The Steel Guitar Forum

Uni. You'll want the low notes. Whenever I sit behind an S-10, my brains starts screaming. "Where's that low E string? I need it here, and I need it there." Uni.

Low B, low E, low g#...

It's one of those things that if u've never had them, you don't know what you're missing, but when you've had them...you miss them a lot...a lot more than the D string, I would expect.

Yeah, my old Sho~Bud D-10 has the E9 neck set up with G# B E as the low three strings. I don't miss the low E as much as the G#. I put the B to D change on the 6th pedal(it only has 6) to be able to grab it with my volume pedal foot. It works, but don't use it too often.

So what are the feelings about keyed vs keyless? As a newbie just wondering. Thanks so much for all your great advice.

Steve.

Keyless guitars have fewer problems of changes not always returning accurately, and are quicker to change strings. They're more compact and a little lighter.
They only have two downsides: they look funny and, if you're a goofball who wants 9 or 10 pedals, there's not a lot of room for that.
Hell, if you have the bucks, that Excel uni currently for sale looks sweet.

Here is my 2 cents. I have played steel for about 60 years. I have watched many, many pro steel players. About 90% of them mostly use the A&b pedal and the D knee lever, lowering 4 & 8. Get you a student model, 10 string with 1 knee and you can play most any song you would ever want to play. Jim

Steve are you confused...lol. I am like you about your age and got back into this. I played before but I faded. Now back in it and grinding. Wish you best. It is intriguing.

Argh! Why am I broke!!!!

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=273464

John....it that unusual? It has the old style peg head but the Super Pro type undercarriage.

On the cusp I guess! Really too new for me, but I love it anyway!

Daniel Policarpo wrote:to make serious inroads that would satisfy the musical standards of somebody who has become proficient at other instruments supported by 35 years of playing, I would say aside from money, you should be prepared to invest 2-3 hours a day, just about everyday, to get to a point in two years of feeling like, "now I don't suck too bad", and be able to play along with some simple chord progressions with decent intonation and actually add to a song. You will know pretty quickly if you are going to get addicted enough to put the effort in.

I would agree with all of that. I started pedal steel at an "advanced" age and was reasonably proficient on other instruments before starting PS.

Initially I found it very frustrating as it's a bit like going back to "Learn to play guitar in 3 weeks - Bert Weedon", you know what you want to do in your head but your fingers and legs have got other ideas

I started off on a S10 GFI student which I learned on for a few years then bought a Carter U12, which was the best move I made. I think though if I'd gone straight for the Universal I would have struggled, it was good to learn all the basics on an S10 before going for something more challenging. Even after playing S10 for 3-4 years, it took a good few months to get used to the Universal.

As said so many times, it's all about muscle memory, to get all the limbs to sychronise into something musical takes a lot of practice.

But you know what, it's all worth it when you start to get these tones that you hear others more experienced playing

My 2 cents...

I started playing on a Fender Stringmaster in 1976, graduated to a Fender 400 a year later and then many years later got an Emmons S10. Last year I bought a 1977 D10 Emmons.

If I could do it over again I would have bought the Emmons new in 1977 and not bothered with the others. Hard to say where my playing would be had I been playing on a real steel guitar for 40 years instead of limping along with sub-standard gear. (Sorry Fender 400 lovers, but it is an ancient design!)

And then there's the Stringmaster. I wish I had taken some lessons from Tommy Morrell! His great collection of CDs is amongst my favorites and he simply was awesome on the straight steel. Many times I have to remind myself that he had no pedals! If I could play like that, I wouldn't need 'em either!

Can you fingerpick already? If so, that gives you a big "leg up" over other beginners.

John Billings wrote:Can you fingerpick already? If so, that gives you a big "leg up" over other beginners.

It may actually not. Barefingered fingerpicking is not the same as using fingerpicks.

Les Cargill wrote:

John Billings wrote:Can you fingerpick already? If so, that gives you a big "leg up" over other beginners.

It may actually not. Barefingered fingerpicking is not the same as using fingerpicks.

Maybe, maybe not. I'm a beginner, but I've finger picked ragtime and country blues - with fingerpicks - for years. Don't have to get used to the picks ( though I use different sets for steel and for 6 string) and finger independence is already there. There is so much and so varied technique to learn on a steel just to get to the not-so-awful level - at least I do't have to struggle with this. And someday I want to see if Rev Gary Davis translates to the steel.

Steven

I have no first hand experience, but a local steel player, said the problem most people have when they have spent their lives playing guitat or BASS is Patience. They want the entire sermon in ten minutes

"It may actually not. Barefingered fingerpicking is not the same as using fingerpicks."

Pretty similar imo. A whole lot less than the difference between knowing how to fingerpick, and not knowing how to fingerpick.

By using the stiffer parts of your finger pads (up near the end, where the nail buttresses them) to "grab" the strings, I can get so close to the sound of fingerpicks that other pickers can't tell. But it's no fun.

Look at this, might be what you are looking for...


http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=273554