The Steel Guitar Forum

Tilting your steel is one of the easier experiments you can do with any steel. You'll know when it feels right.

Roy Carroll wrote:Thanks Gents for all the replies. I am 6'1" and have pretty long arms. My picks are curved so that the fingers are curled in.
Been playing a very long time. I just thought that maybe some of the newbies could try it to get comfortable.
Thanks again,

I am a 6’3 sorta newb with long legs and arms. I have a lift kit for the front legs on the steel. I do the tilt for extra leg room in the back but have to be careful with how much tilt as well as seat height, as regards the aforementioned upper arm-forearm-to-wrist alignment. Shoulder tension is a killer.

Also, one more alert to other new players - hang on to the bar! If you lose your grip that bugger will slide right off a tilted neck.

Fred Treece wrote:

Roy Carroll wrote:Thanks Gents for all the replies. I am 6'1" and have pretty long arms. My picks are curved so that the fingers are curled in.
Been playing a very long time. I just thought that maybe some of the newbies could try it to get comfortable.
Thanks again,

I am a 6’3 sorta newb with long legs and arms. I have a lift kit for the front legs on the steel. I do the tilt for extra leg room in the back but have to be careful with how much tilt as well as seat height, as regards the aforementioned upper arm-forearm-to-wrist alignment. Shoulder tension is a killer.

Also, one more alert to other new players - hang on to the bar! If you lose your grip that bugger will slide right off a tilted neck.

Good point, Fred! I usually have a backup bar between necks onstage in case that slippage occurs. And it has...spare picks in the pack-a-seat, too. Boy Scout mode!

I also tilt my steel slightly forward for a comfortable and relaxed wrist position. I just eyeball it, as long as it's a little forward from being level, it's good.

John McClung wrote:Some steels have shorter levers, Carters are a good example, and if you jack up the back end too much, you're missing the lever altogether. One of my knocks on Carters.

I play Carters and I had to attach extensions to the levers (made the levers about 3" longer) because I found them too short even with the guitar level, let alone tilted forward.