He played standing up in those days and to watch him shift between a volume pedal and a Bigsby floor pedal was a sight to behold. His hands, to me, were as big as my Dad's and I wondered how he could play so fast with such large fingers but he surely did it.
He first showed me how to raise the high third a half tone and lower the low third a half tone. I think he called it an F13th and I liked it so well that it became the second neck tuning for me. The other being a C6th with a tenor guitar string in front tuned to a high G.
Years later and across the ocean, I got my first pedal steel. I immediately put the Bob White Trademark pedal, M7/M9 and the one
I just mentioned on the thirds, as my first two basic changes. I used them so much that to this day they are the most used pedals on my 6th neck.
He did two other things that were Bob White Hallmarks but, that over the years I haven't used any longer. One was the Universally known Volume Chop with three hits at the end of many HT songs. The other I noticed him doing one night and because I couldn't see from standing on the floor to over the top of the Bigsby, I asked him about it.
At the end of a song, on the fade out, he used his little finger, right hand, pulling backwards over the strings. He did it starting high and working lower. Something like chimes but not chimes. Old HT fans know exactly what I am referring too.
Last Saturday as we finished up God Bless Texas, I did that very move. I don't think I've done it in the last 15 or 20 years and I have no idea why I did it then. The band looked at me as if to say: What the H- - - was that but I let it lie there.
Those early influences last for a lifetime !!
Best Regards, Paul
