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Topic: Do they all sound alike. |
Tracy Sheehan
From:
Fort Worth, Texas, USA
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Posted 26 Dec 2010 10:00 pm |
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It has changed lol. In 64 0r 65 i was playing steel on recordings if i remember was Faron Youngs studio.
And how the A& R man came over the speakers and told me to do something different.I remember thinking they have the best session men here in Nashville and this idiot wants me to do something different?Suppose all have figure out i was a little nevrous.
By me being nervous i did accidently come up with something and Pig Robbins (on piano) asked how i was doing that. Some other steel players later in Tootsies ask me the same thing.Again pure accident from being nevrous.LOL. Tracy |
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Franklin
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Posted 27 Dec 2010 7:12 am Re:
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| Tracy Sheehan wrote: |
It has changed lol. In 64 0r 65 i was playing steel on recordings if i remember was Faron Youngs studio.
And how the A& R man came over the speakers and told me to do something different.......... |
.....Is something different and something original the same request?
.......Paul |
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Tracy Sheehan
From:
Fort Worth, Texas, USA
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Posted 27 Dec 2010 11:54 am Re:
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| Tracy Sheehan wrote: |
It has changed lol. In 64 0r 65 i was playing steel on recordings if i remember was Faron Youngs studio.
And how the A& R man came over the speakers and told me to do something different.......... |
| Franklin wrote: |
.....Is something different and something original the same request?
.......Paul |
Paul you got me. Between takes i was nevrously tapping on the strings with a wood bar and the A&R man came on again and said thats what he wants and i ask whats what you want?
Any how it ended up by me doing the intro to a song by blocking all the strings with my left hand and tapping out the notes with the wood bar. Shortly after i got the heck out of dodge and took an over seas tour with a opry singer. Did that one more time then went back on the night club circuit. I did not care for the one nighters or Nashville. That was just me.lol. Tracy
That doesn't sound right. I was from Texas and first played western swing,jazz and pop as it was called back then on fiddle. Started at a very young age. I could not play straight country with out getting off into left field altho i tried. Tracy |
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Corky Owens
From:
Owensboro, KY USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2010 12:27 pm
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| I would agree with Paul on this after spending 30 years on the road and working in bands where the guitar player can get away with about anything and the artist wants the steel just like the record. |
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Mike Archer
From:
church hill tn
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Posted 28 Dec 2010 12:54 pm yep like the record
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yep its true Paul is correct
every artist gig I played wanted the steel parts "just like the record"
heck I didnt mind Garrish was on MaGraws stuff
and Emmons was on TGs stuff so hey I had fun
there were a few tunes I was allowed to
adlib on that was cool
I played a few times with Diffe and Paul played on thoses tunes which was great stuff
that was 17 years ago so im sure things may have changed a bit mabe
Mike |
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Jay Yuskaitis
From:
Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2010 1:24 pm
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| How many different ways can you play strings 3 & 5 with pedals 1 & 2 ??? Of course they all try to sound like, or, as one another. That,in IMHO might be, the reason pedal steel is dead in many recordings these days. Jay Y. |
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Bill Cunningham
From:
Atlanta, Ga. USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2010 6:49 pm
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Cal Sharp said:
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I don't think Buddy, Jimmy, Lloyd, Hal, Weldon, etc. had to deal with those restrictions back in the day when they were playing all that distinctive, memorable stuff that we all find so inspiring and love and try to emulate, even after all these years.
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Funny thing....When I first started learning to play the steel I was 12 or 13 in the early 1970's. And I distinctly remember reading over and over about how the "modern Nashville players" on all the records sounded the same unlike when the previous generation non-pedal players reigned. 
I believe the more things change the more they are the same because we only remember the very best of what we liked "back then".
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Bill Cunningham
Atlanta, GA |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2010 7:50 pm
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| Jay Yuskaitis wrote: |
| How many different ways can you play strings 3 & 5 with pedals 1 & 2 ??? Of course they all try to sound like, or, as one another. That,in IMHO might be, the reason pedal steel is dead in many recordings these days. Jay Y. |
I'm sorry, I don't understand this at all. I hear more of strings 1&2 on today's records, especially the 1st string double raise. I also hear a lot of the lowers on strings 5&6. To me, these are the modern country E9th sounds. Playing strings 3&5 with the first 2 pedals is what you do when you want to sound old-fashioned (not that there's anything wrong with that).
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-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Jay Yuskaitis
From:
Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 29 Dec 2010 4:55 am
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| "IMHO." What is to understand. Jay Y. |
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Chip Fossa
From:
Monson, MA, USA (deceased)
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Posted 29 Dec 2010 2:49 pm
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Jay,
Just where is pedal steel dead in recordings, these days?
And more to the point: Strings 3 & 5; Pedals 1 & 2;
why are you picking these steel facets as the premise for your reasoning?
Do you play pedal steel? If you do, then I'm wondering why in your [/b]profile you did not mention that.
_________________
Chip
Williams U-12 8X5; Keyless; Natural Blonde Laquer. |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 29 Dec 2010 3:15 pm
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I kinda like playing whats on records, it doesn't mean I can't play other things but the amount I have learned by copping the phrases played by the session pro's has kept me working here in Charlotte for just shy of a decade.
"Kick off XXX". "yes Maam,same key as the record" ??
works for me...
by the way, singers sing the same words don't they ?
I don't buy into "we all the sound the same"..we don't...I don't even sound the same one night to the next.. ! and I'm trying to...
sorry...
t
_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders , Eastman Mandolin ,
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years
CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website |
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Jay Yuskaitis
From:
Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 29 Dec 2010 3:25 pm
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| Thanks for the replies. I'm just going back to a time that I was over whelmed by pedal steel guitar back up of a performer. "IMHO", "this era is as dead as Cock Robin and High Button Shoes". Jay Y. |
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Theresa Galbraith
From:
Goodlettsville,Tn. USA
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Posted 30 Dec 2010 4:51 am
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IMHO pedal steel guitar is not dead !
Cock Robin, on the other hand may be. |
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Bill Cunningham
From:
Atlanta, Ga. USA
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Posted 31 Dec 2010 10:15 am
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| Quote: |
| I'm just going back to a time that I was over whelmed by pedal steel guitar back up of a performer. |
Jay, please tell us when you are specifically referring to.
Let's assume that in the 60's and 70's all the major session players had a distinctive sound. Take Weldon for instance. I believe he had a very distinctive sound. Why? Because what instantly comes to mind are the Connie Smith records, the RCA Johnny Bush albums, and his intro and ride on Moe Bandy and Joe Stamply's "Good Ole Boys" (to name a few off the top of my head that I really liked). However, if I drop the needle on a random track from one of the thousands of Weldon's sessions over his long career, I am not sure I would instantly identify him. I think he and Hal alluded to this on the Bruce Bouton interview VCR tape.
Today we hear many cuts and think they all sound indistinct. But 25 years from now, we will filter and remember the really special licks, rides, and turn arounds from the current music.
Seems my whole life "It ain't like it used to be" 
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Bill Cunningham
Atlanta, GA |
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Jay Yuskaitis
From:
Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 31 Dec 2010 12:04 pm
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| 1958 to about 1968. I would try to get some of those sounds from my Gibson EH500. Jay Y. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Jay Yuskaitis
From:
Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 1 Jan 2011 4:08 am
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| b0b, Exactly. IMHO, 1958 to about 1968 were the budding & blossoming years for pedal steel guitar. Recordings with Day, West, Mooney, Emmons, Drake, Green, Helms, Jackson & countless others all had identifiable STYLES & tunings of their own. As the E9 10 sting tuning became standard, & more and more instructional material became available, many more folks began to take up Pedal Steel which became known as "Commercial or Canned Steel Sound". I do agree that the sound of Steel belongs in "Country" music, and it's great to hear the sounds of John Ely, Cindy Cashdollar and Junior Brown out there. No doubt, there are many great "Pedal Players" out there today. I'll ask the same question that I asked in my original post on this subject, "How many different ways can you play strings 3 & 5 and push pedals 1 & 2?" By the way, The "Canned Laughter" sound on Television so called comedy shows truly sickens me! Take care, Jay Y. |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 1 Jan 2011 11:22 am
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It's not just the steel, I'm afraid. Take the quarter-century period from 1955 to 1980 - look at how music changed, look at the innovations, look at how even some "outlier" stuff became very popular. Now take the quarter-century between 1985 and right now, and examine the same ideas. If you then compare the two periods, the first and foremost question has to be:
What died?
Sure, we can all find innovative, creative music, and the musicians that we know can do it too, ruthlessly digging around on the internet... but if you turn on your radio or your TV, it's sometimes really hard to tell that we aren't still in 1985. And it's not just music - how many Hollywood S.O.S. movies are based on 1960's TV shows or even, just the titles of pop songs?
After the peak of Greco-Roman art, architecture and culture, those on the downslope combed through their own past, desperately trying to re-create the Golden Years... after the peak of the Egyptian Empire, they desperately began building crappy little imitation pyramids to try to hang on... gee, remember the good old days of country music? And the good old days of steel guitar?
P.S. (Happy New Year!) |
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Cal Sharp
From:
the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN
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Posted 1 Jan 2011 12:19 pm
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Very perspicacious, David.
It seems to me to be, basically, a cultural thing. Most of my favorite music, books, movies, art, etc. date back 40 - 200+ years. Just because something's new doesn't make it worthwhile, but, these days, more than ever, it has to be marketed to each succeeding generation of consumers. Aside from technology, I don't see any significant advances in culture, as a whole, since the Beatles broke up and Bertrand Russell died, coincidentally, the same year.
_________________
C#
Me: Steel Guitar Madness
Latest ebook: Steel Guitar Insanity
Custom Made Covers for Steel Guitars & Amps at Sharp Covers Nashville |
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Rusty Rhoads
From:
The Motor City
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Posted 1 Jan 2011 1:22 pm
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I am glad i play like me yes i have been known in the past to imatate a persons playing style.
whats the use in that if your trying to be your own artist and dont want to sound like pete or buddy or day but some of those licks just come out natural sounding like the inventer of the licks its just the way it is and allways will be when in ROME be a Roman when your out doing your thing be yourself 100% dont try to play other people's styles unless you have too .
Keep trying to create your own licks and style and think out of the box !
That Is All |
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