The Steel Guitar Forum

ubiquitous, sacrosanct, colour, prospective (?? perspective ??), culminate...

you guys're too smart fer me!

all my ex's in A...kick it off!!

honey, run 'n get me a jack over, ok doll?

Dave Dube wrote:I am signing off of this thread. It has become a waste of time.

Ok

Jeff Mead wrote: But it's a lot of money to spend without trying out one first isn't it? I wonder if he has a basic one in stock that you could try and, if you like it, if he'd be able to customise it in time for you to take it back with you?

Actually, in his site he says he has a 6-stringer in his shop for test driving. Maybe indeed I'm in need of lil' holiday sightseeing Germany.

Dave Dube wrote:How good is good?

Don't make the mistake of trying to make a "student" guitar with the quality of a pro guitar. MSA didn't. saying.

Actually, they did try, and with two different models. The first was the "Sidekick Pro-Am", and it waa a decent effort, but still lacked the professional appearance of the "Classic" series. Later, they introduced the "Semi-Classic", which was almost identical to their "Classic" series, but a little bit cheaper, and it was fully upgradeable to "Classic" specs (with just some drilling in the endplate).
While their "Red Baron" and "Sidekick" models were both (student) pull-release designs, there were a couple different iterations of both, and at least one of them was a fairly decent axe.

However, it seems there is always a stigma associated with the terms "student" or "beginner", so neither will be in demand for a lot of players. Many insist that beginning players need a pro-level guitar from the get-go, but that same (rather foolish) mentality would also demand that everyone learn to drive in a Corvette or a Mercedes AMG, and we know how ridiculous that is.

Naah. But I want all three pedals

Donny Hinson wrote: that same (rather foolish) mentality would also demand that everyone learn to drive in a Corvette or a Mercedes AMG, and we know how ridiculous that is.

Well, I learned how to drive a stick shift in my brothers 61 Vette. I didn't know it was ridiculous at the time

I also taught my daughter how to drive a 6 Speed in my 2001 Z06 Vette...

I think the moral of the story is you learn on what you got in front of you ,which does not encourage anyone to start on a Pro Guitar or learn to drive in a Vette.

Most previous discussions regarding student vs pro guitars were really based on overall value of a 3+0, 3+1 vs a 3+4 guitar. Not necessarily which one was better to learn on because we all know we can learn on any of them. It was more value related.

But THIS topic is a little different.
Since I like my poetry metaphor and I think it fits,
Tommy is essentially saying either:
I only write haiku: do I have to buy A4/8½x11 paper when note cards will hold my work? Or;
I write poetry with simple language, do I NEED a spellchecker with 96,000 words?
Knock yerself out, get a guitar with only the strings that speak to your vocabulary. But watch out: some crazy trucker may make videos showing uses for the strings you're choosing not to use.

That's a really bad analogy, Donny. An inexpensive car has an automatic transmission, good brakes and enough power to drive on the highway. Many people never even learn to drive a stick.

A student needs a guitar that is stable, has firm stops and stays in tune. You can still pick up Fender 400's and Mavericks in the under $1k price range, if you just want to see if pedal steel is for you.

To me, the advantages of a 6 string pedal steel are:

• wider string spacing
• easier to understand
• standard guitar pickups
• fewer strings to change

With all of the used guitars on the market, I still don't believe that price is the issue. If you want to play a 10-string E9th, get one!

Lane

when do you have time to drive a truck ? i thought you worked on the forum full time

Bobby Lee's statements are absolutely correct. If you want to experiment with six strings there are many ways to go.
Those of you who doubt the philosophy of eight and ten string (why not seven and nine-string?) configuration should start by questioning the six-string configuration of the guitar. Why not have five strings? Indeed, thw five-course, ten-string guitar was standard for hundreds of years.

Truth is, there are few here that would advise starting on anything but a 10-string pedal steel, with a minimum of 3+4 or 4+5.

That's sad.

(Doesn't b0b prefer an S8?)

Donny, Tommi (the OP) said he's not doing it for a starter. A lark. And. B0b's doing the same thing.
Actually, B0b's not on a lark. He's decided that the D8 plays all the vocabulary he wants.

Lane Gray wrote:Donny, Tommi (the OP) said he's not doing it for a starter. A lark. And. B0b's doing the same thing.
Actually, B0b's not on a lark. He's decided that the D8 plays all the vocabulary he wants.

Not D8, S8. I've been playing all of my gigs on a single 8 for the past 6 years. But I do have 5 pedals and 5 levers - it's not a beginner's copedent.

I believe in 6 string pedal steels for certain kinds of players. Limiting the "vocabulary", as Lane puts it, is not really a problem if your playing is limited to one genre of music. And for people who are uncomfortable with close string spacing, a lot of ergonomic and psychological comfort can be found in 6 strings, spaced the same as a standard guitar. A 10 string instrument feels quite alien to some people. I can respect that.

What I can't respect is a cheap instrument that doesn't stay in tune or play in tune. I fear PSGs slapped together from commodity guitar parts and the hardware store, with no thought given to playability because "it's a beginner's instrument".

Well I have been off here for a while, but I got a 6 string Overfelt PSG...And I really like it..the wider string spacing is nice and it has really great sound..I was using a MSA sidekick which I sold after getting the 6 stringer..I do think the MSA had better pedal action but I'm still adjusting the new one..the copedents are not fixed so I really want to get from a E9 tuning to open E here shortly..If creating interest in PSG is one of the objectives of this Forum then I think that these new 6 string pedal steel guitars that are available certainly fill a good niche..They are relitivily inexpensive..and can provide a good start in learning PSG...its enough to keep me interested and moving ahead..to me that's what is important...just saying!!