The Steel Guitar Forum

Bobbe and Dick, Willie Nelson said "there is no such thing as ex-wives. There are only additional wives."

I have two "working" guitars that I play my gigs on, a '64 Emmons wraparound and a '65 Emmons wraparound. They both have individual voices. These are the guitars I'm most frequently seen playing.

I also have a cocobolo/maple Fessenden here in the music room, and a 1970 S~B Professional that occasionally comes out when I have to travel somewheres.

I do have a few antiques laying around as well. The Fessy is the only "modern" guitar I have, currently.

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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

D10 and SD10 Thomas. Remmington Lap steel.
I guess I better catch up.

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Thomas SD10 3/4 and D10 8/5 Beginner

Bobbe you can see both of my Sho~Buds on the forum . Two is enough for me unless Kenny Krupnick gives me one of his L.O.L. Gary .

1978 Emmons D-10 8+7
1968 Emmons D-10 9+4 serial 1234D (cool serial number!)

I leave the 1968 at the church where I play.

11 electric guitars, 2 acoustic, 1 banjo

2 Vegas 400 amps, 1 Nashville 112

Well I strongly feel that as a professional steel player, you'd better have at least two steels at your finger tips and ready to hold a job with. You owe it to the person, producer, club owner, band you are working with.
You have an obligation when you say "yea, I'll be there and play the job" to do just that.

I remember Gene O'Neil calling me one day at noon screaming, "Loan me a guitar quick, I have a session at two o'clock!"
I asked him, "where is YOUR guitar"?, he said "its still in the club I worked last night, I didn't know I would be getting a session today!" (he accepted the session knowing he didn't have a second guitar)

And I get this quite often, steel players whose guitars are still on the tour bus call me begging to borrow a guitar/amp for a session or job.

I just can't figure how they can accept the responsibility of doing a professional music playing job and not be any better prepared . Don't they have a serious responsibility to have the tools on hand to accomplish the job?
If a carpenter shows up for work and says, "gosh, I left my hammer and tool belt in my girl friends car, I can't work today". He's not very responsible. Why should a professipnal steel player be any different?
What if he comes to work with no steel and the whole band gets fired because of it? Doesn't a steelplayer have the obligation to be dependable? He owes this to every one around him, wife, kids, fellow band members, the club or the "star" he's working for.
If you don't agree with this, as a pro steel player, how responsible do you think you are?

Remember, I'm in Nashville and own the only steel store in this town, so you KNOW I see this problem at least once a week. I just keep asking myself, WHY? Why don't these guys ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, well, all they have to do is show up once with no guitar, and they won't have a job to show up for next week.

Hey, I'm just trying to help,

Several guys are saying, I can't afford two guitars, I guess not with that bass boat, Harley Davidson motorcycle, three cars and a partridge in the pear tree, just remember what is helping to buy these things,
THE STEEL GUITAR, not a pro you say? You could be a "part time pro" , anyone can. I'm sure there is a band near you that will hire you, so you will only make $50.00 a week at first, that's $200.00 a month, wont be but a couple of months 'till your guitar is free. Come on guys, you can add.
What started this whole thread was the "pro player" on another thread that claimed his guitar was broken and he had nothing to work with until he could get the parts from the factory to fix it! SAVE ME! Whose fault was this? The factories? I think not!


Your buddy
Bobbe

Bobbe

Up to a few years back I had eight D10s and 1 S10 and an 8string black and white bake -light Rickenbacker lap steel. I have 3 left. A D10 Pedalmaster, a D10 EMCI, and the 8 string Rick. Jody.

I could tell you...but then you'd have to kill me.

Ben, you are a nut, but I loved your reply, yep, this is also a funny thread!

What Bobbe said is really important.

When I was playing guitar or bass gigs or sessions regularly, I always had 2 instruments; 2 amps; a direct box; spare effects; several spare cables; a power conditioner (not a power strip - a $250 voltage regulator); complete repair kit with VOM, soldering stuff, pliers allen wrenches, screwdrivers, etc etc; extra strings; picks; flashlight; paper, pens; knife.

Kept all in a plastic rolling toolbox from Home Depot that doubles as an amp stand, or steel seat, or chair, or end table.

And I can't tell you haw many times I loaned amps or guitars or played guitar tech to unprepared players. I should have sold high "E" strings for $20 at festivals...

It's amazing how many people show up to a gig with a guitar, amp and cord and flip out when something goes wrong.<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Jim Sliff on 02 June 2006 at 10:13 PM.]</p></FONT>

<SMALL>I'm retarded, I mean retired now!</SMALL>

I resemble that remark!

It's my living and, regrettably, I only have one serious working guitar (my LeGrande111 D10 - 8+8). The Sho-Bud Professional I've just acquired is no good for my work, even though it's a lovely guitar.

I've been without a back-up steel for way too long. The Emmons has never failed me, it's much more to do with being able to leave a steel set up in a theatre and to have a guitar at home for the occasional session, or, of course, for practice.

So - I'm seriously on the look out for something SOON!!!!!!

RR

Wonder why Erv Niehaus hasn't chimed in yet. I've read where he's got a collection of pedal steels large enough he could easily open his own store!

Myself, of course I'm not a pro player, although I do generally play from two to three times a week, but currently only have one Sho~Bud, and it's having to be paid out on the handy-dandy payment plan. If money permitted, I would have at least one of every brand...preferably one of each model of each brand!

I would dearly LOVE to have another pedal steel. Anybody got an old beater that needs work, for sale CHEAP???

Lem<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Lem Smith on 03 June 2006 at 12:19 AM.]</p></FONT>

Years back when I was playing steel full time, I could only afford one guitar at a time. b0b's post earlier in this thread made me chuckle. I'm the same, now that I only gig a few times a month, I've settled in on 3 guitars. A Fessy, with another on the way set up exactly the same as a backup, and a GFI. I'll use the GFI as my experimental tuning and setup horn. It's the fastest and easiest to change setup of any guitar I've owned, so for me it's the perfect extra guitar. Then there's the Dobro, Rick lap, Supro, Fluger Marrs RGS.....hey, it's not an addiction, I swear, I can stop at any time. Really!

-Larry

i started not to post but being a 2 year part time newbie. i have tried a few brand names and didn't like any of them until i got a gfi sd-10. its got tone and easy playability. as soon as i can aford a new one i'm going to buy a d-10 rittenberry or gfi from bobbe. i just had rick johnson split up my nashville 400 amp into 2 pieces. it has a better sound. i have strings plenty of cables hilton pedal and a pac a seat. so i have a good start. just wish i was younger than 58. but oh wel. still having fun.

The only thing I don't have a back up for is my steel, and some times it gets kinda tricky when I need some major work done on it that I can't do myself, I usually end up on a long drive to get it to some one who can, and will work on a saturday [the one that I'm off on]! The last time driving from Kingman, Az. to Oceanside, Ca. but our friend Jim P. at Steel Guitars of North County bailed me out, fixed it while I waited and I took it home with me, but it was a long drive and two long days of just hanging around!!

About 6 years ago I was playing with band from here in Kingman, while I was packing my gear for a 6 week road trip the lead player called me and said he had to "pawn" his amp that day to get something for his girl friend, asked if he could "borrow" my Peavey Renown 400 [my back up amp] for the trip!!
I couldn't believe that one, we had some hard feelings over that for a couple of weeks!! lol..

Larry

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"Fessy" S/D 12, 8/6 Hilton Pedal, Sessions 400 Ltd. Home Grown E/F Rack
"ROCKIN COUNTRY"

D-10 Zum
D-10 pp Emmons
D-10 MSA clasic
D-10 Sho-Bud pro
S-10 home made
S-10 Parker non pedal
5 amps including Walker Stereo,Sho-Bud,pre cbs Twin w/15 jbl,Nasville 400,small Fender
2 seats...don't say it.
2 volume pedals

Wanna buy some strings, Roger?

Back when I played professionally, I had 2 identical setups. 2 maroon MCI, 7+5, s-12s, 2 Nashville 400s, and duplicate peripherals. 2 complete identical setups...used one for the studio and one for the road (but carried both on the road for backup).

Bobbe's right. Even though I never had one those MCIs fail me (what great guitars), I never worried about being able to perform.

If I were playing as a pro now, I'd have 2 setups again. It's the only way to fly.

Mike , it's not about "failing", it's about not having to move your steel as much. Many steel players in big cities that are playing a sitdown job in a club every night that also do sessions or other jobs needing their guitars in the daytime, don't want to teardown every night and resetup the next night. Two steels saves a lot of time and effort.

When I was doing several sessions a day in Nashville (70's), with only an hour between sessions, there wasn't time to eat, drive to, and tear-down and set-up, so the only logical thing to do was to do was to set up the guitars the day before and just drive from session to session and play.

Sure, things are different in Nashville today, everything is an "overdub" now and you may be the only one even booked for a certain time slot.

Still, anyone working for money on steel guitar anywhere is tempting fate if they only own one guitar.

The Bobbster

You might say two steels allow you to be in two places at once. It might make it possible to do two jobs (or more)in a day that would not be possible to work with only one guitar. Two jobs, two moneys! This equals= "Pro player".

I remember when Pete Drake had several steels setup in several studios and left them there all the time. This was in early the '60s and he was doing the lions share of sessions.

Bobbe

Well Bobbe,
I have 3 Guitars, 2 D-10's and 1 S-10 being reworked over to 3-4 instead of 6 on the floor.
1 D-10 is a 67 PP 8-5
1 D-10 is a 2000 LeGrande II 8-5
The other PP is a 67 S-10
I also have several Amps, I use a Sho~Bud Christmas Tree at Church and just leave it set up with a delay & Chorus pedal
On other jobs I use a NV-1000 NV-400, and a rack with DPC-1000 & Pro-Fex II + 2-15 BW's
Larry <font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Larry Moore on 04 June 2006 at 07:19 PM.]</p></FONT>

Also it's so not cool to take a guitar you've been playing in a stinky bar to a session.20 years ago you could do that.I guess if your a Paul Franklin you could still get away with it. But you youngsters better not try that.

Bobby Boggs, this was a funny post! Yes, guitars can develope a rather strong smell if used in a club for a few years. On "trade in" guitars here at the store, a "club guitar" can stink up the whole place.

Makes me wonder ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, How many thousands of dollars of cigarettes does it take to plate the bottom of a steel guitar, or, how many lungs have to die before the guitar is a nice bright gold?

This could be a whole new thread, Thank you Bobby!

You can actually get paid for playing one of these things?