I am very disappointed in steel guitar conventions and shows

Kirk P Dighton · Post by **Kirk P Dighton** » 23 Mar 2007 4:27 am

Billy- I agree that there are plenty of guitars available, however, not all potential new players have the means to pay for it. Our Jump Start Academy is supported by donations from our attendees and from a little bit of inheritance from estates of lovers of the instrument, not necessarily players. Once the 1 year is up for the student with a donated guitar and lessons, the student can decide if they want to invest. Currently, our former student rate of continuing and investing is approximately 60%. That's not bad and the NEISG is very proud of that statistic. Terry Bethel has also started one in the Ozarks along with the help of Miss Lana from SteelRadio.com and it is modeled after this Jump Start Program.

Again, we can help, if we want to. It just needs to be organized and structured.
Respectfully- Kirk Dighton

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 23 Mar 2007 5:17 am

James - sheesh, sorry! I messed up and forgot all about your trademark on "Cann"ed music!

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 23 Mar 2007 8:36 am

Anything anybody wants in the way of steel guitar today can be easy obtained. Plenty of guitars available, plenty of builders, plenty of sellers and plenty of ways to purchase from PayPal to Visa, Discover, Mastercard and the list goes on and on.

Buying an instrument site unseen and unplayed that costs several thousand dollars is something most beginners would not be comfortable with. Steel guitars are not in stores at least not in Seattle (nor do I recall seeing any while I lived in NYC). I cannot go look at one or touch one or try one to see if its something I want to do. As I said earlier in this thread , the first time I ever even saw a pedal steel was when the carter starter arrived at my door a year and a half ago, I was 39 years old and had never even seen a PSG in the flesh. So I would respectfully disagree and say they are rare as hens teeth and not easily obtained by a beginner. Sure you can go online and find just about anything, I could probably get some low grade uranium online.

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 23 Mar 2007 3:18 pm

Doesn't Joe Wright offer rock & roll pedal steel DVD instuction?

Graham Griffith · Post by **Graham Griffith** » 30 Mar 2007 12:55 am

About the keyboard bit from Gerald, I once copped: "Love your synthesizer playing!!!!"

Gerald Menke · Post by **Gerald Menke** » 2 Apr 2007 12:04 pm

Hello Dustin,

Man, first, welcome to the Forum, we are all glad you are here. I felt a bit ill reading that you had had trouble finding someone to study with, that kind of attitude is appalling. Here in NYC there are actually quite a few steelers now, and all of them are as willing to share their knowledge as a person could be. I bought a steel in February of 2000, and found someone (Bob Hoffnar) to study from in a matter of days. I do hope one of us here can find you a good teacher.

But on a note perhaps a bit off-topic, I would imagine there are more people playing steel today than at any other time in history, I for one am not the least worried that it will die out. I like playing an instrument that not everybody and their brother recognizes, let alone plays. More work out there for me! The steep learning curve, scarcity of instruments in stores, and their cost will always limit the number of people playing, which I have to say doesn't bother me one bit. It's always been an instrument played by a small group of people who are just crazy enough to devote themselves to mastering it...or at least learning how to play the intro to "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere"...

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 2 Apr 2007 12:35 pm

Like Ben noted, uranium ore is probably EASIER to find in L.A. than a pedal steel. The nearest stores that stock steels are 60 and 80 miles outside Los Angeles, and the only instruction I know of comes from two guys who teach in the southwest part of L.A. County (plus the mentioned "out of town" stores); obviously, if you can't fit their schedule or live in someplace like the San Fernando Valley you're out of luck. I've never been able to play a steel before buying it...same with parts and instruction materials (you can find two books - Winnie's and Scotty's - plus one other I forget the name of that's similar, but shorter.).

Guitar players like to know what something feels/sounds like before they buy it - if they're buying by mail order, usually they've played something similar locally. But with steel it's an expensive, blind leap of faith, at least around here.