The Thingumajig Called Pedal Steel Guitar

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 31 Jan 2012 6:25 pm

Brett, I think you made the right decision getting into the steel guitar. I know we'll be hearing a lot more about you and your pedal steel guitar in future years!

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 1 Feb 2012 4:42 am

Somewhere along the way, long before the pedal steel developed into one of the largest loops in the music industry, someone took it upon there own volition to properly name the instrument. It would be reasonable to assume that the person/musician is well known by the continuous followings reported in articles in country music magazines. My question is simply this, who first conceded as true, that the instrument should be called the pedal steel guitar? Close, but no cigar.. the instrument's construction is not made entirely of steel. There are other metals used that are more essential to the success of the instrument. Wood and man-made materials have been used extensively throughout the entire evolution of building the "steel guitar".

Bent Romnes · Post by **Bent Romnes** » 1 Feb 2012 7:32 am

Bill, the way I was told it by the late great Jeff Newman in 1974 was: It is called a pedal steel guitar because you play it with pedals and a steel bar.
Not because of the steel parts in the guitar itself.
This way, the name Pedal Steel Guitar makes perfect sense and I don't see why anyone would try to change the name.

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 1 Feb 2012 10:06 am

Bill Hankey wrote:...the instrument's construction is not made entirely of steel...

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... sc&start=0
This one is. Check out the above.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 1 Feb 2012 10:22 am

Bent,

I spoke with JEFF NEWMAN back in the early eighties. I asked him about a pedal arrangement, and he replied, "We don't do it that way". I assume he meant at his college for the study of the steel guitar. After conversing with him, I determined that he was calling the shots, in any business associated with the instrument. The most satisfaction that I've ever experienced, as far as getting to know a professional, was watching Jeff and Lloyd Green playing a duet.. I believe "LOOK AT US" was the title of the video. You can be sure that it was a situation where BOTH players respected one another. I would rather have pinned him down to naming names, rather than so and so did this or that to arrive at calling the instrument the pedal steel guitar.

Bent Romnes · Post by **Bent Romnes** » 1 Feb 2012 11:07 am

Bill, you are expert at talking around a subject, at the same time avoiding addressing what I wrote head on.

You said earlier that why call a steel guitar such a name when there were hardly any steel parts in it.
I corrected your assumption by explaining the reason it is called a steel guitar - because of the steel bar.

Why give me all that other rhetoric you wrote? It's unrelated.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 1 Feb 2012 11:20 am

Alan,

I came close to obtaining a relic homemade steel steel that someone fabricated many years ago. The only thing that was desirable, as I gazed upon the creation, was the horseshoe pickup mounted on the thing. The elderly gentleman who once owned it, was in a nursing home in Lenox MA. His wife was maintaining their apartment that was part of a Housing Authority. Originally, she had told a worker that she intented to place it out on the curbing for the collectors. The worker mentioned her intentions to me, and I wasted no time driving to the location. It had all the markings of a very early homemade instrument. The stand was ten times more elaborate than the steel. I was very impressed with the variety of original adjustments, made exclusively from seamless heavy duty tubing. It was a rare piece of Americana workmanship... I would guess late 20's or early 30's. The steel's design was made from thin sheet steel.. tapering down gradually, with three sides. The bottom line.. the lady chose to procrastinate, leaving me with no choice, but to return empty-handed. Imagine my disappointment..

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 1 Feb 2012 11:42 am

Bent,

Let it be known that I'm not backing away from any assertions made in the past. As Porter Wagoner once sang about in the Carrol County Accident recording, "She was well respected in the county", I know that you are well respected in this business of maintaining a steel guitar in good working order. Even so, there is a saying that carries a lot of truth in most instances, or examples. That is, "If you want something done right, do it yourself". There are situations where this is true in every regard. Number one, the "steel guitar" would sound as good or possibly better, if a steel "bar" was made special from some other metal or material. In other words, I'm not buying into that J. Newman reply that you have quoted.

Bent Romnes · Post by **Bent Romnes** » 1 Feb 2012 12:49 pm

Bill, I have spent enough time on this subject so I'll leave it at that and let history speak for itself.
The level of importance is certainly not worth 5 or 6 pages IMHO, especially since the subject has been beaten to death in earlier threads. Carry on if you find it's worth the effort.