The Steel Guitar Forum

I might keep my B down a half step... but I dont like it on the vertical.. like Roger say "I don't find that upward push particularly easy"..

Hi,
The best thing you can do is to raise the 5 string B up 3 semitones to D. You can do far more with this change than you think ,it adds fluidity to your playing ,think going for 2 nd string lowered a semitone and the alteration of your grip to do this and the way it will break up your smoothness.Now think if that could be done on the 5 th string .This will allow you to do this.
There are also many licks and runs and chords that can be done with this raise. I would never be without this change
Regards Dave

I'm getting ready to put the B to D change on my second LKL. I've been wanting to do it for years.

I have a home-made switching mechanism on LKV. In the "basic" position, it raises 1 & 7 a semitone. (I probably use that position more than half of the time.) In the "extra" position, it raises 1 & 7 a whole tone as well as raising 2 a semitone in proportion with the other two raises (i.e., there's no "half-stop" feel - both 1 & 2 start and stop at roughly the same time).

I went several years with the "usual" 5 & 10 semitone lowers on it, but it really impeded my use of those changes. Now, with those moves on my "near" RKL (the "far" RKL lowers the 6th a whole tone) and the LKV as described above, it's opened up a whole lot of new movements for me. I'm so glad I switched.

I also have the common 5+10 B > A#