alkire tunings for now.



Pictured: D12 MSA Superslide with the extended Alkire tuning and Reece's C6 on the other. Sierra 12 string behind that (alkire tuning), one of only two made. And behind that the 12 string Williams.

[George Haedicke]

Congratulations William for being a Pedal Steel Guitar player. I have been Playing Pedal Steel Guitar since March 29th 2014. For a few years I was having trouble with the pedals. But what I did to fix the trouble I had was the Pedal Steel Guitar was. When I was in my early and Late 20s I practiced my E9 neck Pedal Steel Guitar for about 8 1/2 years now. So what I am playing on doing now is that I am planning on teaching myself about C6 tuning. But I will do it in the same way that my Instructor taught me E9 tuning. And I will also do C6 with basic stuff first. Because C6 is a new tuning for me.