Starting Steel

Tom Buur · Post by **Tom Buur** » 5 Jul 2006 1:19 pm

Just got a lap steel today ...

I've played guitar for 40+ years, but starting to get arthritis in my left hand fingers I thought I would have a go at steel. Then I don't need to do those painful bends. So I got a German ABM 6-string lap steel today.

I have tried some C6 and some E7 tuning, and can't tell which is best. I have some dvd's based on C6, but I do consider going to pedal steel if this works out well and it seems E7 is a good path to pedal steel E9?

I prefer to play with my fingers rather than using picks. I play electric guitar Mark Knopfler style or acoustic finger picking too so I am used to this. As far as I can tell it sounds absolutely fine on the lap steel. Anyone here using his fingers for playing steel? Or any famous players who have been known to do so?

Don't know much about steel, but also through my admiration for Knopfler I have, of course, come across Paul Franklin which has a lot to do with my decision to try steel. Although I have a feeling that a lot of people here don't like him? Don't know anything about him except the sound of his pedal steel on the Knopfler records which I like.

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 5 Jul 2006 1:35 pm

"Although I have a feeling that a lot of people here don't like him? "

I don't you will find many people here who don't like him.

Welcome to steel guitar. Prepare to get addicted. There are a number of great resources, incluging this one.

You might find this interesting: http://www.guitarjamdaily.com/guitarjam/steel_crazy/index.html

It is the first two articles in a series on Steel guitar that focus on getting started on the steel. Hope they are useful.

Larry W. Jones · Post by **Larry W. Jones** » 5 Jul 2006 1:48 pm

Welcome Tom. This is the first I've heard of ABM guitars. Is this one yours?

http://www.abmmueller.de/index2.html?steelguitar.html

I see ABM has an outlet here in Houston. I'll have to look them up.

In the US please contact:
Allparts Music Corp. 13027 Brittmoore Park Drive
Houston, TX 77041 USA
Phone: (713)466-6414
E-mail: allparts@allparts.com

I see by your profile that you're a doctor.
Here's your new title for your business card:

Dr Tom Buur - ABM

How about posting more photos?

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 5 Jul 2006 3:00 pm

Welcome, Tom!
As far as steel players who play with their fingers instead of picks, a very famous example is Ben Harper.

If you're looking at lap steel as a "gateway" or introduction to pedal steel, either tuning will do fine. There are advantages and disadvantages to both tunings; I've been playing C6th for a while now, and although I don't sound Hawaiian, it's a very versatile tuning.

I haven't seen any negative remarks about Paul Franklin, and I'd be very surprised to see any on this forum. Do a search on the forum and see what others have had to say about his work.

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Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars

[This message was edited by Brad Bechtel on 05 July 2006 at 04:00 PM.]

Tom Buur · Post by **Tom Buur** » 5 Jul 2006 10:33 pm

Thanks for the replies.

About Franklin, I may have misunderstood, but I read this thread: http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum5/HTML/012892.html

This is the lap steel I got: http://www.thomann.de/de/harley_benton_slider.htm
I did consider something "better" or vintage, then thought I'd start with this one and see what it felt like.

Yes, I am a doctor. Specialized in kidney diseases. I don't do surgery but chemical warfare against diseases that destroy kidneys (and sometimes the rest of the body). And when I lose the battle I treat my patients with medicine, dialysis and transplantation. Also I deal with the most difficult cases of high blood pressure.

I played the lap steel about 4 hours yesterday. A strange experience was that after that I could hardly play an ordinary guitar, my left hand finges felt stiff. Part of it may be my finger problem (I am 55 by now). Still it made me wonder how that would affect my playing when switching betweeen lap and ordinary guitar (I play in a band).

Gary Boyett · Post by **Gary Boyett** » 6 Jul 2006 3:47 am

Tom,
I think you will find that Paul Franklin is very well liked here. I would just like to know the stuff he has forgotten. That thread is very funny. I am holding out for the Franklin talent in pill form though, and then I won't have to practice...

Your steel will do you fine for a long time. Picks, no picks is a personal choice. Listen to Bobbe Seymour sometime. No finger picks there either. You may want to try a thumb pick for a little better attack someday.

Enjoy your journey. I started out the same way and have no desire to play pedals anymore.

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HSGA & RMSGC member
Play it with "Glass"
Boyett's Glass Bars

Randy Reeves · Post by **Randy Reeves** » 6 Jul 2006 4:55 am

Tom, we're the same age. Im lucky that I have no arthritus.

I jump between lap steel open tunings and regular guitar with standard tuning everyday.
I find the two work well together as I have a better understanding of the fretboard and note placement.
the ear gets really sharp too.
welcome to the forum.
can I call on you for advice when my kidney stone makes it's seven year appearence?

Larry Phleger · Post by **Larry Phleger** » 6 Jul 2006 5:32 am

You may find that C6 actually will help you transition to pedal steel. In E9, with the A&B pedals down, you have an A6 on strings 3,4,5,6,7, and 8. With the knee lever that lowers strings 4 and 8, you have a B6 on strings 4,5,6,7 and 8 with a low B on string 10. The grips you use on the C6 will help you on E9 with these pedals engaged. These chords use the same basic grips you will use on the C6 lap steel, but will just be in another key. Also, most players tune the back neck of a pedal steel to C6, so you will have a basic understanding of that tuning as well.

Tom Buur · Post by **Tom Buur** » 6 Jul 2006 10:37 am

Okay. Spent last night trying out E7. Now I have tuned to C6. In both cases trying to play "Country Roads" in E, a song I normally play on guitar with my boy band ... well, none of us is under 50, actually ... anyway, C6 works better with this song.

Chuck S. Lettes · Post by **Chuck S. Lettes** » 6 Jul 2006 12:05 pm

Hi Tom,
Here's a link to a C6th Lap Steel lesson that I put together. pedalsteelguitar.net/lapsteel.php?PHPSESSID=2f9c2376b3d42a2043a1674f26a12333
Best of luck with this great instrument.
Chuck

basilh · Post by **basilh** » 6 Jul 2006 12:10 pm

Tom.. this link to Chuck's lesson should work Click Here

Baz

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Steel players do it without fretting

[This message was edited by basilh on 06 July 2006 at 01:10 PM.]

Roman Sonnleitner · Post by **Roman Sonnleitner** » 7 Jul 2006 12:14 pm

Tom,
another lap steel player who uses only his fingers, no picks, is Bill Elm from the band Friends of Dean Martinez (one of my favorites...)[This message was edited by Roman Sonnleitner on 07 July 2006 at 01:41 PM.]

Matt Lange · Post by **Matt Lange** » 7 Jul 2006 4:42 pm

Welcome to the forum and to a great instrument! A couple of famous players who play without picks are Ben Harper and Kelly Joe Phelps (two of my very favorites). Harper is a rock player, Phelps more folk/blues, but both get speed and a good sound without picks.
Oh, and i play without them too

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my music: www.myspace.com/mattlangemusic

Tom Buur · Post by **Tom Buur** » 7 Jul 2006 10:50 pm

Great to know, so I will go on without picks. I have played C6 for the last two nights. Had a look at Chucks lessons, but the tuning is very different from the "standard C6" which along with "standard E7" may be the best upgrade path to eventual pedal steel?

Playing standard C6 works fine. Guess it is the usual phenomenon when starting something. At first you make immense progress, but then it takes a lot of practice to get beyond what you picked up the first month.

Will try to find some music with the fingerpicking guys you mention.

Tom Buur · Post by **Tom Buur** » 9 Jul 2006 11:25 am

Not happy with standard C6 because it doesn't give enough chords. I would rather be able to play a simple song like C, Am, F, G ... within the range of a few "frets".

So I changed the tuning to E,C,A,G,F,C, and solved it. Now a have a variety of 3-4 string chords close to each other.

You may notice this tuning is almost identical to Chuck's tuning. There are five common strings. Then he has a high G and I have a low C. My choice was determined by the string gauges I have, as you can see there is only one string, E tune up to F, that's different from standard C6.

Works better for me. But is it wise to deviate from the standard when you start out? Or am I missing something in the long run by settling on a special tuning like this? There must be a reason why standard C6 is so popular.

Stephan Miller · Post by **Stephan Miller** » 9 Jul 2006 3:39 pm

Tom, your variation on C6 has some good things going for it, inclubing a major 7 chord on strings 1-2-3-5. But there's a lot more on C6 than it might seem, much of it available through some simple slants. If you're not willing to move 5 or more frets between chords on occasion, or learn some slants, you'll be missing out on a lot of non-pedal fun. You could try some C6 instruction, while pursuing your altered tuning.

Keeping the same string gauges, you could also try (lo-hi) C#-E-F#-A-C#-E which gives you the fifth (instead of the third) of the major chord on the high string. Some people prefer this A6 tuning for this reason. The Lettes tuning is a "high-fifth" type tuning also, and the version of it that Scott gave you, is just a half-step-up retune of the 6th string from the above A6.

That's 4 tunings with the same gauge strings. Actually there are a lot more...

For now, I'd get some C6 instruction so you can discover over the next few months (or years) what it's good for. [This message was edited by Stephan Miller on 09 July 2006 at 05:20 PM.]

Bruno Rasmussen · Post by **Bruno Rasmussen** » 10 Jul 2006 11:45 am

Hi Tom
Welcome to the forum from a fellow danish lap steeler. If you could have access to only one steel guitar website, this one should be it. A place of great wisdom and nice people.

Bruno